The Steps are very simple:

1. Make the pasta from scratch.
Take one cup of flour and a pinch of salt. Combine and add one egg plus one yoke using the well technique. Beat the egg in the well and then slowly combine the flour from the middle to the edges. Once it is all combined let the dough rest for about 20 minutes.
Next knead the dough to build the gluten. I pass it through the biggest setting on my pasta machine until I hear snapping sounds from air bubbles poping in the dough. A good “snap” means the gluten has developed sufficiently.
Pass the dough through the successive settings on your pasta machine. Cut it into spagehetti and let it sit briefly. Bring water to a rolling boil, add salt and then lower to a half boil and add the pasta.

2. With the pasta boiling, add a little butter to a saute pan, then add some of the cooking water from the pasta.

3. Next add in your pepper and pecorino. Stir lightly until the cheese melts to a fondue-like consistency (it should by no means be a sauce, perhaps slightly thicker than fondue). Next add the pasta into the saute pan.

4.Make sure the pasta is thoroughly coated and remove it from the pan. Plate, add a light shaving of pecorino and another grind or two of pepper.

5. Eat evey bit of it and then make some more!

Fuel is, in the opinion of some, Lewiston’s premiere eatery. The restaurant recently updated its menu to include a few new entrees such as Ahi Tuna and braised beef short ribs with chocolate and rosemary. Among Bates foodies, it is know for three things: it’s extensive wine list, its fondue and its steak, all of which I was determined to devour and which Fuel, for the most part, delivered.

The atmosphere of Fuel is, well, interesting. The desire for a chic and sophisticated environment is evident. There is no lack of modern art, and the walls are peppered with framed posters touting French wine and champagne themes that look like the owner picked them up at the Bates poster sale. While I enjoy this sort of faux-French feel, there is one thing about the setup of Fuel that annoys me to no end.

The table tops are covered with white paper, which seems like something that one would find on a kindergarten art easel. Another annoying development is that the runners now sport black t-shirts that look unprofessional. For the prices I’m paying, “black button-downs, please!” The service was excellent, we were seated promptly and the waitress was very attentive but not in an overbearing way.

Had Fuel delivered 100 percent, I would probably not be writing this review, as the restaurant is one often reviewed by The Student. Let’s start with the good points. The fondue was absolutely amazing. Fondue for two is more than enough for four people. The Gruyere was perfectly melted. I also tasted a hint of Jarlsberg in the mix that was a nice touch. Since we all decided to order steak for dinner, we decided a red wine was appropriate. The ’07 Chateau Bellevue Bordeaux was amazing; dry with just enough of a fruity note to keep you interested. Fuel was only responsible for putting it on their wine list; the real credit goes to Chateau Bellevue.

This time around at Fuel, the steak was disappointing, to say the least. I ordered Steak au Poivre. The pepper was not seared onto the meat and the majority of it found its way into the sauce. Also, I ordered the steak medium rare and it arrived most definitely medium. Misjudged cooking times seemed to be the norm for the night as another member of the party found his supposedly medium rare steak frites more like medium well. His piece of meat looked like a strangely misshapen tenderloin rather than the more traditional strip.

On the other end of the spectrum, one Filet Mignon that was supposed to be medium was definitely medium rare. While I saw this as a sign from God that tenderloin should never, ever, be anything more than medium rare, the receiving member of the party was not so happy. I’ll give the kitchen staff the benefit of the doubt and assume that the misjudged steak was due to a mishap rather than a lack of skill.

The dessert I ordered, consisting of light chocolate mousse and dark chocolate mousse layered in between puff pastry, was an utter waste of time. Although delicious, it lacked purpose and creativity.

This was a bad night for Fuel. Perhaps I’ll have to go back and give them another shot.

Fuel

49 Lisbon Street

Lewiston, ME 04240

2.5 our of 5

1. Begin my boiling the bucatini. Any long pasta, such a spaghetti or linguini, will work with this recipe, but stick to the thick, tender bucatini and you won’t be disappointed.

2. While the bucatini boils, to cook the pancetta. Traditionally, this recipe would call for guanciale but considering that this is hard to find in the U.S. you can use pancetta or even American bacon. Begin by sweating whole garlic pieces in olive oil. Once the oil has been flavored, fish out the pieces. Cut the pancetta medium to medium fine dice so that it spreads sufficiently throughout the cooked pasta.  Next, cook the pancetta in the oil until desired crispiness.

3. Once the pasta is cooked al dente, add the oil and pancetta, the desired amount of grated pecorino romano, and two or three egg yolks (depends on how much pasta you made), and a healthy amount of fresh ground black pepper to the pasta. Mix well and serve.

1. Begin by melting your chocolate. I absolutely insist on using a double boil. Some say that a microwave accomplishes the job just as well, which is true as far as melting the chocolate goes, but if you need to stir anything into it (which you will) a double boil is the only way to go. To set up a double boil, place a pot of water on the stove till it boils then lower it to a simmer. Next place a smaller pot over it. There you go; double boil done.

2. Place the chocolate in the boil. Once it melts add butter and whatever additions you like. In this case I added hazelnut extract but you could add anything, vanilla, espresso, rum, or a combination of all of the above. If you add liquids into the melted chocolate, you might face a problem called seizing. The chocolate will congeal into a glob of useless, well, crap. To solve this problem, simply add more liquid. I use milk.

3. While the chocolate is cooling, whip your cream. If you have an electric mixer this will be a very easy job. I don’t, however, so I had to settle for doing it by hand with a balloon whisk. Regardless of how you do it, every object used in this process must be cold – ice cold. I let the mixing bowl and whisk sit in the freezer overnight. Whip heavy whipping cream to medium peaks (the whipped cream should form a slightly firm peak when you pull the whisk out of the cream)

4. Next, mix the cooled chocolate (it should be about room temp) into the cream. Start by taking about 1/4 of the cream and mixing it into the chocolate. This will liken the textures a bit more and meld them easier to blend. Next, mix in the rest of the cream. Make sure to fold and not stir the mix. Be very careful not to collapse the cream.

5. After it is mixed, place the mixture in the fridge to set for about an hour, spoon it out, and enjoy.

1. The first task is to make the risotto. (a technical note: Risotto is commonly thought to refer to rice but it is in actuality a cooking technique commonly used to cook certain types of rice) In a large pot sweat out some garlic and onion. Season with salt a pepper and, if desired, some red pepper flakes. Take some tomato paste and place it in the pot. Allow it to brown to a rust-like color. Next, take long grain arborio rice and poor in the pot. Stir such that the oil and browned tomato paste evenly cover the grains of rice. Let the rice toast briefly.

2. Now its time to cook the rice. Commonly wine is added at this point and stirred into the rice until au sec, but it can be omitted. Have a pot of hot stock in reserve. It can be beef, chicken, fish or vegetable stock. Add the simmering stock one ladle at a time to the rice. Stir the until the added stock is almost gone and then add more. Continue this process until the rice is creamy but still retains some bite. Finish the rice with some butter and parmigiano.

3. Spread the rice out on a cookie sheet or flat pan and allow it to cool. While the rice is cooling, cut up some Mozzarella, or whatever stuffing you’d like and prepare a breading station (flour, egg, and breadcrumbs).

4. Add a little egg and breadcrumbs to the cooled rice. While this is not necessary, I find that the egg helps the rice bind better and the breadcrumbs make it a little easier to work with. Be very, very sparring with both.

5. Next form your rice balls. Take a portion of rice in your hand and place the stuffing in the middle. Place more rice over the stuffing and form the mass into a ball.

6. Bread the ball and place into to waiting deep fry oil. Cook until golden brown. Drizzle with tomato sauce and serve. If you don’t want to serve them immediately, arancini can be frozen and served later.

Cinque Terre, located at 36 Wharf St. in Portland, takes its name from a rugged portion of the Italian Rivera coastline found in the Liguria region of Italy. The “Five Lands” is made up of five distinct costal towns: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.  After hearing the restaurant’s name, I was expecting food that resembled the culinary culture of the real Cinque Terre region. Although I didn’t find any, what I did find was a pleasant surprise.

My party was seated promptly at a table for two located by the open kitchen. It was incredible to watch the chefs at work; however, the noise and bustle may have repelled some. Regardless, our waiter announced the specials with skill. One special he named was an adaptation of a regular menu item, the difference being that, for a slight price increase the braised short rib could be replaced by a porterhouse steak. As soon as he said “porterhouse,” I was hooked.

We started off with a grilled pizzetta. Tomato sauce was replaced by pureed squash and topped with mozzarella. The pizza could not have been more perfectly grilled, and the slightly-charred sections of dough were a flavorful compliment to the sweet squash. The combination of crunchy crust and melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella gave the pizzetta an amazing texture.

The salad we chose to accompany the pizzetta was equally delicious. Salty, fresh goat cheese was mixed with spinach, black currants and strawberries, and topped with strawberry vinaigrette.  The combination made me love every bite. Needless to say, the appetizers didn’t last on the plates very long.

As we eagerly anticipated our entrees, I watched the action in the kitchen. Unfortunately, the wait was long. I felt like I was waiting for our entrees to be cooked in Italy and shipped over to us. When they finally arrived, I saw my glorious porterhouse sitting on a bed of mashed potatoes, pearl onions and watercress argodolche. The steak had clearly rested on the plate, because the Yukon gold mashed potatoes were drowning in juices. I’m not complaining, but I wonder if this was the chef’s intention. Despite this presentation, every bit of the meal was absolutely delicious. The mashed potatoes were easily the best I have ever had. My only issue was that the steak was a little south of the medium rare I requested.

The other one member of my dining party ordered gnocchi bathed in an butter- herb sauce. The strong flavors of the sauce complimented the  perfectly-cooked gnocchi beautifully and the dish was perfect, not too heavy, but not too light. After eating the entrees, we were completely stuffed, but considering the quality of the meal thus far, it would have been a crime not to order dessert.

We ordered the Cioccolata, which, despite the complicated menu description, was basically chocolate mousse encased in a dark chocolate shell, all atop a bittersweet chocolate tart. I would go back to Cinque Terre solely for this dessert.

There were no major problems with the food at Cinque Terre. I imagine the restaurant wouldn’t be that far behind the most well-known, one-star Michelin restaurants of more major cities. In fact, the executive chef, Lee Skawinski, is slowly gaining recognition for his talent in the kitchen and for his dedication to farm-to-plate freshness. The service was, however, a bit slow considering the dining room was not full.  One final note: be ready to spend some money. The prices at Cinque Terre reflect the quality of the food. But, unless you are willing to spend money on a plane ticket to Liguria, the prices at Cinque Terre are well worth it.

Cinque Terre

36 Wharf Street

Portland, ME 04101

4 out of 5

Upon entering Mac’s Grill, one is immediately greeted by a giant buffalo head stuffed and mounted on the wall and the buzz of waitresses and waiters carrying trays of fried food. My party sat in the waiting area, eagerly awaiting our fate. After a short while, our table was ready.

We ordered coconut shrimp and the southwestern artichoke dip to start. The shrimp was coated with a crunchy coconut batter and fried to a golden brown. Although a little greasy, the shrimp were tender and the sauce was amazing. The artichoke dip was an entirely different story.

The menu describes the dish as a “cheesy mix of avocado, artichoke hearts and baby spinach.” “Cheesy mix” was an understatement. I tasted of nothing but cheese, and as for the warm corn chips that accompanied the mix, there were only about 10. The missing chip crisis highlights my main problem with the appetizers at Mac’s Grill: the portions were extremely small and the prices far too high. Together, the two appetizers cost $18. In fact, the four shrimp that made up the coconut shrimp platter were more expensive than my main course. My advice is to skip the appetizers at Mac’s  Grill. Not only will you save money, but you will be able to dig into the entrees sooner.

The burgers are the highlight of Mac’s menu. The Whisky Wrangler Burger managed to wrangle my taste buds into submission. The barbeque sauce supposedly contained whiskey, although I couldn’t taste any. The “crispy” onions added texture, which was a nice contrast to the hamburger beef. The Blue Bison Burger offered its own blend of flavors which I enjoyed, much to my surprise, as I was suspicious of combining buffalo meat and blue cheese. After my first bite, I threw  this assumption out the window. For more standard fare, order the All-American burger. This is basically a bacon cheeseburger and is perfectly acceptable, although I had hoped for a little more bacon and a little less cheese.

If you’re not in the mood for a burger, options abound. One of the picky eaters in our dining party opted for chicken fingers. I know what you’re thinking: “Why he is reviewing chicken fingers?” Well, I’m not. I was entirely focused on the delicious honey mustard sauce in which I was drowning them. The sauce was sweet but offered just enough of a mustard flavor to keep you out of a dessert state of mind. This is more than I can say for the brown sugar sauce that accompanied the sweet potato fries. If you feel the desire to cut into a huge slab of meat, Mac’s has you covered. The 12-ounce rib-eye steak was very nicely seared. There was
just enough fat on the cut to ensure good flavor, but not so much that you had to work for your steak. The rib-eye was seasoned with a  “tumbleweed rub.” I have no idea what this is, but it tasted like salt, so I guess if you’re ever in the dessert and need salt, find  some tumbleweed.

Mac’s Grill was good for what it was. The burgers were great, the appetizers were expensive and the service was enthusiastic. As for the whole teen horror flick comparison, now you have watched (or rather read) my little movie. So, be wary of over-priced coconut shrimp of death and stuffed buffalos lurking around every corner.

Mac’s Grill

1052 Minot Avenue,

Auburn, ME 04210

3 out of 5

The restaurant’s decor immediately surprised me. The restaurant is situated on the bottom floor of an office building. The inside, however, looked like it belonged smack-dab in the middle of New York. Overall, the atmosphere was sophisticated, yet inviting. One wall featured a hand-painted tree which I couldn’t quite make sense of, but beyond this, I was very impressed.

The wait staff was perfectly attentive to our needs without being intrusive. They elegantly began conversation while delivering food and exited without even being missed. Needless to say, the servers were
skilled, but the fact that everyone at the table was one-hundred-percent distracted by the food probably didn?t hurt much,
either.

The wine list was extensive and seemed to contain a multitude of mixed grape reds. I partook in a full-bodied Malbec, others, in a slightly fruitier red entitled “Rambling Red.” Regardless of your taste in
wine, you’ll be sure to find something to your liking.

I would recommend the spring salad to start. The strong, salty flavors of the surprisingly fresh goat cheese were perfectly balanced by the light, almost minty spinach and a sweet, delicate champagne sauce. The mixed green salad boasted the classic combination of balsamic and strawberries (if you don’t know what I?m talking about, try it,  you
wont be disappointed). I found it a bit overdressed, but the sweetness of the berries cut the tart balsamic.

Before moving into the entrees, let me say that I give some serious props to the chef. Being able to time and fire a 12-top (twelve dishes of varying cooking times and complexity have to come out at the same time) takes some skill.

A filet mignon should be all about the steak, and at The Falls, the tenderloin was seared, seasoned and cooked to a perfect medium rare. The steak was amazing; the never-ending mound of mashed potatoes sitting underneath it was another story. The portion of mashed potatoes was, far, far too generous and, not to mention, a bit gluey. The portion of compound butter I found atop my steak was also quite large and tasted only of onion.

The poached chicken was dry and the mashed potato issues continued. The tarragon sauce, however, was deliciously buttery and actually tasted of tarragon, which is difficult considering the herb’s delicate
flavor.

The grilled sirloin was cooked with the same master hand as the filet. It was nicely seared and seasoned and was cooked perfectly
medium rare. The wine-soaked mushrooms were tender with a hinting flavor of red wine. The dish?s description on the menu makes no mention of mustard, but oh God, was there mustard. The roasted potatoes were drowning in it. I’m not complaining; I love mustard, but it would have been nice to taste some potatoes in there somewhere.

Scallops are hard to cook, as they are extremely temperamental and need to be handled with care. The seared scallops at The Falls must have been handled by the very best, because they practically melted in my mouth and were absolutely delectable. The pappardelle pasta they sat atop was tender and perfectly portioned. The pesto cream sauce
complemented the scallops perfectly and imparted only enough of a
pesto taste to keep you interested.

The pesto-seafood combination continued with the pan-seared salmon. The fish was very nicely seared and topped with an appropriately sized dollop of pesto (does pesto come in dollops?). I could have sworn I tasted lavender in there somewhere, but as it is not mentioned as a component on the menu, I couldn’t be sure.

Assuming you’re still reading at this point, you’ll notice that it is rare for me to be at a loss for words when it comes to food. This is one of those rare times, however, because all I can say about The Fall’s dessert selection is “amazing.” I ordered a cranberry apple tart that I wish I could’ve lived inside of. The chocolate mousse was incredibly rich. I’m used to a bit fluffier variety, but who could possibly complain about something which basically tasted akin to brownie mix? The star dessert, however, was the chocolate peanut butter cup, which was basically a chocolate gram cracker topped with
peanut butter and whipped cream. I’m still in a sugar-induced coma from it all.

Now, no one on campus can say they have never heard of The Falls in Auburn. My dinner was quite good, and I’m sure everyone in my party would echo my accolades. Might I propose holding off on that late night slice from Papa John’s and saving up for a delicious dinner at The Falls. Don’t worry,  the prices are very reasonable, so it won’t take very long.

Note: The original version of this review, written by me, was published in the Bates Student, for which I am the food critic.

The Falls
2 Great Falls Plaza
Auburn, ME
04210
3 out of 5