Dining out in Portland, Oregon and other Food Travels
Have you heard of Bar Casa Vale? They opened last year, and Willamette Weekly declared them Bar of the Year 2017. I’ve mostly been for drinks, particularly their goblets of gin and tonics although they have lots of other amazing cocktails, but recently I also got a chance to try more of their menu and wanted to share my recommendations with you.
I’ve been to several Holdfast Dining events and been a fan since 2014, and realized I’ve never shared the experience on the blog before! My most recent dinner was #609 for Holdfast Dining. This particular dinner was a special luxury ingredient themed dinners especially for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. For $175 I enjoyed an incredibly filling 10 course dinner with 6 wine pairings. So here’s a recap of my Holdfast Dining New Year’s Dinner.
Holdfast Dining is reservations only via their website, doing one 7 PM dinner seating each on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Normally their dinner is a 10 course prix fixe chefs tasting menu with 5 wine pairings for $105. On Monday they hold Deadshot, a more casual a la carte version of their food that does not require reservations.
If you are attending on a reservations dinner, you check in with the wine director when you enter past the curtained entrance and are greeted with a glass of bubbly. He will then direct you to your seat based on the size of your party – at a countertop bar or at a table. I was seated at the bar which I always enjoy watching the plating and chatting with others.
Before each course, after watching them plate it in the open kitchen, Chefs Will Preisch and Joel Stocks talk about the dish in terms of inspiration or what they did to create the dish.
Chefs Joel Stocks and Will Preisch of Holdfast Dining
You may have heard that in September, Earl Ninsom of Langbaan (and also PaaDee and Hat Yai) announced a new special monthly dinner series, the Chefs Who Inspire dinner series. I recently attended the Chefs Who Inspire Dinner with Justin Woodward of Castagna. Here’s a look at my dinner experience.
Each dinner of the Chefs Who Inspire series will offer six tasting menu courses with wine pairings for $180 (gratuity not included) with a guest chef that Chef Earl admires and believes is inspiring to him and others and wants to highlight as the culinary talents that they are. Chef Earl introduced at the beginning of this dinner that he ate at one of the best restaurants in Bangkok with other chef friends – and thought to himself – Justin can do this. And he can do it better.
I have to agree that Chef Justin and Castagna is one of the huge underrated gems of Portland – the restaurant would have a waiting list and he’d be a rock star in a lot of other cities. Part of it is Portland is less into fine dining then other metropolis cities (which face it, often have more business expense accounts also) and the Portland dining scene doesn’t have enough that embrace modernist high end and Michelin star quality menu prices that are normal in San Francisco and New York. Chef Justin is also a more introverted personality who works quietly, thoughtfully, to the beat of own drum. He seems to shy away from attention, and just wants the food to speak for itself.
I enjoyed the original Roe PDX restaurant by Chef Trent Pierce when it was a hidden restaurant in the back of Block and Tackle (formerly Wafu), and have been excitedly awaiting the opening of the new Roe PDX location downtown. Dining here is completely reservations only, and you select your date and time of seating from Tock or OpenTable – they have a smaller Theater menu, or go the full chefs menu course dinners. The price includes gratuity. The food here is contemporary seafood, with an intimate fine dining atmosphere – the level of service here is worthy of any white tablecloth restaurant in the top cities in the world, not the usual Portland casualness.
You’ll find Roe in the back of Morgan’s Alley (515 SW Broadway), only blocks from Pioneer Square. It is slightly hidden on the second floor with no clear Roe sign, only a congratulatory “Yes! You’ve Found Us!” as a hint.
When you first enter the otherwise unmarked door, you find yourself in a waiting room with no view of the restaurant space yet, only another note that someone would be with us and some seats against the all and flower arrangement in the middle on a table. At first, it felt a little Alice in Wonderland.
If you are looking for a sophisticated place to go out on a holiday dinner with your loved ones or your friends during the holiday or post holiday, don’t overlook the classic nice dinner out at Ringside Fish House. This elegant restaurant is located downtown right by Director’s Park, and is a favorite for theater goers with their 3 Course Prix Fixe Dinner that can get you to the show on time. I like visiting without a show ticket even more so I can fully linger and enjoy the atmosphere. Take advantage of the complimentary self-parking at Fox Tower Parking Garage, or walk only a block or two away from the Max or Streetcar.
Here’s a look at a recent nice dinner out at Ringside Fish House I enjoyed this month. Keep in mind of course that like any excellent seafood restaurant the dishes may change based on what is fresh. Certain favorites will be there in some form though – for instance the impressive starter of a Fresh Seafood Platter arranged with King Crab Legs, Hokkaido Scallop, Gulf Prawns, Oysters, Mussels, Manila Clams, House Smoked Salmon. This one is just a small that offered more then enough for us four, but they come in two other sizes for even more grandness and has an optional upgrade addition of lobster. That house smoked salmon is really something special
You should perhaps also warm up with a cocktail. They have the classics as you would expect from Moscow Mule to Penicillin to Boulevardier or whatever you’d like to call. But think about their house cocktails as well, including a few that rotate seasonally. The NxNW cocktail with Vodka, Apple Brandy, Pear, Cinnamon, Lemon brings together nice warming flavors, while their Water of Youth consists of Vodka, Yuzu, Honey, Chamomile, Cava that brings some bubbly joy and yuzu that goes well with seafood.
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Pechluck's Food Adventures
Enjoying deliciousness in Portland & wherever travels may lead me.
My name is Pech, short for Pechluck. I enjoy adventures in eating - dining out and cooking and imbibing for local Portland deliciousness or wherever travels lead.
Disclosure: There may be at times sponsored posts where the ticket to an event or meal or sample product to review was complimentary, but I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.
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