Castagna/Cafe Castagna

[October 17th, 2007] 1752-1758 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 231-7373. Dinner Wednesday-Saturday; lunch Tuesday-Saturday and dinner nightly in the cafe. $$-$$$$ Moderate (Cafe)-Very expensive.

Thank goodness for the common sense of co-owners Kevin Gibson and Monique Siu, who had the bright idea to divide their restaurant in two. And really, you need to consider both, for they each have their individual charms. For special occasions there’s Castagna, a suave, crisp-white-tablecloth establishment offering enormous cuts of the finest meats Oregon has to offer with immaculately prepared seasonal sides and starters: a pork chop as big as a Labrador puppy, served with corn, chanterelles and red peppers; or a medium-rare veal caprese with fresh tomato and mozzarella. For more ordinary evenings, Cafe Castagna serves much more affordable standards—Caesar salad, baked penne and one of the best burgers in town—next door in a no-frills dining room with a hipper atmosphere and clientele. Fortunately they share a kitchen and bar, and offer the same selection of neatly executed classic cocktails. Both are excellent, but the cafe is less determined to give you a meat coma. (BW)

Signature dish: Castagna’s “Trio,” an ever-changing starter of creatively prepared vegetables: roasted beets, fried cardoon (artichoke thistle) and asparagus mimosa one night; roasted eggplant, sweet radicchio and sesame-breaded, fried leeks the next.

Standouts: Castagna is making the most of its noisy location on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard with a new sidewalk garden of herbs and fruit trees that gives diners some protection from the nearby roar of traffic.

Regrets: Neither dining room has much to offer the meatless crowd.