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MC Perkins Cove
(207) 646-6263
Perkins Cove, Ogunquit
www.MCperkinscove.com
Hospitality-Smooth competence oversees all in this well-run space.
Open daily for lunch 11:30-2:30, dinner 5:30-9:30 or 10, bar menu until 11; closed January
Entrées $19 to $34
Handicapped accessible, reservations recommended, for lunch also
The view triumphs, and with Arrows owners Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier in charge, the flavors sing out with equal glory.
"MC" stands for the first names of the owners, who also own the extravagant restaurant Arrows; their meticulous ways are in action here in the skill of the cooking and the smoothness of the operation.
MC Perkins Cove is a casual, fast-paced place that fits into its environment, both the surging water out the wide windows of the back of the building, and the swarming crowds of summer visitors on a narrow street of Perkins Cove in front. Customers are asked not to wear bathing suits to eat here; any other casual wear is fine.
The $44 Grand Shellfish "Tower" with oysters, littleneck clams, shrimp, tuna sashimi, mussels, and Maine lobster would be a grand way to finish a day at the beach, but a half-dozen oysters ($17) might suffice. A cone of fried oysters ($13) was perfectly done here, and served with chive and chili mayonnaise, but it has gone off the menu.
There is reason to be circumspect about the appetizers because the entrées can be so compelling, including a November special of beef short ribs ($29)-an enormous serving of rich, flavorful meat on mashed potatoes and chopped Swiss chard.
Regulars on the list in 2006 include "Beijing Style" duck confit with orange, ginger, and star anise ($29), and house-made sausages ($25) that you can be sure are made with all kinds of attention to the right meat, the right spices, and the right proportion of fat to lean.
But the mainstays here are grilled steaks and fish paired from lists with sauces, "Evil Carbos," and vegetables. "Choose me" the menu directs-olive and sage hollandaise, for instance, with perhaps the shrimp brochettes ($28), onion rings, and Beijing-style cabbage. Hmmm, that doesn't sound quite right. How about Clark's Mom's Sauce, with Worcestershire, soy sauce, balsamic and red wine vinegars, olive oil, rosemary, and mustard, on a hanger steak ($25) with Mark's Mom's Corn Custard and grilled asparagus?
These choices are far from ordinary, and any questions would receive clear guidance; but when the lists are short enough, like the six options presented here in each category, they make dinner fun.