CAPE PORPOISE - Weekends are
bustling in Cape Porpoise, with its small village of eateries and shops,
and The Captain's has stood among them for 58 years doing its share to appease
summer appetites. For 30 years, the Persson family has owned and run the
restaurant, opening up every spring and keeping the place clean and bright
through the busy summer.
This is a modest little restaurant with
no pretensions, and the meals it serves are, for the most part, plain and
simple. Owner Ruth Persson's pies are a reliable attraction.
Sometimes plain and simple is exactly
what is needed and wanted, especially among families, and The Captain's
does a good job of pleasing parents hoping for a straightforward meal they
can enjoy as much as their youngest kid likes his grilled cheese.
"As far as food is concerned, we're
more of a comfort-style restaurant," said Persson, a family nurse practitioner
at Biddeford Middle School during the school year. Once The Captain's opens
for the season, she is also "manager-chief-cook-and-bottle-washer."
The low, white wooden booths seem as
old as the restaurant itself, and the turquoise seat cushions are a more
recent addition. Paneling of knotty pine is light in color, and windows
in the two dining rooms give the space an airy, country atmosphere. One
of the big picture windows on the street is made of wavy glass, perhaps
as old as the building itself.
A bottle of Pellegrino sparkling mineral
water ($3.50) can be ordered to drink, but if you would like to enjoy wine
or beer you will have to supply it yourself, perhaps buying whatever appeals
to you at the grocery store nearby. Glasses and corkscrews are available
to enjoy the drinks you bring with you.
An appetizer of fried clams and scallops
($12.95) gives a taste of those Maine summer specialties. Better by far
are the scallops, which arrived juicy and tender inside their crunchy golden
coating.
The clams were OK, but suffered from
the high heat of the fryer because they were so small, and any belly juices
inside had cooked away. Creamy tartar sauce went a little way toward replacing
the missing moisture.
But while some people might prefer smaller
clams, more typical of Maine clam flats, the taste of the sea inside bigger
clams is what makes fried clams worth eating.
Hot, soft oatmeal rolls quickly absorb
the butter that you spread on them. Their slightly sweet flavor and softness
have made them a favorite of generations of customers.
A sweet, thin vinaigrette is the house
dressing for a salad of romaine and cherry tomatoes ($4.95). The coleslaw
that accompanies some of the entrees is made with that same sweet vinaigrette
and finely chopped cabbage.
Baked haddock is topped with cracker
crumbs mixed with butter and sherry, but I pushed aside the salty yet bland
topping and enjoyed the nicely cooked plain fish with more of the tartar
sauce. House fries are crunchy and hot.
Lobster salad ($26.95) required an introduction,
the server said, because The Captain's does it a little differently from
other places. The generous serving of plain cooked lobster meat is set on
a leaf of romaine, and a small cup of mayonnaise is served on the side.
The presentation is austere and the flavors as basic as they get, but for
a certain kind of appetite, the simple meal is excellent.
"That's been the tradition of the
Captain's. That's how we've been serving it for 30 years," Persson
said. Salad dressing or drawn butter can also be requested.
Boiled lobster ($23.95) is, of course,
the standard option, accompanied by a vegetable, choice of potato and garden
salad. Persson said she buys local produce when she can get it and has high
hopes for her own garden, which was a bust with last year's rain.
Baked stuffed lobster ($26.95) is stuffed
with lobster, scallops and shrimp served over the cracker-crumb stuffing.
Baked salmon ($18.95) comes with cucumber
dill sauce, and grilled tuna steak (19.95) comes with garlic butter, but
supplies of both were depleted by 8 p.m. on a recent Sunday. Baked scallops
($18.95) and grilled swordfish steak ($19.95) were still available, and
if you wanted something light, a hamburger, cheeseburger or hot dog were
as well.
The lobster roll is $15.95 and filled
with lobster meat picked fresh daily, a rarity on the coast these days.
Chocolate cake and ice cream are on
the dessert menu, but lemon meringue pie ($4.95) won out, with beads of
caramel forming on the surface of the tender, browned meringue and a loose,
tart and smooth lemon filling. Freshly brewed and slightly bitter decaffeinated
coffee cut through the sweetness.
Persson is getting lots of rhubarb from
colleagues at work right now, keeping strawberry and rhubarb pie on the
menu.
You can look forward to fresh-picked
local apples for fall pies -- but of course, it's far too early to even
imagine fall.
John Patriquin/Staff Photographer
| DINING REVIEW
THE CAPTAIN’S, 1 Pier Road, Cape
Porpoise, 967-2341; thewrightgallery.com/captains.html
RATING: ***
HOURS: Open for dinner now from 5 to
9 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Open daily from 5 to 9 p.m. June 18 to Labor
Day, then back to weekend hours until Columbus Day.
CREDIT CARDS: Cash and checks only
PRICE RANGE: $5.95 to $27
VEGETARIAN DISHES: A dinner salad and
veggie burger by request
GLUTEN-FREE: Dishes can be modified
by request
KIDS: Yes
RESERVATIONS: Recommended in summer
BAR: BYOB
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: No
BOTTOM LINE: The pleasant dining room
serves good fried scallops and modest fish dishes, with a full range of
lobster from steamed to stuffed and baked. |
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