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701 NW 23rd, Portland, Oregon, 503.222.0048
The focus here is robust bistro fare, such as a simple pizza from the wood-burning oven or a salad of baby greens flanked by plump crab-and-shrimp cakes. The kitchen likes big flavors, as evidenced by a recent special of a roasted tuna filet served in a vivid golden tomato sauce, the sweetness of the low-acid tomatoes balanced by the sharp spike of a caper relish, a nice compliment to the meaty fish. Beef tenderloin gets an unusual companion in a very spicy ranchero sauce, but the pairing works for both. You suspect that Papa Haydn's owners opened this adjoining offspring because they were tired of all that dessert, but the final course isn't neglected. Fresh local berries and puff pastry combined perfectly with a sweetened cabernet reduction flavored with black pepper, the sauce providing just the right amount of bite to offset the intensity of ripe fruit.