Maine Meal

One thing I love about traveling is finding unusual places to eat with foods out of the ordinary.  So we're up in Portland, Maine for work.  I've had lobster, and clam cakes.  Maine blueberries and blueberry soda.  Sampled several microbreweries (yay beer flights!).  Had a great lunch sandwich of smoked turkey, brie, smoked bacon, and granny smith apple slices all toasted together with a microbrewery fresh root beer.  But I never expected to have one of the best meals of my life here.  Someone recommended a funky out-of-the-way restaurant called The Pepper Club.  The menu was a slate with the day's entrees written in colored chalk.  They brought a cute baseball-sized loaf of molasses-oatmeal bread to the table and told us they were having an anniversary 4-course special that essentially was "pick 4 courses off the menu" for 2 bucks more than an entree alone.  I started with baked brie with apricots and almonds (shared with my friend).  Then a wonderfully diverse salad with the kind of dressing you want to drink by the bottle.
But it was the entree - fresh seared scallops in thai coconut curry with jasmine rice and vegetables - that took my breath away. The vegetables were absolutely perfect - fresh and juicy with just the right amount of tooth, firm yet tender.  The sauce was well balanced, enough heat without overpowering the flavors.  But the scallops, oh my.  They were beyond description.  I can still recall the sublime taste and texture.  The dish was so good it wasn't possible to talk while eating, as it might distract from the enjoyment of the food.  I'm really at a loss for words thinking about this dish, it's truly stunning.
The meal ended with their signature chocolate pepper cake, a dark chocolate cake that had a quick hint of pepper on the first taste and a lingering heat in your throat as you ate.  Dark dark chocolate ganache was swirled over the plate and the cake was dusted with a spicy cocoa powder.