[Food]
[food] I may have a new favorite restaurant…mmm nom nom ZOMG
the_child, calendula_witch, tillyjane and I went hiking this morning. At the last minute we redirected from the Leif Erikson Trail to Kelly Point, where the Willamette flows into the Columbia. We spent an hour and change out there, then dropped tillyjane off at her place. After that, the_child and calendula_witch briefly hit a couple of resale shops while I loitered in the Genre car. Then we headed over to Foti’s on East Burnside for a gyros-and-fries lunch.
One problem. Foti’s isn’t open on Sunday.
Right across the street was a pub we’d never heard of, the EastBurn. Not wanting to drive further for lunch, we wandered in.
ZOMG.
The decor is hip with an emphasis on interesting rather than self-involved. (The basket chairs at the front of the main dining area fascinated the_child and gave me a serious 70′s flashback.) The menu is innovative, strikingly so, nouveau American with a northern European inflection. The service was pitch perfect, just the right amount of waiterly attention without being up in our grill.
We ordered Brie tempura with marionberry jam and sliced apples for an appetizer. That may have been the best fried cheese I’ve ever eaten. (It could have come with half a dozen more baguette slices, but this is a quibble.) the_child and calendula_witch both had steak salads, which included cranberries and diced apples amid the copious greens, very nicely dressed. I ordered the “Über Sondvich”: char-grilled Carlton pork medallion, potato pancake, scallion sour cream, caramelized onions and bourbon-apple chutney on grilled ciabatta. With their trinity fries on the side (sweet potatoes, russets and leeks fried together).
This is what people in Texas call “granny-slapping good”, meaning food so good you’d slap your own granny away from the plate. I think that was the best sandwich I’ve ever had.
The rest of the menu ranges from quirky to fascinating, including items on the Happy Hour menu such as pork-and-elk meatballs, and spaetzle sautéed in duck fat with pancetta, shallots and fontina. Loads of regional microbrews, for them what drinks, an ambitious wine list, and some rocking lemonade for those of us currently eschewing alcohol. All priced quite reasonably, only slightly more than a burger-and-fries at your neighborhood bar.
We are so going back. If you’re anywhere in greater Portlandia, I suggest you make haste to the EastBurn. I know I am in restaurant love.
Posted: 3:27 pm Sun August 15 2010 |
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Laurie Mann
August 15th, 2010 at 3:43 pmWow. We’re going to be in Portland for a meeting in mid-October and I know where I’m going to for a meal! And we’ll only be a little more than a mile away.
Jay
August 15th, 2010 at 3:49 pmI cannot recommend it highly enough.
Laurie Mann
August 15th, 2010 at 4:10 pmOther than Skeeball, the restaurant looks great.
During my brief employment at an amusement park, I worked Skeeball for a day and hated it so much, that was my last day there.
Jay
August 15th, 2010 at 4:14 pmYou will be relieved to know there was no Skeeball in evidence in the main dining room…
Mary Kay
August 15th, 2010 at 4:20 pmWoo. I’ll drive down & go with. I want that sandwich, really a lot.
MKK
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Bryan Schmidt
August 16th, 2010 at 3:50 pmLOL “Granny slapping good.” Nice.