Down East Magazine 2

Nouvelle Ogunquit

by Wayne Curtis

Down East Magazine

It’s 7 P.M. on a Saturday night deep in York County’s off-season, and a cold wind is blowing off the ocean. An elegant young woman in a long, Nancy-Reagan-red coat sweeps from an idling Euro-car up the steps into Hurricane, a small, impeccably tasteful restaurant at Perkins Cove. Can they take two? Not until 9:30, the genial host replies. The lady in red doesn’t miss a beat. “We’ll take it.”

People say Ogunquit’s not like it used to be. They’re right. Twenty years ago it was worth celebrating if you could find some place-any place-open in the dead of winter. Ten years ago, a meal out during the blustery season usually involved a Fryolator and vast amount of mayonnaise. Yet today, you can enjoy a sumptuous meal in a cozy restaurant overlooking the tormented winter surf. If, that is, you have the foresight to reserve in advance.

“It’s gotten such that on any given weekend we can be as busy in winter as in the summer,” says Brooks MacDonald, who’s owned the restaurant with his wife, Luanne, since 1991.

That you have to plan ahead for a table isn’t the only surprise at Hurricane. The place confounds expectations at almost every turn. Hidden away on Oarweed Drive amid the T-shirt shops and kitschy boutiques of Perkins Cove, most of which have been shuttered up for the long off-season, Hurricane doesn’t hold much promise from the outside. It’s a boxy, shingled building, hemmed in by equally uninspired buildings, with an entrance high above the street and accessible by a flight of stairs. You think: fish shack.

As soon as you step through the door, however, your notion changes abruptly. Linen tablecloths cover the tables. Waiters all wear white shirts and tie. You think: bistro.

Hurricane is superbly appointed, if nothing else, taking full advantage of its compact space. Entering guests first happen upon the bar, with its handsomely crafted back bar of rich hardwoods and architecturally intriguing pediments. Guests waiting for their tables enjoy frozen margaritas and Hurricane’s superb martinis while listening to uptempo jazz in the background.

When their name is up, parties squeeze through the bar and into the dining room, divided lengthwise by a wall studded with interior windows. At least, they physically arrive here. Because mentally, they’re out to sea. Soaring windows on three sides open on to the surf pounding on the cobblestone shore. by day, it’s obviously dramatic. In the evening, it’s even more magical, with floodlights illuminating the frothy foam surrounded by the inky blackness of night. The effect is of wandering onto the bridge of a ship steaming toward Portugal. “It’s the big pond out front,” says MacDonald, with the satisfaction of a stage manager who’s pulled off a stunning production. “People just want to sit and look at it.”

MacDonald, a native of Kennebunk, got into the restaurant business through the back door. “I went to college and studied business administration,” he says. “Isn’t that how all chefs got their start?” He soon after got involved what business students call the hospitality industry, eventually working his way up to executive chef for Horsefeathers, a small but popular chain of restaurants in Maine and New Hampshire. MacDonald traveled from property to property, and along the way studied at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. About a decade ago, Horsefeathers opened Hurricane at Perkins Cove, and MacDonald got his first glimpse of the place. Within a few years, he and his wife bought it from Horsefeathers management and struck out on their own.

The MacDonalds knew they had bought “a diamond.” What they didn’t know was how much polishing was required to bring out its natural luster. Over the next five years, they upgraded and replaced virtually everything except the view-they fired up more burners in the kitchen, they had to air-condition the place to keep the chefs from melting. They replaced the furnishings in the dining room, and made over the bar. In the process, they crafted a restaurant that truly reflected their own characters. Hurricane today has a brisk, professional feel, but it’s far from stuffy. The staff is attentive to detail but not intrusive. The cool pastel colors of the Fiestaware plates are nicely mismatched around the table, with colorful napkins chosen to contrast the table setting.

As executive chef, MacDonald, 46, has also crafted a menu that reflects his taste. Many of the Hurricane mainstays suggest that MacDonald staying close to the leading edge of contemporary American cooking, an effort that’s akin to sailing a small ship in, well, a hurricane. The cuisine is a refreshing change from the hidebound menus of the Maine Coast. (It’s that Fryolator thing, again.) On any given evening, guest might start with a napoleon of smoked salmon made with waffle-fried potatoes, or fire-roasted oysters with a tarragon mousseline. They might follow that with a lobster cannelloni made with mascarpone cheese and shiitake mushrooms, or a creative salmon and brie baklava topped with a key lime béarnaise.

Most every meal draws heavily from the local harvest. About half of the orders on any given night are from the list of specials, with that list largely dependent on what the local fishermen have landed. “When the bluefin tuna is running, the guys from the dock will drag a whole fish over here,” MacDonald says. “It’s incredible to get fresh fish like that.” The lobster is also fresh from the sea, and MacDonald says these are far more succulent than lobster who serve time in pounds before making their way to the plate. He may be onto something. His most popular dishes are the lobster chowder and the tangy deviled lobster cake, served with a fresh salsa.

The wine list also shines, with an ample selection by the glass, and some seventy choice wines by the bottle. In fact, Hurricane is one of a handful of Maine restaurants recognized by Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator magazines for its selection. It’s also been recognized by its patrons: When the MacDonalds bought the place, it was serving some 4,500 bottles of year. In 1995, they sold 12,000.

Brooks MacDonald’s creative flair in the kitchen also threatens to become one of Ogunquit’s major exports. With co-author Martha Griffin, of the Kennebunkport Inn, last autumn he published a handsome, user-friendly cookbook called Lobster Tales, featuring forty-five recipes for the wily crustacean, including his own signature lobster cakes. MacDonald and Griffin, who have jointly taught cooking classes over the past dozen years, though it was time to put down what they knew, and chose to self-publish to retain artistic control. He says the book is selling briskly at both restaurants and at a number of bookshops in southern Maine and New Hampshire.

Hurricane’s growing reputation is making it the place to congregate in the off-season among the south coast’s cognoscenti and gourmands, but the clientele steadfastly refuses to be typecast. On any Saturday night, you’ll see diners in Patagonia fleece and cashmere, natty tweed and brushed flannel. MacDonald says business has doubled since he took over, with most of the growth coming in what he calls Maine’s “gray season.” While obviously pleased with the off-season success, MacDonald still seems slightly bemused by the influx. “When I was a kid growing up around here the season was Memorial Day to Labor Day,” he says. The season is “growing on both ends in southern Maine,” he adds, and even spanning the winter gap as second-home owners from Boston and beyond make increasingly frequent weekend forays to the shore.

The question, of course, remains whether Hurricane’s whether Hurricane’s popularity is the reason for the year-round population surge in York County, or just a natural response. Like the chicken or the egg, that question remains in the realm of speculation. But an increasing cadre of devoted fans think they know the answer.

Hurricane is located at Ogunquit’s Perkins Cove on Oarweed Drive. It’s open daily year-around from 11:30 A.M. to 4 P.M., and 5:30 P.M. to 9:30 P.M. (until 10:30 P.M. on Friday and Saturday). Reservations are essential on weekends; take your chances at other times. Telephone: 207-646-6348, or 1-800-649-6348 (Maine and New Hampshire only). Major credit cards accepted. The restaurant is not handicapped accessible. Smoking allowed only at the bar. Appetizers are $6.95 to $7.95; main courses run $13.95 to $19.95.