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Here's a report card for the McMenamin brothers' first semester at Kennedy School:
Building Makeover: A
Restaurant Food: C+
You can't help but admire the McMenamins for their willingness to take on renovation projects nobody else will touch. Their commitment to the region has preserved important landmarks that the traditional real estate market would've reduced to rubble.
The Kennedy School is a perfect example. The 83-year old building sat vacant for almost 20 years, a sad reminder to the Concordia neighborhood of its long history. It was neighborhood residents working with the Portland Development Commission that helped swing the deal to let the MecMenamins tackle the project. Who else would've thought to convert an old elementary school into a complex that includes a movie theater, hotel, brewery, restaurant, and several bars?
The renovation followed the successful McMenamin model: keep as much of the original structure and finish intact as possible, fill the space with eclectic original and collected art, and spike everything with an ample dose of whimsy. One of my favorite spots is the original boys' bathroom across from the gym. New showers have been added, but a massive spitwad still clings tenaciously to the ceiling (or is it a realistic sculpture?).
Kennedy School is full of such interesting details, and the McMenamins should be commended for saving it. It seems be successful, too, with the parking lot full many nights, and local residents walking in to take advantage of their soaking pool privileges. That's great. I want this place to make money so the McMenamins keep taking chances.
But don't come just for the food. While the menu lists nearly thirty different choices, in most cases you'd be better off with a PB & J in a paper bag.
Your best approach is to start with a couple of beers. It's not that you need a buzz to face the menu. But the best items offered are pizza, sandwiches, burgers, and fries, the sort of things that go best after a pint or two of legendary Terminator stout. And they're not too bad.
The pizza builds from a sturdy crust, with a flavorful tomato sauce and ample toppings. This is good, workingman's pizza that is perfect with a hoppy glass of IPA. Sandwiches offer strong flavors, such as Black Forest ham spread with a sinus-clearing horseradish mustard or blackened chicken breast with grilled peppers and jalapeno ranch dressing. Grilled burgers drip with blue cheese dressing or mushrooms and Swiss, and the French fires are fresh cut and a little oily, but taste more like real potato than the over-engineered fast-food versions. This food doesn't just go well with beer, it demands it.
But most of the rest of the menu doesn't make the grade. Spicy chicken wings are pedestrian, and the hot oil added to the blue cheese dressing is more oil than hot. A green chile and cheese dip congeals rapidly into a thick and uninviting glop. The Caesar salad is drowning in dressing. McMenamins High pasta sounds promising, but the linguini tossed with garlic, tomato, spinach, hazelnuts, and Parmesan in brown butter tastes mostly of undercooked garlic and little else. The only surprise was a decent chicken and sausage gumbo, served over rice and not quite spicy enough, but with lots of flavor.
Breakfast earns a solid B. The strong malty tang of the signature stout comes through in the Terminator flapjacks. Homefries are crispy and well-seasoned, and if a whole order of biscuits topped with Southern-style sausage gravy seems too much, order a side of the gravy for your spuds. A bowl of the decidedly retro Malt-O-Meal will take you back to your own grade school days, or relive the '50s with a chicken-fried steak. A pint of fresh-squeezed citrus juice for only $3 may be the best breakfast drink deal in town.
The servers can be a little spacey but are always friendly and eager to accommodate. One waiter spent several minutes offering sight-seeing tips in the Gorge to a visiting couple at the next table. A special request for extra crispy homefries was at first overlooked, but the 'taters went back to the grill and returned perfectly blackened.
The former cafeteria can be noisy, so don't plan on a quiet, intimate dinner. Go with a group of beer-drinking friends, or take the kids for a not-too-expensive night out. While they scarf down pizza and bottomless sodas, sneak back to the Honors Bar for a calm moment with a glass of Port and a little opera, or go to Detention for a cigar and single-malt Scotch. And you can forget about homework.
Revisit the old school with recollections from former students, view the collection of art, or check the current movie schedule at the McMenamins web site.