Latin Chef Carmen Gonzalez Makes Her Portland Debut

Chef Carmen Gonzalez has brought Portland its first serious Latin restaurant, but it's not part of the boisterous Old Port scene. Carmen at the Danforth, which opened last weekend, is tucked up in the quiet West End, in the historic Danforth Inn. The intimate (40-seat) dining room offers a Maine seafood-focused menu for dinner only Tuesday through Saturday, plus Sunday brunch. Chef Gonzalez told Meredith Goad of The Portland Press Herald that dinner guests will start with passed hors d’oeuvres in the Inn’s salon; the restaurant also has a large wine-by-the-glass list and a cheese cart. This genteel project is the second restaurant for Gonzalez, who competed on Season Two of “Top Chef Masters”; her first, Carmen The Restaurant in Miami, was named Best New Restaurant by Esquire Magazine. Damage from a fire forced it to close in 2006.

· Soup To Nuts: At A Maine Inn, The Chef Is In [PPH]
· Carmen Electric [Portland Monthly]

[Photo: Carmen Gonzalez]