3377 SE Division St • AvaGenes.com • 971.229.0571
Hours: Daily 5pm-11pm
About a month ago, I got an email from Open Table letting me know about a new promotion/contest they were doing called 100 Open Tables. One night, all across the countries, there would be 100 lucky parties who got to experience dinner at 100 of the best restaurants. Even better, dinner would be on Open Table. The participating restaurants in Portland were Ava Gene’s, Lincoln, Natural Selection and Smallwares. Especially with some of my all-time favorite restaurants on that list, I knew I had to win.
And let me just say, I took this very seriously. For about 3 weeks, people were given the chance to enter to win one of these dinners, which included a multi-course meal for 2-6 people (!!!). You could enter once a day for each restaurant of your choice. So what did I do? I obsessively entered EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Yes, even during my days off when I try to avoid the computer, I made sure to get my entry in. I also convinced Meredith to get on the contest band wagon. Because obviously doubling our chances and promising that we’d take each other when we won was a great idea!
Incredible maccheroni with cauliflower and rosemary
You know that saying hard work pays off? In this case, it was definitely true! I got an email the day after the contest ended telling me that I won dinner for 2 at Natural Selection! I was excited as I’ve had that place on my list for such a long time. But then, the next day Meredith got herself an email saying she had won dinner for 6 at Ava Gene’s! As that was our goal restaurant, and enjoying dinner with 4 additional lovely friends would be even more fun, I sadly passed on Natural Selection to join Meredith at Ava Gene’s.
It did not disappoint. Owned by Duane Sorenson, who practically runs the rest of Division St with Stumptown Coffee, Woodsman Tavern and Roman Candle, this is one of the best spots in town. I am definitely not the only one who thinks so. Trying to get a reservation there on Fridays or Saturdays is near impossible, being booked out weeks in advance. We did learn a little tidbit of insider information from Michelle who joined us that night and lives nearby – arrive right when they open to grab a seat at the bar or chef’s counter, no reservations needed!
With Roman-inspired, farm-to-table dishes, Chef Joshua McFadden has received a lot of acclaim, including being listed as #5 on Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants in America in 2013 and as a nominee for Food and Wine’s People’s Choice for Best Chef. His ability to transform vegetables into complete stars of the plate is incredible and his handmade pastas are outrageously good.
The menu at Ava Gene’s, which is named after Duane’s oldest daughter, is constantly changing with the seasons but you can count on everything to be top-notch. While we didn’t get to enjoy any during our #100OpenTables dinner, one of my favorites is their Pane, which is somewhat like bruschetta with various delicious toppings. Currently, they’ve got one topped with fresh sheet cheese, ramp agrodolce (sweet and sour sauteed ramps) and pine nuts. Yum.
Their perfect “Tuscan Cavalry” kale salad
Unless you took perhaps 10 years of Italian, their dishes are not always the easiest to understand. Like who knew that “raw cavolo nero, sarvecchio, filone” would be a fancy way of saying “kale salad with cheese and breadcrumbs”? But don’t be discouraged or let that dissuade you. The waitstaff is incredibly friendly and has always happily explained what the dishes mean. (Or you can be like me, and occasionally pull out your phone and let Google do the work, no shame in that!)
The service was seriously phenomenal. Our server was excellent and seemed to also enjoy our ridiculous antics. The manager who graciously gave us an extra bottle of bubbles to celebrate Michelle getting nominated for Saveur’s Best Food Blog Awards.
I love being able to watch the chefs work in the open kitchen
We started off with an assortment of salumi, formaggi e giardini
Delicious Sorpresini pasta with beef and pork ragu
The previous times I’ve visited Ava Gene’s, I’ve stuffed myself with way too much pasta and delicious salads, that I had to pass on dessert. This time, given that we had a set menu, I was excited to try some of their sweets. They were phenomenal, especially the rich and creamy panna cotta and the hazelnut chocolate gelato that was just like frozen Nutella.
It was a wonderful evening of delicious food, great drinks and fun girl talk. What more can you ask for?
Thank you so much to Ava Gene’s and Open Table for such a lovely evening!
Such a fun evening!!!! What a great recap. Now let’s go back!
Yum, that all looks so delicious! And I admire that you were able to get photos in the romantic dim lighting in there! I feel a need to revisit Ava Gene’s soon – going with a large group like 6 sounds like a great way to try a lot more dishes!
It is a lot of fun to do the big dinner there. The only caveat on going with 6 or more is that you are required to go with a preset menu that they select. The food will of course be delicious but you don’t get to pick and choose your favorites.
Thank you for sharing this; we live pretty much right up the street and Ava Gene has been on our list for a while. Truth be said so that we are still heartbroken that – ha and now I cannot even remember the name – L…is gone, it was our favorite restaurant and the chef’s counter is so fun…
Congratulations! That food sounds and looks incredible!! I am typically not a huge kale fan, but that salad looks positively scrumptious. Thanks for sharing, cheers!
This has to be the ultimate DREAM dinner. How fun!!
one of my all-time favorite restaurants here in PDX
http://www.ladiesinnavy.com
The only thing going through my head, looking at all those places, was, “Possibly delicious; definitely out of my budget.”
A) Hence why winning a contest for a free dinner is always better! 🙂 and B) you can actually get in and out of there for a reasonable price, sure it isn’t a cheap weeknight meal but it isn’t too bad for a really excellent dinner.