An old friend revisited at the 'Flagship'

By Jerry Cronin

Restaurant critic

Back in 1982, friends took me to a good little restaurant tucked away on the back streets of Portsmouth. It was a cozy, locals' place, with great seafood, pastas and steaks in a small marina on Scott's Creek.

Now, 26 years later, I am happy to report that the Flagship is still there, but the food and the facility have undergone an overhaul.

Gone are the dark wood walls and cabinlike interior that made you feel like you were down below on a boat. While the old portholes, ceiling beams, and brick terrazzo floor are still there, the interior walls are now white, a large window provides a view of the water and art by local artist Robert Burnell adorns the walls. There is also an outside deck where you can catch the breezes.

Another change is the addition of Wade O'Neill as the chef. He has worked as sous chef to local culinary luminary Sydney Meers, and at the nationally renowned Inn at Little Washington. As might be expected with that pedigree, the menu has also been significantly upgraded.

We began the visit with a few starters and a soup.

The blackened tuna bites ($8.97) were identified in the menu as Cajun seared tuna in marinara sauce, with black olives and basil. The sauce was chunky, with a well-developed dark and roasted heat. I enjoyed the additional flavor provided by the salty olives and the roasted garlic cloves. The bites were served over lightly fried eggplant sticks. The overall combination of flavors and tastes was very good.

We all liked the crispy calamari ($7.24). The squid was lightly breaded, fried and dusted with Old Bay. I liked the addition of the Asian dipping sauce. It was a vinegary soy mixture with just a smidgin of heat. The calamari were a touch chewy, but they were tasty.

We also ordered a cup of Flagship crab soup ($4.95), identified as classic crab soup, rich and creamy, made with lump crab and a touch of sherry. The texture of the soup was very different. It was fluffy, almost to the point of frothy. It had plenty of crab but was too salty for my taste. The other members of the party liked it. I did not detect any sherry flavor.

We enjoyed the steak gorgonzola - Alfredo ($14.95). In this dish, grilled filet mignon medallions are served over fettuccine Alfredo. The steak was perfect, and the tender meat really complemented the flavoring of the sauce. The fettuccini had a nice tooth to it and the addition of gorgonzola to the Alfredo provided a pleasant bite. The dish was expertly prepared with the noodles lightly coated and just enough additional sauce to enjoy with the beef. The dish was accompanied by a sauteed medley of red onion, yellow squash and zucchini.

The tuna and gnocchi ($14.95) was a good dish, with grilled tuna served over a bed of gnocchi that had been simmered in garlic and tomato confit. It had a nice tomato flavor, and the grilled tuna was excellent. The gnocchi was straight forward. The dish was finished with a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar which added a nice sweet and sour touch.

We shared a one pound order of snow crab ($16.95). This was served with drawn butter, slaw and hush puppies. The crab was steamed to perfection, with chunks of meat easily coming out of the legs and providing great flavor when dipped in the drawn butter. The hush puppies were nicely fried with little bits of corn and onion worked into the batter. These were served with butter and honey.

We finished the evening with one of the three desserts made on premises. It was a very large piece of deep dish lemon chess pie ($5.95) plated with a helping of whipped cream. The pie leaned more to the sweet, rather than tart end of the spectrum, and I liked the flavor. The crust was plain, and tended toward the doughy side.

Our trip to Flagship was like visiting old friends whom you haven't seen in a while and finding out that they have done well. Chef O'Neill has done a great job of creating a menu that brings in touches of fine cuisine and ingredients, but remains approachable in price and appropriate for its setting in the midst of a small neighborhood marina.

Jerry Cronin, flavor@pilotonline.com