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MENUABOUT US"If you love Indian food, walk down to Wharf Street and grab a booth at Passage to India, the latest addition to Indian cuisine here in Portland." Mainetoday.com OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK |
Review: Maine Sunday Telegram, June 1, 2008 Book Passage and be transported by fine Indian fare By N.L. English The brick-lined space on Wharf Street is modest, but the food will likely divert your attention from your surroundings when it arrives.Because the spices announce themselves clearly as you taste them, the meat is tender from long cooking, and the shrimp is fresh and cooked just enough, you can relax and tuck in with confidence at Passage to India, Portland's newest Indian restaurant. Although spices used in dishes here are not ground fresh, their pleasant, distinctive fragrance and taste proved the sources were high quality. The service for the large, demanding group of customers I came with could not have been better. The brick-lined space on Wharf Street is modest, but the food will likely divert your attention from your surroundings when it arrives. The irritating ringing doorbell in the bar area is a good reason to dine somewhere else inside the restaurant. Pacific Rim Dry Reisling ($5.50 a glass, $22 a bottle) from Bonny Doon is a tangy white wine that complements spicy dishes from beginning to end. Thirteen wines on the short, modest list range from $16 to $28. Beers such as Geary's and Shipyard (both $3.95) are another perfect liquid with an Indian dinner. Indian appetizers served in Indian restaurants in Maine tend to be starchy and not particularly exciting, and Passage to India's appetizers proved to be more of the same. Best were the buttery fried potato patties called Aloo Bada ($2.95 for two) and the Gobi Pakora ($2.95 for four pieces), fried cauliflower segments with a light coating that held a satisfying vegetable crunch. Fried, thick crusted samosas ($3.95 for two large packets) are filled with potato and peas spruced up with coriander and other spices. Thin coconut soup ($2.95) held bits of chopped pistachio but little culinary excitement. The meal hit an upswing with the bread basket ($14.95, or $3.95 individually) perfectly portioned for our big table, as the good server advised. The generous assortment pulled us into the mystique and pleasures of Indian food far more than the first course. A triangle of Kabuli Nan, a chewy flatbread, brought coconut into better focus than that soup, and added cashew, almond, finely chopped raisins and coconut cream, creating a mouthful of slightly sweet richness. The glistening puffed oblong bread called Poori carried warmth and golden brown roasted flavors in each bite, and the garlic and onion kulcha, a chewy flatbread, showcased the sweet, sharp pungency of those two earthy essentials. If one companion sniffed at the freshness of the mint chutney ($2), the onion chutney proved fresh and packed with flavor. Mango chutney ($2) seemed oversweet. The too-thin raita, a yogurt and cucumber condiment that can give a curry eater moments of cool refreshment, held grated carrot along with cucumber. When the sizzling platter of chicken tikka ($11.95) was set down before me, the drifting smoke of burning spice started a cough shared around the table -- no mistaking the presence of hot spices in this dish. The chicken was tender and ferociously hot in both temperature and spiciness. We'd ordered everything at the medium spice level (a moderately lively heat) except for the highly spiced chicken vindaloo, which brought gratifying tears as I enjoyed the tender pieces of chicken in its sauce. Every dish aside from the chicken tikka came in a brass bowl with handles. The saag paneer ($11.95) held large cubes of fresh white cheese with a lovely tender texture. Less creamy and rich than other local versions of this dish of spinach, this version was eloquent with coriander and nutmeg. Many of us could eat saag paneer every day -- it's that good -- and Passage to India's saag reaffirms that conviction. Fresh-tasting shrimp in the shrimp tandoori masala ($12.95) held the richest sauce, mixing tomato puree and cream with coconut infused with fresh cilantro. Garam masala and ground coriander and cumin seeds create lingering flavors. The crisply cooked shrimp themselves were welcome indeed, proof of attention in the kitchen to the quality of the seafood. Lamb curry ($11.50) also spoke on that subject -- its tender small pieces of meat long and slowly cooked, utterly tender and good. Vegetable korma was full of tender chickpeas and pungent cardamom; it's on the lunch menu, made with cashews, raisins and onions. We would have loved the mango ice cream ($3.95) served for dessert if it hadn't held so many ice crystals. But the kheer, or rice pudding ($3.95), was too soup-like and plain to rouse much enthusiasm, especially after trying so many different dishes. No doubt a cup of chai ($3) would have been a better finale. It's made with boiled green and black cardamom and dried cardamom leaves, with black tea later steeped in the spiced brew and sweetened condensed milk added at the end. | ||
