Portland is a small city of 700000 people in Oregon. It has a good number of vineyards of Pinot Noir and the number of wineries in Oregan is about 1000, half of them concentrating not far from Portland. There are two restaurants to my liking in Portland and one wine tasting spot in Yamhill County wine area,not far from Portland.
ATAULA
Ataula is a Spanish restaurant using only the local produce and serving them in sophisticated dishes. It is difficult to get a reservation but you can walk in hoping to be served at the bar with a half hour wait. It serves each evening except Mondays from 4:30 pm to 10:00 pm. You ll have a better chance to get a place if you go earlier. Chef Jose Chesa used to work at three starred Can Fabes in Catalonia( you may refer to this restaurant under Catalonia); he moved to Portland to be a partner in Ataula to serve Michelin quality food in a simple set up. “Xeese”which are sheep cheese spheres prepared using molecular gastronomy systems should certainly be tried by two per person. House cured salmon with black truffle honey and mascarpone yogurt is a must too. Slices of crispy bread with olive oil and fresh tomatoes are also a delight. “Mercado” salad is very different and should be eaten to see how a green salad can be interpreted. Ataula is so nice, I may fly to Portland to go there again and eat these dishes and more. A good Oregon Pinot Noir may accompany the food.
BEAST
The Beast name refers to a “pig”; so the menu has pork dishes , but there are sea food and other meat dishes in the set menus too. It’s very difficult to get a reservation at this very small top Portland restaurant; so you should plan at least a week ahead and agree to share one of the two common tables with a total seating capacity of 20. As the food is served as a set menu , if you prefer not to eat certain dishes you ll need to let them know beforehand. The kitchen is part of the restaurant area and you will watch all the dishes as they are being prepared by two female chefs.Tuesdays they serve a 4 course dinner menu ; Wednesdays to Sundays the menu is six courses. Sundays they have a brunch too.
ALIT
Alit is a wine tasting club in the Yamhill “wine” county, open to non members too. You may try some good champagnes and white wines , as well as top Pinot Noirs from the leading “Rose & Arrow” winery. Some of these reds are rated 19 out of 20 by Financial Times wine columnist and critique Jancis Robinson; and she very rarely rates any wine 19. The “nose” of all these reds are extraordinary; you can only buy or order them here or should apply to be on their subscription list. You may try all these wines ,some served out of “Coravin”, accompanied by a nice cheese plate and in proper wine glasses.