Portofino

The main reason to visit Portofino is the water, which looks inviting as you gaze at the wooded tip of Grosse Ile, watching the boats slip by. In fine weather, some of them even tie up at Portofino’s dock, which makes sense, considering that the real Portofino is an Italian resort town on the Mediterranean. Dinner starts with hot bread and a generous dish of olive oil loaded with Parmesan and cracked pepper. Appetizers are mostly from the sea, side salads are nicely composed, and the mix of mains is ambitious enough to range from ribs and lamb chops to po’ boy sandwiches to Italian or seafood mainstays. The pasta choices are consistently excellent.