Skip to main contentLong before the recent economic decline in America encouraged people to eat more modestly, in Paris the "baby bistro" movement was in full sway. Great chefs like Michel Rostang and Guy Savoy opened small restaurants far less formal than their grand, reputation-establishing emporia. These lively spots allowed the great chefs a chance to experiment without the pretensions of haute cuisine and were conceived almost as places to entertain the cooks' own friends informally.
Portland restaurants may lack the grandeur of the Parisian flagship rooms that gave birth to their spinoffs, but the impulse of local restaurateurs to create modest bistros alongside their more entrenched spots is becoming almost commonplace. Two of note are Castagna's cafe, which opened last year, and Laslow's, which unveiled its bistro this past November.
Laslow's bistro isn't housed in a separate restaurant but rather a room in the same building where you can choose from a special menu. (You can also order from the wonderful main menu if you desire.) With its handsome bar, salmon-colored walls, black tablecloths, dark wood and fireplace creating an almost stately feel, the "bistro room" dresses up such items as a Cuban version of Sloppy Joe ($9.50) or a cheeseburger ($9.50), even though each is already quite classy.
You can eat simply here: Pick steamed mussels infused with saffron and accompanied by crispy polenta ($8.75), along with a nicely dry Caesar ($6.75), and you've got just the thing before a film or a concert. Eric Laslow's deft touch is evident in a charming onion-and-watercress soup that allows those strong flavors to play against one another without either overpowering the other. His pumpkin-custard crab cakes ($11.50) are lusciously soft, with the pumpkin transforming everything into a creamy pleasure. It's nice to find salt cod fritters ($6.50) on a menu--the addition of basil and capers in an herbed aioli turns the fritters into a perky dish.
The star here may be the desserts: Laslow's homemade ice creams ($5.50) are packed with flavor, and "chocolate on chocolate" lives up to its name, with both the hazelnut pâté and the sorbet dense with chocolate, rum syrup and black currants infusing the pair.
The superb wine list imparts a refined tone to give you the sense that you've come to someplace special, however simple the menu.
Cafe Castagna is a bit more casual than Laslow's. An open room adjacent to the superb main restaurant, the cafe has a small, see-into kitchen, a bar with a counter where you can have your meal, and a spare, slightly hard-edged space with concrete floor and lots of glass. It's always crowded, and there's considerable table-hopping among the crowds of regulars.
The menu is relatively similar to the bistro fare at Laslow's: Both have a Caesar, marvelous soups, a tasty burger, penne and shrimp. Castagna has a regal touch with its fresh oysters ($11), and it boasts a bracing salad of peppery watercress with nuggets of beets and ricotta salata ($7). There's a interesting jeu d'esprit probably unique in town: arancini (little oranges), which are small balls of deep-fried risotto pressed around melting fontina cheese ($3), just right for breaking your hunger and getting the juices flowing. Perhaps the best among the appetizers is a traditional Portuguese soup ($6) of dark green kale, garbanzos and the spicy chorizo always found at the bottom of such hearty, peasant concoctions.
As good as the appetizers are, don't ignore the entrees, especially the wonderful roast chicken ($16); you get a generous helping, and the bird is packed with tarragon butter beneath the skin. This is the cafe's signature dish, but I hope a splendid lamb-and-artichoke stew ($16) with an extraordinarily buttery potato purée stays around. I wouldn't want to call a burger playoff between the two restaurants--each has its pride of place, and Laslow's sweet chips vs. Castagna's crisp fries can produce only a happy standoff.
Grapefruit juice and Campari is a classic combination for a summer day on the Mediterranean; Castagna turns it into a sorbet ($5), and its icy refreshment works nicely at the end of a comforting meal. If you're up for more, the rhubarb crisp ($5) is the way to go. The fruit contrasts with vanilla ice cream that's all but essential to break the tart and sour taste.
Cafe Castagna bucks any fashionable impulses, but then the main restaurant also eschews easy trends. Both Catagnas are devoted to simple quality, assertive and pure flavors never muddied by the addition of any extraneous or superfluous ingredient.
The baby bistro functions for its related restaurant as a sidekick does for the comic-book superhero, drawing in readers (or diners) by lending accessibility and a sense of lighthearted diversion to the enterprise. For both Castagna and Laslow's, the side dish makes a satisfying entree.
Laslow's Bistro
2327 NW Kearney St., 241-8092. Open 5-10 pm Sunday and Tuesday- Thursday,
5-10 pm Friday- Saturday, 5-10 pm Monday during the summer. Credit cards.
Moderate $$
Picks: Pumpkin
custard crab cakes, duck confit, sloppy Joe, ice creams
Nice touch: Homey, more cheerful than the main restaurant upstairs. Porch dining in warm weather.
Cafe Castagna
1758 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 231-9959. Open 5-10 pm Tuesday- Thursday,
5-11 pm Friday- Saturday, 5-9:30 pm Sunday. Credit cards. Moderate $$
Picks: Soups, p‰tés, roast chicken, hearty stews, sorbets
Nice touch: Casual, friendly.
WWeek 2015