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After nearly three years spent on a semi-hiatus, celebrated Pacific Northwest chef Jeremy Hansen is opening his sixth eatery. This one’s in Portland: a brunch pop-up at Bantam Tavern.
Hansen, who attended the Western Culinary Institute (then known as Le Cordon Bleu) in Portland, is best known in the Spokane, Wash., area. It’s not only his hometown, but also where he and his wife opened five award-winning restaurants from 2008 to 2020, including flagship whole-animal butchery Santé Restaurant & Charcuterie. Those efforts earned Hansen a James Beard Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest nomination in 2015, the first ever Beard Foundation nomination in the greater Spokane area.
The pandemic brought Hansen and his family back to the Northwest, where he’s been cooking off and on in various locations since then. He’s now ready to embark on his next project, called Drift Boat, which may or may not refer to Hansen’s slightly unmoored state these past few years.
The breakfast/brunch pop-up will operate at least the next two weekends out of Bantam Tavern. The partnership made sense because Bantam chef Aaron Robertson is a longtime friend of Hansen’s, and there are hopes to transition the temporary project into a food cart and maybe even a brick-and-mortar down the road.
The menu is a mix of smaller items, like a yogurt and berry parfait and fried crusted brioche, as well as more substantial dishes, including grilled sourdough with folded egg and pork belly, mushroom toast smeared with whipped ricotta, and an open-faced omelet.
Along with Drift Boat food, you can expect a special cocktail lineup from Bantam’s bar manager, Amy Tegge. Seating is first come, first served. Drift Boat is open from 10 am to 2 pm Feb. 4-5 and 11-12.
