Next Wave

[Jim Dixon]

The Oregonian's A & E cover story is about the "new approach from an emerging group of culinary talents who are rethinking what makes great food."

Related articles include a review of Ripe's Family Supper and profiles of Navarre's John Taboada, Ripe's Tommy Habetz, Robert Reynolds, artisan baker Ken Forkish, Scott Dolich of the new Park Kitchen, one of Taboada's Navarre partners Alton Garcia, Leather Storrs from Noble Rot, dessert maven Mandy Groom Givler, Cheryl Wakerhauser from Pix, and Rolland Wesen of Rivers.

Jim

edited 8/11/03 to remove expired link

[Bux]

Trends and fads in food scare me and there's little that's more precious and less conducive to finding great food than looking for the next fad, but once I get past that and some of the funkier kitsch in the article, I sense that people in Portland are thinking more about how they cook and eat, at least in restaurants. The answer to:

The big question: Is this Next Wave a flash in the pan or tomorrow's menu? Will the small plates that dominate these places still be big two years from no

won't be known for a while. I think it matters very little if any of the particular plates are around next year or not, or if any of the current thinking now is still current then. What matters is if the thoughts develop or if fads just ricochet off the wall.

[Jim Dixon]

That blurb I dropped is a little misleading. The 'trends' these mostly younger (I loved seeing Robert Reynolds, 61, in the mix with the kids) cooks are more about the relationship between cook and eater. Michael Hebb told me they didn't want to run a restaurant, but were looking for a better (at least for them) way to make the 'food for money' thing work. Most of the food that comes out these kitchens is well-grounded in classic preparation and reflects the long history of cuisine. And the small plates aren't really new, either, but reflect the economy to some extent, although even at $2, $5, or $8 a plate, you can drop $50 pretty quickly.

Jim

[trillium]

You gotta admit that whole cult leader thing was a bit, well, ripe (ha ha). Anyway, I think the tone of the article actually works against the food that's being written about. It's better then that. But I'm biased, I react badly to hype.

regards,

trillium

[Bridget]

There is no doubt that somthing special is going on in Portland, as each new wave spot opens they both borrow from and one up each other- house made this- locally grown that. The result is that there are outragiously rightious and delicious bites to be had at many of these places. There is however, a bizarre element of groove involved that can result in alienation if you are not so hip yourself. I have in fact experienced down right poor service at several of these spots and wonder who of these wiz kids will last in the "brutal bussiness"? As Greg Higgins shows us, to stay on top you have to serve great food and provide great service.

[LaurieA-B]

A Seattle chef recently told some egulleters that he thinks the Portland food scene is the most exciting around right now. The Oregonian article that he mentioned is the one Jim linked to above (the main article, and the profiles of each chef). If you need ideas for where to eat on your next trip to Portland, this is it. Matthew and I had a delicious lunch with Jim at Park Kitchen earlier this summer, after which we immediately headed to Ken's for more bread and pastry. We also sampled both Ken's and Pix pastries at the Saturday farmers market.

Edited to remove reference to expired link.

Edited August 11, 2003 by LaurieA-B (log)

[Jim Dixon]

Apparently the Oregonian requires registration for some older material, so I removed the link. Ripe has expanded their family supper concept with some events open to the public. You can learn more here.

I'm planning to attend the whole hog dinner, which I think is going to cost about $40.

Jim

[ExtraMSG]

I've eaten at a few of these places. And the trend in new restaurants in Portland seems to be going this way even with places like Carafe where you have much more traditional French bistro style food with local ingredients. Sauton greeted us and seated us, waited on several tables, even dispensing water and delivering dishes, but I never saw him say, "Hi, I'm Chef Sauton" or anything like that. It's more like these chefs are inviting you into their home and making food for you. You're their guests in that more personal sense. It's not grand-standing or showing-off or trying to be a celebrity. It's a more sincere desire to make food that people like and to like the people who come to eat their food. That's the sense I get, but maybe I'm projecting the Portland-attitude that I want rather than what exists. But I think it's a defined difference from what you might find in an LA or NY or even SF where maybe there's so much competition that chefs have to do things like "The Restaurant" to survive. I don't think it's entirely new to Portland, though, just a more concentrated version of what Portland is. As I've complained about elsewhere, I do miss haute cuisine, which Portland does not have. Even pinnacles like Wildwood and Genoa have generally fairly rustic presentations, even on desserts, and you'll rarely find foie gras, truffles, or caviar on even French menus. There are few tasting menus and only one prix fixe many course menu that I know of (Genoa). There isn't even that much fusion cooking. Caprial's does some interesting fusion cooking that comes across unforced and novel. But Portland's strength seems to be in traditional food, places like Cafe Azul, Genoa, Pambiche, Tuscany Grill, Paley's, Mother's, Esparza's, and so on. And these "next wave" or whatever places seem to be similar. I consider it only new, really, in the sense that everything old becomes new again. But I think the reason why it will survive is because they do great stuff and they're not trying to be the next whatever. They could just be neighborhood restaurants and be fine.

[bankchef]

The restaurant scene in Portland never really did that much for me. It seems to me that local ingredients as a starter work really well. Especially in a state like Oregon that has so many different things to choose from. . .but it does tend to get old when things like fois gras are missing. And because so many restaurants are doing that the menus can begin to look alike. I can say some of the best food I've ever had has been in Portland, but something is missing. Personally, I feel that some cities that don't get as much recognition do food that is on the same level as Portland. Memphis is an incredible food town but the only thing we hear about it is bbq. I was looking for a place to take my wife on our Anniv. and it seemed that no matter where we went we would have the same seafood, same sauce choices. I sometimes think the only local menus can confine a menu. Then again, I'd love to use only local produce, even grow it all myself. I'm just a big contradiction on the matter.

[wesza]

Since I live in Seattle, i've traveled often to "Portland' and relish the Chefs attempts to evolve our dining pleasures and experience to a new level. There are certainly Chef's competent enough to prepare any dishes that previous posters wished for, but it's a very expensive learning experience. There is some of the finest "Fois Gras'. produced in the world, available from New York States Catskill's, but it very expensive. Not as expensive as from Europe, but in my opinion much better tasting. I'm talking about the livers, not the finished product's pate's etc. When I recieved a sample from a supplier, I went to a restaurant where I was sure they would enjoy preparing it for me, sharing the experience. Left my credit card number and requested they call and tell me when it will be ready, so my guests and I can come for dinner. We came, indulged, plus ordered some wine, dinner and desserts. When I requested the check, I was surprised that our wine was compted, and we were only charged for entrees and dessert. The Chef said that they had enjoyed the experience so much, that they would have compted the whole meal, but knew if they tried that i'd blow a gasket, and would be reticient to return. Also take into consideration that many Chefs have little experience with exotica. Our Northwest Chef's are familiar with many wild mushrooms and do them very well, but what if this Indiana? So my suggestion is if you've enjoyed dining at any of your special places, call the Chef over at a quiet time, and ask if he'd be willing to prepare something special just for you, you just may luck out. Irwin

[bankchef]

Good post wesza. Using new ingredients and creating new dishes are what keep our jobs interesting. I'd love for a guest to bring me fois gras to prep for them. Sometimes farmers stop by and bring certain produce, fishmongers bring unusual fish etc. . .and these products help to keep my job fun and evolving.

Keep in mind when asking for something not on the menu that only in the quiet times do we enjoy it, though. If the room is packed we don't want to start making things up.

[Exotic Mushroom]

I lived in Portland for five years (moved away less than a year ago) and worked for a food and wine publication there. Thus, I was pretty much in tune with everything that was happening on the Portland culinary scene, and I have to say...not impressed. There are a few restaurants that have some nice stuff to offer, but overall, I found the quality of the food and the "creative" efforts coming out of there just so uninteresting that I had to move.

The one thing I did like about Portland was that you can find a nice snacky menu at any decent bar. (This in contrast to Oakland, where I live now, and no bars offer food). And the nicer bars often have pretty interesting menu's composed by skilled chefs. I used to enjoy evenings of bar hopping and getting fairly interesting little bites everywhere we went - enough to add up to a full meal's worth consumed in an evening. I think that options like that (not very pricey, but small portions) do encourage people to try things they often wouldn't otherwise. But I think that really only works if you have that option at many places - otherwise you're just going to a tapas-style restaurant.

[bankchef]

I moved to.

[bankchef]

too.

[ExtraMSG]

I guess that depends, to some degree, on what impresses you. I just took a trip with an experienced Chowhound friend to the bay area for 5 days where we ate at French Laundry, Gary Danko, Fifth Floor, Chez Panisse, and Masa's (plus a ton of places for lunch and snacks). Of those, Portland food is much more in Chez Panisse's style. Chez Panisse isn't really haute cuisine. It's not showy. It's preparations aren't surprising. It's just good ingredients, prepared thoughtfully and well. I think that's what Portland's "next wave" has. But I think even Portland's high end restaurants are much closer to Chez Panisse than they are French Laundry. There's no effort to be "clever" (which could also be construed as pretentious) like Keller's salmon tartare coronets. You're not going to get a foie gras ice cream like I had in Chicago at Charlie Trotter's. But I'd rather eat the poached eggs on brioche with bacon and pinot noir sauce I had at Buckmans Bistro the other night than either of those. Is it new? Only in the sense that everything old becomes new again, like I said before. But is it good? Definitely. Fabulous, actually, just like the simple salad I had at Chez Panisse with the most wonderful cherry tomatoes I've ever had was. I like haute cuisine and I wish Portland had a place that could pull out a tour of caviar and a 12 course tasting menu with foie gras, but that's just food you eat once a month or on a special occasion. Portland restaurants make food you can and want to eat every day. I think that's impressive.