I Just had the Best Dinner of My Life

Alex and I walked 18,000 steps around Portland, Maine yesterday. She requested an early start and I obliged. The first stop was a bakery 15 minutes away.

We indulged in carbohydrates. The sandwich was surprisingly premade; but not to fear, the biscuit was fluffy, the sauce was drippy, the eggs were light yellow and square, and the sausage was thin and crumbly. That was one of the three items. The other two were also heavy - a dense banana bread drizzled with black sesame seeds alongside a tall and wide spinach, goat cheese and egg quiche.

It was planned as a lobster roll day and we ended up pregaming aggressively. We built up an appetite traversing the uneven brick laden streets and stopped for lunch, sitting outside at HighRoller Lobster Co. They had an eclectic menu filled with customized sauces and items. My lobster roll was drenched in jalapeño mayo and our side dish was a lobster corn dog called a Lobby Pop. Everything was tasty. We’ve been ascribing letter grades to each meal and both brunch and lunch received an A-.

It was time to recharge the batteries at our bed and breakfast, Alex monopolizing a wonderfully comfy coach, tucked in on her side, reading on her phone. To avoid snoozing, I tried multiple activities and landed on reading outside in a sunny spot until the shade and 55 degree air influenced my retreat back to the room.

It had been a long day. And we had two big meals. Dinner was going to be “light” and enjoyable - it was a farm to table joint known as Fore Street that came highly recommended. But 18,000 steps and two significant meals in, expectations were medium. We just wanted to sit and enjoy each other’s company and the ambiance in the restaurant.

The ambiance hit you right away. It was a completely wide-open kitchen. A pork butt was rotating and smoking. A chef was slowly removing poached eggs for the broccoli caesar. The staff was friendly and the rustic tables and chairs fit the upscale rustic vibe.

We perused the double-sided menu, filled with over 30 items to choose from. The front side had smaller plates. The back side larger fare and sides. Our order was as follows:

• Grilled Broccoli Caesar Salad

• Wood Grilled Corned Beef Tongue

• Lamb Shoulder Confit

• Crab Stuffed Haddock Fillet

• Cornbread (Blueberry Jam, Corn Streusel, Maple Pork Butter)

The first two dishes were delicate and delicious. This was the best grilled broccoli I’ve ever had. It’s produce season and Maine is one of the big producers of broccoli for the US. Now I know why. Alex’s grandfather gets a tongue sandwich on Rosh Hashana from a local deli. It’s thinly sliced and good, but it doesn’t taste all that different than a solid corned beef sandwich. This tongue was thick and resembled a tongue from a cow. However, it was shockingly tender with fibers separating and visible with each cut. It was on top of a grilled cheese with the right mix of horseradish and thousand island. The preparation was flawless, the meat cookery pristine and each bite tasted like elevated mini beef tongue reuben sliders. We were just getting started.

We had a welcomed 15-20 minute delay in between appetizers and entrees. I’m finding meals move in fast forward these days once you put your order in, so on a Friday night with no rush whatsoever, the change up was appreciated. The entrees came out together - the haddock on a cast iron was placed in front of me while the lamb confit was handed to Alex. Share plates were requested and provided.

The lamb was resting on something Alex and I were analyzing. It warranted a question to the waiter who responded with “that’s a Roman Gnocchi preparation.” A square grilled 3x2 inch piece of gnocchi. Did that exist? It did last night.

The haddock was so beautifully white and tender, cooked perfectly. But the proportions of the crab and the haddock sung. A good bite with those two fishes alongside baby artichoke hearts and morel mushroom cream was tied for the best bite of the night. My cousin taught me a long time ago if you close your eyes while eating, your taste bud senses are more activated creating a better sensation. My eyes were closed on the majority of bites.

The lamb was also incredibly delectable. The cuts of lamb were random - maybe a confit operates as such - but every random bite had the same fantastic flavor profile. The gnocchi and lamb were coupled with beautiful spring onions and pistachios, with a hint of the lamb jus.

I had both dishes in front of me as the entree round concluded and I had to really think hard on which one to finish on to signify the best plate. I changed my mind twice and did two last bites. I was shaking my head in disbelief with each concluding chomp.

After taking a breather, I spooned out bites of the cornbread, loaded with blueberries and butter. While advertised as a side, it operated as a dessert. The honey comb crunch was the icing on the cake for our final item.

Alex and I live in New York, which I think is the food capital of the country. Multiple dinners I exclaim “New York really does have the best food in the world.” At Fore Street last night, I looked around and observed an extremely talented group of chefs in a beautiful open kitchen room. Portland, Maine may not be on the culinary map for many of us, but it is squarely on the map for me after last night. Maybe it was the low to medium expectations going in. Maybe the near 20,000 steps allowed us to work up an appetite for the perfectly timed dinner sitting. You can obviously tell I’m a foodie. And it’s always fun to embellish. But I’m not running away from the title of this post. It deserved and received an A+ grade.