Hello. For those that don’t know, my friend {Savanna} and I have a little Hospitality Research project that we have been working on for a month and will continue to do so this year. Our project is mostly focused in Seattle, but sometimes we like to add other cities to the mix. Our assignment is to try out new restaurants and see what the current and future design trends are. Last Saturday, we ventured down to Portland – one of our favorite cities. Please note this is not a “Foodie Blog”. Our objective is to give design facts of the who, what, where, when & why. We would like to welcome you to our first Portland “segment” – Portland Scene. eat v1.
Grain & Gristle
You will find Grain & Gristle in the NE Prescott area of Portland. We wanted to try a new neighborhood, well new to us and try a new place for our first stop in Portland. {Savanna} and I went to Portland for MusicFest NW to see The Head and the Heart. Boutique shopping and Portland brunch was a bonus. We leaned on the recommendation of Eater’s PDX edition and try one of the Eater 38 Restaurants. Eater 38 is a list of hot restaurants that Eater online puts out every couple months. Grain & Gristle was on the list. Owners Alex Ganum, Ben Meyer, and Marcus Hoover opened Grain & Gristle in 2011 with the hopes in opening a comfortable neighborhood restaurant. We saw the website and the interior space of the restaurant appealed to us. The images showed a very relaxed, modern rustic setting. From that, we made our decision.
We walked into the space and immediately felt a relaxed comfortable vibe. The restaurant was not busy because we came at an odd time – 2pm. What did we see and what were our thoughts? We saw a cabin like rustic feel with cage lamps, Edison light bulb fixtures, mason jars, & Wine bottle water jars. All very popular trends right now. The U-shaped maple bar with a live-edge detail is the focus of the space and allows for that casual socializing. Wall to wall wood plank booths flank both sides with mix and match wooden chairs, but all unified with a rustic look and feel. The website did show exposed beams which definitely adds great character to the space. On Saturday we noticed the beams were covered.
As we know, Portland takes brunch very seriously. The reputation and or trend is definitely farm to table. All local high quality ingredients with a German flair. This place is definitely known for their beer selection. No beer for us that day though. What did we order? Cucumbers, beets, summer berries, chevre, mint and 2 Sunny Side up Eggs for Savanna and I ordered B.E.L.T on brioche with potato terrine. Absolutely delicious. For me personally, the B.E.L.T- was cooked to perfection and one of the best I have ever had.
Our Portland trip was short, but sweet. We definitely will be there again in no time. We love our assignments of discovering the new and up-and-coming restaurants and exploring restaurants that have been around and been able to hold their own. Keep Portland weird. Until next time.
ps. Pursehooks? Yes.