Grassa

By Matthew Korfhage

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1205 SW Washington St., 241-1133, grassapdx.com. Lunch and dinner daily.

Like an old punk rocker who now works in marketing, craft-pasta spot Grassa has aged surprisingly gracefully. The restaurant's rough edges—unpredictable tunes at unpredictable volume, dining-room staff with occasional kitchen manners—have become idiosyncratic elements in a machine that's now quite well-oiled. The housemade pasta is likewise often well-oiled, the product of a richness-is-all philosophy showrunner Rick Gencarelli also brought to sister shop Lardo. For housemade pasta, the value proposition remains impressive and the menu's off-the-wall ideas now seem less foodie-pleasing quirk than careful design, whether a pankoed pork belly mac ($12), angel-hair "ramen" Guidoed up by broccoli rabe ($13) or a toothsome $14 gnocchi that's secretly Old Bay clam chowder in the form of starchy pillows.

Check out Willamette Week's 2016 Cheap Eats guide here.

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Matthew Korfhage

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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