PDX - Lucier

I get lots of great info from this board and don't think I've ever responded. There's too many much more knowledgeable folks than me on here! But this time, thought I'd couple a question I have with my first impression of Lucier.

I had the opportunity to go to a pre-opening dinner on Saturday. I wasn't sure what to expect after reading lots online about how ambitious an undertaking it is for Portland. What I liked immediately about Lucier upon walking in was that it wasn't your typical darkly light fancy restaurant (El Gaucho, Daniel Broiler in Seattle, what I rememer of Paley's Place, even Herb Farm in Seattle come to mind). It was bright and modern - the floor to ceiling windows help. A nice change. And the view is amazing, but after getting engaged on the Portland watefront years ago, I have a special place in my heart for that view. We were treated to a great thunder and lightening storm Saturday night and watching it light up the river was great.

I really enjoyed the food. They started us with an amuse of a bay scallop with a little topping of cavier set on some sort of cream sauce and seaweed. It was tasty and set a nice tone for the dinner to come. For whatever reason, I tend to prefer appetizer choices and this was very much the case here as well. But since this was the pre-opening dinner, we were to choose one item from appetizers, entree and dessert.

I opted for the carpaccio of sea bass because it looked the most interesting - I was skeptical that raw fish and foie gras would make a good pairing but it was the BEST appetizer I've ever had. I'd go back for that alone. The layers of flavors and texture was amazing. My husband had the mille feuille of lobster - that was good too, although I only got one bite.

As for the entree, I ordered the lamb. although it was very good and perfectly cooked, it was my least favorite of all that we tried. Simply because it could be lamb that you order at any fine restaurant... not interesting like the sea bass app was. My husband ordered the rib eye steak. I try to avoid ordering rib eyes at restaurants because we can make such great steaks at home. But my god, this steak was good. I'd order it again - great flavor and one that I couldn't replicate myself. If I'm going to pay that much for a steak, I'd go back to Lucier before going to El Gaucho again.

Desserts - I wanted a rhubarb dessert that was on the menu but apparently it was very popular - they were out of it. The lemon souffle was excellent (light and not too sweet) as was the creme brulee. I tend to like lavender desserts tho.

Service was interesting. Although there's been a lot written about the building and decor, it's the service, along with the food, that I was really interested in (this was true when I first visited Seattle's Herb Farm as well). I'd never heard of "brigade" style before but even though we were the "dry run" diners, I thought the service was fantastic. We didn't have a single dedicated server like you do in other restaurants but a team of people who took orders, filled water and wine glasses, served the food. Except for the simultaneous serving of our plates, it wasn't over the top like I thought it would be but quick and responsive. Hoever, the simultaneous serving of plates for a larger table did catch me a bit off guard...

All in all, one of the better dinners I've had and looking at menu prices, not as expensive as I thought it would be. So I'd like to go again the next time I'm in town but I'd like to try the Chef's Tasting Menu, which wasn't available for pre-opening night. And this is where my question comes in:

Has anyone had a chance to try the tastng menu? And does anyone know how often the menu will be refreshed?

The tasting menu seems really reasonable in price, particularly compared to the $200+ per person we pay for the Herb Farm up here!

Hanny in Pacific Northwest

PDX - best of what's new?

I thought I saw on their website that they were open days only on Saturday but guess I was wrong. We were able to check them out on Sunday - unfortunately, I wasn't able to take advantage of any half priced bubbly as I drank more than my fair share the night before but we enjoyed our meal LOTS. Thanks for the info - I can't wait to visit again. It was a great weekend for food!

Hanny in Pacific Northwest

PDX - best of what's new?

Thanks SS! The Clyde Common menu looks fantastic - think we'll give that a shot tomorrow (the half price bubbly is right up my ally but its strange to me that they're not open on Saturday evenings?). I also just took a look at the PortlandFood post on Lucier - I'm now super intrigued with what tonight will be like. Thanks for reminding me about that board too - I forgot it was there! I wonder if there's something similar for Seattle...

Hanny in Pacific Northwest

PDX - best of what's new?

Hi everyone - I just scored myself a last minute invite to the pre-opening VIP night at Lucier, a new restaurant opening in the "south waterfront/north macadam" area so have made the late decision to come down to Portland for the weekend and focus my time on food!

I spent the majority of my adult life in Portland but have lived in Seattle the past couple of years. When I've come back for visits, it's been family focused and don't get a chance to eat out much. So.... I'd love to take this opportunity to check out a few of Portland's _newest_ good eats. I've quickly explored the board but am mostly seeing restaurants I'm familiar with.

Can anyone give me their quick recs of restaurants _that have only been open about a year_? Must be open on the weekend, can be any price point and preferably not Asian cuisine, unless it's really brand new (I know Portland has a ton of great Asian restaurants but those are the ones I tend to visit most).

Thanks in advance - I'd do a bit more homework on the board but I'm heading out the door in short order! (In return, I'm happy to give my first impressions of Lucier... I don't know much abouit it, except that it seems to have a great location, the food is "modern European cuisine" and my favorite part: it offers a champagne cart ;)

Hanny in Pacific Northwest

SEA: Hainanese Chicken Rice?

I'm really craving real Chicken Rice as you'd find in Singapore. Want to avoid plain steamed white rice with plain boiled chicken and watered down chili sauce. Looking for really fragrant rice and chili/garlic/lime sauce with a punch. Anyone had the Chicken Rice that Malay Satay Hut offers? Or any other suggestions for where to find this? thanks!

Hanny in Pacific Northwest

Seattle - crab season

Thanks all. I actually now am leaning toward a Chinese place. My mom is Chinese so I was just thinking of trying something different. Wasn't necessarily looking for inexpensive so much as not fancy or dolled up food. But based on some of the other posts, we might try Szechuan Chef or Yea's Wok. Or if anyone knows a place get good Singapore Pepper Crab, that would be ideal :)

Hanny in Pacific Northwest

Seattle - crab season

Sorry - I should clarify that we'd prefer eastside but will not hesitiate to follow the food across the bridge.

Hanny in Pacific Northwest

Seattle - crab season

Hi - hoping you can help point me in the right direction. My parents are coming to town and love seafood - particularly crab, clams and mussels. I'm looking for a place that makes fresh, dependable, simple dishes along these lines. Not looking for fancy or touristy. A good ol' fashioned crab shack that throws down newspapers would do as long as they use the days fresh caught and don't over cook it. We'd just go down to the water and buy off the boat to cook ourselves but wanting to avoid any cooking/cleaning the night before Thanksgiving. Any suggestions?

Hanny in Pacific Northwest

New to Seattle - any food & wine clubs?

Hi - we're relatively new to the area and are interested in finding a group that organizes suppers about once a month at the best restaurants in the area. We're particularly interested in multi-course experiences with wine pairings. Does anyone know of any that exist in Seattle?

thanks in advance!

Hanny in Pacific Northwest

Seattle area - Eastside

Thanks for such a great list! We've tried a couple of them (Sea Star and Malay Satay Hut) and loved them so will start knocking down the rest of the list one by one. I'm feeling better about our chances for good food over here.

Hanny in Pacific Northwest