CENTRAL PROVISIONS POURS UNIQUE COCKTAILS IN THE OLD PORT

With a designated sommelier on staff and a bar manager who can tell you the history of virtually any drink, Central Provisions in Portland’s Old Port is an education as much as it is a restaurant.

“There’s something great about not only the drink but the history of the drink,” says Patrick McDonald, bar manager and cocktail wizard at Central Provisions in Portland. He wears a crisp plaid shirt (standard uniform for the bartenders here) and sports a long beard and a short, slicked-back haircut. “I like having the ability to revive these old recipes and make them my own.”

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CENTRAL PROVISIONS: CHRIS GOULD’S CINNAMON SMOKED CARROTS

With an impressive resume that includes stints under chefs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette, chef Chris Gould has been hard at work for the past two years bringing Central Provisions to fruition. The effort has paid off, and nearly overnight it has become both the local hotspot and media darling that has given the Old Port a much-needed update in the culinary landscape.

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DINE OUT MAINE: CENTRAL PROVISIONS SWIFTLY MOVING TO TOP OF LOCAL SCENE

In Portland’s ever-expanding restaurant scene, Central Provisions is this city’s newest and perhaps brightest star. Chef and co-proprietor Chris Gould has created some of the most inventive food in Portland right now. After multiple visits and some 30 dishes, the restaurant’s trendy small-plate concept has been superbly achieved on each occasion. The format further allows you to create your own tasting menu from a list of nearly 50 small plates ($5 to $26) that form a fusion of cooking styles inspired by the cuisines of Europe, Asia and the Americas.

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FIRST LOOK: THE INFINITE PLEASURES OF CENTRAL PROVISIONS

If you haven’t heard, Central Provisions is up and running—and it’s the proverbial runaway success right out of the gate. I stopped in on Night One (Tuesday) on my way to dinner nearby, and the place was jammed with patrons looking as though they’d been going there all their lives, sporting happy-go-lucky grins with their rears firmly planted on seats at the bar and tables upstairs and down.

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A FIRST LOOK AT CENTRAL PROVISIONS IN PORTLAND

With little advance fanfare, chef Chris Gould opened his destined for super-stardom Portland restaurant, Central Provisions, on Tuesday night, pulling in a packed house. The completely redone interior of the brick building, at 414 Fore Street, has a straightforward, rustic look, with a wide-open, gleaming stainless steel kitchen, exposed brick walls and chairs upholstered with burlap from grain sacks.

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INTERVIEW: TALKING CENTRAL PROVISIONS WITH CHRIS GOULD

"The concept was always to do tapas-style small plates. But the feel and what we're putting in here in terms of the bars and the stools and the tables and the decor is totally driven by the 200-year-old building. ... Lots of exposed brick, burlap, black steel, exposed wood, and stainless steel. Those are the feels, colors and textures."

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