Park Kitchen

 

0

2

Joel N.

Portland, OR

Terrific little restaurant on the Park Blocks. Attentive, friendly service, and the food was remarkable. I started with stuffed grape leaves...could have made a meal on those alone. When I tasted the halibut carpaccio, I was in heaven. I was so immersed in my own dining experience, I can't even say what my wife had!

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Elite '08

37

133

Jessica Y.

San Diego, CA

From start to finish,
the best meal I have had.
How do you do it?!

---------------------------------
*Love the cocktails.  Had the fennel, salami salad and rabbit with homemade spatzle - outstanding!

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Elite '08

122

509

Krista T.

New York, NY

I'm not going to try and hide it. I'm bitter.
I used live right around the lovely corner from Park Kitchen. On a sunny day, I could wander the park blocks on my way to a great meal at Park. In the summer they'd greet me with the open garage doors and a fantastic mimosa at breakfast. In the winter they took my coat and served me hot apple cider and hearty soups.
Alas, I live no where near there anymore and since I've left the hood, I haven't been back.
I think when I move back to the west side, It'll be the first place I go for a celebratory beverage.

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Elite '08

49

190

Lee H.

El Cerrito, CA

After reading many rave reviews about this place in Bon Appetit, Cooking Light, etc. I vowed to try it during my next visit to Ptown.

With my foodie partner in crime in tow, we visited Park Kitchen on a recent weekday evening.

The restaurant is known for locally sourced ingredients and everything is seasonal, so no tomatoes trying to be red in the middle of winter at this place!

We opted to try several dishes from the small plates option so we could experience as many dishes as our stomachs would allow.

The menu is divided into small hot plates, small cold plates and regular sized plates.

We ordered chestnut gnocchi with apples, parsnips and sage, salt cod fritters, chick pea fries with squash ketchup, marinated scallops with blood orange and olives and roasted beets with almond tahini and goat cheese.

Of the five plates, I enjoyed the chestnut gnocchi and the salt cod fritters the most. I've tried the classic French salt cod plates many times and they are usually overwhelmingly salty. Not Park Kitchen's version which was perfectly balanced and the malt vinegar it was served with worked well with the flavors. The chestnut gnocchi was pillowy and the parsnips worked well as the accompaniment.

The chick pea fries had a strange texture and the roasted beets weren't anything out of the ordinary.

Great wine list, good atmosphere and wonderful seasonal food makes Park Kitchen a place not to miss.

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4

61

Renee T.

Culver City, CA

This place blew me away. The staff was friendly but not overly in our face. We were seated by the kitchen where I could watch them prepare the meals (as an amateur chef, i'll admit that was fun for me) and there was fantastic people watching to be had. The menu was just perfect, and  and everything was plated and prepared fabulously. The food was excellent from the start with bread from Ken's Artisan Bakery right down to the fantastic homemade truffles by Xocolatel De David (served with our tab). FINALLY some decent chocolate in this town! And in my favorite form. To top it all off, we had a view of the sunset on the Park through the front windows as we walked out.

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10

29

Aubrey P.

Portland, OR

(Spinal Tap fans) Two works: Park Sandwich

Four Words: Pretentious, bad tasting and overpriced.

*BUT* I've only been there once. Maybe they were having an off day and I didn't like the menu.

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Elite '08

18

118

Ike N.

Beaverton, OR

We went to Park Kitchen based on it's stellar reputation and on the good word of some friends. The attitude of the wait staff was luke warm at best. They appeared to be somewhat put out to seat us, talk to us, take our order.

The menu had a nice assortment of light summer fair. The food was average. I asked if they could cook the steak on the steak salad to medium as opposed to medium rare and the waitress said she had to check because it was all cooked before hand and chilled. She came back with great news, they could cook it to medium, thanks for the favor!

Nothing terribly original nor descriptive. One thing that really shocked me was that we ordered a fish stew and they charged $3.50 for 3 pieces of bread. Is it not customary to serve bread with stew? And to charge for it? The meal, the service and the ambiance left me feeling disappointed and certainly not eager to return.

There are way too many excellent choices in Portland to waste my time and money on Park Kitchen.

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5

64

Ammy D.

Marina, CA

I want to rave about this place, but I can't.

The food was very good. The setting was pretty neat, indoor-outdoor table, like the idea. The chairs were wobbly - i'm paying you enough to put a sugar packet under the chair legs!

The service was poor. One of our waitresses was very nice - the other was just .. not.

They did remember that when we made reservations we had a time which we had to be out of there by, that was appreciated. Since we were on a time limit, and some of our party was delayed with taxi trouble, they suggested we order "family style" ... like at a chinese food restaurant. I dunno if they usually do it like that there, but we appreciated the flexibility. And we got to try almost all of the dishes.

The food was good, and the flavours were creatively matched. The fried green beans were the best part of the meal, I could eat a bucket of them. I tried beef heart, and liked it, the duck was cooked properly.

All in all, it was good. But.. for the price, it was over hyped and not what I had hoped for.
I'd eat there again - if it wasn't my money.

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15

262

Abe I.

Portland, OR

So this normally out of my price range, but I have been treated to meals here on a couple of occasions and it has been impressive, albeit the menu a bit more complicated than necessary. The food was all simple, healthy with fresh ingredients. I really like eating when it is a whole experience and you can get that at Park Kitchen. You can choose to have the chef choose what you will get and the service is so knowledgeable and helpful that it is really a delight. I had a duck dish that was pretty awesome.

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1

10

Barbara S.

Portland, OR

You know, Park Kitchen was good, but a bit overrated.  My husband and I were looking forward to eating there, but were like "eh."  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad and I would go back if someone else wanted to go badly.  However, I don't feel compelled to go back on my own.

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Elite '08

97

456

Mariangela S.

San Francisco, CA

We were so looking forward to lunch here but our flight was delayed so we made the best of things (since we already have a reception and a dinner reservation elsewhere) by stopping by right when they opened for dinner service at 5pm (unheard of in SF) and snacked on a few things.

The terrine of the day was duck and cherry and it was out of this world delicious and so fresh made with Oregon cherries!
We also shared the hand-rolled pici with tomatoes, shell beans and tripe - my husband loved it I thought it was ok.
The green bean and peaches salad was really flavorful - and the local peaches just so sweet they were the epitome of summer on a plate. The house made crackers are nice too.

I begged for a bite of the bay leaf sherbet which was really interesting.

We ordered a 1/2 bottle of the 2005 Bethel Heights Eola Amita Pinot Noir from Oregon which was delicious. Going to buy me some of that!

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0

5

Celia s.

San Francisco, CA

Wow, I see a lot of mediocre reviews for the place, but I'm happy to say I was really wowed. We had read the good review in the NY Times, and the restaurant really lived up to its reputation. Our waitress was very professional and nice, and offered us a tasting menu from the chefs. The couple next to us went with the same option, but we were all served different food at every course.
Appetizers stood out: chickpea fries with sea salt and chutney; crispy pig skin ravioli, followed by 2 unusual salads. By the entrees, we were pretty full, and were served duck and pork - maybe heavier than we needed.
My only complaint about this place is that by 9:30, there were only 2 or 3 customers left, and the open kitchen was openly shutting down: mopping, sweeping, wrapping up food for the next day, all in front of us. I could understand this at 11:30, but at 9:30, they should probably have waited until we were gone to make us not feel like we've overstayed our welcome.

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Elite '08

20

198

Maggie A.

Portland, OR

This is way out of my price range, but my self-described "foodies" relatives (he used to be a gourmet chef) were in town and chose this place based on recommendations from other classy foodies, so I figured it had to be good. And it really was very, very good. All of it, from food to atmosphere to service. Our server seemed very well versed in everything about any of the dishes (since my relative asked).

As Greg G mentioned, the menu is divided into small cold plates, small hot plates, large plates and then desserts. I believe we all had one of each, but I also know that there was a lot of sharing/trading going on as well. The menu also changes with the season.

Even though this is beyond what I would ever spend (roughly $40+/person if you get one of each type of plate), both the food and atmosphere were nice enough that it would almost be worth it (from me, this says quite a bit).

Their website has the menus (with prices) so that you have some idea before you go.

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0

15

Jake C.

Washington, DC

Without a doubt, Park Kitchen is one of the most innovative restaurants in the country.  The dishes are superbly-executed and are better than their brief descriptions on the menu would suggest. "Fried green beans and bacon, tarragon aioli," available only in the summer, is a sublime combination of golden deep-fried beans and fried bacon slivers that immediately make you wish you ordered a double portion. Chef Scott Dolich's crispy and buttery gnocchi with fresh corn and sage was so good, we did order seconds. Excellent main courses are heavy on local meats, including duck, lamb and pork. Tara Tulley - Park Kitchen's new pastry chef - is a wonderful addition, offering up her own innovations like Blueberry waffles with candied bacon. (I may be biased, having spent the meal sitting next to, and chatting with, Ms. Tulley's mother, but stand by my opinion.) [This review is adapted from a larger entry on Portland at wanderingaround-DOT-net.

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Elite '08

127

445

Tiffany T.

Beaverton, OR

Checked this place out in September during the art fair in the Pearl district. I had reviewed their menu online and several items looked good to me. However when we went there for lunch I couldn't find anything I wanted to try or that had been on the website menu besides the hotdog, and why go to an upscale place for a hotdog? So even though we liked the look of the restaurant we left to go try something else. Other people seemed to be enjoying their meal but their was nothing on the menu we found appetizing. Trendy, polished place but seemingly inconsistent.

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21

81

jodes l.

Portland, OR

Modern, warm dining area. Open kitchen with smells wafting into the sitting area. Friendly service. Good, but not great food. If the duck and noodles are on the menu when you go, I recommend it.

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Elite '08

33

284

Candice L.

San Francisco, CA

I was very much looking forward to my meal at Park Kitchen, the North Western eclectic slow-food angle of the menu promised exciting flavors. We arrived without a reservation but were told a table would soon be available within a few drinks time. I was quite taken with the alfresco tables out front and having the front of the restaurant open to the warm late summer evening, it was very pleasant and attractive. Heavy on gin cocktails (not my libation of choice), none of the specialty drinks appealed to me but a glass of rose suited me as I peeked around at what people were dining on near the bar. Our table in the back near the open kitchen was ready before I finished my first glass of wine.

After perusing the small hot and cold plates, we started with a plate of duck and I think (?) porcini dolmas. The memory that this dish does invoke is that the serving was on the precious side for the double digit price. The overtly sweet sauce masked any nuanced mushroom flavors and when I saw the jaunty cup of fried green beans with bacon arrive at the next table, I was quite envious. For entrees, we went with a braised lamb that was actually well flavored and tasty but cold in sections. I believe that there were two or three preparations of the SuDan Farms lamb, but they were indistinguishable from each other. My entree of pork two ways on the other hand was a complete disappointment. I had inquired about the plate because I was concerned that the various watermelon elements would be overwhelming on one plate, I was told that one of the two preparations was pork belly, a favorite of mine. I eagerly awaited a plate of creative savory porcine goodness, but instead received a stone cold plate of cold meat. I looked in vain for a luscious hunk of belly meat and finally located a few small nuggets of bacon-like meat dotting the accompanying potatoes. Disappointed, I remarked in my "unsatisfactory meal voice" to my dining companion that my plate was cold, not cold in sections but the meat itself was cold all the way through. Our waiter had disappeared, and it was clear the kitchen staff was breaking things down for the night even as some last orders trickled in. In fact, I had watched them for a good while, joking around with each other and drinking some special cocktails sent back from the bar. I'll all in favor of chefs enjoying themselves, but I was alarmed to when our entrees were long absent and their leisurely pace of cleaning up and walking around did not indicate that there was any sort of food being prepared.

The recipients of the green beans were inquiring about brunch recommendations from our waiter. When we heard him mention Le Pigeon, we had to speak up and rave about our dinner the night before. I think he picked up on our lack of enthusiasm for PK, but come on, it's not amateur hour over there. I felt like I couldn't send the pork back b/c it would have been way to overdone if it had been run under the broiler or thrown into a pan again. Not to mention that the watermelon elements would not take well to being reheated. I really felt like sending out one stone cold entree and one partially cold entree when no other entrees were pending (it seemed like the kitchen was mainly preparing desserts at this point or nothing at all even though a fair amount of diners remained in the restaurant) was careless. It would be different if they were slammed or newly opened, but there was no evident excuse for our cold entrees. I know it is the diner's responsibility to voice concerns and give the kitchen an opportunity to improve upon problems, but I really felt like it was a lost cause at that point.

We were pleased with the wine list and its wide range of varietals and prices and decided against our better judgment to finish things off with a cheese plate. It was more out of laziness then anything, but it did help the meal end on a slightly higher note. The house-made crackers were praiseworthy, light and crispy; Ken's bread and the fruit accompaniments were also good and the appropriate temperature. Pleasingly bitter dark chocolate and sea salt truffles that are sent out with the bill also slightly eased my wrath.

I suppose that it would have been difficult to best Le Pigeon, but I was caught completely off guard by how disappointed I was with Park Kitchen. I admire chef Scott Dolich's intent and his aspirations of creativity, but the erratic inconsistencies that come out of the kitchen are not overshined by the menu's high points, not to mention the price one pays for dissatisfaction (low to mid 20s for large plates). 2.5 stars, nothing worse than a disappointing meal!

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11

62

g g.

Palm Springs, CA

Slow food / cooking restaurant.  There is no rush when eating here.  The menu is split into hot small dishes, cold small dishes, large plates, and desserts.  After I asked what would be a good amount to order, the waiter told us that they could do a tasting menu that consisted of two cold dishes, two hot dishes, two main courses, and two desserts for two people.

We had some things picked out that we wanted and we put the rest into the hands of the chef.  The restaurant's website says that the owner is the chef and he also is on the board of the Portland Farmer's Market.  There have also been some reviews of Park Kitchen in Food and Wine and other magazines and weeklies, so I'm sure those can be googled.

First, we had marinated razor clams, blood oranges and celery for one of the small cold plates.  We were also served dungeness crab, artichoke, and meyer lemon as the other small cold plate.  The descriptions alone sound great, but no description can do justice to how great the food tasted.  Simple, fresh, and clean.

Next, we had the parsnip soup with almonds and caperberries as one of the small hot plates.  The other small hot plate was nettle fettucine with cardoncello mushrooms.  Both were great.

Other dishes that we didn't get, but sounded great, were:
spinach soup, salt cod fritters with malt vinegar, chick pea fries with pumpkin ketchup, and pork belly with rice and beans.  It might have also been a good idea to get the chilled oysters and bloody mary or gin cured mussels with leeks and saffron.

Anyway, the time between the courses was perfect.  Just enough time to be anxious and hungry for the next course, but not such a short amount of time that it felt rushed.

So next we got the main courses, which were skate mueniere style and lamb and early spring vegetables.  Both were great.  The duck with root beer spices and cornbread pudding sounded great too...next time if it is on the menu.

For dessert, we had a mochi butter cake with coconut tapioca and kumquat and a whiskey chocolate cake with rosemary sorbet.  

The dinner took a little over two hours I think.  Before we left, we asked what other restaurants they would recommend in Portland.  Among them was the Gotham Building Tavern - I'll have a review of that later.

As you leave, there are old menus placed on the windows.  It is interesting to look at to see the other interesting  things that they served in the past.

I highly recommend Park Kitchen.  Everything is top notch.  If you go to Portland, I would say you have to go here.

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30

181

sarah C.

San Francisco, CA

Update: 11/16/07:
I got to return in July and had such an incredible dinner sitting at the bar.  Really some of the best Tripe I've ever had (with handrolled pici, morels, and Peas).....and the Razor Clam Salad  was just amazing, not to mention the Sliced Duck with Hominy and English Peas which knocked my socks off.  I loved everything so much that I called my friends and they joined me at one of the outside tables where I indulged in  my second dinner, and we plowed through most of the menu.  INCREDIBLE.

I was only in Portland for one day and night, and i feel so very fortunate that my sole dinner was at Park Kitchen, a restaurant that I had never heard of and that i happened to drive past while exploring the city.  Upon discovering it, I promptly headed over to Powell's to look it up, and when I read that the chef was on the board of the farmer's market, my decision was made.  The front of the restaurant, opened up on to the sidewalk and the beautiful park, was the perfect place to sit on such a warm early evening. The menu was extremely hard to choose from, me being alone, and everyting looking so interesting and delicious.  I ended up starting with the Pulled Pork and sweet pea ravioli with walla walla onion broth ( and i'm sure i detected saffron).
This dish was outstaning. Just for the fun of it, I will also list a few things I really wanted to get but had to leave behind:  Salt Cod Fritters, Fried green beans with tarragon aioli, Crispy duck blini with peas and lavender.  I also had the Pork three ways with gooseberries and fennel which was super rich and super delicious.
Since I was good enough to not have a mid course, i allowed myself two desserts: Berry Crostata with Sesame semifreddo and a Carrot Cake with sweet pea ice cream and lavender caramel. Both were quite lovely, and I especially loved the combination of carrot cake with lavender.

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