Restaurant Review A p r i l 2 0 1 8 5 9 from top: photos by greta rybus; meaghan maurice Dreaming Big Portland’s tiniest wine bar/café blooms into an enchanting restaurant and bar on Washington Avenue. By Claire Z. Cramer W hen Peter and Orenda Hale opened the pocket-sized Drift- ers Wife wine bar inside their natural-wine shop Maine & Loire in 2016, Portlanders–and the national food press– were intrigued with the excellent wines and chef Ben Jackson’s imaginative food. In no time, it became hard to get a seat. A move in recent weeks to a larger space next door is great news for the shop, the Drifter, and for lucky diners. The new space retains the intimate at- mosphere of the old, thanks to the Hales’ fine-tuned design sense. Walls are graphite- gray, and the attractive abstract prints and sculptural potted plants have come along from next door. There’s a full bar now, with plenty of stools. The wine list is concise, with six whites, six reds, three sparklers, and a rose. Every- thing is available by glass or bottle, a re- al bonus. To start, we choose a glass from France, the A. Chatenoud Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux ($10) and the A. Knauss Kerner/Silvaner blend from Germany ($11). Both have bright, clean citrus and floral notes that pair gloriously with a tasty nibble called simply “Egg” on the menu. A split, soft-cooked egg set on a swoosh of house-made mayo is topped with dabs of bright orange trout roe and garnished with house-made potato chips ($9). The egg, briney roe, creamy mayo, and white wine all sing together, with the chips adding crunchy punctuation. The sourdough loaf served here, from Night Moves Bread + Pie of South Port- land, is a tender brown bread of Maine grains ($4). It’s perfect for chasing the last bits of dressings and sauces through- out dinner. It’s served with “dulse butter,” a creamy spread containing dried, pow- dered–and non-fishy–dulse seaweed from Maine waters. When our server tells us the cardoons here are greenhouse-grown locally for the restaurant, we pounce on a serving dressed with parmesan cheese, toasted bread crumbs, and boquerones ($14). The Mediterranean thistle artichoke, which has a hint of celery-like flavor, is served poached until tender and cut into slim stalks. Sharp cheese, toasty crunch, and the tang of the white anchovies nicely dress up the mild vegetable. A nother surprise is Maine-raised beef tongue ($15). Here it’s braised un- til tender like a tiny pot roast. Chef Jackson dazzles with contrasting flavors, from crazy but successful accompaniments to the slices of meat. There are sweet, silken pickled mussels, grilled toast spears, and a swirl of “barnacle butter.” We go on to sample red wines. There’s a slightly smoky but very smooth Bodegas Ponce Spanish Tempranillo ($10), a dreamy Le Champ d’Orphee Braucol from Cotes du Tarn ($10), and a gorgeous Punta Cre- na Crovino from Liguria ($12). If the Hales put a bottle on their list, it’s a safe bet it’s a fine one. And house policy calls for diners to be offered a taste before committing to the glass.