{"id":10167,"date":"2014-10-30T07:58:03","date_gmt":"2014-10-30T11:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=10167"},"modified":"2014-10-30T09:18:13","modified_gmt":"2014-10-30T13:18:13","slug":"leave-it-to-the-professionals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/leave-it-to-the-professionals\/","title":{"rendered":"Leave It To The Professionals"},"content":{"rendered":"

November 2014 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Ever dream of not<\/em> making the big turkey dinner at home?<\/h3>\n

By Claire Z. Cramer<\/p>\n

\"Hungry-Eye-Nov14\"<\/a>If you\u2019re feeling less and less like wrestling with a 20-pound turkey as T-Day approaches, you\u2019re part of an emerging trend. Maine chefs are tapping into the growing interest in celebrating the holiday with family and friends in innovative, sparkling ways\u2013without <\/em>the KP duty.<\/p>\n

Skip the bother, stay out of the kitchen, forget baking the pies, and head for a restaurant. Feasts await, with prices starting well under $20 per person.<\/p>\n

Uptown Bird<\/h4>\n

\u201cWe go with an \u00e0 la carte menu, not a buffet,\u201d says Alan Cook, chef at the Portland Regency Hotel\u2019s Twenty Milk Street restaurant for 25 years. \u201cThe hotel\u2019s always full because it\u2019s a long holiday weekend.\u201d Dinner is served to hundreds between noon and 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to do about six entrees. A rack of pork, a pumpkin risotto for vegetarians, maybe a strip steak. A squash or pumpkin soup to start, a green vegetable. I try to make everything as \u2018fall\u2019 as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s turkey, of course? \u201cOur turkey\u2019s really <\/em>good. We raise our own on our farm.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Regency Hotel\u2019s restaurant has a farm<\/em>? And here we thought Masa Miyake was the only savvy city restaurateur raising livestock in the \u2019burbs. As it turns out, the Regency\u2019s turkeys are ranging free in a mighty nice zipcode.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe farm\u2019s in Cumberland,\u201d says Cook. We raise Piedmontese cattle out there. We\u2019re getting known for our Piedmontese beef. It\u2019s why the burger tastes so good downstairs [in the Armory Lounge]. We raise turkeys for Thanksgiving, and we\u2019ve also got chickens to provide us with eggs. Our bees let us harvest our own honey every year.\u201d\u00a0 Which figures handily into pastry chef Amy Acheson\u2019s dessert creations. \u201cShe does an assortment of pies\u2013apple, pumpkin, chocolate, whatever strikes her fancy.\u201d<\/p>\n

20 Milk St., Portland. 774-4200 theregency.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Just Add Lobster & Truffles<\/h4>\n

\u201cThis year is our third serving Thanksgiving,\u201d says Michelle Corry at chic <\/strong>555, which she and her husband Steve opened in Portland in 2003. \u201cIt\u2019s been huge. We do a fixed-price four-course, with choices. We\u2019ve done traditional side dishes like oyster stuffing and green bean casserole; we\u2019ve even done\u00a0 turducken. And lobster mac and cheese will always be on our Thanksgiving menu!\u201d<\/p>\n

The latter being 555\u2019s signature creation,\u00a0 involving butter-poached lobster and shavings of black truffle. Thanksgiving at 555 is nothing if not a delicious splurge, with wine pairings are an option. \u201cWe haven\u2019t set the exact menu and price yet, but last year it was $75 per person. We have a kids\u2019 menu, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

555 Congress St., Portland. 761-0555 fivefifty-five.com<\/a><\/p>\n

The Portland Harbor Hotel\u2019s new chef,\u00a0 Anthony St. Peter, is planning \u201cquite the spread\u201d for his first Thanksgiving at Eve\u2019s at the Garden<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe set up a huge buffet table with seatings from noon until six. Starters include a raw bar as well as tapas and spreads. We\u2019ll have carving stations of slow-roasted turkey with sage-butter stuffing, prime rib, a baked ham with chutney, a pork loin roulade with prosciutto and smoked gouda, a shepherd\u2019s pie, pistachio-crusted salmon, and a winter vegetable cassoulet.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s reservations only, adults $49; kids $19.<\/p>\n

468 Fore St., Portland. 775-9090 evesatthegarden.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Early & Often<\/h4>\n

Some of us start craving turkey dinners the moment the air turns crisp and the leaves turn orange, so why restrict ourselves to a single Thursday in November? Two Portland dining landmarks help us jump the gun.<\/p>\n

Thanksgiving is one of two days all year that Becky\u2019s Diner is not actually open, but the kitchen roasts a bird there every other day except Christmas. Imagine turkey dinner near the sparkle of the sea and the rough-and-tumble docks, with mashed potatoes, stuffing, squash, and cranberry sauce for $11.95.<\/p>\n

390 Commercial St., Portland. 773-7070 beckysdiner.com<\/a><\/p>\n

On chilly autumn weekends around noontime, nearly every seat at the Miss Portland Diner\u2013including the old wooden booths and counter stools in the original 1949 diner car\u2013is taken. The mob loves the genuine treat of real roast turkey dinner here\u2013sliced breast meat arranged over herby bread stuffing studded with bits of sausage. The potatoes are delicious\u2013hand-mashed, with flecks of red skin and tender lumps remaining in the silky, flavorful mass. The gravy is rich, the cranberry sauce includes whole berries, and a side of fresh carrots is hand-cut and sweet. This feast is $10.25. And it\u2019s available every day! Even with tax and a generous tip, your peri-Thanksgiving moment is $15 tops.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll doll it up with peas and squash on Thanksgiving Day,\u201d says server Allyssa Vitalone, \u201cwith special pies and desserts. We\u2019re\u00a0 super-busy, and it\u2019s fun, with single people, lots of families, travelers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both diners serve wine and beer.<\/p>\n

140 Marginal Way, Portland. 210-6673
\nmissportlandiner.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Destinations Elsewhere<\/h4>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my single busiest day, people-wise, of the year,\u201d says executive chef Lynn Pressey at York Harbor\u2019s Stage Neck Inn.<\/p>\n

And he should know. Pressey\u2019s worked at this exclusive resort since 1978, and served as chef for 30 years. \u201cWe have roast turkey, of course. But I also like to offer a stuffed fish, and there\u2019s roast pork loin, prime rib, a Cajun oyster stuffing, and another stuffing with apples. We always have chowder, plus another soup.\u201d<\/p>\n

This lavish buffet is $37.95 per person. \u201cWe\u2019ve figured out over the years that it\u2019s just a great way to bring your whole family together without all the work. It\u2019s a good mix, local Mainers and those from out of state. We have seatings about every half hour of up to 150 people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The buffet is open from noon to five.<\/p>\n

8 Stage Neck Rd., York. 363-3850 stageneckinn.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll serve 250,\u201d says Mitchell Kaldrovich, executive chef at Sea Glass Restaurant in Cape Elizabeth\u2019s Inn By The Sea. \u201cOh yes. Many of them are local people who come every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaldrovich\u2019s menu is ambitious, a multi-course prix fixe<\/em> for $62 per person. Starters include \u201clobster bisque or a vegan squash soup,\u201d and a choice of five salads.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur turkey is done a different way. I make a roulade of the boned dark meat and we roast it slowly. There\u2019s a filet mignon, grilled salmon, and a vegan quinoa dish.\u201d The desserts are house-made and very Maine\u2013white chocolate cheesecake with blueberries,\u00a0 pumpkin pie, apple cake, and chocolate mousse cake.<\/p>\n

The Inn is a destination for the long weekend. \u201cSome packages include the Thanksgiving dinner. We also make it available as room service,\u201d if you\u2019d like a private holiday.<\/p>\n

40 Bowery Beach Rd., Cape Elizabeth.
\n799-3134 innbythesea.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Road Trip<\/h4>\n

\u201cThey come for the pies<\/em>,\u201d says Dan Beck at Moody\u2019s Diner. \u201cThe dinner\u2019s just for their conscience.\u201d The grandson of founders Percy and Bertha Moody is kidding, even if the house-made pies are widely renowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do the whole nine yards for one price, probably $16.95, from beverage to dessert. There\u2019ll be starters like soup or a fruit cup, the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, local squash, boiled onions, cranberry sauce, and our homemade biscuits. It\u2019s more locals, something of a community service for people who need a place to go, but we get a lot of families.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when you\u2019re a legendary roadside attraction with a reputation for hospitality, you can boast a bit. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever<\/em> been closed on Thanksgiving in 87 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

1885 Rte. 1, Waldoboro. 832-7785 moodysdiner.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

November 2014
\nEver dream of not<\/em> making the big turkey dinner at home?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[87],"class_list":["post-10167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-november-2014"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10167"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10205,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10167\/revisions\/10205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}