Higgins?

[Rosie]

Any comments on this restaurant? It was recommended.

[malachi]

tasty. i like the burger.

[melkor]

I had an excellent meal there when I was last in Portland.

[white lotus]

I had a wonderful meal there by myself 6 months ago. Food and service was impecable. If you have already gone to Wildwood, this would be my next restaurant stop. Enjoy... wl

[syrah girl]

We dined at Higgins and Wildwood in March. The food is much more innovative at Wildwood. I had lunch there and really enjoyed the crispy oyster and bacon salad and my trout entree put this fish on a whole new level.

Higgins was nice, a bit on the ordinary side. I had a salmon special that was really good. With other options such as Paley's Place, Hurley's, clarklewis, Park Kitchen,Wildwood and Bluehour, Higgins is probably at the bottom of my return list. I was glad I tried it tho. :)

[Kyle_Larson]

Maybe I'm just easily pleased, but Higgins is my favorite place to get lunch in Portland so far. I have never dined in the restaurant, but I have been to the bistro/bar quite a few times. The service is great, the beer selection is just right, all the veggies are in season and local/organic, and the food kicks. My favorite so far is the fancy pants burger.

Check out their website too.

http://www.higgins.citysearch.com/

[crosparantoux]

At Higgins, I had a miserable, badly conceived risotto with asparagus, blue cheese, and a bitter red wine jus. Three things that just don't go well together, ever. The wine by glass program was superb, though.

I agree that Wildwood is far better, with a folksier feel and more soulful dishes--stuff the waitresses and mgt. feel proud to serve. There was a crowded, machine-like atmosphere to Higgins.

[stevea]

I've eaten at both Higgins and Wildwood several times and I like them both a lot. Top chefs, top ingredients. Higgins has a better beer list, especially if you like Belgian beers.

[rjwong]

In my latest issue of Westways (Mar./Apr. 2006), the front inside cover folds out with a photo of Greg Higgins and an ad for Oregon tourism titled "The Oregon Chef."

The ad talks about Greg Higgins, along with Cory Schreiber, Vitaly Paley & other Oregonian chefs, and his goal to create an Oregon cuisine, ...

... food full of unique Oregon flavor and the peace of mind that the rich Oregon soil would stay rich Oregon soil.

You should see this photo. Greg Higgins is smiling and holding in his left hand an entire cooked leg of pig(?) or some sort of animal. That photo & the words of that ad are doing its job on me very well. "Yes, I'll eat Oregon cuisine."

Does Greg Higgins describe his cuisine as Oregonian?

And if anyone has that Mar./Apr. 2006 issue of Westways magazine, what kind of cooked animal is he holding?

[little ms foodie]

I love Higgins, the menu read so ordinary yet when our dishes arrived they were simple but full of flavor!! Expertly done!

Sometimes less is more as they say!

[scarlett]

From what I understand, Higgins uses almost entirely local ingredients and that is a big focus for them.

I haven't seen the picture, but I'd imagine it's pork. Last time I was there, I noticed them curing their own meats. They had several legs hanging from the ceiling when we looked in the pass through window (between the restuarant and the bar).

[noambenami]

I've eaten at Higgin's a few times. Frankly, I don't think this is a particularly good restaurant, especially given the evolution of the Portland dining scene over the past two years. The last two times I was there, we ate at the more informal bar and the food was mediocre at best. Perhaps you would have more luck in the main dining room, which is a big leap up in ambience, at least.

Wildwood is nothing particularly special, but I'd give it a nod over Higgins'.

On a good day, Park Kitchen, Gotham Tavern, Mint, Alberta Street Oyster Bar & Grill, Ciao Vito's, Fratelli's, Patanegra, etc are all much better places to eat. Plus, they're smaller, more neighborhood oriented restaurants which I personally much prefer.

[mattkantor]

I have eaten there on several occasions, and have found it to be one of the best and most consistent restaurants in the area. The wine program and service are also excellent.

As a cook in this business, it would be one of the first place I would look for a job (besides Paleys).

[Pallee]

Best duck I've ever eaten was at Higgins. (and I've eaten alot of duck!)

Lots of other great meals as well. I've recommended it to lots of folks who've always come away happy and gone back again.

[skye]

I've eaten at Higgin's a few times. Frankly, I don't think this is a particularly good restaurant, especially given the evolution of the Portland dining scene over the past two years. The last two times I was there, we ate at the more informal bar and the food was mediocre at best. Perhaps you would have more luck in the main dining room, which is a big leap up in ambience, at least.

Greg Higgins is one of the most important chefs in the Northwest because of his legacy. The "evolution" you are talking about consists almost entirely of ex-Higgins cooks starting their own restaurants. Greg Higgins is an unsung hero and a pioneer for what he has done for the philosophy of local, sustainable, and organic produce, and is almost singlehandedly responsible for what has become a respectable dining scene in PDX. I'm not going to lie to you-the food is fairly unsophisticated (it's Portland!!!), but it is delicious, and everything that he uses in his kitchen-i mean from salmon to salt to flour to beer-is hand crafted, painstakingly sourced, and produced with the greatest attention to the ethics of food production possible. To miss eating at Higgins is to miss eating at the mecca of the movement among chefs towards creating a world where what we eat reflects what we value. And of course you should eat in the main dining room. I mean, come on-you'r going to judge a restaurant by it's pub menu?

[little ms foodie]

I'm not going to lie to you-the food is fairly unsophisticated (it's Portland!!!),

hmmmm....

I'm going to take a bit of offense to this, WTF?? damn maybe I'm getting sensitive in my old age but I think PORTLAND has some of the best food on the west coast right now. I guess I don't get this statement at all!

[noambenami]

I mean, come on-you'r going to judge a restaurant by it's pub menu?

Yup, the kitchen sits right in the middle. A kitchen that sells stale nuts and mediocre produce to any of its clients deserves the criticism it gets. That said, Higgins is, indeed, a somewhat important restaurant, historically, but these days its food is nothing special.

damn maybe I'm getting sensitive in my old age but I think PORTLAND has some of the best food on the west coast right now

I would respectfully disagree. Portland's food scene is growing up, but Portland still cannot come close to Vancouver BC or San Francisco. Maybe in five years...in the last two I've seen a lot of movement forward, much of it driven by the ripe group and by all the money flowing into the Pearl district.

But Portland still has no restaurant that can come close to monsters like Lumiere, West, or Manresa.

Still, we do have some darn tasty, fun places. Its just a pity I gotta drive seven hours or fly out to get some serious degustation action. :-).

[skye]

I mean, come on-you'r going to judge a restaurant by it's pub menu?

Yup, the kitchen sits right in the middle. A kitchen that sells stale nuts and mediocre produce to any of its clients deserves the criticism it gets. That said, Higgins is, indeed, a somewhat important restaurant, historically, but these days its food is nothing special.

damn maybe I'm getting sensitive in my old age but I think PORTLAND has some of the best food on the west coast right now

I would respectfully disagree. Portland's food scene is growing up, but Portland still cannot come close to Vancouver BC or San Francisco. Maybe in five years...in the last two I've seen a lot of movement forward, much of it driven by the ripe group and by all the money flowing into the Pearl district.

But Portland still has no restaurant that can come close to monsters like Lumiere, West, or Manresa.

Still, we do have some darn tasty, fun places. Its just a pity I gotta drive seven hours or fly out to get some serious degustation action. :-).

←

Sigh...I'm not trying to bust chops, but if we're going to be realists here, alain ducasse wouldn't get very far in a city like portland, because aside from a few nike execs, there aren't that many folks who would throw on a suit and tie for a Saturday night dinner in Portland. Thats why portlanders live there to begin with! So don't get too upset, 'kay? Unsophisticated doesn't mean undelicious or un-technical, or unworthy of local pride. It just means that at Higgins you get great heaping platefuls of scrumptious local produce, instead of tiny, elaborate nuggets of italian truffles and iranian caviar. Okay?

[noambenami]

Sigh...I'm not trying to bust chops, but if we're going to be realists here, alain ducasse wouldn't get very far in a city like portland, because aside from a few nike execs, there aren't that many folks who would throw on a suit and tie for a Saturday night dinner in Portland. Thats why portlanders live there to begin with! So don't get too upset, 'kay? Unsophisticated doesn't mean undelicious or un-technical, or unworthy of local pride. It just means that at Higgins you get great heaping platefuls of scrumptious local produce, instead of tiny, elaborate nuggets of italian truffles and iranian caviar. Okay?

I understood where you were coming from and know you didn't mean to bust anything . I suggest you try eating at some of the restaurants I mentioned - Lumiere, for example, is a weekend trip from portland.

You won't find nuggets of truffles or caviar. What you'll find is the absolute best produce the northwest has to offer, prepared simply and with exquisite care and skill. Its a giant leap ahead of what Higgins puts on the table.

Same thing at Manresa, but with a strong focus on meat, whereas Lumiere's focus is on seafood.

To be fair, though, I'm not into "great heaping" platefuls of food, and just don't find Higgins to be that good in comparison to some of the truly great restaurants on the west coast.

As for a suit and tie - I didn't see people wearing those at Lumiere or Manresa either, thankfully...and Portland has restaurants that are as swank as anywhere, the food just isn't there yet.

[noambenami]

I'll add another thought...I think that neither Portland nor Seattle has an exciting food scene, but exciting food scenes are exceptionally rare. Chicago, Las Vegas, New York have them. But even Los Angeles rarely tries to reach very high.

It takes a tremendous amount of money and sophistication to support the kind of cuisine I am talking about. It also takes a very rare breed of chef who has tremendous talent, strength of will, and significant financial backing.

The Bay Area is, of course, a natural for a great culinary scene.

Vancouver, then, seems to be exceptional, as it has, per capita, a surprising number of truly special restaurants. It is, however, for its size, a surprisingly wealthy city, and conspicuous consumption doesn't seem to bother its residents as much as does the people of my lovely Portland. Neither do strip clubs. .

[skye]

alright, full disclosure. I worked at Higgins for about 2 months a few years ago (as a paid stage: I just went to Portland for a little while to "chill out", an area in which that city excells). Now I work in an East Coast restaurant >that you've probably heard of< wink wink. I can totally understand not being into a big heaping plate of yummy grub-sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not. But I think that my defense of and total sense of loyalty to Greg Higgins and every damn thing that he does stems from my belief, born of firsthand experience, that he is a living personification of Ghandi's ideal of being the good that you wish to see in the world. NOBODY in this industry is more thoroughly committed to the relationship between our work and ethical living that Greg, and even if the food that he cooks wasn't good (and I ardently believe that it is), that alone would be enough to make me to spend my dining dollars there. I understand wanting to go to Lumiere to have butter poached lobster (Local?? my ass)-I've dedicated my life to that kind of cooking, because I believe that the kind of beauty that we are able to create in super-high-end restaurants is valuable in and of itself. But why compare apples to oranges? this lady's asking whether she should eat at Higgins, not whether it compares to The French Laundry. And the answer is a resounding yes. Now, an important thing to understand about this is that at Lumiere you are paying a premium for all of the labor that they put into their product, and that's fine. At Higgins, you're also paying a premium, but it is for the peace of mind of knowing that EVERY SINGLE ITEM in that restaurant has been carefully, humanely and ethically created, and also that the people who cooked it for you and who are serving it to you are treated respectfully and paid a living wage. Does that make it worth a meal there, or should you pour a few more gallons of gasoline in your car and drive up to Vancouver to get a "decent meal"?? Up to you.

(an aside-I would CONFIDENTLY wager $100 that you could walk into the Lumiere kitchen and easily find 25 items that were not locally, organically, sustainably produced. Find me two at higgins and I'll eat my laptop)

[noambenami]

an aside-I would CONFIDENTLY wager $100 that you could walk into the Lumiere kitchen and easily find 25 items that were not locally, organically, sustainably produced. Find me two at higgins and I'll eat my laptop

Fair enough - chocolate and european cheese. There, enjoy your laptop.

Frankly, I'd be much more impressed with Higgins' philosophy if I wasn't so unimpressed by his food. Find me two dishes at Higgins' that are as good as the 25 I've had at Lumiere and I'll eat both of my servers. .

[tejon]

With all this talk about Higgins...any recommendations on must try dishes there? I'm going this Saturday night with some friends (off house hunting in Portland, moving at in a month!).

[Parmhero]

I'll be in Portland for a couple of days in mid-May and I'm thinking about trying Higgins. From my "research," mainly reading reviews on TripAdvisor, duck dishes seem to be a Higgins highlight.