Beast: a few thoughts

A real fun dinner. 2.5 hours long. For the money ($55) it's a real nice treat, going with the full 6 courses. Here are some quick thoughts on the various dishes.

CARROT SOUP WITH WASHINGTON MUSSELS
& SAFFRON CREAM

- a nice surprise and not something I would normally order. Not overpowering carrot flavor, had a hint of brininess from the mussel (which was huge and super tender). Almost seemed to be a hint of orange in the mix. Little bits of shallots give a little bit of texture and are a nice touch.

CHARCUTERIE PLATE:
FOIE-GRAS BON BON, SAUTERNES GELEE
STEAK TARTARE & QUAIL EGG TOAST
PORK, PORK LIVER, PRUNE & GREEN PEPPERCORN PATE
CHICKEN LIVER MOUSSE WITH CASSIS, HOUSE CRACKER

- very yummy, little bites of all of the above, including some house made soppresata and house-pickled veggies. Everything was quite good. My first foie-gras experience: it just melts in your mouth. The richness of the foie with the sauternes gelee and a hint of salt all played well together. A pleasent surprise was the chicken liver mousse.

BRAISED LOCAL BEEF SHORTRIBS
ROUGE D’ETAMPS PUMKIN, GOLDEN RAISIN AIGRE-DOUX
MUSTARD GREENS WITH CHILI & GARLIC

- the serving size of the shortribs was actually pretty substantial, which was a nice surprise. The roast pumpkin was so-so, could've had more flavor but the shortrib and sauce totally made up for it. Mustard greens gave a nice hint of bitterness. Very good.

WEPPLER FARMS FRISEE
LOCAL APPLES, HOUSE PANCETTA
& CANDIED HAZELNUTS

- A nice salad, the house pancetta was a good foil to the apple slices

~SELECTION OF STEVE’S CHEESE~
TOMINI-COW & SHEEP (IT)
GABICTON- RAW COW & SHEEP (FR)
BLU DEL MONVISO-RAW COW (IT)
CRACKED BLACK PEPPER SHORTBREAD
MARS-VENUS GRAPES & CHAMPAGNE POACHED APRICOTS

- The cheese plate was good, but didn't blow me away. The raw cow/sheep cheese was the best in my opinion. Served with local honey. The champagne poached apricot was ridiculous. Seriously, apricots shouldn't be this good!

CHOCOLATE POTS DE CRÈME
COCONUT SORBET
ALMOND FLORENTINE

- This being my second dessert at Beast (the first at brunch) I realized why I like their desserts while I usually don't care for them. They aren't super sweet like so many molten chocolate lava cakes or other way overdone/oversweet desserts out there. The flavors flirt with each other, in harmony with each other. The coconut sorbet was full of flavor and went great with the chocolate pudding, which wasn't real sweet. The almond biscuit threw in some nice texture. Good stuff.

So overall it was a great meal. When I made reservations we had no idea what would be on the menu and that's half the fun. For the adventurous eater, Beast is a great destination. I also did the wine pairings with each dish. While the pours were generous (probably over the stated 2 oz. each) they didn't always 'wow' me. I probably would have been fine grabbing the half bottle of champagne and worked that through a couple of the dishes. Check out their website for the ever-changing menu!

www.beastpdx.com