• Home
    • About
      • Home
      • About the Site
      • The Authors
      • Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
      • Email me
    • Reviews
      • List of All Reviews
      • Best of Portland by year
        • Reader Survey: Best of Portland Food 2017
        • Best of Portland 2015
      • Steakhouse Roundup
        • Steakhouse Reviews Introduction
        • El Gaucho Steakhouse
        • Morton’s Steakhouse
        • Ringside Steakhouse
        • Ruth’s Chris
        • Steakhouse – Results
      • Product/Business Reviews
        • Retailer Reviews
        • Product Reviews
    • Topics
      • Memorials
      • Food Memories
      • Travel Writing
      • Food Writing
        • Alcohol Related
          • Beer
          • Wine
          • Spirits
        • April Fools Stories For Portland
        • Contests and Competition
      • Authors / Book Reviews
      • Cheese information
      • Interviews: Honest dialog with people in the Portland food industry
      • Recipes
    • Guides
      • Guide to Portland coffee
        • Portland Coffee Guide
        • A Map of our favorite Portland coffeehouses
        • Reader Survey: Best Coffeehouses in Portland 2017
      • Guide to Local Wine Shops
      • Guide to Portland Bakeries
      • Guide to Portland Distilleries
      • Guide to Portland’s Beer Shops
    Portland Food and Drink

    Portland Food and Drink

    Restaurant News and Information For Portland Oregon Area Restaurants and Bars

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Send me email!

    The Hairy Lobster Opens on Jamison Square

    By PDX Food Dude Last Update March 15, 2016 4 Comments

    Fenouil
    Fenouil

    The Hairy Lobster has opened in the old Fenouil/Jamison building on the Jamison square, complete with a website without an address on the home page. Must be under the reservations tab… no, that doesn’t do anything. It’s hidden under “Contact”: 900 NW 11th Avenue in Portland 97209.  Following the inscrutable website theme, appetizers are listed under “Water”. It’s not clever, it’s annoying.

    Owners David and Melisa Root have a great deal of restaurant experience. Here are their bios from the website:

    David Root
    Chef, Owner Chef David Root has over 45 years of experience in the food industry under his belt and has become known in the industry as a ‘restaurant fixer’. Many restaurants have hired Root to turn the restaurant around when it was failing including turning two restaurant groups into successful farm to table operations. Root has worked at world renowned luxury resorts, nationally famed restaurants, large restaurant corporations and has been nominated for two James Beard Awards. David headed up kitchens around the country including Todd English’s bluezoo in Orlando, Florida and most recently he served as Executive Chef at Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club. In addition to helping restaurants reinvigorate diners, David also owned and operated his own establishment prior to The Hairy Lobster. Behind the stoves at Root’s first restaurant, Desert Sage in his home town of Idaho, Root was showered with national acclaim and earned the title of Hot New Chef in America.

    Mellisa Root
    Executive Pastry Chef, Owner

    Chef Mellisa Root has headed up the pastry programs in some of the highest regarded restaurants, luxury resorts and country clubs across the country. Chef Root also represented the United States on several occasions, in the World Culinary Olympics (where she won three gold medals), the International Culinary Classic competition (where she earned three gold and two silver medals) and most recently in the Gelato World Cup. Mellisa is also a talented chocolatier and while in Las Vegas, she created edible works of arts at M Resort Las Vegas and worked beside Francois Payard at Caesars Palace. Prior to creating the dessert bar and program at The Hairy Lobster, Chef Root was Chef de Partie at Thomas Kellar’s Per Se the year it won the 10th best restaurant in the world and most recently Root was the Pastry Chef of Madera, the Michelin starred restaurant at Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park.

    Moving on, the name, which is derived from “an ode to an old English pub” specializes in comfort food. “Every aspect at The Hairy Lobster has been carefully curated down to the Old English themed and timeworn mismatched china and dinnerware. The casual eatery breaks down its seasonally influenced, vegetable forward menu into three sections: water, garden and barn. Under “Platter”, larger portions are offered to accommodate 4-6 diners in the shared plate format. All dishes share a common trait, a strong focus on heritage varietals of local and regional products.”

    The menu strikes me as a bit odd; not very Portland. On the other hand, nothing else has succeeded in this space, so maybe they are on to something. The prices seem a bit low – not that I’m complaining, but the restaurant is in an expensive, beautiful building. It will take a lot of plates to pay the rent. I will definitely go by and give it a try, if for no other reason than Mellisa Root’s excellent desserts! Here is the current menu:

    Water

    Corn Oyster Oyster Corn $12.00
    Sturgeon $15.00
    Pan Roasted Skate $14.00
    White Clam Flatbread $12.00
    Agedashi Salt Spring Mussels $11.00
    Maine Lobster Cubano $19.00
    Chicken Fried Shrimp $13.00
    Dungeness Crab Salad $15.00

    Platter
    Mustard and Apple Spiked Whole Trout $29.00

    Garden

    Green Bean Salad $10.00
    Oregon Foraged Mushroom Bisque $10.00
    Winter Carrot Fritto Misto $10.00
    Braised Green Cabbage $11.00
    Blistered Shishito $11.00
    Manchego Schnitzel $10.00
    Silken Tofu $10.00
    Potato, Leek, Jalapeno Gratin $10.00

     

    Barn

    Leek and Rabbit Quiche $15.00
    Pork n’ Apple Dutch Pie $14.00
    Caramelized Lamb $18.00
    Cracklin’ Beef Shortrib $17
    Red Flannel Confit Duck Hash $16.00
    BBQ Duck $14.00
    Butter Basted Turkey $12.00

     
    Platter
    Tender Pork Shank $29.00

     

    Wheat “N” Cheese

    Parker House Rolls $6.00
    Jalapeno Beignet Cheesy Cream
    Winter Vegetable Bread

     

    Cheese

    Baked Goat Cheese – Market price
    Barnyard Cheese Platter – Market price

    Confections

    Sticky Toffee Pudding $10.00
    Dark Chocolate Custard $10.00
    Lemon Chiffon Pie $10.00
    Peanut Butter Honey “Sammich” $10.00
    Tangerine Creamsicle $10.00

    Related

    Category: Portland Food and Restaurant News and Discussion.

    Previous Post: « Portland Falls Short on 2016 James Beard Nominations
    Next Post: Le Pigeon to Eliminate Tipping »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Super Dave says

      March 16, 2016 at 9:40 am

      I ate there last night. My wife and I shared the braised green cabbage and the whole trout. Both were very, very good. Everything that I saw coming out of the kitchen looked delicious and folks at other tables seemed to be enjoying the food. I will be going back to try the other dishes. Yes, the menu is not your typical Portland fare. It is a nice change. I am cautiously optimistic. It’s predecessor, Jamison, was a thorough disappointment. Keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of the menu is as good as what I sampled yesterday.

      Reply
    2. PDX2FLR says

      March 21, 2016 at 9:37 pm

      I’m wondering about the name ‘hairy lobster’ ……..is there a backstory?

      Reply
    3. Laura Andes says

      March 21, 2016 at 10:20 pm

      I so miss David Root in Idaho! I often ordered the halibut with lobster sauce! I have never before or since experienced a meal I enjoyed as much!

      Reply
    4. Laura says

      March 25, 2016 at 9:59 am

      I don’t think it’s appetizers that are listed under “water”, it’s fish.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    © 2023 · PortlandFoodandDrink.com • See Terms of Service and Privacy Policy