Loved a Vegetarian Dinner at Natural Selection

In the past couple weeks Wifey and I have made a concerted effort to eat healthier, which, if you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that healthy isn't necessarily a requirement for us when we eat out. But this is Portland, a mecca for not only just about any kind of food you may want but also vegetarian and vegan options coming out of your ears.

Last year Wifey showed me the menu at Natural Selection, a small restaurant on Alberta in northeast Portland. Chef Aaron Woo (read about him on Oregonlive here and here) puts together a weekly menu focusing on ingredients currently in season and local that is 100% vegetarian and mostly vegan and gluten-free. At the time I thought it sounded good, but really? Vegetarian? As in no meat? How good could it be, right?

Then we made our decision to eat better (more on that later) and the restaurant came up again. Oh what the hell, we decided, it definitely sounded good...we'll give it a try. So we made a reservation (highly recommended if not required) and spent Leap Day stuffing ourselves with vegetables.

Natural Selection is a small place, seating around 30-40 (I'm horrible at estimating), with an open kitchen. You step inside and the atmosphere is dark but inviting, lots of warm colors and friendly people. The kitchen, manned by Chef Woo and three others plus one person working the front desk/mini bar, is on the left and the tables the right, extending all way to the back of the space. Our table was almost to the very back, facing the impressive wine rack. (It may not show up in the pic, but if you click on it and blow it up you may be able to see the 40oz of Olde English 800 in the top right - there has to be a story there because it absolutely doesn't fit anything else in the restaurant.)

The menu is comprised of eight dishes (the one we tried is below), divided into two possible four-course meals, one being completely vegan. The prices vary, but there are two starters, two salads, two entrees, and two desserts. You can mix and match or, if you want to try more things, you can order one of each for $35 (this is about a $11 savings from ordering all four a la carte, the price of the first course). Optional wine pairings/flights are available as well as several other wines and a limited amount of mixed drinks.

We were hungry and everything looked good...so screw it - we ordered two four-course meals. That means literally one of everything on the menu. Yes, each of these dishes was pretty healthy on their own, but the sheer amount of food we ate makes it not necessarily a healthy meal. Shrug. (Click on the pic below to read the menu.)

We started off with a non-alcoholic mixed drink - a cherry fizz with ginger ale, cherry juice and a dash of vanilla. Quite tasty. Then we were presented with an amuse bouche of pita topped with a chickpea and chickpea puree (or, hummus). This picture didn't turn out, but it was a tasty beginning to the evening.

The first dish was black truffle and tagliatelle pasta with brussels sprouts, baby turnips and crispy shallots.

I had never had anything with shaved truffles before - amazing. This "never had ___ before - amazing" became a theme of the evening. This was probably the least healthy dish of the night because the sauce was a little on the creamy side - nope, not vegan - but the truffles added so much depth.

The other half of the first course was a spring leek and white bean soup with parsnip, thyme, red onion and lemon. We aren't entirely sure what the item in the middle was, but it was nice and crunchy and contained whole chickpeas. Also damn good.

The second course began with this treviso and kohlrabi salad with medjool dates, pistachio, Meyer lemon and green olives. Treviso was something new to us - I know Treviso as a city in Italy - and while the greens were bitter, the lemon balanced it nicely.

The other salad was a citrus and frisee with arugula, fennel, goat cheese and radish. Again, perfect balance between the sweet of the oranges and the bitter of the greens. And that cheese? Oh my. I could eat that all night long.

Next came the entrees. This is a black trumpet (new to me) and sunchoke hash with butternut squash, rapini and roasted peppers. The squash is wrapped up inside the cabbage leaf.

The other entree featured pine nut crusted cauliflower with nettle pistou, quinoa, carrots and saffron oil. I am on record as not being a fan of cauliflower, but this was really, really good. And the quinoa? This was another new food to us we both enjoyed. Might have to pick some up. Everything in this dish just worked. I will say, though, the knives we were given with our meal did a poor job of cutting either the cabbage leaf or the cauliflower. And yes, that's my worst criticism of the night.

After the entrees we were served a light palate cleanser, a pomegranate and lime granita. Pretty, isn't it? And tart. Wow that was tart. Consider my palate cleansed.

It's worth mentioning that you will not get a fast meal, but that's by design. We were there for two hours from start to finish and while that seems like a long time, the pace of the dishes coming out seemed just about right. There was a little downtime between each dish, but we could watch everyone at work in the kitchen, something we find interesting. In other words, plan to relax and enjoy your meal, especially if go the four-course route.

Then it was time for dessert. At this point were both pretty full, but the desserts are on the small side, though that doesn't mean they are simple by any means. This orange and rhubarb cake with white chocolate mousse and vanilla sauce? Amazing. It also came with a slice of blood orange, some toasted walnuts, and a hollow chocolate stick. So good.

The other dessert was cinnamon and fennel beignets with Meyer lemon curd, creme fraiche and marmalade (tart, not sure what the fruit was). This dish wasn't marked on the menu as vegetarian. The beignets were so light and fluffy and everything together was simply amazing. Have I said that enough yet?

We're converts. Well, not to being vegetarians - no chance of that - but to the fact vegetarian food can not only be tasty but also every bit as intricate and flavorful as any other kind of meal. Heck, maybe even more so. Wifey and I agreed we'd go back to Natural Selection in an instant, though four courses probably isn't necessary - that was a lot of food. The service was friendly and good, we never felt forgotten (this happens to us a ridiculous amount of times, as if we are ninjas and they can't see us or something), and the food was just plain excellent.

So go visit Chef Woo's restaurant of awesomeness and see what we mean. Us? We'll probably go back later in the spring when berries start to come into season to see what he'll do with those.

Taming the Beast

When Wifey and I went to Simpatica in the past (detailed here for dinner and here for brunch) it was our first experiences with communal dining. And for dinner, it was our first experience going to a place where you signed up for a meal time to sit and eat whatever was put in front of you.

And we loved it.

Well, there is another place like that in town, called Beast. Honestly, I'm not sure there is a better name for a restaurant. At once it evokes images of strong animals, while at the same time letting you know exactly what's going to be on the menu. Helmed by Naomi Pomeroy, one of Food and Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs of 2009, the emphasis of the menus - created fresh weekly - is pure FLOSSiness (Fresh, Local, Organic, Sustainable, Seasonal).

Here's a quick blurb about themselves:

As the name implies- we are frank in our appreciation of meat. Our food is simple, refined, and-dare we say- feminine. We let our moods and our sensual appreciation of what the fields, forests and oceans are yielding dictate our weekly menus. We are inspired by French Grandmothers, but our days are spent prepping to the sounds of our favorite rock-n-roll bands- we work just like we would in our home kitchens, and as our guests- we hope you can tell, and that our ease translates to your comfort and enjoyment.

Doesn't really get much better than that, does it?

Beast does dinner (six courses) Wednesday-Saturday at 6pm or 8:45 pm, and brunch (four courses) on Sunday at 10am or noon. We hit up brunch at 10am to get a feel for the place.

Oh, and how could I forget this? Beast isn't the kind of place you go to and ask for substitutions - they will be kindly declined. In fact, their website states people who aren't complete omnivores would be hard-pressed to enjoy an entire meal. If I had a restaurant, that would be my policy too - I made it, it's awesome, eat it. See the last line in the pic of the menu below (click the picture for a larger version that is probably more readable):

We made our reservations online via an Open Table link on Beast's website. My personal feeling is more restaurants need to have this option - so easy that way.

Sunday morning we managed to get to NE Portland about 9:35, so had plenty of time to kill. Here is where we have one small beef. When Beast says 10am, that means seating BEGINS at 10am. If you get there earlier, you will wait outside, unless you are first and they let you take a seat on the small bench just inside the door. So really, getting there early doesn't do you much good at all.

Here's a quick picture (these were all taken with the cell phone - forgot the camera again - so the quality is decent, not great) of right outside the door. The lighting was completely wrong - sun was too harsh - to get a good picture of the entire front of the place.

Once inside, Beast is extremely inviting. There are two large communal tables and there is room for 25 people, if I remember correctly. The kitchen is open so the preparation for each course can be watched, and the walls are covered with chalkboard paint, full of tasty expressions, simple recipes (such as the one below), and plenty of wit.

Beast serves Stumptown coffee and Smith Teas, while fresh juice and morning cocktails are an additional fee. Another very tiny whine: the creamer for the coffee is served in a tumbler which no matter how you pour it, it spills. I didn't see anyone master this. A tumbler with a spout would have been nice. And yes, I'm done with the negatives, which admittedly are extremely nitpicky and ultimately unimportant...everything else was amazing.

Our first course was a cherry clafoutis with vanilla whipped cream and maple glazed bacon:

First off, that whip cream was to die for. Having never had a clafoutis before, testing the flan-like baked goodness over a couple of fresh cherries (watch out for pits!) was simply amazing. The bacon was also excellent, and a bite with each of the four flavors pure bliss. And no, I'm not overdoing it - it was that good.

The second course was a "Beast Hash" featuring duck confit, potatoes, corn, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes, topped with a poached egg and Hollandaise:

The brown line encircling the plate is aged balsalmic, and it really made this dish. I mean, it was yummy without it, but when you crack open the egg and swirl together balsalmic, yolk, and Hollandaise with the vegetables, the result was fantastic. We both may have wanted a few more potatoes, but at the same time I wouldn't want to mess with art.

Our third course was a plate of summer greens with three different cheeses:

This was fine. It was good, but to me I just don't get excited about a cheese course, even though I love cheese. I'm weird that way. I also am not entirely sure what the cheeses were - our waiter told us but it was hard to hear him and the descriptions were long, hard to remember. Too bad they weren't printed on the menu. I can say the one on the left was a cow's milk cheese and the one on the right was actually from a water buffalo. Surprisingly, I liked that one the best.

The last course, the dessert one, was chocolate truffle cake with wild huckleberry coulis:

Again, superb. And what's that on top? Oh yes, some more of that vanilla bean whipped cream goodness! If I hadn't been in unknown company - you know, if it was all family - I probably would have licked the plate after finishing off the truffle cake.

This next pic is actually from the bathroom, where there was plenty more wittiness on the chalkboard-painted walls. I thought it was hilarious (I mean, really, mouth brothels?!) and at the same time so, so true. Good stuff.

All in all we had a very fantastic meal at Beast, and can't wait to go back and try it out for dinner. That's more expensive - over twice the cost of the $28 brunch at $60 - so it may wait for a special occasion.

The freshness of the flavor of each element of each course can't be understated and the total meal didn't leave us feeling stuffed or still hungry - it was perfect. Highly recommend.