Lucy's Table, Portland
Portland deal maker attorney William Du Val and I had scheduled on of our regular “lunch conferences”, and today we hit Lucy’s Table in the Uptown neighborhood of Portland.
Lucy’s has been around awhile, and constantly gets rave reviews, tho often the reviews have to do with the “romantic ambiance” as much as the creative cuisine.
Portland is an ultra-casual town, and when one dines out in cut-offs and flip flops, one can probably find “romantic ambiance” at IHOP. I guess.
An open room, with a small bar, Lucy’s is well appointed, but at the same time, there is lots of glass, so today, in the bright light, romance eluded me. (smiley face).
Lucy’s describes themselves thusly: “Hybrid tastes of Morocco, Spain, Italy, Greece and Asia and freshly prepared with fresh northwest meats and seafood.” And they hit the mark every time.
Our server was very knowledgeable about the menu, and when he didn’t know an answer, he quickly got one from the kitchen. Du Val went with the burger, and pronounced it spectacular. I would have echoed his order, but passed on the burger when I saw these three words: “whole wheat bun.”
Nah, not for me.
So I went with the French dip, because the menu description included one of my favorite words, “baguette.” It was described as roasted rib-eye with horseradish sauce and jus. It was damned near perfect, tho I would have preferred (and paid for) a double meat portion.
Lucy's Table "Chick pea fries"
The house-made (regular) fries, ala carte, were perfect, and came
with a whole grain mustard aioli. I boldly went for the ‘chick pea fries’ because I had never heard of these before, and the server described them as chick pea flour, allowed to set up, cut into strips, and deep-fried. They were accompanied by harissa aioli, which was very interested. I liked these, even tho they have the texture of an extruded potato product, but granted, a lot of people like that.
As Mrs. BDB often brings me home treats, it was my turn today, and I took her the Butternut Squash Soup with Truffled Creme Fraiche, and a slice of the flourless chocolate cake. No report on those yet, but I do hear chewing noises from upstairs!
I am sure they were both spectacular. I’m eager to return to Lucy’s Table, something I don’t say that often in Portland.
But I’ll go at night, when it’s dark, seeking out that romantic ambiance.
Lucy's Table French Dip
