Wearing its saturated fat proudly, this small restaurant makes a feast out of sandwiches, salads and soups. On my first encounter with Duckfat's Tahitian vanilla milkshake and Belgian fries, or the unparalleled sweet panini, each bite tasted good.

Fat makes us satisfied, and robbing food of it makes us eat more. There's no stinting here, although duck fat itself is used only for cooking the duck confit and as 25 percent of the cooking fat for the fries.

With high bar stools at a few tables and counter spaces, Duckfat now has room for only 19 seated customers. But eight outdoor seats were to be added mid-June, and a longer "sexy curvature wall bar," according to part-owner Nancy Pugh, is planned to seat more than 25. That community seating will seat the customers who like to eat in, but everything here is available to go. This is a place for a quick bite before a movie, a lunch or light supper, or a drink and a snack.

We tried, over several visits, various panini served on well-toasted, crisp rectangular, flat rolls, on a larger rectangular board. The roasted turkey breast panini ($7.95) came with its meat thinly sliced, bright with the salty complexity of Parmigiano Reggiano, with sweet white balsamic and sundried tomatoes forging perfect harmony. The tuna melt ($7.95) uses fresh fish to good effect for greater flavor, and capers for clarity.

The Wolf's Neck Farm Maine meatloaf panini ($7.95) excelled; its reddish meat, according to a server, caused by tomatoes in the mixture, which is fully cooked. With cheddar and tomato and onion relish, this sandwich concentrates classic pleasure in its small dimensions.

In every item on the menu the attention to detail and nuance proves you are in the hands of Rob Evans and Pugh, also owners of the excellent Hugo's just up Middle Street. Hugo's dinners of wild invention differ from Duckfat's classic themes, but both places exhibit a fanatic passion for the best possible versions of what is served.

And Duckfat is far cheaper.

I tried the salad special two times. The first, a rabbit confit salad with lentils and green apple in curry vinaigrette ($4.50), seemed slightly dry, but a question brought the offer of more vinaigrette, a spoonful of which cured the problem and made the tender rabbit meat and lentils dance with sour apple.

A goat cheese and toasted pecan salad ($4) came with a veil of white balsamic and oil on impeccably fresh spinach, the goat cheese also no slouch, creamy and endowed with complexity.

A short list of wine by the glass and beer includes Zardetto Prosecco ($5), a bright, dry bubbly, Wishing Tree unoaked chardonnay ($5.50) of three whites and Washington Magnificent House Red ($5) among two reds. Stella Artois ($3.50) is on the list of three draft beers; five are sold in bottles.

We can recommend the Ginger Brew (all sodas $1.50, and free refills) with its dark ginger, clove, anise and brown sugar, and the sassafras root beer, among the homemade sodas that include orange, and specials like watermelon and cherry lime. Iced coffee is superb, and a squeeze bottle of simple syrup makes sweetening it easy, without the problem of undissolved sugar crystals.

But for true intoxication, drink the milkshake ($4), so solid when first served that the straw not only stands straight, it cannot be used. The Tahitian vanilla, served in a glass with a dividend in the metal cup, grew progressively more liquid through lunch till its creamy ambrosia easily slid up that straw, the flowering, heady vanilla ever more purely present. Mocha, chocolate and espresso await.

And with the Belgian fries ($4.50, or $3.50 for a small paper cone), hot, crisp, sprinkled with a seasoned salt, what could be more satisfying? But wait - there are such delectable sides for the fries that a milkshake might interfere. Six sauces are offered, from ketchup, to spicy mayo, to cheese, to aioli - one bite of that garlicky mayo is enough to convert many ketchup lovers.

Add 50 cents and you can sample truffle ketchup, pungent and perfect when I tried it last summer in Hugo's, or Maine lobster mayo ($1.50), or duck gravy ($1).

The sweet panini ($3.25) are irresistible - so share. Slices of brioche toasted a walnut brown and sprinkled with confectioner's sugar lend their heat to the marscapone, which is Italy's slightly earthier version of clotted cream. You choose from four sweet fillings - sour cherry butter, orange marmalade, strawberry preserves or fig and port jam. The crafty amalgam of cake and sandwich knocks you out, with toasted sweet bread and thin layers radiating their flavor.

Beignets ($3.50), six small balls of fried dough served in a cone, come with a variety of toppings. My order had an odd variation in it, from heavier to lighter - and I preferred the lighter, which resembled the lightest doughnuts fragrant with nutmeg or mace. Those and Duckfat's press pot of coffee would make any morning, even as late as 11, seem a little glamorous.

Audience welcomes letters from Taste & Tell readers. Letters should be fewer than 200 words and include full name, address and a telephone number. Address letters to Linda Fullerton, managing editor, features, Maine Sunday Telegram, P.O. Box 1460, Portland 04104; e-mail: features@pressherald.com

CREDIT CARDS: Visa, MC
PRICE RANGE: $4 to $9
VEGETARIAN DISHES: Yes
RESERVATIONS: NoBAR: Wine and beer
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Two steps at front door, and high tables that don't accommodate wheelchairs, but summer seating is coming outdoors.
BOTTOM LINE: At Duckfat you can find inexpensive perfection and fantastic takes on simple and not-so-simple classics.

Reader Reviews Have you visited this restaurant? Give us your review.
Average reader rating: (1 review) *****
Reviewed by Dianne Cush of Hudson, MA
Jun 23, 2005 11:11 AM
Duck Fat was wonderful, and I can't wait to go back...I wish it was nearer....I had the turkey pannini, the fries with lobster mayo, and the beignets with the spicy seasoning....My friend had the goat cheese salad, the Great Shake, and the beignets with chocolate....The service was great...I was also helped picking a wine to complement my lunch....It was Excellent

Duckfat
WHERE: 43 Middle St., Portland, 774-8080

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, noon to 8 p.m. Sunday

CHEAPEST GRUB: "Toast & Jam" for $2. Spread with Mascarpone and grilled on brioche. With choice of homemade jams: black mission fig jam, seasonal apple butter, pear butter, orange marmalade and blueberry jelly

WAIT: About 10 to 15 minutes at a table. Take-out is faster.

PARKING: Yes