Hurricane: dazzling menu, tantalizing exercise in choice
The Magazine of New England Living, Dine Out Column
Yankee

July/August 2002

* * * (out of five)

The Bottom Line: Fine dining without the fuss.

Restaurants, like table wines, don't necessarily age well. Some ride trends (remember tapas bars?), others open with a sizzle but never really cook all the way through. The best restaurants come into their own over time-like Hurricane in Perkins Cove. It's set on a wisp of sand at the tip of a rocky point jutting into the Atlantic, and its name boldly dares foul weather to come hither. The glass-fronted dining room has gracefully weathered pounding waves of tides (and tourists) for more than a decade.

The Experience: Squeeze beyond the tight entryway and small bar into the dining room. A window seat is like having a private table at the beach. With white tablecloths and good flatware, it's just shy of fancy in atmosphere, but its menu, prices and wine list make it a special-occasion destination. Ogunquit wears the merit badge of a seasoned tourist town in its cadre of professional servers, though on our visit our waitress could have been more familiar with the wine list. The bathrooms are inconveniently located near the front door.

The Food: We started with Maine lobster and shrimp tempura drizzled with a raspberry ginger sauce. The sauce complemented the shrimp but masked the lobster. The tempura was textbook: light, crisp, melt-in-you-mouth. For dinner, fire-roasted Chilean sea bass was plunked on a tower of mashed potatoes and sautéed leeks, then dressed with a chipotle pepper sauce. The perfectly fresh fillet was crisp but not over cooked, yet the dish lacked depth of flavor. The house brined pork chop topped with blueberry hoisin glace won our hearts. Buy why must restaurants fool with classic crème brulée? Hurricane serves a fine one, yet its pimped-ip version sports a Tahitian vanilla bean. Opt instead for the key lime pie-this is the real deal, true to the Restaurant's tropical (stormy) appellation.

The Details: Parking can be a challenge on a hot summer night when mobs of beachgoers are in search of a good meal, just like you. If you're staying in town, plan on walking. The famed Marginal Way, a cliff walk open to the public along the rocky shoreline, enters and exits from the Perkins Cove parking lot-perfect for calorie burning, either pre- or post-dinner. You'll need a reservation nay night in the summertime. On Tuesday nights in the off-season, Hurricane offers Public Suppers, a bargain-priced, comfort-food menu, in addition to its regular menu. Dinners: $16-$40.