The Breakfast Serial
Gauntlet hits floor: The best Bloody Mary in town. (photos/Dan Zarin)
The Original Frog & Turtle: A Gastro Pub
3 Bridge St., Westbrook
591-4185
When I heard that chef James Tranchemontagne was closing the West End’s venerable Café Uffa and setting up shop in Westbrook, my first reaction was,Where? Don’t get me wrong – I understand that Westbrook is supposed to be the new West End (or is it the new East Village?) Anyway, the point is, I don’t go to Westbrook very often, but the buzz about The Frog & Turtle was too strong to ignore, and I’d been a fan of the food at Uffa – if not the cramped space – so I figured it was worth the trip.
Man, was I right.
Chef James and co-owner/wife Heidi have completely transformed the former home of Chicky’s Fine Diner, creating a comfortable, casual space where good food takes center stage. The creative menu at The Frog & Turtle is flawlessly prepared, and Chef James doesn’t compromise on the quality of his ingredients. The wait staff, many of whom are holdovers from Café Uffa, are energetic, knowledgeable, and friendly to a fault.
My wife, three-year-old daughter and I arrived on a recent Sunday around 12:30. That’s a little later than our typical breakfast adventure, but well within brunch-time norms. We were greeted immediately by a charming, tattooed twentysomething waiter and directed to the “lounge” – a pair of comfortable leather sofas in the center of the dining room – where we waited about 10 minutes for an open table.
A birthday party of 15 rowdy revelers had arrived and been seated just before us, so we were a bit concerned we’d get lost in the shuffle. Not so. Our waiter, pulling double duty as front-of-house manager, welcomed us and had two cups of hot, fresh Green Mountain coffee on the table in record time. He relayed the daily special, and explained apologetically that the kitchen had just run out of homemade doughnuts. At that very moment we watched sadly as the last order in the house – a stunning trio of honey-nut glazed, lemon-curd-filled and Boston cream doughnuts (three for $5) – glided by and landed in front of the party of 15 across the room. Bastards.
So deprived, we decided our decadence would have to come in liquid form. My wife chose a Vitamin C-rich, fresh-squeezed tangerine mimosa. I opted for the house-specialty Bloody Mary, and was not disappointed. Smoky, spicy and delicious, it barely lasted through the reading of the menu. Best Bloody in town (and I mean Portland and Westbrook), hands down.
Thanks to our new arch-nemeses at the birthday table, the kitchen was running behind schedule. Although we ended up waiting longer for breakfast than we’d normally deem acceptable, we were willing to cut them some slack in this case. Besides, our waiter was so attentive – stopping by to chat and refill our coffee every few minutes – that the time seemed to fly by. (Luckily, we had brought plenty of coloring books and crayons, and we’d had a snack earlier that morning, so my daughter was cheerful despite the delay.)
When the food arrived, any inkling of impatient grumpiness disappeared. My daughter devoured her single slice of blueberry French toast, a superb rendition of the traditional dish topped with warm fruit compote and served with real maple syrup. She also gave glowing reviews to the side orders of fluffy scrambled eggs and crisp, smoky bacon.
I chose the special of the day, a steak-and-cheese scramble featuring caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, sautéed mushrooms and sharp cheddar ($10). Yum. The home fries were a little on the soft side, but perfectly seasoned, and the thick slab of wheat toast, baked fresh on the premises, was practically a meal in itself.
My wife ordered off the regular menu, choosing the croissant with scrambled eggs, tomatoes, scallions and brie ($8). I’m pretty sure it was excellent, because she refused to share any of it. Other tempting options include Cajun Bam-Bam (poached eggs and sausage served over an English muffin, with salsa and sour cream; $9) and yogurt scented with fresh vanilla beans and served with fruit, granola and croissant ($7.50). You can bet we’ll be back.
To prove there were no hard feelings, at the end of our meal we joined our neighbors in song. Happy birthday, dear Katie. Happy birthday, indeed.
— Dan Zarin
The Frog & Turtle serves brunch Sundays from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Dinner hours are Tues.-Sat. 4 p.m.-9:30 p.m.