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Restaurant Reviews

Morning munchies

SMOKED SALMON SCRAMBLE: At Local 188.

Recently three restaurants on the westerly end of the Portland peninsula — Caiola’s, 555, and Local 188 — have invited this examination by offering brunch. For the most part each makes the transition very well — though each in different ways. Five Fifty-Five successfully dresses itself down for brunch. Local 188, already dressed down, seems to handle brunch more smoothly than its dinner service. Finally Caiola’s, efficient and effortlessly elegant at night, is precisely the same in the morning.

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With its balcony closed and the white tablecloths removed, 555 feels very different in the daytime, more like a nice diner. But the menu, which arrived with tiny sour-cranberry scones and squares of lemon pound cake, quickly reminds you of where you are. The first page lists fancy drink specials and rarefied cheeses. A tropical mimosa was nice with just a bit of spice, and not too much fruit.

While it's not a cheap brunch (mostly $11 and up) a half-order of the stuffed French toast was substantial and under $5. The runny sweet-honey ricotta squeezed out between slabs of toast that had been egged with restraint. Tender sour bits of rhubarb were the best thing about each bite. Scrambled eggs had formed the smaller curds that result from cooking with any vegetable that releases water — in this case arugula and asparagus. Pine nuts added a bit of crunchy-meaty mouthfeel, though we wished they been roasted a touch. A warm popover was fluffy, crisp, and light. Poached egg “sliders” were more high-concept and great to look at if tough to eat. But the ingredients (poached egg, sweet smoked bacon, greens, cheese, and bread) were terrific even as they spread out across the plate.

Local 188 looks more relaxed than usual in the morning. The space is so huge that even with a number of diners it felt like a calm and lazy day. The food was good brunch fare — substantial and inexpensive. Pancakes and cinnamon buns looked huge as they arrived at other tables. We tried some very good scrambled eggs with lots of smoked salmon, capers, and dill. The flavor of the firm eggs got lost a bit, but there was little enough cream cheese to prevent the whole thing from becoming a mushy blend of tastes. A satisfying Cuban hash picadillo was essentially a pair of nicely poached eggs over some spicy sloppy joe and some damp corn tortillas underneath. Grits, slightly sticky, improved greatly with a bit of butter and salt. The dark, bitter coffee was the best of the bunch.

Caiola’s, a bit dim on a cloudy morning, looks and feels just like itself. Thanks to its great patio, expert preparations of brunch classics, and reasonable prices, it’s the best of the new West End choices. The bird’s nest, with two soft-yolked eggs tucked into holed toast, was my grandfather’s favorite breakfast. The thin sausage gravy was ladled with enough restraint that it complemented rather than overwhelmed the yolk soaking into the toast. An omelet was perfectly cooked — fluffy but not so airy it lost all the creamy texture of eggs. The crab flavor got lost just a bit in the cream and spiciness of the filling. Hash browns were herby, with small pieces of potato that were crispy without turning into little rocks.

As the slender bartender struggled to shake the world’s largest container of bloody Mary mix, we admired her early-morning dedication to the task just as we admired the way Caiola’s retains all its best qualities even in the light of day.

Brian Duff can be reached atbduff@une.edu.

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