Celebrating a find: Stripers is a humdinger

Maine Sunday Telegram, by C.Z.Cramer

If you enjoy eating in restaurants, it is always a thrill to discover a new one with lots of personality and talent. We recently had the pleasure at Stripers in Kennebunkport.

This pretty restaurant is perched on the Kennebunk River south of the gift shop knot in the Lower Village. It has a gleaming chrome open kitchen, a small counter with six stools and service bar on one side, and tables everywhere else flanked by windows overlooking the river. The cathedral ceiling has a pale beige stripe pattern as if diners are under a beach tent. Walls are clean and while, adorned with a school of ceramic fish and their Lucite bubbles. Tables are green marble laminate and the wooden chairs are handsome and comfortable. Outside the front door, surrounded by shrubbery, are a few more tables. The multinational staff wears long, ticking-striped French bistro aprons over white shirts. At Stripers the focus is on seafood with a few well-placed fusion-cooking accents. To accompany our study of the menu, we ordered a single oyster "shot" ($1.95) each. A freshly shucked oyster and its liquor was served in a shot glass with a dab of cocktail sauce at the bottom. The Damariscotta and Spinney Creek oysters we tossed back were both plump and fresh, and the sauce was particularly good.

Stripers serves market priced steamed 1 ½ and 2-pound lobsters, a shelled "butter poached" lobster ($32.50) and salmon ($18.50), tuna ($19.50) and other fish charbroiled or pan-seared. Ale-battered fish, scallops or shrimp ($16.95 - $22.95) and a lavish bouillabaisse ($30) are also offered. Nightly specials included a jazzy sounding bento box of seared scallops and panko-crumb fried shrimp with oysters with seaweed. ($25).

From the wine list on the back of the single-page menu, we selected a bottle of Cline viognier, a wonderful fruity white wine from Sonoma ($27). The majority of bottles are from California and Down Under, with a few from South Africa, Italy and Oregon. More than a dozen are available by the glass for $5 to $7.

The list's many white wines are helpfully categorized. Light whites such as Tohu savignon blanc from New Zealand ($27) are distinguished from aromatic whites such as Mark West gewurtztrimer from Sonoma ($48) and Diamond Ridge from Australia ($23). Seven reds are listed as well.

From among the four seafood soups, we ordered clam chowder ($6.95). This delicious rendition featured ground rather than chopped clams and potatoes in a cream, rich, broth of great, flavorful depth. It was served nice and hot in a vast slant-rimmed white bowl on a charger plate with three designer oyster crackers - a very consciously stylish presentation of excellent chowder. A tomato based fish soup ($7.95) and oyster ($15) and lobster ($18.95) stews were also available.

Seaweed salad with calamari was a fusion success story ($10). Tender, barely cooked pieces of body and clusters of tentacles were draped over finely shredded, bright green weed that was itself heaped against a bank of tender lettuce accented with juicy ripe tomato wedges. Sesame oil vinaigrette tied everything together in this summary appetizer.

Pan-fried striped bass ($21.50) from the specials chalkboard was a lucky pick and a fabulous fish dish. A thick handsome, perfectly cooked filet was dressed in a buttery sauce full of chopped fresh spinach and barely cooked chunks of ripe tomato. Morsels of lobster meat further enriched this delicious and unusual creation.

Ale-battered haddock with Stripes fries ($16.95) scaled a new peak for fish-and-chips aficionados. Three nice thick bars of filet were encased in ethereal crisp, puffy beer batter. These were perched on a bed of delicious skin-on fresh French fries and flanked by a sauces of good tartar sauce. Wedges of lemon and lime garnished. Details clicked, feather-light ale batter wowed. This classeic dish had been reincarnated as a gourmet masterpiece.

With the haddock came a saucer of what the menu calls "mushy peas." They are that, but what nice fresh peas-some mashed, some whole- with butter and cream worked into the rich mush. Along with a couple of salads, a side order of creamed spinach, and the Stripers fries, the peas complete the selection of vegetables on this menu. There are no vegetarian entrees and just two fishless ones: half a frilled chicken ($16.95) and a sirloin steak ($22).

But Stripers' whole point is really the seafood.

We observed at Stripers a staff working together as a ream on a busy night. Our waiter was young, polite, and charming; he knew his menu, and, like his colleagues, he smiled sincerely. The wait staff and the host pitched in and helped each other serve and see to water and credit card errands wherever help was needed. As a result, the lively atmosphere was free of the rush and panic vibe.

Dessert that night included raspberry sorbet with berries, peanut butter pie, and "tall" chocolate cake. All are $6.95. Our wedge of cappuccino silk pie was everything decadent the name implied, and the chocolate cookie crumb crust put it over the top.

Stripers served us a terrific dinner for $98.98, including tax. The seafood was ultra fresh; the preparations were bold, original, and expertly executed. Presentations were attractive on the asymmetrical modern white china.

Hip? Sure. But a classy-casual atmosphere was achieved without the snooty factor thanks to a friendly and competent staff. This sort of tight but not uptight performance is not easy to accomplish, but it's very easy to appreciate. Call it our kind of fish shack.

Stripers intents to remain open into late October.

How It Rates:

Stripers
127 Ocean Avenue
Kennebunkport, ME
967-3625

Food: ****1/2
Atmosphere: ****
Service: ****