And thank god my martini willpower gave out.
The drink was a perfect mix of sweet and sour and best of all it came with a sidecar — a tiny carafe on ice holding a second helping. This allowed me to stretch the drink through the entire meal and avoid the perils of the dreaded third martini. (It also made the $10 price tag much easier to swallow.)
Since my parents live just down the street and we eat here often, it’s surprising I didn’t succumb to the siren song of Katahdin’s martinis much sooner. Especially as this restaurant is known as much for its fantastic bar as it is for its unpretentious food. In addition to my martini, we started out with a La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi pinot grigio ($8.50) for my mom, a hot tea for my dad and an Allagash Black ($4) for my husband.
The friendly waitress (who was plenty attentive even with an overflow crowd) reeled off a number of specials, including two oyster dishes (one featuring Pemaquid and the other Prince Edward Island oysters) and a mussel dish. She also informed us the kitchen was out of the duck, which meant my mom needed to go back to the menu to decide what she was going to have.
After some deliberation, my mother and I both opted for the organic greens with tangerine vinaigrette to start, which offered just the right balance between acidity and sweetness. My dad pronounced the fish chowder one of the best he’s had recently, noting that it benefited from a more broth-like base than the overly thick stock of other chowders. Adam enjoyed the complement of flavors in the butter lettuce salad with apples, walnuts and blue cheese.
The entrées offer familiar dishes like wood grilled sirloin ($28) and pork tenderloin dressed up with Anjou pear and brandy cream ($24). My parents each ordered the pan seared scallops ($26). This dish was served with a generous helping of garlic mashed potatoes and included a bevy of tender Maine shrimp. My dad called the concoction excellent, but my mother lamented the heavy use of butter in the sauce (my mother never uses butter at home and finds the prevalence of butter in most Portland restaurants regrettable).
Adam went with two apps for his main course, the chowder (again a hit) and the wood grilled pizzette of the day ($12), which came topped with mozzarella, fontina and market greens. Because the menu had just one cheese-heavy vegetarian entrée and nothing for meat and dairy dodgers like me, I ordered up a bowl of the shiitake with white bean soup (absolutely hearty and delicious) and asked the server if the chef might be prevailed upon to throw a few of the vegetable sides together for me. She told me the chef doesn’t like to prepare anything off menu, but my soup arrived with a plate of oily zucchini and a clump of white rice. (My past experience here should have taught me to be happy with the soup and leave my off-menu requests for places like Caiola’s and Local 188.)
Thank god the waitress had the patience of a saint, because we made her repeat the dessert list (there’s no printed menu) at least three times. My dad choose the caramel ice cream ($8) and my mom went with the lemon pudding cake ($8). Having dined with my mother numerous times, Adam knew he didn’t need to order a dessert and instead polished off her cake after she took her standard two bites. Meanwhile I was still nursing the last exquisite drops of my martini.
— Avery Yale Kamila
Katahdin Restaurant is located at 106 High St. in Portland. Dinner is served Tues.-Sat. from 5-10 pm. Call 774-1740.