Quick Hits: Bar Avignon, Verde Cocina

When Nancy Hunt and Randy Goodman opened Bar Avignon in June of '08, I was thrilled. Taglined "Just a Bar," they'd planned to have a place where neighbors could drop in, have a pint or glass, maybe a quick nosh, then go about their day. Pretty soon it was evident that people were interested in far more than just bar snacks, and with the hiring of chef Jeremy Eckel the menu amped up not just a notch but into a whole new dimension.

With the recent departure of Eckel and the hiring of former Sonoma-based chef Eric Joppie, the upward trajectory continues, if my visit over the holidays is any indication. From their standout sardine salad (left), with crisp, sweet apple wedges, celery leaves, pickled onions and a perfect six-minute egg, to the bronto-sized lamb shank braised to melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, everything was not only perfectly prepared but showed a fresh take on flavor and textural combinations. As an example, the sounds-so-wrong but tastes-so-right crazy lusciousness of the…get this…crême brulée bread pudding (top) was knee-bucklingly delicious with its custard-infused, soufflé-like body sided with the ideal foil of tangerine confit. Still priced for the I-don't-feel-like-cooking weeknight dinner where two can comfortably have a glass of wine each and share an entrée, it also makes a casually intimate special-occasion spot for do-it-yourself multi-course dining.

Details: Bar Avignon, 2138 SE Division St. 503-517-0808.

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Not just places to pick up fresh produce, Portland's farmers' markets (60 and counting) have proven to be crackerjack incubators for new businesses. Relatively inexpensive vendor fees combined with built-in coaching and support have made them springboards for success for all kinds of start-ups from Ruby Jewel ice cream to Jacobs Creamery cheeses to Blossom Vinegars. Chef Noe Garnica and his wife, Anna, started Verde Cocina, making healthy Mexican-inspired food at the OHSU and Beaverton farmers' markets, and got such a huge response from customers that they expanded to the Portland and Lake Oswego markets. To no one's surprise they've now opened a café in the Hillsdale neighborhood in the former Caffe Autogrill space next to brand new Sasquatch Brewing that will also serve as a prep space for their growing catering business.

I had breakfast there the other day and was awestruck by the warm, woodsy room upstairs and the Buenos Dias breakfast consisting of two eggs scrambled with vegetables, then smothered in roasted peppers, some lightly pickled onions, beans and Ranchero salsa, and then topped again with big chunks of locally grown and smoked bacon. It was more than enough for two, but I manned up and chowed down the whole thing. Great for breakfast and lunch, I can't wait to get back to dinner where they pull out the molés, quesadillas and other specialties from Garnica's native Guanajuato, Mexico.

Details: Verde Cocina, 6446 SW Capitol Hwy. 503-384-2327.

In Season NW: Mushrooms, Markets, Mergers

Local chefs went wild when Viridian Farms debuted their padron peppers and again when Olympic Provisions brought out their take on Spanish chorizo. And it looks like it's happening again with the pioppino or black poplar mushrooms that Roger Konka and Norma Cravens are cultivating at Springwater Farm. Always quick with a quip, Roger's dubbed it "the poor man's porcini," which trips off the tongue much more easily than its Latin name, Agrocybe aegerita.

Details: Pioppino mushrooms from Springwater Farm. Available at Portland Farmers' Market at PSU, Hillsdale Farmers' Market, Lake Oswego Farmers' Market and Westmoreland Farmers' Market. Links, hours and maps on the Oregon Farmers' Markets page.

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Instant hits are usually reserved for the latest pop culture phenomenon. But PDX-ers, in their lust for ever-more-local food sources, jumped on Chef Noe Garnica's Verde Cocina almost as soon as it debuted at area farmers' markets. Now it looks like the family business is going all bricks and mortar with a retail outlet in Hillsdale at the location recently vacated by Kurt Spak's blink-and-it's-gone Caffe Autogrill. Look for the fresh Mexican fare you've come to love like fajitas, chilaquiles and tacos made with local meats and seasonal vegetables, plus new menu items courtesy of expanded kitchen capabilities. And in the space next door vacated by Spak's Alba Osteria, rumored tenant Ramsay's Dram vanished without a trace to be replaced by Sasquatch Brewing, a new 7-barrel brewpub started by Portland native Tom Sims. Mexican food and beer? Sounds like a pairing made in heaven!

Details: Verde Cocina, 6440 SW Capitol Hwy. 503-750-2722.

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Big news broke this week from Hollywood…no, not Tinseltown, but the Hollywood neighborhood's eponymous farmers' market…that they are taking over the smaller but vital Lloyd Farmers' Market. It began began in 2007 as part of a grant to promote active living and healthy worksites and was managed by Eamon Molloy, market manager at the innovative Hillsdale Farmers' Market. "Hollywood has the experience to further the growth and success of the Lloyd Farmers Market. Adding debit and EBT services [will be] a big plus to this market," said Molloy. Location and hours remain the same, and Lloyd will continue to serve office workers and neighborhood residents as well as giving the Hollywood Farmers' Market a mid-week presence. Hollywood also announced it will officially be going year-round on first and third Saturdays from December through April, fulfilling neighbors' requests and its vendors efforts to develop "cutting edge season extension techniques," according to market manager Sarah Broderick.

Details: Lloyd Farmers' Market. Open Tuesdays, 10 am-2 pm year-round; Thursdays, 10 am-2 pm, June-Sept. In the Oregon Square Courtyard on NE Holladay Street between 7th and 9th Aves.