So now we know their choice: Nostrana is restaurant of the year, an Italian restaurant on SE Morrison that has been open since October. What do you think? Do you agree with their choice of the year? What do you think of the 2006 restaurant review issue in general? You can read it online [Note: link no longer exists].
I have to say, I am a bit surprised. Don’t get me wrong, I like Nostrana, but in my experience the food can vary wildly in execution, and the service is some of the most disorganized in town. When I dined there earlier this week, everything was just fine, but nothing about it made me want to rush back. For me, the service is so haphazard, the entire experience is a turn-off. Maybe I take it too personally, but when so many people are saying “Your service is terrible”, it is time to come up with a new solution. Failing to do so is like thumbing your nose at the crowd.
I can’t even imagine what it is going to be like when the new crowds hit, and the patio opens adding another 30 seats.
When I think about restaurant of the year, the things that come to mind are: quality of the food, creativity, presentation, service, atmosphere, and price. With the exception of price, when I think about these things, I’d give the nod to Park Kitchen or Alberta Street Oyster Bar and Grill, way before Nostrana.
I have to say I agree with you FD, and was very surprised myself. I have dined at Nostrana only once and it was bad all the way around, it was a while ago but I find that the wound is still there and I can’t bring myself to go back… I think part of the fun for the O is to make the ROTY a surprise. Overall after briefly looking at it on the internet I find the diner to be well done. A carefully considered list of 100 good restaurants in portland with thoughtful comments to back up each one. I for one can tell that the reviewers gave it their all. The internet version has cool videos and commentary as well…
Ladida – I read through the whole issue and then watched the online clips (very slick). I agree that Diner 2006 is well done and agree with most of their inclusions, but still don’t understand their choice of ROY. To me, there is nothing about eating there that makes me go, wow. Wine is always too warm. Pizzas can be terrific, they can also be soggy. Pastas can be memorable or forgettable. I don’t get it.
“the best entrees involve meat and the flames that love them” If Harold Robbins had been a food writer……..
Why doesn’t any restaurant win the ROY twice or more? Is there some rule that they MUST have a new ROY every year?
Pork Cop – yes, from what I understand it, the ROY is never repeated.
Thats suspicious.
Interesting stuff. I can’t comment on Nostrana itself, but I did like the phrase “Ingrediants are beautifully sourced” that was used in their write-up. I don’t know what it means, but perhaps Portland has a supermarket staffed by supermodels?
I hate that place, and not just because I can see it from my living room window. Of the 21 times I’ve gone out for a real meal this year, my experiences at Nostrana rank #19 and #21.
Restaurant of the year! They have to be kidding.
A good pizza for sure, good prices, however I cannot vouch for the rest of the menu.
Since 2004, ROY has gone to a new restaurant: clarklewis in 2004 (when it was but a few months old); Andina in 2005, which serves interesting but, to my taste, not great food, and this year, Nostrana. I love the room, and when I was there, service was great (if slow toward the end), but the food was hit-or-miss. I compare this with Park Kitchen, where from the moment you walk in the door, everything just hums: room, service, cocktails, apps, entrees, dessert, wine. It’s a transportive place, every cylinder working. My point being: perhaps the O has a mandate–or has given itself a mandate–to award ROY each year to a new place. That’s understandable; journalism must keep with the current or be dashed on the shoals, but if it is so, I wish they’d say so.
A lame choice, all the way around. They need to have some sort of multi-category awards, because what is there to encourage older restaurants to innovate if the O is just going to give their only award to the fanciest new place each year? What an absurdity this choice is. Lame, lame, and lame.
Unreal. While this place has some decent food, it lacks ambience, is incredibly noisy and has some of the worst service I have ever experienced. Purely a “political” appointment. Check out the citysearch reviews on this place.
Jeff d – welcome. I normally take the reviews at Citysearch with a grain of salt (I’ve known a fair amount of people that write their own reviews), but with Nostrana they do reflect the bad service. I think all but two complained.
Frankly, I don’t under stand this whole floating server thing. As long as no one is assigned to a table, things will be forgotten, service will suffer, and no one will be accountable. I imagine they pool their tips too, which makes it even worse.
On the other hand, with the new crush of people I’m sure they will get, I’d love to be able to climb up in the beams and watch the floorshow. It probably won’t be pretty, and people will blame the Oregonian.
Wow, Nostrana? I am really not that impressed with that place at all. I agree FD that Park Kitchen deserved this honor way more. But I do consider myself a PK groupie, so I am a bit biased. BTW, is anybody going there this weekend for the last two brunches ever? I will be there at least one day.
Lame. It seems like such a political choice; the new establishment by the big name restauranteur. Not unlike clarklewis two years ago. Not that the food or service I’ve had at either clarklewis or Nostrana has been poor, but with so many great restaurants in town, it seems like ROY should go to a restaurant that offers a truly transcendental experience (I actually felt that way about Andina, but I understand that experiences can vary), and nothing about Nostrana rose that far above the ordinary for me (though that raddichio faux-caesar was pretty darn tasty).
Well, another one of Karen Brooks’s pets wins. My husband and I are happy that one of our favorite restaurants will not be ruined by the ROY crowds — Nostrana, after probably 8 visits by one or both of us, is on our “never again” list.
C’mon people, we are talking about Karen Brooks & the O, correct? No offense, well I guess I do mean offense but she is the biggest out there, a joke of a reviewer. Unless she is reviewing those that kiss her ass the best (which I’m sure Mark Accurdi (sp)did) I’d say she’s on the mark!. She touted this place WELL before they even opened, like she was on their payroll or something. The wine is warm & the pours are what, maybe 3.5 oz? Yeah sure that’s a bargain. She has Bar Pastiche on the list AGAIN for petes sake. A Place where everything that can be eaten was dropped off by a delivery person hours earlier from either PIX or Navarre, that’s a joke.
Makes me wish for the evil Michael Bauer to move up to Portland & show these so called ‘reviewers’ what unbiased & impartial reviews mean. 10 years ago when I loved there I hated him, now I admire & respect him.
My choice would have been Nuestra Cocina, PK. It was Gotham before they went all crazy with the DJ thing. I love the new menu but the vibe is just too odd now. Tommy is the MAN.
Nice to see POK POK in there, bet they wouldn’t have been if it weren’t for Portlandfood.org or this site.
Not surprised but yet another joke produced by KB
Kerry
I agree with you Kerry. The O lacks credibilty … how on earth can they think it’s ok that Karen Brooks is still even on staff as a “critic”… why is David Sarasohn even going to restaurants on the O’s dime with his palate??? Bob Hicks, yeah ok if it’s 1990 portland??? Grant Butler? Maybe if you are reviewing brew pubs…
it is so dissapointing… but then so is the Oregonain in general
As this city becomes more world class I wish some of the institutions such as the O, would pay attention and do the same, for their own sake…
I PITY THESE FOOLS! Not that I think them fools, but it seemed like a good O headline and I do have pity for them. I am so happy that I do not work in the ROY; I think Pascal may be right, DON’T LOOK AT ME! At least not with the thousand watt dragon light of ROY. They will be so buried for the next week with people who ‘just don’t get it’ and didn’t ‘get it’ the last time they went out; 7:00 p.m. Valentines day. If you find a place you like, in the words of Bessie Smith, ‘Keep your mouth shut, don’t advertise your man’
Regretfully, this was not surprising. But seeing all the above comments does help to verify my and my friends numerous experiences at Nostrana of bad service and average food for above average prices. But I still don’t understand why they are still always busy every day. What gives – I thought Portlanders had more sense than that….
Is there a link between gentrification and ROY? Does anyone have a year by year listing of ROY’S? It would be interesting to see how many of them were named in suddenly Up and coming or “hip” neighborhoods. An anchor for the neighborhood? Lotsa money to be made………
Check out John Sayles’ City of Hope.
Apollo – I’ll be at Park Kitchen’s last brunch this weekend. You’ll know me from the “I’m Food Dude” T-Shirt ;>)
Well, I’ll be there Sunday for sure, if not saturday as well. So maybe I’ll see you there. I’ll be the guy smiling as I have my last cornbread pudding…
I’m pissed I didn’t pick up a copy when I was in Portland this afternoon! Now I have to drive all the way into Stayton and there probably is no “O”s in sight.
You could call the one ROY/restaurant the “Zefiro Rule”. They were the only place to win it 2 times in a row. They also won both O and WW.
I’m glad I took time to read this because they are going to need extra product on Sunday.
Both WW and the o have some strange picks for ROY. Remember a few years ago the WW chose a wine bar with no stove in its kitchen, only a microwave and a panini machine, as “Restaurant” of the year.
I think that the moderator should be very proud that a senior journalist who has done more to promote good/adventurous food/restaurateuring in Portland than virtually anyone over the last 25 years has been called a “whore” on this site and that the comment has been allowed to sit unchallenged all day.
Classy, classy joint you run here, Dude.
Vic – I get at least one email a day calling me that or worse, but I accept it, because in a way, I am a public figure and that’s part of the job. I’m sure Karen gets much worse at the Oregonian, and she’s a public figure too. I sincerely doubt she lets comments like that get to her.
Tonight I was invited to join some friends for an early dinner at Nostrana. Since I like to live life on the edge, I joined and watched the action over a bottle of wine. Yes, they were in the weeds, but I’m glad to see they sort of managed to keep their heads above water.
I could have eaten dinner there, but I felt like doing something special. Later that night, I went to Park Kitchen and had their duck in root beer reduction. Half way through the meal, I realized why I was so bothered by the Nostrana ROTY.
I had spent 2 hours at Nostrana, but hadn’t been particularly moved to eat there again (I’d had a meal there earlier this week). Instead, I was wanting something really inspired, something I could look forward to and talk about tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong, I think Nostrana is just fine, but not memorable. PK always fills that bill.
I had a terrific dinner, great service. But on the other hand, I sat there in a packed house late in the evening thinking, I’m glad they didn’t get the award. I’m not sure they could handle it, and they certainly didn’t need it.
Good Point FD. I feel the same way. Many in town are initailly shocked, but then they realize the sources this decision comes from. Nostrana has some issues, but politically it is a logical choice (but Mr. Dolich does indeed rock- but let’s keep that to ourselves-).
There’s a difference between being smeared in a private e-mail and being libelled in a public forum. As a “public figure” you should be aware of that. And as a grown-up — even one who works behind the shield of a pseudonym — you should think about it.
People have already echoed my experiences with Nostrana (one really good dinner, one mediocre one with very poor service). At this point there’s no way it gets ROTY. Hopefully the added business will force them to get the service kinks worked out.
As far as the rest of the Diner guide, I thought it was done pretty well, although some of the “Reality check” comments were strange. The comment on Apizza Scholls (“You’d think a pizza place in Portland might have a better representation of local beers and Oregon Pinot Noir”) was silly, in my mind. I’m not a beer guy, and don’t pay attention to their beers, but why should they have OR Pinots on a list that doesn’t feature food that goes well with them? I’m all for supporting the “home team” if they match well with the food, but it’s silly to think that they need to have some OR wines on the menu just because they’re in OR. It’s the same asinine logic that has generated complaints about the Slanted Door in SF. “It’s California…you need some CA wines on the list”. No, they don’t, and it’s because the wine doesn’t match the food. Reviewers should worry about a restaurant having affordably-priced wines that match their food, not about being a wine “homer”.
The other comment I thought was strange was the one about Castagna (“Restaurants in this league ought to have spacious, fresh, nicely decorated restrooms”). I’ve been to the restaurant and cafe many times and have never had an issue with their restrooms. They’re simply designed (like the rest of the restaurant), clean, and large enough for someone who’s 6-2, 250 lbs. Frankly, I’m glad their restrooms are simple and that they aren’t makeout scenes like Bluehour. That way you can actually use them for their intended purpose without waiting in line.
I too take umbrage with the appellation of whore placed upon Ms.Brooks. Whoring is a time honored proffession. A simple transaction of service for currency. It is not encumber by politics, opinion, persuasion or influence peddling. No Reviewing and the ROY do not exist in this simple realm. The ROY may be a poilitically biased, wholely subjective popularity contest judged by those who wish to promote themselves, their cirulation, create buzz, trump other local periodicals and establish themselves as the barometer of what is or is not hip; however it is not whoring. It’s only whoring if you, say, give a good review for free meals or free airfare. Parisitic? perhaps. That’s what a lamprey is isn’t it? Perhaps symbiote would be kinder and more agreeable. Congratulations to Nostrana. I’ve had worse meals in this town (have you had what the Heathman passes off as Risotto?) and I’ve had better. Good luck weathering the next three months of hyperinflated business. Hopefully you don’t suffer the same fate as past ROY’s.
With all of the ROTY talk I am always surprised more people do not mention Castagna. We dont go out too often for a “special” dinner, but when we do Castagna is always on the top of our list. Maybe it already won ROTY a few years back, but IMO it deserves it again.
I also think Alba Osteria is a great place too. As for Nostrana, all three times I have been there have been a disapointment,
You know Vic, if you hadn’t of pointed it out, I don’t think anyone would have noticed that she was called a whore. You’ve made sure that everyone sees it. Nice. Since it is such a beautiful day, and I’m in a great mood, I went back and redacted it. Also did some research. People have been called “whore” 17 times on this site. No one has ever complained. Welcome to the electronic frontier my friend ;>)
I certainly don’t take issue with anything thing Karen Brooks is called and I am very pleased when this “senior journalist” is called out… furthermore let me offer the 3rd definition of a noun… an offensive term for somebody who is regarded as willingly setting aside principles or personal integrity in order to obtain something, usually for selfish motives.
Vic, I believe that was the intended meaning of the term in the context. Vic, I would also like to point out that I do know some floozies who exhibit far more integrity than Karen Brooks.
The Oregonian has on certain levels, poor journalistic standards and that results in a poor newspaper IMO. This was exampled in all its shining glory yesterday. I think it’s a pretty transparent conflict of interest for Karen Brooks and her position within the restaurant community… that’s the fourth conflict of interest of that magnitude in as many years.
I recognize this is Portland and we are not NY-SF-LA-CHI, but we are also not Salem and the Oregonian is not the Salem Bee. I would like to think our city paper could perhaps aspire to the reviewing standards that other cities with multiple exceptional restaurants do.
I think what is in order is a shake up at the O… relieve the four current “critics” of their restaurant duties and get some new people in there. I also think the O should integrate with the online food scene as it is quickly proving to much more relevant.
All always FD, thank you for the opportunity to share…
Honestly, I thought the poster was using the third definition of that word: “A person considered as having compromised principles for personal gain.”
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=whore
Personally, I am neither agreeing nor disagreeing with that assessment.
What do you have to do to NOT be on the top 100 list?
jill-o… I agree… and I think most people reading it in that context inferred that meaning.
Having read it that way I could understand why FD initailly did NOT edit the post…
However FD did and all is well (having been the subject of redaction, I smile)
Personally, I am in complete agreement of that assesment… but I think that by now goes without saying.
Instead of a hit counter there should be a whore counter. Bobby Flay is a whore. There’s #18
I understood Karen’s comment about Apizza’s wine list. Depsite having the best american-style pizza in town their wine list reads like an ad for trader joes. Come to think of it I would have preferred chuck to the last bottle we opened there.
As for Ms. Brooks, I suspect that some of the whingers here were among those who attacked her for not being more “political” when she reviewed Saucebox. Perhaps she actually really enjoyed Nostrana and was not just kissing Marc’s ass.
Reality Check: “it’s more about the hang and inspired event” My mother just called to ask me what the “hang” was…..
No comments…
the “Fish Tank” dude!
There’s a Salem Bee? Where? It’s got to be better than the Statesman! If you want to see reviews written by a chamber of commerce, check em out.
Sdi, while Apizza Scholls doesn’t have a deep wine list, the selections they do have are generally reasonably priced by Portland restaurant standards, and generally match well with the food. They aren’t trying to have the deepest or most exciting list in town, just offering a few selections to go with the food. Next time you go, try the La Ragose Valpolicella with a pie. If you don’t like it, Food Dude will pay for it ;-).
Hey now Marshall!
The Restaurant of The Year award from the Oregonian is clearly meaningless. Friends and fellow diners please ignore The Oregonian food critics as incompetent, mean spirited people with self-serving interests. Sample all the food of Portland and decide for yourselves where to return for excellence.
We went to Nostrana last night for my b-day. Have been looking forward to it since it was named ROY. Disappointed??!! YES. We sat for 20 minutes before we finally got up to find a server to even acknowledge us (note: we had to find one…they all seemed to walk by us as if we were invisible). They were out of our first 3 choices of food (flat iron steak, halibut, and gnochi). Since the menu choices were somewhat limited anyway, I felt like asking, “So what DO you have?” They didn’t bring us one of our salads at all, the glasses of wine were small, and overall, we pretty much felt gyped. By 10:15 when most of the crowd had cleared, the staff was by the bar drinking wine and goofing off. This must have been their mechanical “B” team of staff on a busy Thursday night! When we final did get our food, it was good, but we felt like we’d settled for sure. Would not go again or recommend it at all. There are way too many other great restaurants in PDX that offer great service, or at least make you feel welcome and not intrusive.