Thursdays at Renata is Risotto in a Cheese Wheel

Recently, on Thursdays at Renata they have been offering a special risotto a la minute which is finished in a parmesan cheese wheel in the middle of the room before being brought to your table. This is a little similar to the cheese wheel experience/dalla forma pasta I enjoyed in LA that I wrote about previously, but is focused at Renata on a rich creamy risotto in a cheese wheel only available on Thursdays. I don’t currently know of any place else in Portland offering anything finished in a cheese wheel.

On our visit the Risotto a la Minute was with morels, pea tendrils, Parmigiano-Reggiano – by default it used a meat stock but could be made vegetarian by request. As it sounds, it was rich, creamy, and so comforting.
 

As a special only on Thursdays at Renata @renatapdx they offer a risotto finished in a Parmesan cheese. Here shown it’s a risotto with morels, pea tendrils and Parmesan Reggiano. It’s made by default with chicken stock but can be made vegetarian as well with mushroom stock if you ask. More about this risotto and other delicious dishes we enjoyed on the blog today (link in profile). . . . #pdx #portland #pdxnow #pdxeats #pdxfood #eatpdx #eeeeeats #nomnom #dinepdx #huffposttaste #yahoofood #buzzfeast #buzzfeedfood #foodgram #instadelicious #f52gram #dallaforma #onthetable #whatsfordinner #forkyeah #womenirl #whatiate #foodanddrink #risotto #cheese #cheeselove #cheesewheel #ilovecheese #risotto #renatapdx

A post shared by Pechluck Laskey (@pechluck) on May 30, 2017 at 7:34am PDT

I’ve professed my love for the pastas and aged meats at Renata previously on this blog, and even on a visit where we were coming for the risotto, I couldn’t resist ordering extra pastas and meats. The menu changes often based on what is fresh, and for our visit we went for a Smoked Brisket Ravioli with spring onion, thyme, and Grana Padano that was amazingly even more melt in your mouth then the risotto.

And if you ever see it listed, do not miss Renata’s Isabella Scarpinocc one of the signature pastas here, named after the young daughter Isabella of Renata owners Nicholas and Sandra Arnerich. The textures of this bow shaped pasta are pillows of firmness and softness in a spa of butter.

The winner dish of the night though was the Renata Hearth dish of Porchetta Spiced Chicken with spring carrots, cedi bean puree, pistachios – so many layers of flavors and textures that complimented but contrasted each other and had a nice seasoning with a touch of spice. Although you may be wowed by the pasta, and maybe distracted by the pizza oven, the secret best things on the menu come from Renata’s program of purchasing meat and butchering and aging it themselves in their own meat locker like an extremely small curated steak house – but they take that same care with any meat, be it beef or pork or chicken or whatever they acquire.

It’s one of the many reasons I adore Renata and like to recommend it to others – very family friendly yet good enough for a business dinner or a romantic date, has food items for the conservative eater to the adventurous, easy parking along the streets and they even have a lovely patio outside if you want to dine al fresco. They were named Restaurant of the Year when they had barely opened yet, but now a few years later they are still going strong even though the hype train has moved on to the newest places, making this incredible restaurant more accessible to everyone for great food, service, and atmosphere, which is what they wanted to bring you before the media storm anyway.

Renata’s Old Fashioned Flight with rye-demerara, bourbon-maple, and scotch-honey

Have you ever enjoyed a dish finished in a cheese wheel before? Have you been to Renata before?