PFA - Grüner
Last Sunday the 9th brought us to a very special Portland Food Adventures at Grüner and it’s connected bar Kask, to help Grüner ring in its 3rd anniversary! They started us out with a refreshing cocktail and appetizers, before our host Chris Angelus introduced us to Chef Chris Israel, who talked to us a bit about Grüner’s progression and what we had in store for the evening.
As we moved over to Gruner, we had a lovely table set up and even a welcome sign on their board! The place was nicely decorated for the holidays with lots of light and some soft pretzels ready for us.
The first course was a combination of beet-pickled deviled eggs, smoked trout mousse, and a liptauer cheese spread.
There were of course many ‘cheers’ to be had, as we were brought our second course, a salad of winter greens with radishes, toasted pumpkin seeds and a cider vinaigrette.
Not too far after were our 4th and 5th dishes, above on the left a charcuterie plate with an assortment of house-made pates, terrines and cured meats like speck and salami, along with picked fruits and mustard. Above to the right was probably my favorite dish of the evening; a buckwheat spatzle with Riesling braised chicken, wild mushrooms, crème fraiche and crisp shallots. It was so hearty and a perfect blend of flavors for the winter.
As us Adventurers ventured on, we got a mixed grill of house-made sausages and pork tenderloin, with sauerkraut and Yukon gold potatoes, served with a mustard dipping sauce.
After some Portland Restaurant trivia which gave out quite a few gift certificates to quick witted guests, we were given our gift packs for the evening and Chris Israel came out to talk a little bit about the gift certificates for the evening which included St. Jack, Cacao, and Wafu. We were also brought out our last dessert course; delicious doughnuts rolled in sugar and filled with raspberry jam. YUM!
And with that another PFA came to a close! Thanks to all the guests and gracious staff of Grüner for a very pleasant evening.
