For our brief visit, I secured reservations to Fore Street and to Street and Co. We’ve always enjoyed dining at Fore Street, and look forward to their seasonal menu. We happened upon Street and Co. during our recent summer visit to Portland, and were so taken with the food, service, and ambiance. We eventually learned that they are the same restaurant company that owns Fore Street. With these two reservations lined up, we knew we would have a couple of wonderful evenings of food, drink, and merriment.
We started our New Year’s Eve celebration with a late-ish dinner at Street and Co. We arrived a bit early so we could sit and have a drink in the bar area and enjoy a light snack. We were happy to see on the snack menu a plate of bacon wrapped Gorgonzola stuffed dates, which we enjoyed the last time we were here. We also ordered a dozen local oysters, which all seemed to taste a bit too salty for our liking. One set of oysters were particularly large and did not look appetizing due to its size. It seemed like too much oyster to just gulp down.
The restaurant seemed busy. We couldn’t help but watch the staff and servers dash to and from areas of the restaurant and bar with determination. It was interesting that some of the servers were dressed with shorts cut above the knees under their aprons, which covered their bare legs.
Street and Co is a seafood restaurant. The only clue that indicates this besides looking at the menu is the restaurant logo, which is a fish. The menu offers a very good selection of seafood prepared with inventiveness and inspired interpretations like the Maine lobster bread pudding with Madeira cream – bread pudding is not just for desserts!
TH enjoys bluefish. It is a fish with strong flavors, and it isn’t always offered at seafood restaurants. I can tell you that it is not commonly found in NYC seafood restaurants. TH has been wanting bluefish, and he was pleased to see it offered at Street and Co. He asked for the bluefish grilled. I went with the scallops with Pernod and cream. I was presented with a hot large pan with a generous portion of plump scallops laced with a hint of anise from the Pernod. The accompaniment of nutty barley was perfect! Dinner ended with a glass of tawny port and a panna cotta with currants.
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Fore Street is in a wonderful space with exposed brick walls, timber beams, industrial steel windows and views of the wood-burning oven, grill, and turnspit with the chefs preparing each dish in the foreground. Food at Fore Street never fails to meet expectations. Previous dining experiences always had us leaving contented and satisfied.
Our first dinner together in 2013 started with appetizers. TH had an apple and rocket salad, which suited him perfectly. He wanted a salad, and he was extremely pleased with his choice. He was very impressed with the combination of flavors and especially enjoyed the crunchy texture from the spiced pecans. I had the wood grilled foie gras, which was grilled to perfection. The apple butter complimented the rich flavors of the foie gras.
For the main course, the description of the pork loin, which was prepared with Fore Street’s blend of dry rub and roasted in the turnspit piqued TH’s interest while I was interested in the lobster dressed with a lobster sherry butter sauce and served with roasted squash pudding. TH was surprised when presented with a plate and the large slab of pork loin (bone-in) on a bed of sauerkraut. I was very content with my plate of Maine lobster and pudding. And, instead of ending our meal with something sweet, we agreed to a plate of local artisan cheeses, which included Cricket Creek Farm Maggie’s Reserve, Woodcock Farm Weston Wheel, and Hahn’s End Blue Velvet.
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Somewhere there is Jeannie 