July/August 2009
Appealing Patios
NW Palette
As the Northwest exchanges rain for sunshine, a trio of Portland restaurants are pairing patio dining with summertime fare. Cool off with beverage offerings of carefully crafted cocktails and light summer wines, while taking in the splendor of nearby mountains, downtown views, and garden settings.
It was the pissaladière that got to me: the flavors of earthy Niçoise olives, sweet caramelized onions, and salty anchovies achingly evoked trips to the south of France that were poignantly too far in the past. But if I couldn't actually go there, at least it seemed I could eat there... or as close as is possible in Portland.
In his new venture Nel Centro (pronounced "chentro" and meaning "in the center"), Portland restaurateur David Machado (Lauro, Vindalho) returns to his downtown hotel roots with an urbane interpretation of what he and Chef de Cuisine R. Paul Hyman are calling Riviera cuisine. It's Northwest ingredients meets Mediterranean sensibility with dishes that reflect the aromatic herbs and seasonal inspiration of the coastal country from Nice to Genoa.
