{"id":3300,"date":"2010-10-29T11:38:49","date_gmt":"2010-10-29T18:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=3300"},"modified":"2010-10-29T11:38:49","modified_gmt":"2010-10-29T18:38:49","slug":"nebo-lodge-restaurant-haven-scent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/nebo-lodge-restaurant-haven-scent\/","title":{"rendered":"Nebo Lodge Restaurant – Haven Scent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love is in the island air and on the plate at the newly renovated Nebo Lodge Restaurant.<\/h3>\n

By Karen\u00a0E. Hofreiter<\/span><\/p>\n

\"dsc_0217\"Amanda stole my heart with kale chips. A less confident chef might woo urban diners with a cute and refined amuse-bouche, perhaps a scallop with lobster foam or a demitasse of vichyssoise. But no\u2013Chef Amanda Hallowell of North Haven Island\u2019s Nebo Lodge Restaurant (owned by U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree) presents with a bold statement in the form of a bowl of the oft-misunderstood vegetable, brilliant in its bright green hue, paper-thin crispiness, and popcorn flavor.<\/p>\n

The self-trained Hallowell may mince onions, but she certainly doesn\u2019t mince flavors when it comes to her assertive, no-frills menu, a feast of locally-sourced ingredients poetically combined to highlight what\u2019s already here: farm-fresh food. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sitting at a corner table in the dining room\u2013a sort of<\/span> <\/span>island shabby-chic meets beach cottage,<\/span> <\/span>with honeyed wood floors and benches and candles flickering on floral-clothed tables\u2013we watch as plate after plate is delivered in luxuriant succession, each course complete enough in itself to inspire a wait, there\u2019s more?<\/em> moment. <\/span><\/p>\n

The odyssey begins with cocktails\u2013<\/span>a gussied-up French 7<\/span>5 (gin, prosecco, brandied cherries, $8) and refreshing Basil Fizz (vokda, elderflower, basil, $9)\u2013and the aforementioned kale chips ($4). Settling into the bench, backs supported by bright, contemporary throw pillows by Angela Adams (a fellow North Haven Islander), a crisp autumn breeze heavy with the smell of the se<\/span>a and burning leaves sl<\/span>ipping through large open windows, we welcome our first course\u2013a hefty slice of juicy green tomato, fried and drizzled with a tangy chive dressing ($6). Arriving next are oysters on the half shell with a bracing champagne mignonette ($9), followed by buttery oysters Rockefeller ($12). The fourth course is an heirloom tomato salad with chewy, fried halloumi cheese and a sweet, viscous balsamic vinaigrette. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"4755426004_2e1aecc5c2_o\"Hallowe<\/span>ll deadpans he<\/span>r casual indifference to the hoity-toity with a simple flatbread pizza boasting nothing more than a punchy tomato sauce and gooey fontina ($8\/12). The Italian artichoke and spinach gratin ($18)\u2013with pops of goat cheese and smooth, creamy texture\u2013is a <\/span>deliciously coy on<\/span>e-up on the oily and bland chain-restaurant staple. <\/span><\/p>\n

The seventh (yes, seventh<\/em>) course is a flaky, roasted Atlantic cod in a pool of light cream sauce with tomatoes, green olives, and haricots verts ($22). The final savory dish is a silky, medium-rare sirloin, sliced thin, accompanied by fingerling fries, and<\/span>\u2013in a wink toward B<\/span>elgium and Canada\u2013a malt vinegar mayo ($25). <\/span><\/p>\n

Finding room for dessert is a challenge\u2013until three plates of rustic decadence are placed in front of us. The double chocolate torte ($8) is predictable, but the rough-hewn strawberry galette is a down-to-earth delight sitting next to a dollop of palette-mystifying balsamic whipped cream ($8). Paying homage to fall is warm, hearty apple crisp surrounded by puddles of melted honey ice cream ($8).<\/span><\/p>\n

Amanda, my heart\u2013and belly\u2013are<\/span>
\n<\/span> all yours.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Love is in the island air and on the plate at the newly renovated Nebo Lodge Restaurant. By Karen\u00a0E. Hofreiter Amanda stole my heart with kale chips. A less confident chef might woo urban diners with a cute and refined amuse-bouche, perhaps a scallop with lobster foam or a demitasse of vichyssoise. But no\u2013Chef Amanda […]<\/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-3300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3300","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=3300"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3372,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3300\/revisions\/3372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}