Portland Food Heads

And so, another brunch review.

I have a past with Artemisia that I'm sure I share with many people who go out to eat a lot. When I discovered this comfortable little cafe for the first time about a year and a half ago, I was floored. The food was great, the waitresses were friendly and the interior was thoroughly comfortable. Needless to say, I went just about every weekend for brunch.

After a while, however, my opinion of Artemisia began to change for the worse each time I dropped in. If the home fries weren't drastically overcooked, the eggs were cold. The service went from quick as could be to lackluster. Eventually, I stopped going for a while, and pursued other area restaurants for my brunch fix. I'm happy to say that the last few times I've been in, everything has been like clockwork.

The interior of Artemisia is extremely inviting. In fact, I don't think there is another brunch spot in Portland that is better suited for a snowy winter morning. Warm lighting, comfortable booths and a view of Casco Bay make Artemisia one of the coziest places in town for a plate of bacon and eggs. The colorful, art-covered walls and the abundance of plants do even more to compliment the space. Combine all this with the fact that there is usually great music playing and it's hard to find a reason NOT to want to spend an hour or two sitting in a booth at Artemisia, pondering life over a strong cup of coffee. Plus, they have some of the best mimosas in town.

Regular readers know that Lynn is by all means a sweet breakfast person, so whenever we go to Artemisia she almost always orders the granola-coated french toast with fruit on top. As far as french toast goes, I'm not much of a fan at all. However, this is the one french toast in Portland that I'll say is thoroughly delicious. Topped with fruit and lambasted with a heavy load of powdered sugar and maple syrup, the french toast itself is always cooked perfectly and makes for a great breakfast for one or a side for two to split. Overall, a really nice plate of food that is consistently good and worth ordering.

I don't think I've ever gone to Artemisia and ordered something without eggs in it (aside from lunch) purely because their eggs tend to be perfect. In other words, they know the difference between a soft and medium poached egg, and their scrambled eggs don't come out like little granular turds; how's that for an image? The plate that I order most frequently would probably be the Kielbasa Hash and Eggs. Basically potato and sweet potato home fries, kielbasa and sauteed green peppers topped with two poached eggs and cheddar cheese, this is a delicious dish despite it's mind boggling simplicity. A little hot sauce, a knife cut right down the center of one of the eggs and you're good to go. Get some jam with the toast - Artemisia has great jam.

I've eaten here enough times to say that you aren't always going to come out satisfied. However, that is pretty typical of just about every restaurant in the country, and if you can get over the risk of taking a small gamble, you're likely to be rewarded with what is usually a delicious meal at Artemisia.

Artemisia is located at 61 Pleasant St. in Portland, ME.

~E~

Have you eaten at Artemisia? Be sure to leave a comment about your experience!