Taste & Tell

At Hurricane, any choice is a great choice.

D.B. Eberhart

Taste & Tell, Maine Sunday Telegram

Ogunquit – It says something for Hurricane Restaurant’s menu that, though four experienced diners deliberately chose as wide a variety of food, preparations and influences as we could, we hardly exhausted the possibilities of the kitchen.

This is a restaurant that must be visited many times before truly knowing the kitchen’s scope and testing the edges of its skill. Sean Stout, the chef, knows what he’s doing.

Hurricane’s is in Perkins Cove, right on the crashing surf. Dining is in two rooms with glass walls overlooking the ocean. Shown to our table by the hostess, we shucked coats and settled in. It took only minutes to understand that this was a serious place where the food was likely to be good. You spot the signs of confident professionalism quickly in this job.

A laminated menu listed five soups and salads ($3.35-$5.95), nine “small plates” (appetizers, $5.35-$6.95), nine entrees and specials of the day. The menu included Maine seafood, the usual American meats and haute-bistro presentations- grilling, sautéing, roasting, baking.

The wine list was lengthy and mostly American. It included useful descriptions without too much jargon. Enough bottles were offered in the $15-$25 range to enable some experimentation. Quite a few by-the-glass selections ($3.50-$5.50) were also offered, many of them interesting wines. More by-the-glass Zins and Sauvingon Blancs were needed, though.

We began with Black Bean Soup (bowl, $4.95), Deviled Maine lobster Cakes ($6.95), Napoleon of Smoked Salmon ($6.50) and Fresh Mozzarella and Roma Tomatoes ($6.25).

These arrived wonderfully arranged for eye-appeal on large, light green plates. One bite. Ahhh. Stop. Put down the fork. Reflect. Breathe deeply. Wow!

And that went for each of the four selections. This was food that forced you to slow down and think while you eat. Each of these four very different items was as completely realized as its ingredients made possible, and each had an extra, an unexpected fillip.

The deep, dark, beany, robust soup was enhanced by a fresh tomato salsa. The spicy lobster cakes were accompanied by another tomato salsa, this one with an irreverent pinch of cilantro. The delicate slices of translucent, luscious smoked salmon were layered with the lightest of waffled potato crisps, peppery greens and a crème fraiche hinting of lemon. Finally, the thick slices of mozzarella, creamy soft and mild, came lightly dressed, dancing on basil and accompanied by a full-flavored caponata (eggplant relish). Wonderful.

Try the cakes and the mozzarella with cold Ferarri-Carano Chardonnay (glass, $5). Bliss.

Hurricane’s house salad ($3.95 alone, included with entrees) was one of the two or three best I’ve ever had in a restaurant, anywhere.

It’s based on mesclun (a mix of wild, young shoots and greens that varies from day to day_ and was slightly bitter. In Rome, the salad is sometimes served with walnuts; Hurricane goes on better by using pistachios and roasted shallots and topping it with a light parmesan-pepper ranch dressing.

Our entrees included Grilled Filet Mignon ($18.95) and Cuervo and Lime Glazed Swordfish ($16.95), from the menu. Specials were a salmon filet crusted with spinach, cashews and herbs ($18.95) and a layering of two filets of halibut with a smoked scallop mousse between them, all touched with a saffron and a whole grain mustard cream sauce ($20.95).

The entrees kept up with the quality of the appetizers and salad. A lighter-than-usual béarnaise sauce didn’t mask the beefy tenderloin flavor- a great grilling taste. The cool, black bean and white corn salsa with the swordfish was south-westernly exotic and mouth-watering and set off the glaze perfectly.

The salmon crust allowed the tender flesh to cook up moist and flavorful. It also provided a wonderful contrast of texture. The halibut’s saffron-enhanced sauce, building on the mustard, reached perfection when combined with the scallop mousse, which itself was just slightly perked by small capers. Absolutely heavenly.

Try the tenderloin with Dry Creek Cabernet (glass, $5.00) for an eye-opening experience.

Desserts (all $4.95) provided an equal challenge. We ate a many-layered chocolate paradise cake, a tart of pears with apricot glaze, a mocha-cappucino torte of slinky smoothness and a crème brulee served cool with a thick, soft, partially burnt sugar crust. I’ll be back for the last two again at another time.

Our server was over-eager yet charming. She made no technical mistakes. Neither theatrically exciting in style nor obsessively polished-this is a bistro-style setting-service was satisfying and consistently friendly.

Hurricane Restaurant is worth any journey.

Food: * * * * *
Service: * * * *
Atmosphere: * * * * 1/2