Skip to main contentIn Marco Shaw's kitchen, the pans are red-hot and the energy is palpable ("Fire," you hear, as another hanger steak hits the grill). The best seats in the house are on comfortable stools facing the action, where you can watch Shaw flipping the bird with pleasure—in this case, a tender Greener Pastures half-chicken sizzling on cast iron. Fife is (along with Lauro) one of the two best neighborhood restaurants in the city, and though diners come from all over Portland, the folks in Alameda and Beaumont Village are lucky to have such a friendly, smart establishment in their back yard—especially one with decent prices and an interesting, affordable wine list. The menu is American bistro, and Shaw walks a fine line between natural pairings (magret of duck with roasted pears) and ingenious ones (mussels with sea beans). There are always some surprises, but the food is solid, traditional with a few unerring, personal touches. Meats with a full range of potatoes are a strong suit. The pork T-bone is thick as an Iowa farmer's wrist and meltingly succulent, the duck rich and rare in a deep, dark berry sauce. Desserts, here somewhat ominously called the "final course," are standouts, especially a poached lemon pudding cake, puckeringly tart but perfectly sweetened with fresh raspberries and their sauce. A splendid establishment of sophisticated simplicity. (RJP)
WWeek 2015