Aragosta

Though she has been building her reputation as an innovative chef with a flair for presentation for years, Devin Finigan has always done so in someone else's kitchen, but not any longer. Finigan's restaurant, Aragosta, opened for lunch in early summer, and from all accounts, has been wowing diners since. I am very pleased that I was finally able to make the drive to "the island," as so many call it, and sample the fruits of her labors. To the food.

It's a good thing when you can't decide and want to order nearly everything on the menu, right? Ultimately, I did decide, though, and started my meal with six raw oysters from the Salt Pond in Blue Hill, three as nature intended them, and three with a spicy applewood smoked champagne granita with a bit of dill. All six were silky, clear, cold representatives of the bounty of the Atlantic. The touch of dill, however, overcame the granita such that I couldn't detect much of the smoke at all. They were still very good, but not as promised on the menu.

As a second starter--in my defense, when I ordered it, I thought I might just order two starters and dessert!--I decided to indulge in baked Brie topped with caramelized onions and sweet, toasted walnuts.

Warm Brie with caramelized onions at Aragosta

The Brie came with toasted focaccia, and was certainly enough food for two people. Oh, the creamy, warm cheese with those smooth, sweet onions and those crunchy honey-toasted walnuts smeared over crisp focaccia made me a happy man. My only complaint? Too much cheese! You might say just add more bread, but, it was already more than I should have eaten. 

Though I had heard raves about Aragosta's signature lobster ravioli, I decided to try an Italian favorite of mine, gnocchi, more specifically, gnocchi in a creamy cheesy sauce with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, toasted hazelnuts, dried cranberries, sweet dumpling squash, "winter red-flesh apple," and crispy baby bok choy. Well, well, well, with all these complementary tastes, every bite was a new experience of new tastes and new textures. I'd enjoyed crispy kale before, but this was the first time I'd eaten crispy bok choy. The crunch of the toasted hazelnuts, the meatiness of the savory mushrooms, the fleshy, sweet tart bite of the apple, the earthy crispness of the bok choy, and, well, I could go on. 

I should mention that before my entree came out, I did enjoy some house-made bread (focaccia and a mini baguette) with butter and some leek sea salt. Though the bread had good flavor and even, soft texture throughout, neither the focaccia nor the baguette had the crisp crust I would have expected. Good bread, just not great. The leek sea salt, however, was a real pleasure. The fine powder, pale green, tasted clearly of sweet leeks and smelled even more fragrant. 

In an era when restaurant trends shift and shift again before they hit coastal towns like Stonington, Maine, one can't be sure if the attention to detail and dining traditions at Aragosta are relics of the past, or a return to dining elegance. Knowing that there are already several upscale restaurants in the area which use butcher paper instead of tablecloths, I'd prefer to think that it's the latter. Where did this awful trend start? I'll leave it up to some restaurant historian to figure that out, but it's a trend that I don't like, except, perhaps, at BBQ joints, or seafood shacks, and so I was pleased to see tablecloths being changed between parties at this ocean-side restaurant in its first year in business. And a palate-cleansing sorbet before the main course. Now, fine dining is more than white linens and palate cleansers, but so is Aragosta. If you haven't been, go. 

Food: ★★★★☆ Ambience: ★★★★☆ Service: ★★★★☆

Check, please: $$$$

Aragosta

27 Main Street,
Stonington, Maine, 04681

(207) 367-5500