Caprial's
Bistro
7015 SE Milwaukie Ave., 236-6457.
Dinner: 5-9:30 pm Tuesday-Saturday.
Lunch: 11 am-3 pm Tuesday-Friday, 11:30 am-3 pm Saturday.
Reservations recommended.
Cooking with Caprial
7 pm Saturday KOPB-TV Channel 10
Caprial's Bistro-Style Cuisine
(Ten Speed Press, 196 pages, $24.95)
The December night was cold and wet, but the scene inside
Caprial's Bistro was very warm. Caprial Pence, her hair streaked
blond, wore a hot red dress. She and her chef-husband John
were surrounded by well-wishers who ventured into the raw
darkness to pack the Pences' newly renovated Westmoreland
restaurant. The Pences had just finished the two-year project
that doubled the bistro's space, and they basked in the adoration
of their patrons and fans. Maybe it was the flowing wine and
platters of delicious free food that made this function such
a love-fest. The spacious new room, designed by architect
Lee Winn, struck me as dramatic yet cozy, beautiful but austere,
and still as loud as the previous space, which was notorious
for its racket.
The riotous re-opening celebration last winter proved that
the Pences have more than just "arrived" on the Rose City
culinary scene. Since Caprial won the James Beard Foundation's
Best Chef of the Northwest award in 1991, the couple has
built an empire of national renown upon their bistro-style
cuisine. They opened their Portland restaurant in 1992,
after first achieving acclaim in Seattle. Local diners approved
of Caprial and John's inventive dishes and their innovative
policy of selling wine at retail prices, with only a nominal
corkage fee added. But the couple's quest to bring their
gastronomic delights to the masses was just beginning. By
1994, Caprial's televised cooking show was bringing the
genial chef into homes across the country. Portland residents
sopped up the Pences' expertise through weekly cooking classes.
And Caprial's cookbooks revealed her secrets to everyone
else in the world.
At first glance, Caprial may seem like more of a megalomaniac
than Martha Stewart, hellbent on ruling the culinary world
and all those who eat in it. But a visit to Caprial's Bistro
provides reassurance that the friendly and accessible Pences
are truly passionate about preparing and sharing food.
The restaurant has changed from a cozy storefront cafe
with a chalkboard menu to a gleaming restaurant with an
enclosed entryway, full bar, expansive dining room and private
back room for banquets and classes. The kitchen line is
exposed, so diners can eat at a tasteful counter and watch
the cooks work. These new features cater to a clientele
that ranges from locals to tourists, blasé foodies
to starstruck fans. The menu prices--about $20 for a dinner
entree and salad--indicate the place is appropriate for
a special occasion. But Caprial reports that the biggest
difficulty in changing the restaurant was assuring its many
regulars that the essence of the place--a friendly neighborhood
bistro--would remain the same.
The ambiance is still comfortable, though the closely placed
banquette tables may not appeal to those craving privacy.
The wine is still shelved along the back wall of the dining
room; patrons can browse the huge selection for the perfect
complement to their meal. However, the sweet corkage fee
deal has now been replaced by wine prices comparable to
those of other restaurants.
But the most important feature of Caprial's Bistro, the
food, is still the main attraction. The dinner menu changes
monthly, usually including four entrees--fish, chicken,
red-meat and vegetarian--prepared with global influences
under the command of chef Mark Dowers. A recent evening
offered halibut coated in curry, pan-roasted and served
on a bed of spicy basil noodles with star anise syrup and
mango coulis. The entree's presentation was breathtaking;
the plate looked like a work of abstract art, dramatically
highlighted with graceful swirls of colorful sauce. Think
Nude Descending a Staircase painted in luscious sauces.
There are a few specials each evening, depending upon what's
available in the market. In their quest for the finest ingredients,
Caprial and John snap up fresh seafood, meats and vegetables
from regional vendors, taking the basic dishes in new and
delicious directions. The chef may take tender lamb chops
and gently roast them with a savory rosemary-green peppercorn
sauce. Northwesterners ever-so-bored with salmon will be
pleasantly surprised by the many inventive ways Caprial's
can serve the tired pink standby--baked, for example, in
a chive-breadcrumb crust with sorrel-and-Gruyère
stuffing, and finished with a light lemon-butter sauce.
The ever-changing entree menu is one delightful aspect
of eating at Caprial's, but many of the appetizers, such
as the melt-in-your-mouth pan-fried oysters with spicy Asian
cabbage salad, are mainstays. The lunch menu offers interesting
salads, sandwiches and pastas in the $5-$10 range. The Hot-as-Hell
Chicken with Chinese noodles tossed in peanut sauce is an
especially good choice for brave palates.
The dishes sometimes suffer from an excess of ambition;
how many distinct flavors can actually fit onto one plate?
In one appetizer, the succulent steamed clams are overpowered
by the imaginative hot-and-sour Mongolian sauce. But adventurous
is good, even essential to the cutting-edge quality the
restaurant's owners cultivate. The desserts range from delicate
fruit tortes and sorbet to more decadent fare, such as a
heavenly turtle pie bursting with chocolate and caramel.
A complete meal leaves you feeling pleasantly full, not
heavily stuffed. And the capable and friendly staff only
enhance the experience.
Now that Caprial and John have completed the restaurant's
renovation, they can find new opportunities to be accessible
to those hungry for Penceness. If you want a peek of the
televison princess, you might have to settle for the small
blue screen. When Caprial is busy traveling, it's John you'll
see sweating behind the line during the dinner rush. Although
they have doubled the frequency of their popular cooking
classes, the schedule is pretty much booked through December.
But they are available for private corporate gigs, and they'll
also offer kids' cooking classes during the summer months.
This fall, Caprial will tape 26 more episodes of her television
show, for the first time in front of a live audience. And--move
over, Martha--Portland's gourmet goddess will greet the
millennium with a new cookbook focused on entertaining.
Coming soon: Caprial and John Pence action figures?
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Willamette Week | originally
published June 30, 1999
|
