Quick Hits: Grassa, Ha & VL, Stone Cliff Inn

When it comes to meeting up with a friend for lunch, those of us on the east side of the river have endless choices in a panoply of cuisines, from American barbecue to Mexican tacos to African stews to Cuban sandwiches. And you can pretty much name your price point, from cheap to très cher. Downtown is another story altogether—in numbers, variety and cost—if you want to sit at an inside table in a heated room, and the past few weeks have been so unseasonably cold that those were pretty much required attributes.

Grassa's Aglia Olio.

So when a friend who works at PSU wanted to meet during her limited lunch hour, I suggested Grassa, Rick Gencarelli's pasta emporium on the upper side of downtown, an area recently bestowed with the tony-sounding title "West End." Walking in, some neck-craning is required to read the ceiling-to-floor blackboard menu before you step up to the register to place your order. Then you're given a number and directed to the long, shared counter-height tables and stools or the bar facing the kitchen.

We opted for two plates of the house-made pasta, and within 15 minutes they were placed before us. My squid ink pasta "Aglia Olio" was a basic pangratatto, the pasta beautifully black and tossed with olive oil, garlic, chiles, romano and crunchy toasted breadcrumbs. My companion's "Gigli"—lamb bolognese, pecorino and a sprinkling of fried mint—broke the comfort-o-meter with its warm, luscious combination of pasta and fatty meat sauce. At eight and eleven dollars, respectively, these were well worth the price, and we could have split a salad for not much more. Plus we were finished in time for a leisurely cappucino at Heart a half-block away.

Details: Grassa, 1205 SW Washington St. 503-241-1133.

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The day after my friend Hank Shaw's incredible booksigning/dinner at St. Jack where chef Aaron Barnett blew the roof off the building with his ducky prowess, we decided to take it easy and have a restorative lunch at what I consider the finest pho palace in PDX, Ha & VL. This postage stamp of a place has been known to run out of soup late in the morning, so I was somewhat nervous walking in a little closer to noon than I like. Plus Hank's home town of Sacramento has some of the best Asian restaurants of anyplace in California, which cannot, sadly, be said of Portland.

Ha Luu, maestress of pho.

I needn't have worried on either count. Since proprietor Ha Luu has started making two soups a day rather than just one, we were able to get a bowl of each. Mine was the Phnom Penh special, a perfectly balanced bowl of broth, noodle and bits of pork and seafood that makes me crave Luu's soups on a regular basis. Hank's pho ga (chicken soup for you non-pho speakers) was equally amazing, and he proclaimed that the pho here was as good as any he could get in his home town.

Details: Ha & VL, 2738 SE 82nd Ave., #102. 503-772-0103.

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The Stone Cliff Inn is one of those places that takes you by surprise. First off, it's a giant Doug fir-timbered lodge set high on a cliff overlooking the Clackamas River outside of Carver. It was built by the son of a local logging family, the Rosenbaums, on the site of a rock quarry, the rock from which was used to line the steep driveway and which forms the foundation of the lodge.

Inside you can sit in the vaulted dining room in front of the giant stone fireplace (left) or at one of the many windowed tables with a spectacular view of the river. The lunch menu features a decent middle-of-the-road selection of salads and sandwiches, but on it is also a very good and  plate of fish and chips with a hefty helping of fish, a decent cole slaw and some of the best sweet potato fries I've had in town.

If you're looking for a destination after a weekend drive in the country, this would be a fun place to go, or to take your Aunt Tilly for a nice lunch and a glass of wine. I'm interested in heading back when the deck is open and I can sit looking out on that great view with a cold beer to go along with those sweet potato fries.

Details: Stone Cliff Inn, 17900 S. Clackamas River Dr., Oregon City. 503-631-7900.

Have Dinner with Hank!

This is a shameless plug for an upcoming event here in PDX featuring my friend, author and blogger Hank Shaw. Now, you could just say, "Aw, isn't it nice that she's doing this for her pal." But you'd be missing the point.

Which is: Hank's on a 43-city, 39-state tour promoting his new book, "Duck, Duck, Goose," a comprehensive but approachable guide to cooking those birds, including species and breed identification, hunting advice and, for those of us who prefer our birds already plucked and cleaned, tips on buying them from the store. Not to mention scads of recipes. He's coming to Portland on Dec. 8th for a sold-out class on duck butchery at the Portland Meat Collective, and the next day he'll be working with chef Aaron Barnett of St. Jack to prepare a four-course dinner.

Barnett says there'll be two seatings, one at 5:30, then one at 8 or 8:30—details are still being worked out—and he's hinting that, yes, even dessert will include some ducky ingredient (can you say cracklings?).

This might lead you to say, "Well, that's all very well and good that Mr. Shaw's publisher is flying him all over the country so he can peddle his books and make money off of a bunch of expensive dinners."

But you'd be dead wrong.

First off, publishers these days provide some help with editing and production, but mostly they're in the printing business. Any sales and marketing efforts are largely the responsibility of the authors, and Hank is no exception. Plus he's a little crazy so, like his tour for his first book, "Hunt, Gather, Cook," he's hopped in his old Toyota Tacoma with boxes of books and a sleeping bag. Here's his reasoning:

"Why do it? Because of you, dear readers. Two years ago, when 'Hunt, Gather, Cook' came out — God, has is been two years already?! — I started with a modest tour schedule. Then I heard from you, over and over again, asking me to come to your city. I threw down the gauntlet: I’ll come if you think you can help me sell a few dozen books. You picked up that gauntlet, and again and again, showed me the kind of hospitality and generosity that still gets me a little teary-eyed, even now. That tour was a highlight of my life."

So there you go. A valiant effort to spread the gospel of a sustainable, not to mention delicious, wild food that he's dedicated the past two years, and a great deal of his career, to. I think that's worthy of some support, and I think you will, too.

Details: Hank Shaw's "Duck, Duck, Goose" Dinner with Chef Aaron Barnett of St. Jack. Sun., Dec. 8. Two seatings, 5:30 and 8 pm; $65 for dinner, wine pairing with each course add $35. Full bar and wine list also available. Reservations required. St. Jack, 2039 SE Clinton. 503-360-1281.

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Menu update:
French Duck Feast at St. Jack

• Goose Terrine: poached quince, pickled mustard seed, cress
• Stuffed Duck Neck: pork sausage, port soaked prune, pistachio, pommes puree, madeira jus
• Roasted Duck Breast: fermented apple, liver sauce, cumin carrots
• Caramel Creme Chiboust: duck cracklings, hazelnut dacquoise, cinnamon apples

Photos of Hank and ducks by Holly Heyser from "Duck, Duck, Goose."

The Restaurant of My Dreams

Describing your ideal restaurant is like listing the characteristics you look for in the ideal mate—it's entirely subjective. Tall and thin? Or perhaps you prefer someone a bit more, as my son described me once, "comfy." A serious-minded business type? A whimsical creative?

I've been in places that declare their bona fides in leather-bound menus, tuxedo-clad waiters and sparkling silver; in the aura of exclusivity emanating from the clothes on the guests and the upholstery on the seats.

Though it no doubt speaks volumes about me that I prefer homier surroundings, with the buzz of conversation (not too loud) and the clinking of glasses, the bustle of waiters, the smells of the night's specials flowing from the kitchen and wafting from plates as they pass by.

Epi's just outside Boise felt right the moment I walked in the door, as did Ariana in Bend, Lark in Seattle and Fore Street in Portland, Maine. Our own city boasts a bunch, from Bread & Ink and 3 Doors Down on Hawthorne to Tabla and Navarre on 28th. Toast, Bar Avignon, Lucca, Ned Ludd…they're all comfortable and unpretentious, and the food is locally sourced, well-made and even reasonably priced. Even better, they're staffed by passionate local folks who not only love good food and drink, but are committed to making their communities better places to live (and eat). Imagine that!

To that list I'd add St. Jack, a newcomer to the busy restaurant row clustered around Southeast 21st and Division. A patisserie and coffee bar from morning till midafternoon, the action cranks up in the bar with a hopping happy hour that starts at 4 pm. (Why don't more places open then?) The bar manager is an earnest-looking fellow, Kyle Webster, who's serious about his cocktails, stirring mean classics with a a "no froo-froo" rule stressing fresh squeezed juices, well-chosen liquors and well-balanced flavors. I'm saying it here if it hasn't been said before: this is a guy who's going places.

Yet another of Kurt Huffman's Chefstable projects, the ambience is much less the design-y, tony aesthetic reflected in their other projects like Ping and Grüner, and more a personal statement that fits easily into the funky, laid-back atmo of the neighborhood.

The menu put forth by Chef Aaron Barnett is where rustic French cuisine crosses Northwest ingredients, with a heavy emphasis on traditional preparations. Which means you'll find not only excellent pommes frites, but a poached egg-topped rich onion tart (left), a version of tripe that was a little wiener schnitzel-ish for me and, yes, even frog legs cooked in wine and lemon.

Aside from the crispy, salty, get-them-away-from-me-because-I-can't-stop-eating-them frites and aioli and that onion tart, on both recent trips we also ordered the petit salé (top photo), a lusciously braised pork belly astride perfectly tender green lentils along with a big, marrow-filled bone. The little spoon plunged into it made it easy to scoop out the marrow and smear it on a bit of baguette, and it made me feel like I was sitting in a bistro in Paris.

The whole roasted trout (right) I had one night was a stand-out, drizzled with a brown butter vinaigrette and capers draped over the delicious but a-little-too-ubiquitous lentils. The "gratin de macaroni," a Frenchified name for good ol' mac'n'cheese with gruyere, aged cheddar, Rogue blue and bacon was a creamy delight I could easily develop a serious crush on. The dish I didn't have but will next time and, believe me, there will be a next time, is the boudin noir, a housemade blood sausage with roasted apple and mustard.

Desserts are also trés Français, with pastry chef Alissa Rozos light hand evident in the apple tarte tatin with fromage blanc ice cream and an airy lemon crème chiboust with tarragon-infused grapefruit slices.

Joel Gunderson's wine list, while not inexpensive by the bottle, has a goodly number of French and Northwest wines available by the glass and, interestingly, also available directly from barrels in 46-oz. Pôts Lyonnais, traditional 46cl bottles imported from Lyon. Cool!

Look for the glowing globe over the bright yellow door on the corner and be prepared to feel right at home, whether you're with your ideal mate or not.

 Details: St. Jack, 2039 SE Clinton. 503-360-1281.