Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Portland, OR Restaurant Review: Beast



Beast PDX is a small restaurant in North East Portland. It is located on 30th Ave just South of Killingsworth.

I had originally heard about Beast after reading an article about women chefs with wonderful restaurants around the country. Since I am a Portland, OR native I thought that a visit would be in order on my next visit home.

My Mom set up the reservation for the three of us on a Wednesday evening. Beast has two seating's nightly; the first seating is at 6pm and the second is at 830pm. We opted for the earlier seating because I don't like to eat that much food that late. Upon arrival we were sat at our table with six other people. At the other table there were sixteen seats as well. This is community fine dining; once everyone arrived they promised to start serving the food. The menu is simple; six courses are served for $52 and add wine tasting to each course for $35. That's it. No exceptions. No requests. The menu changes each week. Perfect.

The Menu from July 15th, 2009 with wine pairings followed by my opinions and insight:

Chilled Cream of Carrot Soup, Nasturtium Salsa Verde
Domaine D'arlot Nuits-St Georges La Gerbotte Blanc-2005





This soup was great starter for the summer, because it was cold. However, the creaminess was a bit over powering for me. I would have preferred something lighter as a first course. The white Burgundy (chardonnay) did, however, offset a lot of the richness and also provoked the sweet flavors out of the soup. The soup was flavorful and nicely seasoned.


Charcuterie Plate
Knebel Riesling Trocken Von Den Terrassen-2007




At the top of this place is the chicken liver mousse followed by the Foie gras bon-bon, pork sausage, pickled vegetables, steak tartare, and sour cherry and pistachio pate. The Mousse was excellent. It was salty, creamy and ethereally smooth. I was blown away by the bon-bon. The foie gras was unbelievably smooth and rich. The Sauterne Gelee was sweet and the shortbread was crispy. The Pickled Vegetables nicely cleansed the palate and brought me to the tartare which was fine, but underwhelming and under seasoned. I couldn't taste the beef or anything in the tartare. It was presented nicely, but had weak flavor. The wine was an interesting pairing with everything, but went very well with the mousse and pate and foie gras.


Braised Sonoma Farms Duck Leg, Green Tomato Confiture, Buckwheat Sweet onion and Spinach Crepe, Duck Demi-Glace


Les Vins Contes Gama Sutra-2007

The duck was our favorite dish of the evening. After a long braise with red wine and spices, this leg came out exceptionally succulent; almost like a baby back rib. The spices on the duck were reminiscent of an "urban" bbq sauce; salty, sweet, and tangy. We were left with the buckwheat crepe filled with spinach to sop up all the lovely sauce. Everyone at our table was itching to the lick the plate.


The wine was quite interesting as it was an old vine Gamay grape from the Loire valley of France. I thought that it reminded me of tart sour cherries on the palate and had nice acidity to cut through the richness of the duck. Definitely an interesting wine and a nice pairing.


Shaved Fennel & Cherry Tomato Salad, Parmesan Crisps, Nicoise Olives & Mint, Lemon Vinaigrette

Texier Brezeme Cote Du Rhone Villages Blanc Pergault-2006



I really liked getting a nice crisp, and refreshing salad after some rather heavy courses. This course was simple but with a great combination of flavors. The keys were the mint and Parmesan crisp as they played off the tartness of the tomatoes and the subtle licorice notes of the fennel. The wine accompanying this course was Roussane from the Rhone and enhanced the herbal qualities of the mint and the earthiness from the Parmesan.


Selection of Steve's Cheese, Anise and Fleur De Sel Shortbread, Poached Fruit, Candied Hazelnuts

Domaine De Roally Vire-Clesse-2007


Unfortunately, I forgot a photo of this course, but it was a nice course. We were served three different cheeses: a hard cow's milk cheese from Idaho, a washed rind brie from the Cowgirl creamery, and an aged goat cheese from France. The plating was similar to the Charcuterie so you could dabble and mix and match all the parts. The wine was very interesting as it was another unique pairing. This time we had a late harvest chardonnay from the Macon region of France. The wine had enough acidity and a light sweetness to complete but not overpower the cheese. I have never had a wine like this and thought that the choice was unique and clever.


Sour Cherry Tartlett, Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream, Aged Balsamic Caramel
Spreitzer Riesling Auslese Oestricher Lenchen-2005


Our final course was delicious as it was petite. A perfect portion and finish to a wonderful meal. There was a nice balance of acidity and tartness from the sour cherries to offset the creaminess and the sweetness from the carmel sauce. I gobbled mine up in two bites and honestly thought the wine pairing was subtle and distracted. The Riesling got lost in the upfront flavors of this dish, but kept it's flavor nicely.
After our meal we had a nice cup of French pressed Stumptown coffee. We all agreed the that service at Beast was exceptional; the kind where you feel well taken care of, but not intrusive. The staff was very knowledgeable of the food and wine and were able to answer any questions. Our only complaint was the chairs. For a two and half hour meal I expect much more comfortable chairs. By the time we left everyone was stretching the legs and walking around. I have sat in more comfortable chairs at airports, doctor's offices, and thrift stores. Please, Beast owners, if you ever read this, I hope you will make the investment in some new seats!

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