Eating Portland: Tabla's Tapas Hour, aka land of bargain bites!

Have you noticed, amid this craze by restaurants to serve small plates and call them "tapas", how few people actually seem to know what tapas are? It's like they've grabbed this idea of Spain without doing any research, mis-named their overpriced, unimaginative plates to conjure up this Spanish mindset while simultaneously emptying their customers wallets. Luckily for us chef Anthony Cafiero at Tabla Bistro, which is already the most ridiculous dining deal in town (if you haven't tried their 3 course for $25 dinner menu you're missing out on one the most pleasurable ways to use your disposable income) does understand the whole tapas idea. Every evening from 5:30-6:30 Tabla serves traditional tapas plates in their bar area (although thanks for allowing us a table and high chair when we showed up with C-boy in tow). Cafiero gets exactly what tapas are meant to be: small, carefully prepared bites, meant to tease and titillate, a few tastes to have while slurping down a glass or two of wine or a cocktail. The plus with Tabla's tapas hour is that, while remarkably affordable )priced from $3-$5), they deliver incredible flavor value. The tuna poached in olive oil and veal sweetbreads were fabulous bargains at $4 & $6 respectively. We went for the first time Monday night and walked out completely satisfied. Six completely different tastes, one cocktail, and two glasses of wine for $52. Here's a partial visual look. Believe me, the reality is even better!

The red kuri squash soup shot with pancetta and apple ($3) with a silky, porky pile of serrano ham with house made flatbread ($3) in the background.

The above mentioned olive oil poached albacore ($4!!) which I would have been thrilled to be served at any of the tapas bars in Barcelona and Seville I've been too. Great dish!

A stellar pile of crispy veal sweetbreads ($5)
with a plate of salt roasted beets with feta cream ($4).

We also had Anthony's braised brussels sprouts with a grana padano stock ($4). He also sent out a sample of something soon to make an appearance, a gelled celery root cube topped with a fried hama hama oyster which is one of the richest, most decadent bites I've had in a long time. w said it was like eating butter. C-boy rolled his year-old eyes in delight when we gave him his bite. Everything we ate was top notch and again totally over-delivered for the $$ spent!

Quick Bites PDX: Tabla elevates its game!

The past three times I've walked out of Tabla on NE 28th Avenue here in Portland, I am always left wondering "How in the hell do they do it?" Not how do they make the food. That I get. The question was raised again last Saturday night by the absolutely stellar quality of the plates coming out of Tabla executive chef Anthony Cafiero's kitchen (that's Cafiero with burners blazing behind him in the photo below right). Add to that the sheer ridiculousness of the value offered by their 3-courses for $24 menu and it boggles the mind how they are doing it. We're not talking tiny tapas sized plated here. they are virtually full-sized portions. This is without question the best dining deal in the city. Maybe one of the best restaurant values I've ever come across in any city. Cafiero, with owner Adam Berger's blessing, has put into play an über-seasonal menu. Cafiero relentlessly prowls the local farmer's markets, buying what's fresh and looks good. Now I know lots of chefs do this, but it's what they do with what they buy once they hit the kitchen that matters, and luckily chef Cafiero has an incredibly creative mind and palate that knows not only what tastes good together, but helps him find new ways to pull different flavors out of tried and true ingredients. Cafiero didn't go to culinary school, instead pursuing an arts education, and you can see it in the way his plates come together visually. Eating with the eyes is the thing you do first at Tabla.

When I made the reservation for Saturday, I asked for seats at the chef's counter so I could watch Anthony in action. While we perused the menu Cafiero graced us with a small plate of two of mornings market finds, padron peppers and cherry tomatoes (left) that had been suatéed and served arounda spoonful of lemon cream that I would gladly bathe in. With those flavors shooting around my mouth I opened my beverage search with their Bicycle Thief cocktail, a refreshing and nicely balanced mix of Campari, basil infused gin, and Carpano Antica. With the Tabla 3-course menu, you choose one appetizer, one pasta, and one entrée. w decided to get the eat fest started with their warm haricot vert salad, which was plated with chioggia beets, hazelnuts, aged balsamic and a fried farm egg. The green beans were perfectly cooked, the whole thing fresh (you may see that a lot in this review) and bright. The same could be said for my app of red veined sorrel and salmon tartare salad (right). The delicately textured and sublimely flavored tartare was ringed by the sorrel and shaved chioggia beets with rosemary oil, shallots, and sherry. Both appetizers were light on the palate, the perfect teaser for what was to come, which is exactly what you'd want them to be.

For our pastas I went for the fettucine verde (below left) which was wonderfully textured house-made pasta with a light yet rich basil-pistachio pesto and cherry tomatoes and ricotta salata. The noodles themselves couldn't have been better. Just the right chew. w's spicy pork sugo tagliatelle was equally satisfying. Meaty, rich but not heavy, a hint of chili spice complimenting but not overpowering, with the basil flavor peeking through around the edges. Both pastas were delicious, and in not-small portions. Again, the value offered here is astounding! The only down note to this course was the suggested wine pairing with my fettucine. The menu suggested a 2007 French gamay, whose flavor totally got lost when tasted after the nutty-green pesto. Much better would have been a white of some kind....maybe a sauvignon blanc or northern Italian bianco.

When we chose our entrée, I asked Anthony what was looking good. Proving his farmer's market cred he gave me the "Dude, the salmon. I just picked up a 26 pounder at the market this morning." Done. He pan sears it and serves it with roasted mushrooms, salt roasted new potatoes, sautéed mustard greens and a saffron fumet (looking delicious at left). Talk about flavor! The salmon couldn't have been fresher, and combined with the earthiness of the mushrooms brought to mind a "surf & turf" for the farmer's market age. w went for the pan-fried rockfish that came with cumin scented carrots (one of the few things that didn't quite work. The cumin was a bit dry and raw tasting on the carrots), a broccoli pesto that was brilliantly original, and an olive and cherry gremolata. Once again the fish was cooked to that just-right doneness, tasting so fresh, moist, and clean. The broccoli pesto was a dollop of broccoli that had been mixed with the usual pesto ingredients and whose flavors really popped when we took a bite. For wine, I had an elegantly delicious 2007 Pierre Guillemont Savigny-les-Beaune, which as always proved that nobody does pinot noir like the French.

We finished with an off the menu layered chocolate dessert that had a decadently creamy palate and was topped with a slice of ripe fig from Cafiero's own back yard. Owner Adam Berger was expediting in the kitchen this night, and it was good to watch his and Cafiero's seemingly easy working relationship (and to Berger's credit, not many guys can pull off photo-Tweeting a plate of food while calling out orders!). Like I said at the top, eating this well for this kind of money seems almost too good to be true. And from the buzz in the dining room lots of other people apparently agree. Since Cafiero took over the kitchen earlier this year, he has elevated the restaurant's game and this below the radar gem is doing things as well as any kitchen in town. And for as little as you pay for your pleasure, that is reason enough to be there!

Quick Bites PDX: Tabla Bistro

An online dictionary defines value as "the worth of something compared to the price paid or asked for it?". Taking that definition and applying it to our dinner at Tabla last Saturday, then the value offered by their three course prix fixe menu for $24 can only be categorized as extraordinary. This was perhaps the best return on my dining dollar I've had in a long time. Tabla has a menu that lets you choose one item off a list of appetizers, followed by a pasta choice, then you select your entrée. I've been to Tabla several times before and have usually been, with a couple of exceptions, pretty impressed. I was anxious for this trip because of the new executive chef at Tabla, Anthony Cafiero, who took over the kitchen the first of March. He also spent time cooking under heralded chef Jack Yoss at Adam Berger's other PDX restaurant, Ten-01. This is Anthony's first time over-seeing a kitchen playground, and it was interesting to find out what he had cooking.

This Saturday, going against the grain of what you hear is going on out in restaurant land, the warmly cozy dining room was buzzing when we arrived for our 7:30 rezzies. Since I find decision making much easier with a drink in my hand, I ordered the Bicycle Thief cocktail while w had a glass of prosecco. I can not-so-humbly say I know my way around a cocktail or two, and am not easily impressed, but this concoction of basil-infused gin, campari, and carpano antica was sensational. A tricked out negroni and served up, the subtle basil notes played perfectly with the campari and antica. This was a great start! So w had a pretty good idea of what she wanted for her meal, and I asked our very friendly waitress if she thought Anthony would be cool with making my app/pasta/entrée choices for me. She thought he would be, he was, so I just sat back for the ride. Perfect!

Tabla usually features a different culinary region to focus a few menu selections on. This night it was the Spanish region of Catalunya, and soon to arrive at the table was w's chosen Calçotada, one of their regional picks. A plate of spring leeks, onions, and green garlic with a salbitxada sauce and aoili for dipping. The sauces were excellent, the seasonal ingredients nicely chosen, but just a smidge overcooked and limp. Anthony sent out for me a plate of Citrus-Cured Oregon Albacore (pic above left) with an olive and orange relish and housemade crackers. Two words: Oh yeah! The cure gave the fresh, inherently rich tuna a kiss of tartness and acidity, the relish a nice counterpoint, and crispy crackers just because. This was very good stuff. I was drinking a glass if Lirac blanc from the south of France that played beautifully with this.

While we waited for our pastas, Anthony sent out a pair of little albacore tuna fritters (at left) he was thinking of adding to the regular menu. Not only beautiful to look at sitting roundly on top of a pool of arugula pesto, but quite deliciously fried orbs with a pronounced fresh tuna flavor that didn't get lost under the dough or the pesto. We have vote yes to these would-be addictive bites!



One of the things I like about Tabla's menu is that it replaces the usual dessert choice that accompanies most 3-course menus around town with a pasta choice. Much more of a Euro feel that allows the diner to really taste the full breadth of what the kitchen can do. w's pasta was a Tabla staple, the Rabbit Ragu Pappardelle. The rabbit braised in white wine, porcinis, and tomatoes then shredded as always was tender, perfectly savory, and the fresh, housemade pasta had just the right bite. The kitchen sent out for me exactly what I would have ordered, the Herb Fazzoletti, which was again an über-seasonal selection of fava beans and asparagus over broken sheet pasta with lemon-herb butter and housemade ricotta. This was a dish where the favas and asparagus could easily have been overwhelmed by the herb butter or by the application of too much ricotta, but Cafiero kept everything in perfect balance and each bite let the individual ingredients shine through, the key with seasonal...or any...cooking.

While w waited for our entrées we had the server open the bottle of 2002 Bethel Heights "Seven Springs Vineyard" Pinot Noir (part of w's dowery, by the way...lucky me!) we brought along. This pinot, from a fabulous Oregon vintage, was young on opening and then proceeded to blossom, becoming a fragrant, berry, earth, and spice filled glass of sensual pleasure. A little FYI: Most '02 Oregon noirs I've had recently have been showing they still have years ahead of them and have taken an hour or more to open up. In other words, if you're popping those '02 corks, grab your decanters!

Entrées were up. w had another classic Tabla plate, their Duck Confit with chive whipped potatoes, braised greens, and a port poached orange. Done just right, crisp skin, tender meat...this is why everyone loves duck confit. I was sent out a plate...which I would have ordered for myself as I had my eye on the pork cheeks...of Grilled Monkfish (at left) with warm blood orange and lentil salad with curly endive and a green olive purée. One bite in and I'm glad the kitchen couldn't read my pork-addled mind. Delicious! The monkfish, which is a definite knife-and-fork fish and too often can be cooked to a softball-like toughness, was spot on. Moist, with a tender, meaty texture, and when mixed with the lentil salad and olive purée was complex and incredibly satisfying, sending different flavors ricocheting all around my very happy mouth.

When you pay just $24 for three courses of food this good, it seems like bad form (or insert other rationalization here) to not have dessert, so we ended with their Crema Catalana and the Espresso Cheesecake (below). w is quite particular about her crème brulée, and the Tabla Crema Catalana was declared an unqualified success. She thought the top had just the right "crack" to it. I was also similarly enthralled with the cheesecake, all creamy, sensual chocolate with a coffee flavored chocolate nib crust with a dulce de leche sauce. Both desserts proving that sometimes too much is just right!
Overall, obviously I was really impressed with the meal, especially Cafiero's pairing of flavors and textures. There were no jarring moments, and everything seemed to flow together. This was cooking that showed off the inherent goodness of the food, and by extension the chef's skill. Anthony is a regular at the Portland farmer's market on weekends, so I know he has the commitment to local produce and meats. If anything, it seems to me he has raised the bar even higher at Tabla from the previous chef, yet we still get to pay the same ridiculously reasonable price. Value defined!

America deceived? The SHOCKING truth!!

Fantasy:

Reality:

And I'm sure I'm not the only American who is crushed by disappointment when we open our bag of heart disease from the local fast food chain and are shocked...SHOCKED...to find out the reality is somewhat different than the advertising fantasy. Well, maybe not as shocked as this guy, who has apparently made it his mission to alert all Americans to the deception that lies in the drive-thru lane. This is some disturbingly hilarious stuff that I just saw a link to on Nancy Rommelmann's blog. Too funny. Make sure you read his Wendy's Baconator review. Hopefully this guy's a fast writer, because at the rate he's going dude's heart is bound to explode at any moment. And take note of the ads on his site....all google generated ads that tell you, ironically, "to click here to lose ugly belly fat".
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: Prix fixe pleasure at Portland's Tabla Bistro!

Portland bites and bits!

A few of my favorite local enjoyments, plus a bit of PDX food news....
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Still one of the best dining deals in town is the three course for $24 dinner at Tabla. We went a few weeks ago and loved it. Went again with friends last week and it was still stellar. For your money you get a great app, a primi of pasta or in my case a delicious preparation of De Puy lentils (if these are still on the menu, grab 'em!), and a choice of entrées. All of ours were spot on, and my duck confit leg (left) nailed it. Plus they don't skimp on their portions, and with a bargain like this you'll have plenty of dough left to spring for one of their desserts. If you're going to burn through some $4+ gas going out, you've gotta save your hard earned dollars where you can!
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Also had another great experience at my favorite Thai restaurant in PDX, Mai Thai. Once again w and I were really impressed with the quality and obvious care that goes into ach dish. Everything was perfectly cooked, and plated with an obvious nod to the "you eat with your eyes first" theory. The special daikon fritter appetizer (left) and the Fantastic Tofu entrée were particularly satisfying.
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One of my newest Monday day off traditions (a.k.a. addictions) has been to head down to Caffé Umbria in the Pearl District to have the best cappuccino in town. And what's better than walking into this outpost of Italian authenticity at 11am and having a good percentage of Portland's Italian contingent sitting in Umbria's side room watching an Italian soccer match on TV, yelling, moaning, clapping along with the action. Awesome!
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Another spot I hadn't been to for months is Justa Pasta in NW. My last vist to JP w and I really enjoyed the casual ambience and quality pasta choices. Justa Pasta is a Portland fresh pasta producer who supply many local restaurants. A few years ago they opened the restaurant, and have been satisfying savvy, budget-minded diners ever since. It's really a great deal. You walk in, turn left, and grab one of their menus off the rack. After making your choice from their wide list of pastas (in small or large portions which is a nice touch) and salads, step up to the counter, place your order, choose your table and wait to be satisfied, because I know you will be! I went yesterday with mom for lunch as she lives nearby and hadn't been there. Mom picked their Three Cheese Ravioli with Alfredo (above left) and I had their Fettucine with Bolognese (right). We also shared their caesar, which was a pretty good rendition. Mom's alfredo wasn't too heavy, which is always a concern with this much abused pasta sauce. My bolognese was quite good as well, and I had ordered the very generous large portion, knowing I'd have some leftover for lunch today. At $6.95 for mom's not-so-small dish and $8.95 for my large bowl of bolognese, this is bargain eating at its best!
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Coming Attractions: I just received a press release that in the space previously occupied by the here-today-gone-tomorrow Terroir on NE Fremont and MLK, a new restaurant called Belly will be opening sometime in July. Besides loving the name, their menu looks inviting in that "lots of things look good" way, and quite reasonably priced. Being opened by locals Cameron and Linda Addy who have had experience at places like Gary Danko in SF, and locals Caprial's, Mint, Giorgio's, and Lucere among others, their plan is “to create a place where we would want to eat. Whether on a date, with our toddler in tow or meeting with friends, we wanted a place that met our everyday needs.“ With a nice lineup of starters a couple of pastas and pizzas, and mains that run from a burger, pan-roasted duck breast, halibut, or a culotte steak and fries, it looks promising. I'll keep you updated.

Tabla Bistro: fixed price = fixed smiles!

Getting value out of any one dish when you eat out isn't too difficult. Here in Portland a plate of the addictive of Penne alla Vodka at 3 Doors Down or the fabulous burger at Castagna Café always hit the sweet spot for under $15 a pop. But the all too rare multi-course, prix fixe meal, a standard offering in European restaurants, is sadly much harder to find. And when you do find one, getting real quality is even more difficult. That's why last night's dinner at Tabla Bistro was such a revelation. An American restaurant, thankfully about a five minute drive from our house, that serves three generous courses of real quality food, for a mere $24. Incredible!

w and I went last night and neither of us had been for a long time. In my case a couple of years at least. We arrived at 7:30 and were seated in their very comfortable, yet on this night sparsely populated, dining room. A couple of cocktails were ordered to get the party started...w ordered their Persephone, a fairly acceptable riff on a pomegranate cosmo, maybe a little heavy on the pomegranate juice. I had the Anna's Ginger Drop, which was stellar. A not shy dose of gin, ginger purée, and lemon juice that was both attention getting with that ginger snap and refreshingly balanced. Checking out the menu, how the 3-course deal works is you pick one item from three columns of offerings: a beginning, middle (a pasta selection), and entrée. There's something for everyone here, and w started with their radicchio salad (bottom at left) which was really well presented with a lightly creamy poppy seed dressing, comice pear, and a slice of Humboldt Fog cheese. I opted for their sweetbreads (top at left), which consisted nuggets of this glandular delight on top of a crostini, which was slightly over-toasted, surrounded by a pool of savory mushroom sauce. We were both smiling after these, especially knowing we still had two courses to go.

In anticipation of goodness to come, we had our very nice server pop the cork on a bottle of 1998 Sportoletti "Villa Fidalia" Reserva that I brought from home ($16 corkage fee). This was an Italian cab blend that was drinking absolutely perfectly, silky smooth, complex...very yummy! Tabla's wine list itself had some pretty good value going for it too, and seemed to have choices that would fit any budget, plus some nice by-the-glass choices.

Our "middle" dishes arrived shortly after. All their pastas are house made, and I had the rabbit ragu on tagliatelle that was delicious. w opted for their tajarin with truffle butter and grana padano. Now we were spoiled by the ethereal tajarins we had in the Piedmont of Italy last year and also the version made out at PDX's own Alba Osteria. The Tabla style was a bit disappointing. We would've liked to see the pasta cut a bit more thinly, and the truffle butter sauce tasted much too strongly of truffle oil, becoming almost bitter on the palate. The quality and cooking of both pastas was perfect though, not too done with a nice bit of al dente texture.

Then it was entrée time, and again we really were impressed. Again, very generous portions. Mine being their shredded boar shoulder (left) topped by a crusty slice of sautéed polenta with a just right sprinkle of blue cheese. Really succulent, with a slightly spicy sauce to counter the richness of the boar and polenta. w's plate of duck confit (below) was equally impressive, crispy on the outside, perfectly moist inside, served with chive mashed potatoes and a port poached orange. Duck confit is one of the great all-time food inventions, and the Tabla offering, again in the context of this 3-course meal, where sometimes expectations are lowered, was excellent.

After all that savory deliciousness, we had to have something sweet. And since we couldn't decide between the Panna Cotta with amarena cherries and the Carrot Cake made from local grower Gen Thiel's carrots, with walnut bits and a maple cream cheese frosting, we said the hell with it and had both. And both, I'm happy to say, were sweetly satisfying. The carrot cake was the standout and something we both would look forward to having again.

Bottom line, the only real miss was the tajarin. Overall this was an excellent night out, and for just $24 each for the first three courses, it has to be one of the most incredible restaurant dining values in town.
E.D.T. Rating (out of 4): Food-3.0; Value-4