May 29, 2009
More, More, More
Portland Picks
New car smell? It's awesome. And what about new restaurant smell? Especially a new restaurant that we've eagerly anticipated? It's even better.
That and a number of other delightful scents are evident at the new Nel Centro in downtown's Hotel Moderna. If you've been to Lauro Kitchen on the east side, Nel Centro brings similar flavors and likeminded preparations: rich, fragrant, filling cuisine. We dug into the French-inspired fish stew with shrimp, mussels, clams, and squid, and wanted to sip its sauce like a cocktail. A Flintstones-sized steak comes atop creamy potatoes and lightly grilled asparagus. At dessert, ricotta fritters float on a vanilla custard we can't stop stealing.
All in one of the coolest settings we've seen in a while; groovy, modern, sexy. It made us almost wish we didn't live here, so every time we came here we could be struck by its coolness. But we do live here. And more Nel Centro for us.
