a quiet lunch at Portland’s newest temple of pork

various lunch items displayed in sushi-type cases

table for one, please?

When my husband and I went down to Portland for his birthday a few months ago, one of the restaurants on our list was Olympic Provisions. Unfortunately, due to over-zealous planning (and limited stomach space), the restaurant got dropped off. A few weeks later, I mentioned it to a friend who was going down, and he and his partner checked it out. They loved their meal, and brought back some incredible charcuterie for us. Olympic Provisions makes a slightly fresher (i.e. less dried-out) style of charcuterie that has an addictive, slightly musky flavor. At the Portland Farmer’s market, we sampled every salume they made, and bought one of each.

flaky pork-filled hand pies

My husband returned to Seattle a day before I did, because he had to get back to work. On this last trip, I made it to Olympic Provisions on my own, after taping a morning spot for The Newlywed Kitchen on KATU. (Clip at the end of this post.)

grilled spring onions with romesco sauce

I didn’t feel as out of place as a solo diner at Olympic Provisions as I did the evening before at Gruner, though I suspect that’s because I sat at the bar at OP. I struck up a conversation with the cook who was preparing my spring onions with romesco sauce, and he sent over a plate of the sweetest, freshest peas at the end of my meal.

the beef tongue Reuben

Olympic Provisions is, of course, known for their charcuterie plate. Since I already had six sticks of salumi squirreled away in my luggage, I opted instead for a sandwich. On the menu, the beef tongue Reuben jumped out at me: I love tongue, I love Reubens, so what could be better than to have both? The sandwich was hearty and satisfying. The vegetable dishes were even better.

bonus plate of Hood River peas with ricotta, walnuts, radishes, and mint

It’s always been a dark and slightly shameful secret that I generally prefer frozen peas to the freshly-shelled variety. Freezing peas–as I learned once on Iron Chef–stops the sugar from converting to starch, resulting in sweeter, more tender peas. Most of the fresh peas I’ve purchased in recent years from local farmers have been tough and starchy, and I’ve been puzzled by the many local foodies who purchase the same fresh peas, and wax poetic over them. (Perhaps I’m cynical, but I wonder if it’s because they feel they “should” like them, being fresh and local?) The Hood River peas served at Olympic Provisions were an entirely different experience altogether: They had the sweetness and tenderness of frozen peas, yet the bright “green” flavor of the fresh variety. Carefully mixed with a bit of ricotta, mint, radishes, and mint, this was one of those dishes I knew I’d remember for a long time.

Here’s the clip of me on KATU that I filmed right before lunch at Olympic Provisions. (I made a joke during this segment that seems lost in context. The segment before mine was about how Portland men ranked #50 on a survey of “Manliest Men in America”. The male host was making cracks about how he learned of the news when he was putting on his eyeliner that morning. Hence my crack about my meat-grilling, meat-eating husband not being from Portland. )

I won’t be posting my photos from my dinner at Gruner, only because the lighting was dim and I don’t want to do the restaurant a disservice by posting less than appetizing photos of their food. I enjoyed my meal there. The calves liver with caramelized onions and apple/potato mash was particularly delicious.