{"id":16217,"date":"2019-05-02T10:21:07","date_gmt":"2019-05-02T14:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=16217"},"modified":"2019-08-05T10:52:39","modified_gmt":"2019-08-05T14:52:39","slug":"sophisticated-lady","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/sophisticated-lady\/","title":{"rendered":"Sophisticated Lady"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"issuuembed\" style=\"width: 525px; height: 341px;\" data-configid=\"37604829\/69533410\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/e.issuu.com\/embed.js\" async=\"true\"><\/script><br \/>\nMay 2019<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Sneak out to <b>Kennebunkport<\/b>\u2014on the rocks.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>By Colin W. Sargent<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16198\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16198\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16198\" src=\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Rest-Review-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"The dining room of Ocean at Cape Arundel Inn and Resort\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Rest-Review-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Rest-Review-200x134.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Rest-Review.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-16198\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The dining room of Ocean at Cape Arundel Inn and Resort<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">To find \u201cOcean,\u201d the splendid waterfront restaurant at the <a href=\"https:\/\/capearundelinn.com\/dining\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Cape Arundel Inn and Resort<\/b><\/a>, aim your spyglass between Spouting Rock and Blowing Cave (or simply set your navigator to 208 Ocean Avenue). May is the perfect pre-season time to slip in here. There <em>are<\/em> no bad seats.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cIt\u2019s like sitting in a canvas seascape,\u201d my wife says. To the left is Walker\u2019s Point at twilight. Every once in a while, headlights tunnel into the dark as automobiles travel along the shore ahead. Beyond that are roses, rocks, and the inky beginnings of a perfect evening.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">She orders the Ocean Avenue ($15): \u201cCold River Gin, St. Germaine, fresh lemon juice, and sparkling rose,\u201d which gives the drink its soft, bewitching shade. I try a sip. Coy but to the point, smart but not too sweet. I answer with a glass of 2013 Bodegas Salentein \u201cKillka\u201d Malbec ($12) from Mendoza, Argentina\u2014macho and memorable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">The appetizers are showstoppers, especially the Lobster Thermidor ($19): \u201cglobe artichokes, trumpet royale, English mustard cream, black truffle, Parmigiano gratin.\u201d This deconstructed variation with the artichoke, roasted with Parmigiano and stuffed with delicious fresh lobster meat into the full length half shell of a \u201cchicken\u201d (or one-pound) lobster, reminds us of romantic dinners in Rome and shows the extreme creativity of executive chef Justin Owen, a real Mainer who was \u201crecently promoted after working for at least five years as sous chef under chef Pierre Gignac,\u201d we hear when we enquire. Wow. Tom Brady was an understudy once, too! <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Let\u2019s calibrate this against time. This is the best food I\u2019ve ever had at this lovely inn, and I\u2019ve come here for decades\u2014with my bride, my father, my in-laws, for birthdays, and for at least two Easters. Our other appetizer, Beet \u201cCarpaccio,\u201d ($15), also hits the spot, exactingly presented with \u201csalt roasted red beets, confit yellow beets, pistachio, goat cheese beignet, and spring onion foam.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">F<\/span><span class=\"s1\">eeling lucky, I order the Swordfish ($36): \u201cseared loin, crispy calamari, cauliflower pur\u00e9e, capers, anchovies, olives, pine nuts, piquillo pepper compote.\u201d The Italian twist excites again. Who knew that anchovies are an absolute necessity with swordfish! We also ordered the Beef Steak ($40): \u201cprime Colorado grilled striploin, red wine braised oxtail, asparagus, Lyonnaise potatoes, red wine jus.\u201d The interior is perfectly pink, the exterior crispy and close-your-eyes delicious.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">By now, we\u2019re careening with superlatives. As great as the view is, it\u2019s the food that\u2019s the <em>ne plus ultra<\/em>, transporting us all the way to the coffee and dessert we share, Chocolate Gateau ($10): \u201ccaramel, hazelnut, espresso ice cream.\u201d Congrats, Justin Owen! You\u2019re one to \u2018follow.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">Ocean, 208 Ocean Avenue, Kennebunkport. Summer hours: Sun.-Sat.; happy hour 3 p.m. \u2013 5 p.m., dinner 5 p.m. \u2013 9 p.m. 855-346-5700.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cSophisticated Lady\u201d<br \/>\nCatch the waves of flavor at this Cape Arundel classic.<br \/>\nBy Colin W. Sargent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[181,380,127,323,322,154],"class_list":["post-16217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-best-restaurants-in-maine","tag-kennebunkport","tag-maine","tag-portland-magazine","tag-portland-monthly","tag-restaurant-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16217","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=16217"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16550,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16217\/revisions\/16550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}