By Diane Hudson <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The complimentary amuse-bouche, intended to stimulate the appetite, did just that. It consisted of three elegant presentations on a sparkling white plate: wasabi apple pur\u00e9e, Maine dulse seaweed, and caviar; a plump Pemaquid oyster raw in its shell; and a delectable cured terrine of foie gras. Taittinger Domaine Carneros Brut (\u201805) made the perfect pairing, crisp with just a hint of lemon.<\/p>\n The first course to float in was an engaging mix of the freshest Maine crab, potato gnocchi, black truffle, and Parmesan, all balanced so as to be able to taste each ingredient to the max, enhanced by M\u00e2con La Roche Vineuse Sous Le Bois (\u201808).<\/p>\n A towering collection of fresh baby greens graced our table next, with a slightly tart tarragon sherry dressing nicely balanced by a smooth, nutty, mildly sweet Napa Station Chardonnay (\u201807).<\/p>\n What followed was most unusual\u2013an olive-oil-poached trout that looked for all the world like a large salmon filet, pink and of that shape. Assured by our server that it is, indeed, trout, we devoured it along with its ginger sunchoke cream, radish, and mache (a French lettuce making its debut recently here, less tart than the popular arugula, although more difficult to grow). Again, a great pairing with Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuisse (\u201807).<\/p>\n A taste concoction surely unsurpassed in recent memory for both of us came next: sweetbreads crisped with a potato crust, garnished with Serrano ham and Aleppo pepper egg cream. Smooth, deep, full-in-the-mouth tender, this is not to be missed (it\u2019s offered on the regular menu as an appetizer for $10). Try it, as we did, with the light-bodied but resonant Torii Mor Pinot Noir (\u201807).<\/p>\n And our fifth course, also available as an entree ($30), was the tour de force of this proud parade of palate-pleasers: a delectable presentation of \u201cDuck Three Ways,\u201d the breast, liver, and leg. Accented to the fullest with braised porcini, the moist, perfectly cooked meat sat lightly in a velvety, deep sauce. Divinely rich, this entree highlights Chef Lawrence Klang\u2019s superior reaches and Natalie\u2019s great good fortune to be featuring such talent. Ch\u00e2teau Greysac Medoc (\u201805), a musky, full-bodied red, proved a stalwart accompaniment.<\/p>\n The dessert trio\u2013chocolate gateau with dulce de leche ice cream, saffron flan, and quark and vanilla souffl\u00e9 with apricot coulis\u2013was equally unsurpassable, as were the accompanying wines: \u201cN\u2019ice,\u201d an ice wine from nearby Cellardoor Vineyards, and Warre\u2019s Otima 20-year Tawny Port.<\/p>\n Natalie\u2019S, 83 Bayview Street, Camden. \u2028Open for dinner 5:30 to 9:30 nightly.\u00a0Bar opens at 5. 236-7008<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" April 2010 Magic Night Natalie\u2019s at Camden Harbour Inn \u2028sparkles on a picturesque hill. By Diane Hudson What better place to explore the heights of culinary exploration than at beautiful Camden Harbour Inn on a warm spring night? Feeling romantic after driving up to this fairy-tale setting, with views of Mt. Battie, Mt. Megunticook, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"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":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968","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=1968"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2345,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968\/revisions\/2345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"natalies1\"](\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/natalies1.jpg\" "\\"natalies1\\"")
What better place to explore the heights of culinary exploration than at beautiful Camden Harbour Inn on a warm spring night? Feeling romantic after driving up to this fairy-tale setting, with views of Mt. Battie, Mt. Megunticook, and the anchorage below, we opted without delay for the five-course tasting menu ($75 per person), an opportunity to sample some of Natalie\u2019s signature offerings. Given a wine list with more than 150 choices, we also gladly signed on to wine pairings with each course.<\/p>\n![\"natalies2\"](\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/natalies2.jpg\" "\\"natalies2\\"")
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