Maine Stage

A low-key chef steals the show with his sophisticated take on comfort food

Steve Corry is one of the most acclaimed chefs in Portland, Maine. And the praise heaped upon him recently (including a nod from Food & Wine magazine as one of the top 10 new chefs of 2007) suggests he may be on his way to becoming one of the premier chefs in the United States. But neither Corry nor Five Fifty-Five (555 Congress St., 207.761.0555; fivefifty-five.com), the restaurant he co-owns with his wife, Michelle, aims to be fancy.

Corry didn’t grow up with a dream of running a fine-dining establishment. Originally, he wanted to make his own beer at a brewpub. “I’m still baffled all this is happening — we don’t have anyone doing PR for us,” he says. Nevertheless, Five Fifty-Five has garnered attention and praise despite a lack of pretentious dishes. “We want to write a menu that isn’t intimidating.” Corry doesn’t feel a need to conduct a reign of terror in the kitchen, either. “We all have fun, and everyone comes to work with ideas.”

Five Fifty-Five serves up surprising versions of home-style foods, and Corry makes them with high-quality, often adventurous ingredients. The menu is organized into small plates, green plates, savory plates, cheese plates, and sweet plates. “We do it that way because it’s a little different, and we want to break down the typical conception of appetizer, entrée, dessert,” Corry explains. The descriptions are inviting and informal, with the occasional quip or joke. “Even elegant dishes with expensive ingredients have playful names,” Corry says. “We want everything to be approachable.” That attitude also shows through in the casual bar menu served in the laid-back lounge the Corrys added in a 2006 expansion.

In the main dining room, among the menu selections are reinterpretations of steak and cheese (grass-fed beef carpaccio with shaved parmesan reggiano, white truffle–kissed greens, and fried capers), mac and cheese (hand-rolled pasta, artisanal cheeses, white truffle oil, and black truffles) and, for spring, peas and carrots (ginger carrot soup with crispy fried sweet peas). A loyal user of local ingredients, Corry develops many seasonal dishes to take advantage of bounty from nearby. At this time of year, one of his favorite preparations is something he calls A Walk in the Woods, featuring locally foraged fiddleheads and mushrooms, house-smoked bacon, local chèvre, pesto made with local ramps, and hand-cut pasta ribbons.

“It’s comfort food with bells and whistles,” Corry says. “There’s definitely a foundation in things that I remember eating growing up.” He especially enjoys riffing on childhood foods when his siblings visit the restaurant. “I take one of our standard family dinners — like fish sticks with mac and cheese — and play with it.” For the fish sticks, he lightly breads and fries pieces of local swordfish and serves them alongside a two-bite bowl of truffled mac and cheese. He’s also concocted a gourmet version of “shake-in-a-bag” pork chops, using homemade herbed breadcrumbs. “Yes, they’re the dishes you remember — but the way we do them, they taste nothing like you remember.” After you try them, though, you won’t soon forget.

Getting There: Continental offers daily nonstop service to Portland, Maine, from its hubs in New York/Newark and Cleveland.

1

Fore Street. 288 Fore St., 207.775.2717. Chef Sam Hayward is the driving force behind Portland’s best-known restaurant, using ingredients from local farmers, fishermen, foragers, and cheese makers to present a menu that changes daily.

2

Becky’s Diner. 390 Commercial St., 207.773.7070. Open seven days a week from 4 a.m., Becky’s serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as incomparable “chowdah.”

3

Back Bay Grill. 65 Portland St., 207.772.8833. Chef Larry Matthews Jr. blends elements of French, Italian, American, and Asian cuisines, backed up by an award-winning wine list.

4

Bruno’s Restaurant & Tavern. 33 Allen Ave., 207.878.9511. A combination of comfort food and homemade Italian dishes highlights the lengthy menu created by owner Bob Napolitano.

5

Duckfat. 43 Middle St., 207.774.8080. Enjoy an assortment of homemade soups and hot, pressed panini sandwiches. Nostalgic for Belgium? Try the fries in duck fat, served in a cone with your choice of dipping sauces.

Traditionalists may still believe that Italy’s great contribution to world cuisine is pasta, but we know it’s really gelato. Gelato has a lower butterfat content than American ice cream and contains far less air — making for a rich and satisfying experience. Try it at its best at these spots:

Gelateria Naia, 520 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, 415.677.9280. Gelateria Naia has eight Bay Area locations, but we recommend the North Beach branch for atmosphere. Indulge in flavors like Bouche Provencal, Keoke coffee, and chocolate-covered cherry.

Il Gelato di San Crispino, Via del Panetteria 42, Rome, 39.06.679.3924. Near the Trevi Fountain, Giuseppe and Pasquale Alongi fight the good fight against boring, standardized flavors. The nuts for their pistachio gelato are gathered from a small Sicilian village near Mount Etna, and their whisky gelato is flavored with 32-year-old Tamnavulin from Scotland.

Sonny’s Gelato Café, 2151 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton, Fla., 561.362.0447. From a repertoire of 350 flavors, Sonny selects 36 each day to serve in this café 30 minutes from Fort Lauderdale. Popular favorites include Fruits of the Forest (mixed fresh berries) and gianduia, a classic Piemontese blend of hazelnut and dark chocolate. Locals and tourists alike enjoy their gelato on the terrace in good weather. — M.S.