11/20/09 Nostrana

friday before thanksgiving matt and i left early (although we did oversleep from the original plans) and drove down to portland. tahnkfully i had done 99% of the packing the night before.

matt dropped me off at voodoo donuts, where i met linda and we spent the day going around to a few shops, ate lunch at a greek place, and just had girl time. matt went to some of the pawn shops. that night when he picked me up about 4:45 he asked if i was

 hungry. i had sent him links to 2 places either of which i'd enjoy, i think, but definitely needed reservations. earlier in the day he implied he made none, so i wasn't holding my breath to eating anywhere really great. but by then, to be honest, i had waited a while in the cold (sun was going down, wind was picking up and matt was running a little late due to traffic) and just wanted food and warm. he said he had made 5:30 reservations at this place nostrana. apparently the chef (chef whims) was the 2009 PacNW finalist, along with chef ethan, and chef hines of tilth, who actually won. (http://www.nostrana.com/)

so yay! i was a little concerned because we were in jeans and dusty grimey. matt assured me he asked and was told it was a totally casual place, so we'll see. we got there a little early and as we're sitting in the car waiting for closer to our time (one of the 1st seatings) i wasn't so sure. it was big inside. don't believe me? check out the next few pics.

[top left: the wine cellar; top right: towards the kitchen; bottom left: towards the front door. check out the numerous cords of wood; bottom right: bar decor]

dinner was actually quite good! not that i was surprised. there were families with children. they offer pizza on the menu, and couples on dates. what follows is our menu.

beet (red) and squash (yellow) ravioli with sage butter. OMG they were fantastic!

charcuterie - prosciutto di parma: barolo and tartufo salami (top, working clockwise), testa - think terrine of head cheese, marinated mushrooms, quince mostarda, pickled cherries, stuffed port belly

cattali creek lamb mixed grill - leg and rotisseried ribs, tomato-cinnamon salsa, ayers creek polenta and daandelion greens affogato. matt says this was excellent!

grilled alaskan halibut - with venetian orange and pine nut sauce, pickled red peppers and roasted potatoes. this was very good. i've gotten to the point where i'm comfortable ordering halibut in restaurants now. but i have to say the best halibut i've had to date is the halibut dish (it was a special that particular night) at sophie station in fairbanks, alaska. this should not diminish the fact that this was an extremely tasty dish!

coffee and chocolate budino with whipped cream. think *very* dense chocolate pudding

matt and i highly recommend giving nostrana a try. chef whims walked the floor, saying hello to the more regular customers, making sure everything was running smoothly. we might've chosen to linger with an after dinner drink but it was raining, getting windier by the minute and we had at least an hour's drive out to the resort.

i am looking forward to our next visit there. i just don't know when that will be.