Baleen [RESTAURANT REVIEW]
Baleen’s menu has a daring focus that ignores modern trends, a sign this menu was designed by a chef rather than a focus group. Baleen executive chef Jesse Souza The view across the marina from Harbor Drive is postcard-pretty, and several restaurants have been designed so that diners get a great view of the long lines of boats. Spindly masts tower above sleek powerboats, rich men’s toys float adjacent to scarred but business-like fishing boats, and at night the water reflects the twinkling lights of… of whatever that is over on the other side of the bay. Some of those lights are from a restaurant with a problem – many people regard it as the scenery from the place they have dinner instead of as a dining destination. Some very good chefs have struggled to find a local audience because they were cooking on a dead-end street at the end of a peninsula; the walk-by and drive-by traffic that keeps a place in people’s minds was zero except for visitors and guests at the adjacent Portofino Hotel. It’s a discouraging situation, and for a long time head chefs came and went, opening strong and gradually lowering their ambitions before seeking greener pastures. The current occupant of that…
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