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But there is one thing that's very Portland about Verdigris, at least so far: It's best at brunch.
Like Trinket and Roost and few others in town, the restaurant offers a lovely and refined Continental take on all-American morning fare. And so the pancakes ($10) were thick, light and fluffy and made with ricotta cheese, topped with a soft-caramel banana and a host of whipped Chantilly cream and almonds. It was richly decadent without being cloying, and without particular excess. Not to mention that for a small child who happened to be in tow, the server presciently offered to split the toppings and offer fresh maple syrup…just in case. (The kid was eventually convinced that whipped cream and bananas are a good thing.)
A veggie omelette ($9) was fluffed in the French style, and stuffed not overfull with crimini mushrooms, goat cheese and watercress, achieving a quality that few omelettes do: understatement and balance. The most welcome dish, however, was a tender maple-smoked trout ($11) with frisee, horseradish, hard-cooked egg just at the cusp of medium, and lightly toasted crostini. All things were at the very edge of underdone, but not at all underdone—which is another way of saying they were just right. The dish was like a Frenchified Broder plate, a bit fluffier and thicker and meltingly, fattily good.
But at least in early January dinner wasn't in the same shape. At higher prices than brunch, the evening meals seemed to have forgone restraint, but without corresponding ambition. The menu changes constantly, but a dish billed simply as chicken and Oregon truffles ($22) arrived with plating less innovative than it was simply Dada. The chicken was overcooked, a jus-glazed breast served as a sheeted tabletop for legs made of celery root: It was like a balancing rock stranded by wind. A simple side preparation of truffles on celery root puree was much more successful, but was bafflingly buried under a mountain of dry arugula. (The dish was later updated to include Smithfield ham and a 60-minute sous vide egg, which comes across as a creamier version of poached; these also accompany multiple brunch dishes, including spicy andouille sausage.)
Meanwhile, a ricotta-watercress-crimini lasagna ($11) was pleasant enough but unmemorable, and a little, cupped endive salad ($10) filled with cheese and candied nuts seemed to have drifted out of the early years of the millennium on tulip umbrellas. A Parmesan risotto ($11) arrived as a Dead Sea of rice, sharply herbed.
But most of these dishes have since rotated out while standbys are developing, including a tender sous vide octopus salad served with chorizo ($12).
In some ways it feels as if the evening service is still struggling to find its identity. By comparison, the brunch seems to have started fresh in a wide-open field; you can almost feel the sun on your cheeks while eating. The evening menu, however, needs to air out a bit.
- Order this: Any damn thing on the brunch menu, but especially maple-smoked trout ($11).
- Iâll pass: For now, dinner.
EAT: Verdigris, 1315 NE Fremont St., 477-8106, verdigrisrestaurant.com. 5-10 pm Wednesday-Saturday, 5-9 pm Sunday, brunch 9 am-2:30 pm Saturday-Sunday.
WWeek 2015