A summer meal at Primo in Rockland, Maine highlighted everything about the growing Maine food scene that I love - a passion for sustainable, local ingredients, clean but imaginative cooking and talented operators who understand their market.  Honey from their own hives, Price’s excellent bread and pastries, and Melissa’s talent with some of the best products in the state – greens, herbs and flowers all grown on property add up to an incredible experience.  The most recent night I was there, capenters were building an outdoor chicken coop under spotlight for the 100 laying eggs that were due to arrive the next morning.  In the same way that many travel to the Costa Brava in Catalonia to experience the ethereal cuisine of Ferran Adria, others go out of their way to find Primo during their travels in the Northeast.

www.primorestaurant.com

Related posts:

1. Shang
2. O-Ya
3. Autumn Flavors

It was near the end of a long week, near the end of a long month – the Friday before Christmas in New York, and I was eager to catch my late flight to Maine and be next to a warm fire. Instead, just on the cusp of the Winter solstice, the first major storm arrived early in the day.

After several hours moving about the city, I finished my work with wet feet, a permanent chill running through my body and a sense of resignation that I was not flying anywhere that evening. The airports were essentially closed. I’d normally embrace this scenario and take advantage of an unexpected night in the city, but this one was a bit oppressive. I had arrived from Mexico just a day earlier and still hadn’t adjusted – by sunset, the precipitation had turned to cold rain and the snow was becoming slush. I could think of only two things: A quiet evening and a warm meal.

Shang is positioned on the second floor of the new Thompson LES, a sister offshoot of the boutique hotel, 60 Thompson, which opened in Soho several years ago. Thompson LES is a bit more low key. Shang’s main entrance is on the quiet Orchard Street side of the building, and just on the outskirts of the now burgeoning Lower East Side. The room is modern and minimal, even by the standards of someone as minimal as me. Aside from two glowing mesh chandeliers, an updated and clever take on the Chinese lantern, the design is quite stark and even more so on a dark winter evening.

The chef is Susur Lee, who is well known for the unique cuisine he has produced at his Toronto restaurants, Susur and Lee, for many years. We first met at an event in Mexico City nearly 10 years ago, and I was impressed by his cuisine then. The interesting aspect of my experience with Shang is that I’d also dined there the night before. Although I found the concept of the menu brilliant, I was not thrilled with my first dinner. The sharp balance that I’d expected was not evident in a somewhat clunky Bejing Style Cucumber Salad with Avocado, Squash and Miso Barley with Lotus Root, or Steamed And Crusted Dim Sum Vegetable Potato Dumplings, Swatow chili and Soy juice. Both sounded like dream dishes for me and, after a week in Mexico, even more appealing. However, they fell a bit flat and I decided that I’d return in a month or two once the restaurant had time to adjust. What a difference a day makes – or for that matter, a menu choice.

Despite my experience the evening prior, I was drawn back, in part due to the excitement of knowing that this creative chef was one of very few in New York that evening actually manning his or her kitchen. I arrived late and ordered simply; a glass of Pinot Gris, Fresh ground coconut curry with cauliflower, lentils, potato, and stewed fruits and Whole Wheat Mantou Bread. Like a once in a lifetime experience, or viewing of great art, it would be hard to describe. This was simply one of the best vegetarian meals I’ve ever had, and certainly the best when timing is factored in. On this cold night, feeling tired and drained, the warmth of Susur’s cuisine brought a slight the life back into my body and a sense of balance was restored. Dipping this amazing bread in the curry spiced with chili paste, alternating with sips of wine, I was perfectly happy. I have been thinking about this meal since and can only hope it snows on my next visit.

Shang

187 Orchard Street, New York, NY

www.shangrestaurant.com

Related posts:

1. Autumn Flavors
2. Primo
3. Chase’s Daily

A chef will often have precise travel memories solely on the basis of a single meal. Many have made the pilgrimage to Catalonia for the thrill of a 30 course tasting menu at Ferran Adria’s El Bulli, and others have journeyed throughout Southeast Asia in search of culinary inspiration. For me, Sicily evokes a very distinct image of a perfect pasta con le sarde, while the thought of skiing brings me back to a candlelit evening at a mountaintop lodge, dining in a grand hallway of a room while devouring warm popovers with butter.

While I now search out vegetarian dishes in much the same way I used to travel for more mainstream cuisine, I’m finding that most good restaurants, and many good chefs, are equally skilled with plant based cuisine as they are with any other.

This fall, I’ve been traveling a great deal – I don’t keep a diary, but my palate is a clear reminder of where I’ve been. Lately, I’ve been most impressed by the diversity of vegetarian meals in non-vegetarian restaurants. As chefs become more and more focused on sourcing locally or organic products, they seem to be more prone to experiment creatively with those ingredients. I’ve simply had too many interesting meals to mention only one.

Traverse City, Michigan

Traverse City reminded me of a little of Maine. It had a similar climate, but also the same warm, down to earth people. Shortly upon arriving, I was fortunate to do an event at a very respected and amazing organic market, Oryana. Their produce looked so good that I made a special trip back the next day for lunch. Although I rarely find tempeh preparations that I really like, I had a tempeh Rueben with sauerkraut on a tangy and chewy rye bread that was deeply satisfying on a cool, rainy afternoon. The weather was much more brisk than Florida where I had traveled from, and this sandwich definitely warmed me. The recently renovated, clean and well lit store also has a number of creative smoothies and a very well selected group of products.

Oryana

260 East 10th Street
Traverse City, Michigan

San Francisco, California

While I’m not quite as strictly raw vegan as I once was, especially when traveling, it is my diet and lifestyle of choice. That said, there are many times when I am unable find it prepared at a level I can enjoy, and on those occasions, I’ll have non-raw foods. But I always turn back to raw when I feel like cleansing or am simply focused on feeling my best. I was tired when I arrived in San Francisco recently and after checking into my hotel, met a chef friend from there for lunch at the second location of Café Gratitude. That night, I had take out at the original and over the next few days, had countless meals at the 3 locations within range of the city. I love what they do – the service is warm, knowledgeable and efficient, food is extremely consistent and I’ve met someone interesting on each of my visits. Certain dishes may be a touch heavy for me but I love the quality of ingredients. My favorite dishes are their wraps, all of the desserts, and rich smoothies.

Café Gratitude
2400 Harrison Street (@20th Street)
San Francisco, CA

1336 9th Avenue (@Irving)
San Francisco, CA

2200 Fourth Street
San Rafael, CA

Winter Park, Florida

When I first became involved in Café 118, the raw food café we just opened in Winter Park, Florida, I was a bit skeptical about the cuisine of the area. I always assume that food took a backseat to entertainment in the world of Disney. Admittedly, my only first hand reference to dining in the Orlando was a long ago visit to the famed theme park, where my family dined an over the top restaurant called El Sid – I can’t recall the menu at all, but it was one of my first experiences in a fancy dining room. Needless to say, it wasn’t at the level of what I would later learn was considered ‘fine dining’. I’d heard a lot about Luma, a very modern and beautiful restaurant in Winter Park, and made it one of my first stops. Since then, I’ve had a number of meals there and the food has always been exceptionally fresh, well executed and consistently flavorful. A salad on the autumn menu is one of the best I’ve had – with crisp greens, toasted hazelnuts, avocado, watermelon radishes and warm crispy goat cheese. The menu changes slightly on a daily basis, but everything is always fresh and inspired.

Luma on Park
290 South Park Avenue
Winter Park, FL

New York, New York

On the night I discovered raw food many years ago, I had initially reserved a table at a trendy Chinese restaurant called 66. My friend and dinner companion, however, had other ideas. He let me know, at the last minute, that he preferred to dine at a raw food restaurant. In the end, I deferred, and I never made it back to 66 before it closed last year. Matsugen is Jean Georges Vongerichten’s latest New York City restaurant – It replaces the haute Chinese venture in Tribeca. Although the décor has been warmed up a bit, the most notable physical change is the bar, just beyond the entry. It’s a very civilized and modern dining room. The menu is an entirely new experience. I always loved Honmura An in Soho and in fact, aside from my first raw food dinner, it was the sole restaurant which elevated my energy on such a noticeable level that I felt like walking for a couple of hours. That wasn’t necessarily the case at Matsugen, since I had an Omakase menu – but it was very clean, light and overall, amazing. Most notable was the buckwheat soba – firm, meaty, and even better than it had been at Honmura An. Definitely the best soba I have ever had.

Matsugen
241 Church Street
New York, NY

Several years ago, I dined at L’Impero, the Beekman Place restaurant where Scott Conant first became well known for his skills with Italian inspired cuisine. I was there before becoming a vegetarian and I vividly recall the meal being decadent, rich and delicious. There are some chefs who apply flawless technique to a consistent style of cooking and draw crowds wherever they go. With Scarpetta, the talented chef has refined his cuisine even further, serving a mature and modern Italian menu that has sophistication to spare. Along with a number of perfectly executed ‘crudo’, perhaps the most well executed dish is the “pasta pomodoro”, which is prepared with pasta ‘a la chitarra’, and a perfectly balanced tomato sauce with basil. Along with a nearly identical dish at the now defunct San Domenico (where Mr. Conant worked), it is the best version of this classic I have ever had.

Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street
New York NY

Portland, Maine

Fore Street is one of the pioneers of not only the “locavore” movement, but also the current trend toward preparing great local ingredients simply. What is so hot in New York today, has actually been done by Sam Hayward in Maine for more than 15 years. His menus always highlight seasonal produce – in the summer, there are beautiful platters of multi-colored heirloom tomatoes with apple cider vinegar. This fall, there is a great salad of roasted carrots, dark leafy greens and hazelnuts that I loved…perhaps a little buttery, but overall capturing the essence of the season. The menu changes daily and is always broad and inventive.

Fore Street
288 Fore Street
Portland, Maine

Madrid, Spain

Before I set foot in the kitchen at La Mucca last month, I went to the market – I knew that the menu needed a few new dishes for fall. Pizza is very popular there, and during my previous visit, we developed a crust that worked perfectly with the high temperature of the restaurant’s wood burning oven. One look at the ripe green figs at a local produce shop inspired this fig pizza – mine vegetarian, and being in Spain, another version with Iberico.

It turned out to be so popular, we bought 50 cases of figs and made a chutney which will keep it on the menu through much of the winter.

La Mucca
Plaza de Carlos Cambronero 4 (@Calle Pez)
Madrid

Related posts:

1. Shang
2. Chase’s Daily
3. O-Ya

Somewhat as I expect, the truck creaks into the lot at quarter past ten, and slowly backs up to the side of the steps while an employee from inside removes the crates.  I’m enjoying my coffee and the morning, but when the gate to the body opens up, my eyes widen, as they always do.  And even being so late in the season, there is still a wildly abundant amount of produce. Inside are wooden boxes filled with long purple eggplants – fat bunches of leafy greens wrapped in twine, bright cherry tomatoes that appear to have been dipped in champagne and honey, carefully placed inside brown paper flower pots, tin wash tubs with the most colorful mesclun mix in the world……the truck is overflowing, bursting actually, with these vibrant products, all artfully, but somehow naturally arranged in their perfectly matched country containers.

While the truck from The Chase Farm in Morrill, a few miles from here,  is being emptied, I take my coffee inside – Chase’s Daily is the Chase family’s foray into retail, a large open space in the center of town – with its 20 foot original tin ceilings, all in white, art covered walls and a blond hardwood floor, it bears little resemblance to the kitschy Grasshopper Shop that used to be in this space, the one where my pre-college girlfriends always seemed to work and where I would buy cassette tapes to listen to on hot summer evenings in the parent’s car.  It runs through from a rear parking lot to Main Street, which serves their operation well.  In the front, beyond enormous country style windows and facing the street is a café, with about 50 slatted wooden seats and booths, and square farmhouse tables adorned with reddish orange cloth towels, small wildflower arrangements and tiny bowls of fleur de sel.  Half of the center of the wide, but rectangular space is taken up by an open kitchen, which is framed by a retail counter and cash register. In an old fashioned deli case are about 20 artisanal cheeses, including  Maine chevre, a blond and creamy goat gouda and also my favorite standby, aged Manchego.  Small tins of Portuguese olive oil and jars of both black and green French olives sit above; each offered for sale as explained by the small cedar shingle beside, with a handwritten price on it.

Next to the register are a dozen or more hand painted country style plates with baked items – raspberry-buckwheat muffins or cheddar scones, pear almond muffins, a thick coconut cake – cherry tarts, various pastries and jars full of cookies, exposed just enough to give me serious temptation to the concept of enjoying one, although breakfast was a recent memory.  The beauty of the operation lies behind the cashier, and in front of the kitchen, on the two way shelves that separate the food preparation and the front of the house – backed by two tall cooling racks still full of bread, the shelves are filled with the warm loaves of semolina, potato-rosemary, hazelnut-white raisin and the ultimate ring shaped crown loaf, with its golden crust, warm pillow-like chewy center and the dusting of flour on its flat, crisp bottom.  The air by the register carries a sweet, yeasty, earthy aroma that can drive a hungry person mad.

Nearly everything in the entire space is grown, prepared and procured by, the family.  An antique red coffee grinder sits along a wall opposite the counter, next to hand bagged beans, and on the same table as the local Swann’s honey, both raw and heated.  Other than their own t-shirts, printed in my home town of Searsport, with the simple slogan “eat local”, there is no sign of commercialism, no web address, and no flyers.  The plain brown bags that food is taken away in are stamped with a Chase’s Ink Stain, which includes an image of a country table much like those in the café. The space does double as an art gallery, a hobby of one family member, and I have noticed that the local exhibits are becoming a little more edgy these days.  The ever friendly music, satisfied late breakfasters and eager shoppers awaiting their produce ensure that this remains as grounded as a store can be.  Somehow, the family manages to operate a farm and this multi use space – and although they do appear to have devoted their lives to sustaining the business, it is all handled with grace and perfectionism intact.

I have no idea what I’ll prepare – and therefore, no idea what I will buy. But keeping an open mind has helped me with some of my favorite dishes over the years.  I pick up one of the large wicker baskets and begin my shopping spree:  licorice scented young fennel, a handful of orange-green squash, a big bag of that famous mesclun, broccoli rabe, a couple bunches of marjoram and thyme that have been so meticulously wrapped in twine and a large bouquet of opal basil with an intoxicating perfume….the aluminum cone shaped buckets hold handfuls of wildflowers – I choose one that has the usual muted white and green that I favor and carry it to the cashier with my produce.  She removes the flowers and wraps them in yesterday’s newspaper, wets the bottom and packs everything – then adds my two steamy crown loaves, a jar of green olives, and good sized chunks of Seal Cove Chevre and a quarter pound of Manchego.  After tearing off a piece of that warm chewy bread, I head back to my home in Searsport, loaded up with the charged energy I get by shortening the distance between earth and plate…in this case, a little more than half a day.  Consider that purchasing produce even at an upscale venue in New York City – Whole Foods, for example – often means buying something that was harvested in another state, delivered in bulk and distributed to the store’s storage room.  It is checked in and stocked only when the current inventory is depleted – it could be up to a week before the product is actually sold and often a few more days before it is eaten.  The ingredients used in this meal will never meet a refrigerator and that excites me.

Once a week I’ll have a meal in the café, which is always prepared with the same straightforward seasonal approach.  Although Chase’s Daily serves lunch Tuesday through Sunday, dinner is once a week, on Fridays.  I tend to go late, as they have gotten very popular the past few years and it tends to be a little hectic at times.  The menu is small, a bit quirky and intoxicatingly attractive.  The menu still has hints of summer, yet provides a clear indication that the season is passing.

The wine list is small, but carries several European varietals that are light enough to marry well with this cuisine.  Marinated olives, crusty warm bread and olive oil are on the table within minutes, assuring every dinner that they have very good judgment.

Starters tend to be very fresh and highlight the garden.  A crunchy salad of raw vegetables; fennel, baby carrots, radishes and herbs, with a lemony vinaigrette and a few tiny squares of a fresh mozzarella is sparkling and vibrant.  Roasted Beet and Parmigiano bruschetta is rich, innovate and well balanced with a rustic, herbal chickpea bruschetta on the same crunchy olive oil drenched bread.  My brother always orders the sautéed greens with garlic, olive oil and lemon – they must be flash cooked in hot olive oil in a wok, as they are crispy and actually sweet, salty and sour.

Main Courses (which the menu calls “Dinners”) tend to be more substantial – so perhaps their title is more appropriate.  My favorite dish is always the steaming hot and coarse polenta with a spicy roasted tomato pesto, a sautéed dark green (tonight it is broccoli rabe) and grilled smoky portobellos.  A new dish on the menu is the Fresh, handmade fettucini with basil pesto, new potatoes, green beans and parmesan – this version of the classic Genovese style pasta al pesto is riveting . I usually tend to stick with rustic Italian preparations at Chases, but recently I enjoyed the soba noodles with peanut sauce, tofu, happy rich, sugar snaps, asian greens and Thai basil.  It is seductively rich and spicy.

Desserts are large, homey, sweet and indulgent – we shared the peach upside down cake with whipped cream, which is every bit as rich and buttery as you might imagine.

Chase’s is a true reflection of the seasons and the beauty of nature.

CHASE’S DAILY

AMBIANCE: Sailboat Casual, LL Bean, Khaki Friendly, Comfortable

TARIFF: Small plates $6-10, Large plates $17-20.  *Produce is remarkably reasonable. Cool Tshirts, $17

SERVICE: Smiling and Professional

RATING: Inspired, Vibrant, Comfortable, Gratifying, Healing

Related posts:

1. Autumn Flavors
2. Primo
3. Shang