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UPDATE Henry & Marty
(207) 721-9141
61 Maine Street, Brunswick
Open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday 5-9
Entrées $14 to $26
Handicapped accessible, reservations recommended
A hip place with ambitious dinners, growing to meet the demand
Started by Henry D'Alessandris and Marty Perry in 1998, this restaurant has grown in reputation and popularity. In April 2007, Aaron Park and Paul Hollingsworth took over, having run the kitchen and the front of the house for a year and a half before ownership changed hands. Park, former chef/owner of Portland's West End Cafe, planned to gather up as much local produce and fish and meat as he could, while keeping the restaurant the same friendly, warm place it has been under its former owners.
Their spacious room can seat more than 50, and includes a small bar with four stools. Black and blue checked flooring and loops of burgundy fabric cast a colorful aura, and exuberant art gives the room a little urbanity.
The tiny bar is a good spot to wait for a table drinking the bartender's invention, a Bisous-Bisous ($8), "kiss-kiss" in French, made with Grey Goose vodka, triple sec, lime, and pomegranate juice.
The changing menu will most likely feature the incredibly fresh mussels ($9) in wine, garlic, and tomato broth I enjoyed here in 2006. After a summer of disappointing mussels, these were a revelation, and reaffirmation, of the pleasure of the lowly bivalve.