Thursday Tours: Specialty Dining Experiences

I don’t know about you, but I’m digging the whole “prix fixe” craze that’s going on in Portland, like Holdfast Dining. Sure, it is a little expensive depending on where you go and yes, not the most attainable for any Tuesday night when you just want to grab dinner or something. But that’s the point, isn’t it? These are dinners for dressing up, putting on that fun dress and fancy heels that hurt too much but look damn good and going out to celebrate a birthday, promotion, or any other special occasion. Or really, just to celebrate the incredible culinary scene we have in Portland.

These meals don’t have to be stuffy and pretentious. They range from the ultra casual and welcoming, Southern Sunday supper at Mae to secret society feel at the Thai Langbaan. Either way, they highlight the creative and unique dishes our chefs can come up with, in a fun setting. Plus, you don’t even have to worry about what to order and have that anxiety of “did I order the wrong thing? Should I really have gone with that other dish?!” Trust me, menu FOMO is real. So this is just another plus of prix fixe meals!

When thinking about what meals like this that are out there for this edition of #ThursdayToursPDX, Meredith and I knew we had to turn to Pech. When it comes to good eats, she is one smart cookie. She has hit up nearly every specialty dining meal in this city, including being a regular at Nodoguro, an incredible Japanese course meal. [Read more about her meals there here!] Every time I see she has gone, I am reminded that I have still have yet to go. I really need to remedy this.

This list of hers I can totally get behind, having been to both Mae and Willow and being beyond impressed by both. Next time you need a date night or just want to celebrate whatever deserves celebratin’, hit up one of these dinners.  You won’t be disappointed. If you need more for your list, be sure to read Olivia‘s recommendations over at Martha Chartreuse!

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Specialty Dining Experiences By Pech of Pechluck’s Food Adventures:

You know how some people are patrons of the arts – like purchasing visual arts, or theater? I am a patron of the culinary arts where I enjoy supporting the visions and creative works of people in food. For me, specialty dining experiences means trusting them as experts to take you on an experience with food as your guide. You let them choose the menu, and you book your reservations ahead of time (often online) just like a vacation tour and prepare to be taken on a journey via food to a place you’ve never been.

There are several experiences that have already pretty lauded in the local Portland media – such as the best Japanese experience in town with Nodoguro, old school Russian family dinner DaNet, authentic Thai that dives deep in examining specific themes at Laangbaan and elegant and edgy Holdfast Dining. All of these are well deserving of the praise and offering experiences that I think travelling to Portland even if you are coming from another country to book ahead of time.

However, that also means they can be a little difficult to get into because of all the acclaim and attention. I wanted to spotlight a few smaller Specialty Dining Experiences that also have incredible food that is memorably unique but that has a smaller, warmer atmosphere that offers food and hospitality deserving of being on the hot list, but are still approachable and that you can get into without reserving months ahead of time.

Mae PDX

I think I was actually a little angry once I bit into my first fried chicken by Maya Lovelace and her Applachian cuisine popup Mae (named after her grandmother) It was so juicy, yet with that perfect crispy skin, and that little bite from Crystal Hot Sauce, that I knew I would never judge fried chicken by the same standards again because she had broken through them and showed me a whole new level.

She is offering this best fried chicken of Portland in her 10 course dinners family style BYOB supper formats on Wednesdays every week, and also in a smaller communal Monday night dinners where instead of multiple courses it’s a fried chicken main with various sides. To get into one of the dinners (they all feel like warm family Sunday Suppers, even though they are held Mondays and Wednesday), you need to sign up for her mailing list and each week. She will send out an email with the information on the next week’s dinner and how to reserve your desired number of seats in the email. If you don’t respond in time, pay attention to her social media posts on Facebook because there are sometimes cancellations you might be able to get in on!

Meadowlark PDX

What really stands out to me about Meadlowlark is their wide range of food themes that they offer that can take to different time periods, different parts of the world, or highlight specialized handcrafted ingredients. From the moment you enter their supper club, you feel welcomed and cared for on your trip with such grace by Chefs Jen Datka and Emily Park that you are satiated both in hunger and in spirit. The dish below from their Seollal Korean New Year Dinner of Tteok Mandu Guk, with pork belly and shrimp dumplings, rice cakes, kimchi consommé is really representative of them – just exquisite in the layers of flavors, perfect execution and made by hand, a blend of tradition and their personal touch, usage of seasonal ingredients and sourcing from local vendors. Each dish comes with a story of where the inspiration came from and how the ingredients were sourced.

Sign up for their newsletter and follow on social media to find out about their next event as they announce them. Based on their Facebook it looks like planning for next months’ calçotada is doing well!

Willow PDX

March marked the opening of Willow with Chefs John Pickett and Doug Weiler. They are offering Cascadian cuisine in which almost everything they use is local and seasonal, and they are very conscious of coaxing the most flavors they can out of every part of the ingredient. I love how they pay careful attention to building layers of flavors and textures. I’ve attended their pop up previously, and am pleased they now have the space they have been working on ready to throw what feels like elegant and intimate supper club parties.

They have created a space that really feels like you are entering a friend’s home for a dinner party. They only seat 10 at a time at their chef’s counter, which allows you to see the plating and talk to the chefs directly, while also chatting with new food friends just like you might at a neighborhood bar. At the end of dinner, you can even mingle a little more over coffee in the living room before you depart, just like at a friend’s house. See their openings at their reservations website.

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#ThursdayToursPDX is a collaborative series between Portland, OR bloggers {Erin} Bakery Bingo + {Meredith} Martha Chartreuse. In a city filled with amazing restaurants, artisan experiences, and fantastic tastemakers the inside scoop is a must. We will be asking our friends and fellow bloggers for their recommendations and tips for all the City of Roses has to offer.