This is not a traditional restaurant review  but rather it’s intended to report  on the newly invigorated menu at Congress Squared at the Westin Portland Harborview.  Last Thursday night  a dinner was prepared for press and industry folk  to sample the new dishes with chefs Brian Anderson (executive chef) and Elisha (pronounced Elijah) Irland (chef de cuisine) running the show.

Clockwise: C2″s banquettes; chef Brian Anderson (right) and attendees at the press and industry dinner

Each dish—and there were many—were killer efforts that the kitchen team produced with suavity and assuredness.  The smoked duck breast, for example, over a cunningly devised puree of rosemary with dots of roasted grapes and garlic confit created an arsenal of flavor that put the whole chorus of fine cooking on a high note. The sweet-smoky duck breast soaking up the vivaciousness of the rosemary puree underneath was further complimented by the umami of  sweetly pungent pairing of grapes and garlic confit.

Smoked duck breast with rosemary

The menu is all small-plates.  That is nothing new, and indeed the newer restaurants are trending away from it.  Still, Portland has plenty of dining citadels who serve in this style.  And they do it so well.  You know the names: Central Provisions, Sur-Lie, Lolita and the pogrom of the Middle Street trifecta.  Which reminds me: I have to reacquaint myself with the East Ender also on Middle.  I went when they first re-opened.  But not since, and I hear such great things about this earth-bound bistro.

I’ve always liked Congress Squared.  The dining room is urbane, bright and comfortable with an inviting bar that draws locals and hotel guests who convene nightly.  Still I’ve often wondered why management didn’t install the restaurant in the fabulous Top of the East 15 stories up.  That would have given it the edge in a city where new and exciting restaurants open monthly (see my review of brunch at Top of the East).  But I wasn’t asked, and I’m merely offering an opinion. But the restaurant has endeavored to put out good food with various chefs leading the charge.  Now, with Anderson and Irland they’ve hit the bull’s eye.

Spacious dining room, as shown when the hotel and restaurant first opened

Still the other competitors housed in hotels such as Evo at Hyatt Place, Tiqa at the Marriott and Union at the Press Hotel are vital establishments in a city whose level of cooking is so high. The entire formula of farm-to-table sourcing is a given, and if any restaurant in Maine doesn’t do that then they should just turn off the gas.

C2 is following suit with a concise menu that is highly focused.  The list takes in Earth, Sea, Farm and Sweet, with a few dishes under each category.  Even the choice of starters has merit with such plates as baby beets in crème fraiche and poached cranberries or the delicious morsels of crispy cheese croquettes—local smoked cheddar wrapped in choux pastry and fried.

Starters of baby beets and crispy cheese croquettes

Every dish sampled was served family style, and we had to pick fast, especially the outrageously rich oxtail poutine—a crowd pleaser–the earthiness of this fatty cut of meat coating the hefty spears of fried potatoes like a mink cape.

Oxtail poutine

I’m not crazy about monkfish because it’s too firmly textured rather than being flaky.  But here it was a marvel of lightness.  Pan-seared noissettes  set on a mash of green lentils  were unusual but balanced and utterly delicious.  It was enriched with braised leeks moistened with an olive vinaigrette that paired sweet and salty perfectly.

Pan-seared monkfish

If you want your vegetables  burnished and glazed, then you have to try the caramelized carrots with nuggets of walnuts and sweet honey vinaigrette. The dish is pure vegetable candy.

Caramelized carrots

A new vegetable making the rounds (they sell it at Whole Foods) is the kalette, a sort of cross breed of Brussels sprouts and kale.  Here these little crispy orbs were embellished with a vinaigrette and pecorino Romano.

The scallops (local?) were ensconced in a casserole dish with collards and bacon.  It was a spirituous dish but not my favorite. I would have preferred to have savored the scallops without adornment and without the overflow of braised greens.

Atlantic scallops

Is there a pastry chef in the house?  Irland is tending to this chore and pulled it off with a brilliant duo of desserts.  Blueberry brioche donuts with Maine maple syrup and a nut crumble were baubles of sweet pleasure to pop into your mouth.  And his take on s’mores is highly inventive: two crisp spiced wafers sandwiching house-made marshmallows with freshly made Nutella. They were so good we asked for seconds.

Brioche donuts and marshmello-Nutella s’mores

The restaurant offers a happy hour from 4 PM to 7 PM with $5 wines and an equally economical bar menu offering cheese croquettes, mussels, bruléed brie, serrano ham crostini and a sirloin steak burger.

After which continue into the dining room and graze.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Congress Squared, Westin Portland Harborview Hotel, 157 High St., 207-517-8831 www.congresssquared.com

Rating: very fine cooking from two  bright young chefs who are making all the right moves in a 4-star effort

Ambiance: Sophisticated, urbane

Service: Attentive from a knowledgeable staff

Tables: plush leather banquettes and two and four tops; dining at the bar too

Bar: Full

Parking: On street or hotel valet ($10)

$$$: Reasonably expensive with small plates in  the $8 to $19 range