Skip to main contentRonnie Vance, the chef and owner of a pleasant new restaurant just off Northwest 21st Avenue, has a penchant for invoking names from the world of entertainment. The restaurant's appellation stems from a Grateful Dead song; a perfectly nice fish is called "Sling Blade Salmon," though I don't remember Billy Bob Thornton having anything to do with Oregon's natural treasure; and an outrageous slab of beef stuffed with shrimp and Gorgonzola and wrapped in bacon is either elevated or saddled, depending on your point of view, by being named for Louis Armstrong.
Nomenclature aside, Scarlet Begonias looks to be a splendid addition to the restaurant choices springing up in the neighborhood. It is a simple storefront space, designed to be intimate, cozy and completely charming. Only nine or 10 tables grace the room, including one set in a delightful alcove edged with velour curtains. There's a burnished, Renaissance glow to the place, an amber, coppery light that's perfectly subdued and makes everyone look terrific. In one corner, a beautiful little bar is set off with hammered-copper top and sides, and a cluster of upside-down glasses over the space gives it a crystalline sparkle. With ceiling fixtures of antique glass--inverted half-domes reminiscent of gas lights--the entire ensemble becomes serene and warmly welcoming.
The menu is not large, but the kitchen's ambitions are ample and evident. There are no obvious culinary influences here; the cooking is best described as contemporary, and there are thoughtful, often splendid personal inflections. One of the appetizers is among the best soups in Portland: a stunning potato potage ($6) perfumed with smoky pancetta and topped with crisp, crunchy fried leeks. It's served in an immense but graceful flat bowl, and will provide more comfort than any pair of maternal arms. After this starter, you could take arms against any sea of troubles. On a more elegant note, a plate of foie gras ($12) comes with beautifully seared rare duck breast and macerated strawberries and local black truffles; the plate is characteristically gorgeous and each bite sumptuous.
A more unusual offering is a timbale of eggplant, goat cheese ($9), concentrated tomato, and puréed red pepper. A timbale, to be at its best, should be light and shimmery, its inside baked just enough to resemble the molten interior of a great soufflé. This one was decent, though not quite the dreamy-soft Tiepolo cloud a Platonic timbale ought to resemble. I also liked an order of plump scallops ($10) imaginatively dusted with powdered ancho chili and paired with robust, spicy slices of andouille sausage, an excellent land and sea combination.
That Satchmo steak ($24)--another embodiment of surf-and-turf--points up both the strong suit and a shortcoming of Scarlet Begonia. The meat, though flavorful, cooked perfectly and hugely portioned, was plunked down on top of the mashed potatoes so every bite of the steak came up dripping with potatoes like Venus shedding sea foam. I don't usually complain about excess portions, but sometimes one wishes for a bit of spareness, partly to provide breathing room for, and visual distinctiveness to, individual ingredients on a plate; but more so to avoid a pileup effect that overwhelms more than it seduces. Vance often does lovely things with his ingredients, but occasionally he takes them into regions of excess, as if each square inch of the plate had to be occupied. So a rack of venison crusted with pinenuts and herbs, backed by a baby pumpkin stuffed with chunky smashed fingerlings, accompanied by Swiss chard and a burgundy reduction, is simply an overload, and yet each item tasted wonderful. I'd like to see the kitchen rein itself in a tad, keeping things simpler or smaller.
The venison ($22) was actually a great dish. By contrast, I was somewhat disappointed by a rack of boar chops ($20), slightly overcooked and tough, though the underlying smoky flavor came through. Here's another example of pileup, mirrored in the menu description: "Hickory Smoked Beer Braised Boar Chop with Walnut and Pancetta whipped sweet potatoes, roasted baby beets and an apple-onion marmalade." My hat's off to ambition, but more restraint will make things more successful.
The kitchen works well with duck ($19) and has wisely changed the magret's accompaniment from a mushroom-and-cheddar gratin (too rich) to roasted squash, a wild rice stuffing, and a splendid sour-cherry reduction. Billy Bob's salmon ($18) is a treat, though the "brioche" that came with it was hard as last week's biscuit.
The Begonias' dessert list is tiny; one night, only pumpkin pie and chocolate mousse were available, though both were more than acceptable.
Right now, the first courses trump the main courses, but the glimmerings of serious accomplishment are clearly in evidence. If you want a comparison, the restaurant that seems most like Scarlet Begonias is William's on 12th: Both are small establishments, immensely attractive and driven by chef-owners who impose a creative sensibility on their cooking, and both are in need of a bit more discipline. But again I applaud the aspirations, and look forward to further visits.
2108 NW Glisan St., 274-7926 Open 5:30-10 pm Tuesday- Saturday. Children welcome but seldom seen. Credit cards. Expensive $$$.
: Creamy potato soup, scallops with andouille, pan-seared duck breast, rack of venison.
: Cozy, elegant, intimate setting.
WWeek 2015