If you haven’t been to Terlingua yet–the neighborhood restaurant that is the new anchor along a burgeoning restaurant strip in this desultory part of town–it’s time to join the crowds who already favor it as a congenial haunt for barbecue.
Along Washington Avenue, the Nissen building across the street will be housing a new restaurant; outdoor dining at Terlingua
I first wrote about it in June when it opened. I had the pork belly and shell-on shrimp and liked both. The pork was cooked just right with its fatty layer of skin rendered crisp and sweet with honey. And the guajillo chili sauce that cloaked the shrimp had a nice winey favor typical of the guajillo. The shrimp were good, though most likely flash frozen and thawed. It’s nearly impossible to get fresh caught Gulf shrimp in Maine.
Pork belly and head-on shrimp
Terlingua is essentially barbecue but not the usual kind in which northern cooks try to mimic Down South pit masters. The food has also been described as Latin. But the closest it gets to it is more Tex-Mex border food.
In fact, the smoke is definitely more Texas than Kansas City or the Carolinas, though the food is prepared with dry rubs without sauces of wet barbecue, which many, including myself, prefer in which the pit master’s secret sauces are slathered with great gusto on the meats as they smoke. I’m not sure why no one in our northern clime hasn’t espoused this style because in my mind it’s the preparation of long simmering sauces, filled with incredible flavors that make barbecue so unique.
The space itself presents a neat, simple look. One food site, however, described it as striking due to owner Pliny Reynold’s architectural background. It’s hardly a show stopper of daring-do but rather the room is cozy—presenting a plain set up of tables and chairs and a lively bar area. Reynolds worked for years in Austin, Texas (the home base for Whole Foods) as a lead architect-designer of the chain’s markets including Portland’s own.
The simply arranged dining room is comfortable and congenial
The chef is Wilson Rothschild (you have to love the name) who has cooked at Royal River Grill and Brunswick’s defunct Back Street Grill as well as in the Caribbean. It’s rumored that he’s related to the famous French banking family. Most Rothschild’s I’ve met have an ATM card without famous family lineage. Regardless, he’s found a good formula for smoking his food.
The chief smoke flavoring is from fruity and pungent woods like apple and oak. Though I haven’t tried every dish on the menu one or two were not great such as my experience with the taco filled with smoked tongue. I found it dry and bland. Others disagree. Maybe I caught it on a bad night.
What is popular there is the melt-in-your-mouth brisket, well smoked and well charred on the outside, the ribs (baby backs), the pork shoulder, chicken and whatever winds up on the special’s board.
Brisket with the grilled buttered, honeyed bread
When I visited Terlingua this past Wednesday, not only was street parking difficult (it’s usually not) but the restaurant was also jammed inside. I slid into the one available chair at the bar.
I started with the fish dip—that evening it was smoked blue fish. It had great smoky flavor and the dice of peppers, Vidalia onions and sour orange held it all together. It’s served with good chips, though they’re not made in house. Others around me were relishing their servings of smoked brisket or the great big hunk of smoked pork shoulder that I ogled, licking my chops (no pun intended). But I was hardly disappointed with my choice of baby back ribs. The spice rub worked well and the outside was beautifully charred and crispy. The meat was literally fall off the bone tender. With it I had the baked cauliflower and cheese, which had a lively richness from the cheese and jalapeño.
A well made tres leches with smoked banana ice cream was a fine dessert to end the meal
One of their signature sides that appears on all main-course plates is the buttered thin slices of grilled bread topped with honey. If you took a quick look at it, the bread looks like matzo (really). Anyway, it’s addictive.
excellent smoked baby backs, smoked blue-fish dip and roast cauliflower
On Monday and weekend nights the congenial Joe Ricchio, the Maine Mag food critic, tends bar with his standup routine of comic hilarities and his mean shake of drinks. I haven’t had his margaritas yet but others tell me it has great Texas punch with a Ricchio twist.
The bar fills up fast and is a popular spot in the dining room to have cocktails and dinner
How is Terlingua different from Salvage or Elsemere, the two reigning barbecue emporiums where you can dine very well on the usual grub? It’s smaller and more intimate, a real neighborhood hangout, and the Texas version of barbecue is in full swing there.
Terlingua, 52 Washington Ave., Portland, ME 207-808-8502 www.terlingua.me
Rating: 4 well earned stars
Ambiance: pub-like BBQ
Tables: well spaced and comfortable; outdoor seating
Service: excellent
$$$ moderately priced
