{"id":16684,"date":"2019-09-26T16:53:10","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T20:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=16684"},"modified":"2020-05-07T10:33:38","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T14:33:38","slug":"something-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/something-wild\/","title":{"rendered":"Something Wild"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; width: 100%; height: 450px;\" src=\"\/\/e.issuu.com\/embed.html?backgroundColor=%23fefefe&amp;d=oct19_flipbook&amp;hideIssuuLogo=true&amp;pageNumber=48&amp;showOtherPublicationsAsSuggestions=true&amp;u=portlandmagazine\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Elda in <b>Biddeford<\/b> is more than just <b>buzz<\/b>.<\/span><\/h1>\n<p class=\"p1\">October 2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">By Colin W. Sargent<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-16756\" src=\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/elda-rest-rev-300x284.jpg\" alt=\"elda rest rev\" width=\"300\" height=\"284\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/elda-rest-rev-300x284.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/elda-rest-rev-768x726.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/elda-rest-rev-200x189.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/elda-rest-rev-370x350.jpg 370w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/elda-rest-rev.jpg 808w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>I hear a wag whisper it as we enter <strong>Elda<\/strong>, the bistro at 140 Main Street. \u201cIs Biddeford the new Old Port?\u201d Then the quip: \u201cNo, there\u2019s parking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">Even without eavesdropping, the enthusiasm is catching. This place is packed. The exposed brick walls, tin ceilings, and bustling acoustics add to the sensation of discovery. We start with an Elder Fashioned ($12), fun and not too sweet, and a glass of Bhilar Rioja ($14)\u2014spicy and conversation-starting\u2014but they are overshadowed by two glasses of Tascante Nerello Mascalese ($13), grown on the slopes of Mt. Etna, Sicily\u2014balanced, earthy, dreamy, sensational. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">The menu tonight is prix fixe\u2013four courses, $64 per person\u2014or you can order from the imaginative bar menu. For appetizers, we try the Lobster Fried Hand Pie (think lobster samosas) and the Grilled and Raw Lobster\u2014sweet and velvety. We are treated to the first of three amuse-bouches: a mug of Corn Cob Miso broth. Things are getting interesting! We choose Bluefin Tuna with fresh heirloom tomatoes, kelp, and crispy nori. We also select the Grilled Squid with sweet corn porridge and green chili. The background porridge is tangy and memorable. Our plates are whisked away, and a dense Melon Sorbet garnished with a delicate, dehydrated melon slice takes their place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">We enjoy the Grilled Swordfish with roasted eggplant. Our favorite proves to be the Roasted Cod with chanterelles, sweet potato, and broth. Corn flour Cookies with homemade red currant jam are a sensual diversion while we prepare for our just desserts: (three) Maine cheeses (from a Waldoboro farm) and Japanese Cheesecake with wild blueberries. The cheesecake is fragrant, more perfumed than sweetened. If you\u2019re looking for somewhere daring and creative in the demilitarized zone between Portland and the Kennebunks, you\u2019ve found it. Cost of dinner for two is $203. <\/span><span class=\"s3\">n<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><em>Elda, 140 Main Street, Biddeford. Tuesday\u2013Saturday 5:30 p.m.\u20139 p.m. 494-8365. <\/em><br \/>\n<em> Reservations recommended.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A whisper is overheard at Elda: Is Biddeford the new Old Port?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16757,"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":[445,444,127,154],"class_list":["post-16684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-biddeford","tag-elda","tag-maine","tag-restaurant-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16684","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=16684"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18638,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16684\/revisions\/18638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}