Central Provisions — Restaurant in Portland

My friend, my daughter and I searched Portland yesterday for a restaurant to have lunch. My friend had previously dined at a restaurant that she could not remember the name. All she remembers was that the food was really good. She finally decided on this restaurant and was pleasantly surprised when, upon entering, Central Provisions was the one she had been looking for. We were seated pretty quickly by the window. The waitress forewarned us that the side dishes were small and if ordered, they were best shared with the table. She assured us that sandwiches were normal size. My friend ordered the BLT with crab. My daughter got the bacon cheeseburger, and I opted for the fish sandwich. The waitress brought us water and after taking our order, since we were seated very close to the other table, we were able to view the many, various menu items that the other table received. All looked delicious and I was already thinking that I would like to come back with more people and indulge. Finally mine and my daughter’s sandwiches arrived. My friend only got her fries and it took much longer for her sandwich to be served. I began to eat my sandwich. I want to establish first, the food was very tasty. But as I ate the first half of my fish sandwich, the fish seemed to be on the skimpy side. I then started on the second half and took a bite, I felt the bread and it just did not feel right. I wish i had taken a picture of it. The fish was only approximately 3/4 of an inch from the cut edge, all the way down. The rest was empty bread, slathered in some type of dressing and a tiny bit of lettuce. I alerted my waitress and she went and reported to, who I assume was the manager. The manager came out and looked at it and went back to the kitchen. She returned shortly and told me she had spoken to the cook and they could do nothing about it, since I “had already consumed the other half.” I informed her that the other half had been skimped as well. She said that the cook weighs the fish and each piece is 3-4 ounces and that the fish just must have slid to the other side and I consumed it. I assured her the other side was light as well. She then went on to say that “next time” if there is a problem i should say right away. Which I had, after I decided to investigate. All the while that she delivered this information, she did it in a very unfriendly, unwelcoming tone, as if to imply that I had cooked up this idea to skimp on my bill. I told her there “would not be a next time.” She then went away and came back and told me she would take 10% off, which was, in my estimation a joke, since I basically had buttered grilled bread, with a tiny bit of fish. When I went to reply, she immediately walked away from the table and refused to come back. I have dined in many fine restaurants in my time and always pay for the service rendered. Even though the food, what little I got of it, I liked, this woman and her cook, so soured me that I will never return and I urge anyone trying it, to beware. Also, my friend, who originally suggested this restaurant as well, will never return either. So you not only lost 3 customers yesterday, but the potential of the extra people we would have...

We anticipated service to be of the highly rated restaurant/tourist trap variety. But after we got past the front door and took walk-in seats at the bar downstairs we had a fantastic dining experience. Our bartender, whose name I regret not remembering, was absolutely fluent in the ingredients and cooking techniques employed in every dish on the menu. They adapted their service style to fit the needs of a clientele with vastly different expectations seamlessly. They were also fluent in the wine list and were able to provide us with exactly the information we needed to select the right bottle. It should be noted that the less experienced cocktail server displayed a fantastic hospitality instinct in acknowledging their confusion about our order, unselfconsciously did not fake comprehension in the interest of getting the order right, and charismatically welcomed us in a way that diffused any friction about the order. The food was great. It made us so happy. Kimchi was my partner’s favorite. It took us the whole dinner to snack through it but we kept going back to it with delight. The hiramasa crudo was treated with just the right amount of heat to make it feel like it was prepared by an experienced sushi chef who understands how to treat fish to bring out the right flavors and textures. The rigatoni lobster pasta achieved an al dente texture recognized by a chef who knows not to stop dry pasta too early and lets the after-cooking with the sauce get it to exactly the right place. The lobster was not even a little bit tough and the spice level didn’t insult our palettes with mildness. The skate was a perfect tempura. The crispy pork salad maybe could have had a little more pork but the bright fruit flavors were perfectly skewed towards mouth watering acidity. Suckling pig flavors were similarly well considered. The foie gras torchon was my favorite, and despite having consumed more foie gras in life than I may like to admit, stands out as the best preparation thereof that I can remember. A lot of people around us had the fries, and considering the quality of everything else we had I regret not trying an expert’s take on those. Thanks for a great culinary and...

In one word - exquisite! We stopped in Portland for a night on our way to Acadia. This restaurant was one of the recommended places in the podcast we listened to when driving, so we made a reservation on the go, what a successful choice this came to be! Got seated at the chef's counter - this is a jackpot seat as you see all the dishes come out and the chef was right there, kindly answering all our questions, as did the servers. We are spoiled in New York, but did this place give... bluefin tuna crudo GF - the flavors are complex, but not too loud, the fish fresh & buttery truffle braised leeks GF - cheesy, loved it, especially the fact that truffle was not overpowering fried maine grains polenta GF - this was so unexpected heavenly, we could come back to Portland for this dish alone... the marigold leaves (we had to ask the chef what the little flavor burst leaves were)... fennel.. that crust.. soft melty fluff inside... mmm.... bone marrow toast - if you're hungry, this will fill you up. It was tasty but we were waiting for a horseradish kick that never came (our expectations are our problem though). It could be that at this point we were just already full and also spoiled by the dishes that came before. suckling pig GF - it looks as if it would be too fatty but it's not. It's perfect. It killed the pulled pork for me forever. I don't want to get any pork after this because nothing can beat it. goat ragu al forno - the flavors were dancing and merry, a bit too salty to our taste, but it might be just us, otherwise perfection, never had a better ragu! jasmine poached pear GF - we don't eat sweets, ordered a desert still, because evidently this is not an ordinary restaurant. For us, this was too sweet to taste any flavors. It could be we're just sensitized to sugar. We wish we got some veggies on the menu, because they looked fantastic! We definitely will next time we're in Portland. Lora was a class server, drinks on time, plates cleared out of the way at all times, no delays or wait times for anything, all questions answered, very pleasant manners. Thank you for working with us on gluten free options...