Skip to main contentIf you've ever had a Spanish coffee at Huber's restaurant, chances are you've seen Alex Gomez. Over two decades there, he perfected the art of swirling, flaming and flourishing Bacardi 151, triple sec, Kahlúa and fresh java, helping elevate the after-dinner drink into a Portland tradition at this traditional Portland restaurant. But 20 years is a long time to set drinks on fire within the same four walls, so about a year ago Gomez parted ways with Huber's, took a year off, then resurfaced last December on the other side of the Willamette. Now he hosts, waits tables and, yes, reprises the flambé shtick at Vine Leaves, a Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern restaurant in the space that used to house the Moroccan restaurant Casablanca.
Unfortunately, the Spanish coffee is Vine Leaves' most polished and colorful offering. The food is mostly so-so, with a few standouts, and suffers from an unimaginative, monochromatic presentation. The service, by turns hovering and inattentive, needs work, too.
On the first of my three visits, I asked for the saganaki ($5), a blend of kaseri and cheddar cheese served aflame, as an appetizer, but I was told it was unavailable that night. "The kitchen's still trying to figure out how to handle the fire thing," the waitress explained. (Apparently, they can handle flaming coffee but not flaming cheese.) Pressing onward, I ordered the maza platter ($6.50), a sampling of hummus, baba ghanouj, tabouli and falafel. The hummus was oversalted and too garlicky for my taste, but my garlophile dining companions could not get enough of it. The baba ghanouj proved more agreeable, the lemon juice of the roasted eggplant spread providing a tangy counterbalance to the tahini. Fresh mint, parsley and green onion, all finely chopped, enlivened the excellent tabouli. The falafel was warm and flavorful--crisp on the outside, moist on the inside. The soup du jour ($3), a potato-lentil, was serviceable but mushy and did not appeal to the eye. A sprinkling of spice or a garnish of diced tomatoes might have added some zing. For dinner I tried the night's special--chicken with sundried tomatoes and mushrooms in cream sauce ($15). It sounded delectable coming out of the waitress' mouth but disappointed when I put it in mine. The chicken was tough, the cream sauce undistinguished, the presentation an earth-toned mess.
Upon my second visit I asked again for the saganaki appetizer. Again, no dice. I settled for a plate of feta, kalamata olives and pita bread ($4). It's hard to go wrong with something this basic, but the pita tastes store-bought and zapped in the microwave. My entrée, the restaurant's eponymous vine leaves, while not among the best stuffed grape leaves I have eaten, were tangy and flavorful nonetheless and also come in a meat-free version.
A full month after my first visit, I returned a third and final time, and for the third and final time I asked for--and was denied--the saganaki. For the love of Allah, either serve the damn thing or take it off the menu, people. The Kharuf Muhamar ($15), a slow-cooked roasted leg of lamb, was succulent and tender, the meat falling off the bone, and just fatty enough to impart a decadent richness of flavor.
The service at Vine Leaves can be erratic and forgetful. We weren't asked how we wanted our meat cooked, and it arrived on the shish kebab red inside. Also, the menu lists entrees as coming with either rice or couscous. We were never given the choice, and, inexplicably, mine came with couscous, my companion's with rice. At this point, my dining partner asked for a side of couscous and a glass of iced tea. The waiter delivered a cup of hot tea. The couscous never materialized.
The restaurant features a full bar, plus wine and beer (try the Lebanese for a zesty change). Equal is the only artificial sweetener on hand, although to the waiter's credit, when I asked for Sweet'N Low, he dashed over to the convenience store next door and bought a box.
A corridor connects the restaurant's intimate front dining room with the more spacious, if vaguely downrent, back, where musicians offer jazz Wednesdays through Sundays (Tom Grant plays Thursdays). Sometimes the live music competes with the canned. One evening salsa blared from the speakers in the front room, even as a jazz singer held sway in the back. This created an odd stereophonic dissonance, especially given that the CD was skipping and the speakers were shorting out. The solution is simple: Pipe the live music from the back room into the front.
Synthesizing Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines is an ambitious and intriguing goal, but Vine Leaves is more than a little green when it comes to carrying out the task. Clearly, it needs a little more time on the vine.
2221 SE Hawthorne St., 231-6612 Lunch 11:30 am-3 pm Friday- Sunday, dinner 4-10 pm Tuesday- Sunday. Closed Monday. $$ Moderate.
Picks: Baba ghanouj,
(roasted leg of lamb), Spanish coffee
WWeek 2015