Friday, April 29, 2011

An Adventure with St. Jack

St. Jack, parce que c'est délicieux!


No, I do not speak French – I’m just handy with the Google translator. But you, my dear foodie, should go to St. Jack because it is délicieux!


The menu features classic, rustic dishes from the countryside of Lyon, the heart of French cooking. Traditionally French, yes, but the menu is quite a lot for your typical American to take in. St. Jack’s chef and restaurateur Aaron Bennett is keeping it real. But am I ready for the food adventure he’s dishing out?


Let’s just say I have a new crush: Blood. Sausage.


But we’ll get to that in a minute. We must start with the first course, calf’s brain. This is the appetizer special, into which my informative server twists my arm. I was primed to dig into the tripe, but how can I not order the calf’s brains?


Unique doesn’t begin to cover it. I venture deep into the unknown, which happily, Monsieur Boy is totally game for.


Prepared much like your traditional sweetbreads, the little brain nuggets arrive at our table looking a lot like little chicken nuggets. Oh, but the texture! The taste! Creamy, not gritty; earthy, not mineral-y or particularly barn yard-y. This has a clear edge on organ meats. As the first bite melts between my teeth, I detect mushrooms, not meat. These little gems certainly awaken the umami sense. I could hand one of these puppies to a vegetarian and they’d be fully convinced I was sharing my mushroom custard with them.


Next up, pig face salad. While it sounds pretty creepy, really, it tastes an awful lot like fried pork belly. A slab of head cheese-esque pig face bits, gelatinous globs and all, lay atop a bed of leeks and greens. Crisp, salty, savory … in truth, this dish was ordered just for its name, “pig face”. In the belly, oh-so-yummy.


And finally, the fete de soir, blood sausage!!! I committed myself to ordering it long before we arrived. I ardently order the boudin noir, tremors secretly filling my stomach. Blood …. Sausage. An intestine casing filled with blood. How are they going to pull this off?


I tentatively saw into my first link. What a relief – it’s delicious! Other than the name, nothing scary about it. Fragrant with cumin, gossamer thin casing, light and airy. Technically speaking, it was smooshier than most sausages. An altogether tasty treat, with nary a hint of iron-rich blood. The accompanying potato puree, sweet apple slices, and stone ground mustard help me build bite after bite of pleasure. The sausages were so delicate and softly spicy – I could have had more. Paired with a Columbia Valley Syrah, this is easily the best sausage dish I can recall.



There are also French standards like frog legs and sweetbreads, and a fantastic patisserie selection with éclairs and handmade croissants. You can also go as mainstream as baked trout (Ahem, M. Boy) or pork shank if you’d prefer.


I was once again impressed by the east side’s charming, knowledgeable staff, peppered with the requisite tattoos and piercings. The mood was romantic with classic French music billowing about, soft candle light, and simple, non-contrived decor.


So stop in for some provincial Portland eats, or get the blood sausage. Your choice. Next time, I'm coming back for Happy hour, le hamburger perhaps. But for now, I'm still basking in the afterglow of my boudin noir.



St. Jack
2039 SE Clinton
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 360-1281


Obsessed with Oregon "vino-culture"? - A great place to read about Oregon Pinot Noir.



Thursday, April 14, 2011

Pleasure to Meet You, Mr. Ned Ludd

Allow me to make your next meal out decision a little easier: Introduce yourself to Ned Ludd.

Winning rave reviews all around, Ned Ludd is a true Portland gem; a cozy little romantic restaurant nestled on NE MLK.

The decor, decisively Pacific Northwest: Reclaimed timber, retro fixtures, big wooden barrels lounging around ... you almost expect a lumber jack to come lumbering into the dining room. Luckily, the image of bearded men in plaid flannel shirts is romantic to the femmes of P-Town. Another very Portland-y quality; Ned Ludd uses nothing but locally sourced cuisine - some as close as the restaurant's backyard. It's simple and ever changing, boasting charcuterie made mere miles away, greens and herbs that meet the criteria of whatever is available outside.

Owners Ben Meyer and Jason French took over the space of a former pizzeria and stuck with the wood oven, cooking exclusively with it. Ain't no fancy machines taking over this Ned Ludd. Despite everything being cooked in a wood fired oven, the menu is satisfyingly not monotone and divided into four sections:

forebits
kaltbits
warm bits
plats

Let's dig in!

Forebits: Monsieur Boy and I greedily nab the biggest charcuterie plate on the menu. The kitchen selection board is home to an extravagant mix of prescuitto, salumi, rillette, and cheeses of different textures and creatures. The usual crudites included, pickled, and in top form. A good charcuterie plate is a wonderful way to explore a medley of flavor with a fellow foodie, comparing combinations to create best practices for future bites.

Kaltbits: The friendly wait staff explains what "kaltbits" means in a non-condescending way (German, "cold" bits - salads, to be precise). We go with the arugula with duck confit, what else? The rich, fatty element of the confit plays off the bitterness of the arugula so well. And staying true to the locale, hazelnuts add a crunchy, earthy component to tie it all together.

Warm Bits: Meat pie! (the ! is on the menu; much deserved). Ned Ludd, you are quite the matchmaker. This is the perfect creation for a carnivore such as myself. The pie is filled with .... get ready ..... FIVE different beasts! Cow, swine, lamb, rabbit, and chicken. There was no way I was not ordering this dish. A flaky, buttery crust encompasses the meaty filling, aromatic with red wine.

Plats: My fish-o-choice was smoked cod, with a satisfying portion of mussels swimming around in a delightful smoky-sweet broth. Moist and bursting with complex flavor, not a bite was left on my plate, as even the last drops of creamy sauce were sopped up with bread. M. Boy goes for the ruby trout with a confit of fennel, sipping his sauv blanc between mouthfuls.

Balancing well with both meat and my cod dish, why a delicious full-bodied glass of Oregon Pinot Noir. Earthy and fruity notes compliment the smokey, spicy complexity of the cod and the rich meat pie with ease.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot the rearbits; dessert items garnering their own menu. Rearbits, dear reader, you will have to discover for yourself. This food face was so full from rounds 1-4, the last sip of pinot was the perfect ending.


3925 NE MLK
* parking on the south side of the building
http://nedluddpdx.com/

Obsessed with Oregon "vino-culture"? - A great place to read about Oregon Pinot Noir.