Season of plenty

BY RUTH TOBIAS

Maine

The Pepperclub, 78 Middle Street, Portland, (207) 772-0531. Actually, there's no menu at the Pepperclub, just chalked-up blackboards on the walls that contribute to the funky, friendly atmosphere -- as do the characters who have turned the restaurant's fresh Maine crabmeat, corn, and asparagus quesadilla ($14.95) into its signature summer item. Eddie Fitzpatrick is the still-hopping septuagenarian who created the dish around the chipotle-cilantro tortillas handmade for him by a local known only as Vita -- who introduced herself to proprietor Mary Ledue Paine with a confident "You try them, yes?" The bright, sweet filling they contain is topped off with chipotle dressing and shredded cheddar, which add a rich and smoky aspect to the whole, complemented further by a brown-and-wild-rice medley and mesclun salad.

Marketside Grill, Portland Public Market, Portland, (207) 228-2057. "Every summer I learn of about 10 more kinds of mushrooms from this guy who finds them for us," says Marketside Grill sous-chef Ben Howard, by way of explaining why, to him, summer in Maine means nothing so much as locally foraged fungi. At present, fancy pheasantback mushrooms grace a ragout of pulled duck over tagliatelle (part of a two-textured duck entrée that also includes grilled duck breast, $23.95); as the summer lingers on, grilled tuna loin ($21.95) will serve as the canvas for a rotating mushroom masterpiece of exotic yellow and black chanterelles, black and blue trumpets, matsutakes, and maitakes.

New Hampshire

Pesce Blue, 103 Congress Street, Portsmouth, (603) 430-7766. Chef Mark Segal fairly gushes over the estival specials in store from Pesce Blue, a seafood restaurant with an Italian -- specifically, Venetian -- veneer, "so everything is really simple and clean, pristinely presented." Take the salad of shad roe, hazelnuts, and frisée topped with crispy polenta croutons ($24); dressed with a fresh red-currant vinaigrette, it's a striking, sparkling combination of the sour and the salty, of burst-bubble and frilly-crisp textures. Or consider the snapper in saor ($22.50), Segal's version of the classic Venetian fish dish -- whereby red snapper, pan-seared until its skin crisps, cools and mellows in a red-wine marinade with golden raisins, pine nuts, shaved red onion, and lots of chopped parsley; it's then served over a lemon-thyme polenta cake, at once refreshing and soothingly savory.

Massachusetts

Saint, 90 Exeter Street, Boston, (617) 236-1134. Arguably the hottest spot in Boston for several months running, Saint makes an ideal destination during the hottest season, located as it is below street level in dim, cool digs. Besides, no one strikes the balance between imagination and exquisite taste quite like chef Rene Michelena, and this summer he strikes again with his own rendition of arepas ($9), Peruvian corn cakes he likens to tortillas -- only his are spiked with scallions, ginger, and black pepper before being skillet-browned and topped with grilled marinated prawns. Michelena will also be furthering the concept of back-yard barbecue -- furthering it all the way to Thailand, in fact, via sumptuous pork ribs tinged with coconut, galangal, and pineapple ($9).

Seasons, Millennium Bostonian Hotel at Faneuil Hall, Boston, (617) 523-4119. Meanwhile, over at the ideally named Seasons, chef Brian Houlihan is keeping his sights set on his own back yard -- literally, for that's where he obtains the zucchini and crookneck squash that go into the "herbaceous summer vegetable ratatouille" he pairs with pan-crisped striped bass; the fresh basil, oregano, and thyme it contains grow right there in the restaurant. Rounding out the mélange are heirloom tomatoes, fennel, sweet peppers, and eggplant, and the dish as a whole is topped with "wilted spinach or whatever braising greens are good that day," as well as a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar. Houlihan reserves this dish for Seasons' three-course prix fixe menu ($39), so prepare for a full-fledged feast that might begin with, say, prosciutto-wrapped grilled asparagus and end with a sprightly mango tart.

Lumière, 1293 Washington Street, Newton, (617) 244-9199. The sheer yet understated elegance that is Michael Leviton's stock-in-trade finds expression on Lumière's summer menu in the form of two ingredients: corn from Ward's Berry Farm and heirloom tomatoes -- any of 160 varieties -- from Dancing Bear Farm. The former stars in a soup ($11) that is, says Leviton, the very "essence of corn," from its cob stock to its "incredibly creamy flavor -- the thing that makes it so intense is that it's made from corn that was picked just that morning." A garnish of lobster and bacon adds depth to its richness. As for the tomatoes, they make their way, along with locally grown cucumbers, into such classic Mediterranean bread-based salads as panzanella and fattoush ($11) -- the one tangy with capers and red-wine vinaigrette, the other subtly tweaked with chocolate mint.

Taranta, 210 Hanover Street, Boston, (617) 720-0052. Simplicity itself: if that's the theme of summer cuisine for many a chef, all the more so for José Duarte at Taranta in the North End, where the focus is always on clean, clear flavors. Duarte's baby-octopus salad ($9.50) is just one case in point, with octopus that has been marinated in olive oil and smoked paprika, then flash-grilled and served over a snappy bed of giant Peruvian lima beans, cherry tomatoes, and red onions. Finally, dashes of sea salt and cracked black pepper bring the salad's oceanic and earthy aspects into palatal alignment.

Rhode Island

Gracie's Bar and Grille, 409 Atwells Avenue, Providence, (401) 272-7811. Gracie's Bake ($25), says chef Champe Speidel, exists to be experienced rather than merely eaten: "When you close your eyes, you should feel like you're at a clambake." Set before you is a bowl within a bowl. The first contains corn broth chock full of not only more corn, poached buttered lobster, and clams, but also andouille sausage, red potatoes, and peas; the second is strewn with smoked rockweed, then placed over boiling water to create fumes reminiscent of pit smoke. Finally, the waiter dumps a bucket of sand at your feet and starts singing "Good Vibrations" ... well, not really, but that's the taste sensation.

XO Café, 125 N. Main Street, Providence, (401) 273-9090. Meanwhile, at hip XO, chef Rachel Klein-Gates may likewise be leading your taste buds to the beach with her entrée of pan-roasted halibut, littleneck clams, and grilled baby corn ($28), but she's taking the garden route to get there by adding garlic-chive butter and a lush pea-tendril-smoked-bacon salad. Lush, too, is her approach to summer's fruit-festooned desserts: brioche bread pudding ($8) takes a most refreshing turn when accompanied by balsamic-glazed strawberries and basil-crème-fraîche ice cream.

CAV, 14 Imperial Place, Providence, (401) 751-9164. From the ever-changing parade of produce that passes with the summer, CAV chef Drew Greer plucks the various vegetables that, grilled, form a bright backdrop for pan-seared wild king salmon stuffed with spinach and mascarpone ($21.95). The artichokes, fiddleheads, and ramps of one day give way the next to baby leeks with velvety heirloom-tomato beurre blanc.

Chez Pascal, 960 Hope Street, Providence, (401) 490-4614. Don't let its aura of quaint charm fool you -- when it comes to food, Chez Pascal is far from demure. Sure, zucchini blossoms are delicate -- but stuff them with goat cheese and fry them up, and you've got yourself one spunky antipasto ($7.50), complete with marinated-cherry-tomato salad. And then there's the slow-roasted pork-belly appetizer with pickled peaches and a sherry glaze ($8); chef-owner Matt Gennuso braises the slab of bacon and cuts it into chunks which he then pan-fries, creating an ultra-rich contrast to the acid zing of the fruit.

Asterisk & Obelisk Café, 599 Thames Street, Newport, (401) 841-8833. Speaking of peaches and pork, we might alliteratively add polenta and port -- only to find ourselves waxing poetic about Asterisk & Obelisk's saucy summer special ($23). It begins with a pork chop topped with melted Brie and fresh sliced peaches; next, soft polenta enters the picture, and a port-balsamic demi-glace completes it. The resulting flavor image is one of robust sweetness and saltiness, proceeding side by side every step of the way.

Clarke Cooke House, 1 Bannister's Wharf, Newport, (401) 849-2900. Finally, the tomato salad to end all tomato salads ($11.95) crops up on the summer menu at the picturesque Clarke Cooke House. Chef Ted Gidley slices up not one, not two, but six heirloom varieties (such as Black Crimson) and serves them with roasted corn kernels, pine nuts, chèvre, and a chiffonade of basil, drizzling the mixture with a simple balsamic vinaigrette. If any dish succinctly sums up summer, this cool, refreshing medley is it.

Ruth Tobias can be reached at ruthiet@bu.edu.