Yes folks. It's been a wee while since I posted. Life has a way of not
respecting the priority you set on the fun stuff you'd much rather be
doing - like talking to you guys about food and such. And boy do I have a
special treat for you today!
Portland is a relatively new independent restaurant, small, cozy, simple, clean. It was on my companion's hit list for quite some time and after a particularly difficult week at work, we decided to treat ourselves to what we would soon discover is a food-lovers' wet dream.
We arrived shortly after they opened for our reservation and were able to choose our table - we chose the counter as there was plenty of daylight left and people watching is always nice.
I would describe the food as classic English with an update. Lots of offal-y, hearty, gamey flavours but with bits from the continent.
The menu is split into snacks, small plates, main dishes, and deserts. We went a little wild and chose a little of everything to share. I would describe the type of food here as imaginative, unusual, extremely well thought out, and SO FREAKIN GOOD! Ok here goes.
For starters we got lardo (melt in the mouth paper thin slivers of cured meat), bread, and (what tasted like) homemade butter. I forget what was sprinkled on it sorry guys!
And the parfait, chicken liver I believe. Really decadent and lush.
We followed these pieces of heaven with items from their small plate menu - namely the unappetizing named cow's curd which was actulally pretty phenomenal. Like a cross between cottage cheese and cream cheese maybe? I dunno, whatever it was was delicious.
We also got pig's head lardons which is one of the most carnivorously named dishes I've ever had consumed. Also delicious and BEAUTIFULLY presented.
Oh and I forgot to mention the wine. OMFG. I normally don't highlight wine on the blog as I really know nothing about it so talking about it sounds a little disingenuous but hot damn. My buddy chose well. It's called Caruso & Minini Sachia Perricone from 2013. If you go, put it in your face.
The main of the evening was the duck breast with a side of potatoes. The duck comes rare as standard, super lean, delicious as well.
Desserts arrived as the sun was starting to set. We got two because we couldn't just pick one. We settled for mille-feuille and a chocolate tart. Both were good but the tart was DIVINE.
The tart was the best possible way to finish an awesome dining experience. The food sounds so fancy but the staff and the venue are warm, friendly, and super casual. It works incredibly well.
Plus the bill came with macaroons. I mean come on! <3
xxs