Hugo's Is a Very Cool Name for a restuarant.

When i think of the name Hugo's it makes me think of a day in late fall when I visited there;right in Downtown Portland, Maine ;with a friend of mine and had the chef's tasting menu. The restuarant itself was neatly furnished and well stocked with lovely wall art, blown glass and local art was predominant through out the place. The restuarant offers an ala cart menu for the bar, which seats about eight itself, and a four course minimum dinner for the rest of the dining room. If you feel so inclined to you may purchase the Eight Course Chefs' Tasting Menu. About $40 dollars more then the $45 dollar Four Course menu. It was a real treat for which I was not prepared.

Being the first time I actaully paid for a tasting , and I didn't work for the restuarant; it was a great time for me personally.

Amuse Bouche( entertain the Mouth)Pre 1st Course was ( homemade pork rinds, Parsnip Chips and Lobster Crackers , served with a lemon verbena soda that tasted like sprite, kinda, except more lemon.


Since Owner Rob Evans, previously of French Laundry fame under Thomas Keller, is a fanfreakingtastic chef, and the meal was all overseen by him personlly I was really looking forward to dinner.

( When I came in , the reservation I had , was made at my request by the Dining Room manager of the Harraseeket Inn , where the old chef Nathan , who was a young man in his own right, was very good friend with Mr. Evans.
( Also I name dropped like an amateur when I got to the table, " Was Chef Rob in ? " " Oh I'm visiting from the HArraseeket and Nate had told me to come in". Blah Blah I'm a poser dude.


The Chef was really stoked we were there and wanted the full course expirience. He wasted no time getting us off to a fantastic meal.

1st Course: Golden Beet and Shaved Fennel SaladBeet Panna Cotta , white anchovie, Orange Flavors..

2nd Course: Roasted Parsnip Soup with wild Porcini Gel Cap
Toasted Pine Nuts, Pecorino, Sage, Homemade melba... This was really nice the mushroom cap added so much more flavor , it took 50% of the dish's flavor and put it into a tenth of it's volume.

3rd Course: Sweet & Sour Pork
Caramel Coated Pig's Head... (There wasn't ever a pig head on our table , but there was a really tender pork butt , That I did really eat every bite of.)

4th Course: Crispy Skin Cod Cheek
Organic Garlic Brandade, Smoky Tomato and Bacon Broth. ( This dish really stood out to me for it huge bacon flavor with with no, I mean no bacon on the plate. The fish was teriffic, But when the plate came down , all I smelled was the wonderful smell of cooked bacon, Like Old Christmas Morn. But when I dug in to the plate there was no bacon, yet I was still wonderfully with the dish, brandade is easily bland and Chef Rob's was a delight to light and flaky and not easy to forget.

5th Course: Spoonful of Tripe Ravioli.
This was what it was. Normaly I won't eat tripe, Chef Rob put it into a light that let me try it , un biased and I really like it a lot. Very Tender with no elasticity to the filling , which is what I was fearing.. Great dish.

6th Course: Sous Vide Duck Breast & Slow Cooked LegGolden Beet , Fresh Water Chestnut, Kola nut froth, Plum , Balsamic Jus.
Delicious, Wonderful. The Kola nut is used to make Coke Cola and tasted identical.
I don't recall what made the duck breast (sous vide) Yet the whole duck fell apart in my mouth and I can't remember the golden beets matching in flavor any better then the idea behind the dish, a wonderful pairing.

7th Course: Cheese Course; Caprifeuille- semi soft goats milk.Port Wine Reduction , Truffle Honey, Walnuts and Lavash Crackers
Really a very nice palate cleansing dish that was articulated by all the flavors , working in along multiple angles. For me the Port Wine and Truffle combination was the pinnacle of the course and the fantastic goats milk was only made more perfect by their appearance.


8th & 9th Courses came at the same time to my friend and I. We both received different desserts. This was a result of my asking for the Foie Gras course which
was only offered as part of the Four Course Menu. Chef Evans agreed to my request and my friend Ms. Dean was anticipating the Tonka Bean Fondant.

So , 8th Course. El Rey Dark Chocolate& Tonka Bean Fondant.
Salted Peanut Ice Cream, Banana, Sweet Soy Sauce,

I only tried a bit of this and had a full palate from the dinner and wine.
I also had a glass of Oban Scotch, which wasn't my favorite of the single malts family. By the time I tried this tiny morsel , I was rather full. Yet with every thing that Hugo's Co -owner puts into making all of his on premise created food. All made right in downtown Portland, made knowing that the man could think about making porkrinds and Peanut ice cream and process all the need to know info into his staff there at Hugo's was really quite genius..

9th Course: Fig Stuffed Foie Gras Brulee
Eggless Bread Pudding, 100 year old Sherry vinegar Sabayon.

This was really the most valuable part of the evening , for me. I don't love Foie Gras, it is cruel and unusual , the way I was exposed to it is extraordinary, I 'll share it. I had Always thought (FOOYE GRASS ) was an exceptionaly expensive french delicacy, it is, and when I had the Chef Owner of a restuarant I worked at, at the time, rip a hunk off and give it to me in a torpedo roll, well it tasted like chocolate, yet not sweet and the high carb roll was the perfect medium to try it on .

The Real pronuciation of the ruptured(from overfeeding),traditionally goose and nowadays duck,livers,is (Fwa - Grah). This instanly took my palate for a roller coaster.

Became my new grail to seek in the industry. I have had foie gras seared, grilled, poached, cured, and raw.. I don't like it but I'm hooked on it's impressive nature.

The Final course of the night was smooth sailing for this sailor. The sabayon brought back episodes of Iron Chef and the bread pudding which was mostly a very small side to quality of it's preparation. The Chef's bread pudding tried to rival Chef Robert Jordan's Bread Pudding and though he didn't use eggs , he did have a nice piece of cured foie gras on the plate.
Heaven,

What a great name for a restuarant. I'll try to go back , when I'm penitent enough maybe. Can't go every month or two or I wouldn't feel so at ease with my checking account...

Dum Dee dee Dum....




Next Time , More notes on Fore St. the Comparative speculation.