Look Inside Central Provisions, One of America's Best New Restaurants of 2014
Central Provisions is responsible for the 2014 Dish of the Year. Here's a closer look at the restaurant and its amazing crudo.
Peter Frank Edwards1/12The Dream Team
Chef Chris Gould with his general manager (and wife) Paige Gould. The chef was raised in Bethel, ME (about 90 minutes northwest of Portland). "We were talking about moving to Chicago, or San Francisco, for a couple of years, and then coming back," he says, "but we decided just to skip bouncing around and move here."
Peter Frank Edwards2/12The Table Setting
Central Provisions occupies two floors in a former provisions warehouse, and as you might expect, almost everything in the dining rooms—from the bar to the tables and plates—is local and handmade.
Peter Frank Edwards3/12Yellowfin Tuna Crudo with Radish, Mustard, Sesame
One of Gould's more "traditional" crudos, this draws heavily from his training at restaurateur Ken Orringer's Uni in Boston, where he learned the rules and techniques of making sushi and sashimi.
Peter Frank Edwards4/12Gould's Rules
"I’ve worked with a lot of Japanese chefs, and there’s a ton of do’s and don’ts about preparing fish," says Gould. "They take it very seriously, and I was fortunate enough to learn from them. Now I try to take those rules and just kind of play with them a little bit."
Peter Frank Edwards5/12North Atlantic Sea Bream, with Kumquat, Chile, Puffed Rice
Like most of Gould's crudos, this one hits all the flavor and texture notes: sweetness and acid from the pickled kumquat, heat from the chile, and crunch from puffed rice.
Peter Frank Edwards6/12Kombu-Cured Branzino with Wolf Berries, Shiro Ponzu, Shiso
Gould lightly cures the sea bream, wrapping it between sake-soaked pieces of kombu, before slicing the fish very thin. "For lean white fish, you generally make thin slices and go against the grain to avoid long sinews," he says. "Nobody wants a mouthful of that."
Peter Frank Edwards7/12Best Seats in the House
The chef's counter is where all the action is, and a ringside seat for watching Gould and his cooks work.
Peter Frank Edwards8/12Hibiscus-Cured Arctic Char Crudo
Since char is a soft, fatty fish (in a good way), Gould serves it in thick slices with the outer layer of fat attached. "In general," he says, "the fattier the fish, the thicker the slice when you're making crudo."
Peter Frank Edwards9/12In Good Company
In the heart of Portland's Old Port district, Central Provisions is steps away from some of BA's other Maine food and drink "musts" such as Fore Street, Eventide Oyster Co., Piccolo, Miyake, and Portland Hunt and Alpine Club.
Peter Frank Edwards10/12Crudo, Refined
Not cooked, exactly, but slightly warmed by the brown butter that's poured over the dish at the last minute, the scallops on the right are as close to "comfort food" as crudo can get—and a favorite when the weather turns cold.
Peter Frank Edwards11/12Unbound to Be Interesting
"This restaurant is kind of based on breaking the rules. And we do whatever we think is going to taste the best and be the most interesting," says Gould. "And it's fun for us, because we’re not bound to French or Spanish or Japanese cuisine. It’s whatever."
