Jake’s Grill and Anderson Ranches Lamb

Jake’s Grill is one of those classic Portland restaurants offering its American food menu of steaks and seafood as part of the Sentinel hotel (previously the Seward Hotel, and Elks Temple, and then later the Governor Hotel. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places). Although it is owned by McCormick & Schmick’s, Jake’s still maintains a lot of autonomy over its sourcing and menu. For May, they are featuring special Pasture to Plate menus utilizing Anderson Ranches Lamb. Here’s a look at my favorites of the Jake’s Grill and Anderson Ranches Lamb dishes.

Anderson Ranches has been in the lamb business for 5 generations, and is located in the Willamette Valley. Their lamb is 100% grass fed and free range. Their flock are fed no antibiotics, growth stimulants, feed addictive and growth hormones. They graze on free range pastures on rolling foothills and open fields to roam and eat what they like and grow at their natural pace. Anderson Ranches farming uses sustainable practices and practices complementary to raising sheep such as the sheep helping with seed crop or weeds that control growth for trees or for other farmers to reduce need for herbicide. Supporting Anderson Ranches is supporting a thoughtful local business.

Meanwhile, Jake’s Grill is then taking their great lamb product and utilizing it in both traditional and in creative dishes. If you think you don’t like lamb because it’s gamey or you think lamb only comes so red and medium rare, you will be very pleasantly surprised at the huge range of options they’ve come up here between Jake’s Grill and Anderson Ranches Lamb.

Jake’s Grill serves up meals 7 days a week and for all meals – breakfast, brunch, lunch, happy hour, dinner. You will find the Pasture to Plate special menu at lunch and dinner. I didn’t try every single dish on all the menus, but I did get to try many of them for a recent media tasting event.

I liked both appetizers featuring lamb: the grilled center cut lamb ribs with curry sauce, pomegranate molasses, and saba glaze and the lamb tenderloin tartare with tahini, preserved lemon, bamboo salt, spiced pita chips. The kitchen did an amazing job on these very unusual takes on lamb that both let you taste the great meat but complement it with flavors you might not think to have with lamb. This is available on both their lunch and dinner Pasture to Plate menus.

In addition, for lunch as an entree, or at dinner as an appetizer, you’ll also find the melt in your mouth Barbacoa style lamb tacos with padron peppers, pickled cabbage, cotija cheese, and saffron-coriander sour cream.

If you are looking for just a little bit of lamb but in a really creative take, look for the salads at lunch or dinner, specifically the house smoked lamb pastrami salad with poached local farm egg, double crème goat cheese, frisée lettuce, and red wine vinaigrette. The smoky flavors of the lamb pastrami blew my mind at its intensity, but it is only peppered throughout the salad if you just want a try of lamb.

On the other hand, the lunch only coriander seared lamb loin salad with arugula, toy box tomatoes, cous-cous, charred red onion, feta, and lemon-cilantro vinaigrette is the perfect salad if you are not afraid of lamb and on the more rare side. Note: this was a shared salad for 5 people so they added more lamb then probably an individual plate would have, but still gives you an idea of the dish

That seared lamb loin salad may only be available at lunch, but then at dinner the lamb loin gets fancier with a dish of herb crusted lamb loin with thumbelina carrot cardamom purée, beluga lentil ragout, lemon cucumber relish. Note: this was a shared platter for 10 people so they added more lamb then an individual plate would have, but still gives you an idea of the dish

Or, go for the meat popsicles, which are usually my very very favorite way to have lamb – aka here at Jake’s Grill and Anderson Ranches Lamb, a roasted rack of lamb with spring vegetables, washington cherry chutney, and mustard lamb demi-glace.

I didn’t get to try this, but I’m also intrigued by the dinner menu entree of lavender honey glazed T-bone with pearl pasta, spring vegetable chow chow, and smoked tomato sauce.

What do you think of lamb- do you eat it? Would you try any of these dishes from Jake’s Grill and Anderson Ranches Lamb?

Disclosure: I attended a complimentary media meal, but I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given and I was not required or paid to promote this restaurant. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.