Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Artemisia Cafe

My first impression of the Artemisia Cafe was "it is a good breakfast place". 


I had never heard anything else.  I had never driven by. I had never even looked up the menu. 
I was shootin' in the dark with this one but, my sister and brother in law were in town for a photo shoot (pictures to come) and they love this place so, Nic and I were happy to try a new place. 


We parked on the west end of Portland on a nice quite side road and I already began to feel a bit excited. It could be the day?  It was a beautiful sunny and crisp fall morning and I love my big sister so I'm always happy when we get to hang out! Never-the-less, when we started approaching the cute little blue over hang I had a feeling that if breakfast was a bust I'd at least like the aesthetics. 


When we came in we were seated right away in a lovely little booth. 
The booth had some table games (which i love).  The artwork was interesting and beautiful and the walls themselves looked like a painting. You could say I loved it. 


Now, decor aside this is a restaurant and we must judge the food. 


The menu was small but diverse.  They have items like biscuits and gravy to hit upon the joys of a southern breakfast; they also go south of the border to mexico and had chilaquiles on the menu.  I'm impressed.  


To start we needed coffee. --Or Hot Apple Cider for my pregnant sister. :)
---Side note.  Last November Nic and I went to Montreal, Canada with his family who was visiting from Australia.  We stopped at a little cafe for some crepes.  At this cafe I ordered a cappuccino (which I never order because they never make them right). This Cappuccino was the BEST I've ever had!  It was perfect! --- Since then, I've been ordering cappuccino's everywhere I go trying to find one that is equivalent.  I have yet to succeed.  Until, October 16, 2011 at Artemisia Cafe. 


This cappuccino was perfect.  Milk to foam ratio- excellent.  Espresso- rich and smooth.  With a little sugar in the raw I was in espresso heaven.  At this point, even if breakfast sucked I wouldn't have cared. 


After perusing the menu I was so tempted to get the Chilaquiles because, I LOVE them!  And it's quite rare to see them on a menu in Maine.  However, I went with a classic Florentine Eggs Benedict.  My last breakfast experience I got poached eggs and they were cooked through so, I've had a hanckerin' for perfect poached eggs. 


Just to let you know, they were perfect. 

The poached eggs sat on a bed of spinach with cherry tomatoes.  Rather than the normal English muffin underneath there was a homemade scone.  On the side, was roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes. 
I loved it!  However, I can't give my meal a 10 because, there was one part I didn't LOVE---only liked.  I didn't love the scone.  It was a little grainy and dry for me. But, don't get me wrong---it was still good and I finished my meal! I give it a 9 out of 10.


Beth (Sister) and Kyle (Brother-in-law) both got Biscuits and Sausage Gravy. 
Looks good right!?  They both reported it as yummy.  I believe they gave their meals a 7 or 8 out of 10?  
I had a bite of the biscuit and gravy and it was really good.  A little different flavor than your normal--it was almost sweeter.  I liked it!  Kyle and Nic both said they didn't like the home fries. They thought they were bland. --I like them. :)

Nic got the special -- Sausage and Mushroom frittata.  He loves mushrooms so he liked it. I think the toast looks yummy!   I believe his rating was an 8 out of 10.

Overall, the Artemisia Cafe was a great breakfast experience. First Impressions were right on target! 

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