How to Share Plates at Unpredictable Terlingua in Portland

In his latest Dine Out Maine column, Portland Press Herald restaurant reviewer James Schwartz crosses the border to Portsmouth, New Hampshire for dinner at Black Trumpet. He awards three-and-a-half stars for chef/co-owner/farmer Evan Mallett's "distinctive" and "uncommonly good" cooking, highlighting in particular the "warm and rich, yes, but also piquant and pungent" octopus and chorizo strata appetizer and the "seasonal standout" vegetarian entree of long pie pumpkin stuffed with walnut risotto. Pastry chef Tim Cronin's "moist, dense, sweet and substantial" pumpkin bread and apple ricotta spice cake are singled out as well.

The week prior, Schwartz called Terlingua at the foot of Portland's Munjoy Hill "well worth a visit," giving it four stars and praising everything from the "tender and creamy" black beans to the "soul-soothing," "outrageously good" chocolate bread pudding. "It's not a run-of-the-mill BBQ joint," he said, nor is it "sprawling and oppressively smoky" or "predictable." He suggests taking advantage of the small plates for sharing more standout dishes like the "light, fresh and beautifully balanced" bean and corn salad, "the intensely flavorful" crispy pork belly chicharron, or the "biggest surprise on the menu," slow-cooked greens.