reviewed by Diane Hudson June 2004
We had to go to the top for our restaurant find this time, all the way up beautiful Munjoy Hill in Portland. Blue Spoon, a smash hit instantly on its recent opening, is well worth the wait that you will most likely encounter. Truly appealing offerings at åThe Spoonπ include the popular roast chicken under a brick (owner David Iovino says it is the best-selling item on the menu), flank steak, fish stew, mussels aglio olio, pork and posole stew, and, with a nod to Tony Shalhoub, that wonderfully creative pasta dish from his film Big Night, Timballo.
We started with an appetizer that could have easily served as the main course: a big bowl of tender, delicious Casco Bay mussels steeped in a garlic wine broth ($7), very tasty. Next, we shared a goat cheese gratin ($6), rich and exquisite, with sweet cheese, kalamata olives, tomato gratin, and a toasted baguette.
Our salad ($2/$4) was delightful, consisting of a good variety of fresh crispy greens laden with veggies, blue cheese, and a most unusual house dressing, a sweet vinaigrette. The soups are handmade daily and vary according to available fresh ingredients; we tried, and enjoyed, the pureed cauliflower ($2/$4).
For entrees, we decided to share the roast chicken ($13), flank steak ($13), and fish stew ($14). The popularity of the chicken is entirely justified; resplendent as only a perfectly roasted bird can be, and accompanied by a warm potato, fiddlehead, and black olive salad, this dish will bring us back again and again. Same for the flank steak ($13). Cooked perfectly as ordered, tender, its flavors mingling well with the accompanying horseradish potato cake and seared pungent broccoli raab, this dish is a winner!
The fish stew ($14) surpassed everything. A huge bowl full of an amazing array of offerings from the sea, it is like a fish lover’s wildest dream. Bursting with saffron-scented Atlantic salmon, Maine shrimp, Casco Bay mussels, and mahogany clams, this entrÈe is going to enjoy legendary popularity among diners.
Blue Spoon offers a number of menu items specifically geared for the vegetarian or vegan diet, as well as interesting, affordable wines. With something for absolutely everyone and its location in such an inviting area (just a few doors away from the popular St. Lawrence Arts Center), Blue Spoon is bound to light up all the bulbs on your marquee.
Blue Spoon, 89 Congress Street, Portland. 773-1116.
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