Restaurant Guide 2013: Bar Dobre

3962 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 477-5266, bardobre.com.

[POLE POSITION] With its deep-toned wood panels, framed mirrors and cast-iron chandelier, the homey Bar Dobre is the front room of your alcoholic grandma's house. And she's serving unfiltered Belvedere vodka and whiskey with Krupnik honey liqueur that's like a toddy without the tea. Oh, and pierogi garnished with horseradish sour cream and perhaps the best kielbasa plate I've had this side of Chicago with spicy house-stuffed sausage, seared kale ensconced in plentiful bacon, an airy potato pancake and warmly brined sauerkraut. Chef and co-owner Stan Pratnicki—the heart of Polish America singing from his name's clacking consonants—makes everything in-house according to family traditions. He recently expanded the kielbasa menu to four decadent offerings, from the classic smoky-spicy wiejska or wedzona kielbasa to a seriously savory, approachable, coriander-rich rendition of mysliwska blood sausage. The fried deviled eggs are worth ordering just for the aching familiarity of Polish sweet-spicy ketchup, and the hunter's stew will both warm your cockles and stretch you past satiety into coma. Luckily, the bar is a cozy place to slowly digest, and rich in aperitifs.

Order this: Kielbasa plate ($12) and pierogi to split between two, paired with a Boleslaw (vodka, ice, cucumber, lemon).

Best deal: The new 5-6 pm happy hour offers a pared-down, $3 kielbasa and kraut plate, with potato pancakes or deviled eggs for $3 more.

Pro tip: Here's how much we like Bar Dobre: It's the first establishment to ever make it into Willamette Week's Bar Guide, Cheap Eats guide and Restaurant Guide in the same year. Na zdrowia!

5-11 pm Tuesday-Saturday, brunch 10 am-3 pm Sunday. $.

 

WWeek 2015

Matthew Korfhage

Matthew Korfhage has lived in St. Louis, Chicago, Munich and Bordeaux, but comes from Portland, where he makes guides to the city and writes about food, booze and books. He likes the Oxford comma but can't use it in the newspaper.

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