The other day, Casey and my definition of a great dinner
was changed in a very fundamental way.
Why?
Because we went to Beast.
Beast is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in NE Portland.
When you walk in, you enter this room:
The place is tiny... not much bigger than what you can see in the picture
There are two large tables which collectively seat 24 people.
You do not get to pick where you sit.
You do not get to pick what you eat.
There are 6 courses, you can not make any substitutions.
But you are fed. And fed well.
After about an hour, you are in a total trance.
Food is placed before you.
You eat it.
Everything bursts with indescribable flavor.
Indescribable because, under normal circumstances,
you would never even think about eating the parts of animal
you are eating.
You don't worry about it.
And it tastes amazing.
This is the actual description of one of the courses:
FOIE-GRAS BON-BON, SAUTERNES GELEÉ
STEAK TARTARE & QUAIL EGG TOAST
CHICKEN LIVER MOUSSE WITH CASSIS, HOUSE CRACKER
PORK, PORK LIVER, PRUNE & GREEN PEPPERCORN PATE
2 and 1/2 hours later, the last bite of desert is gone.
You sit there thinking, hoping, maybe there will be something else...
but there isn't.
Sadly, you shuffle out into the night,
already missing the noise of the kitchen, the smell of food,
the dim lights.
Like a drug, you plot the next time you will be able to experience
such a thing.
You realize the answer is probably never.
But, wow, what an experience.
We will certainly never forget it.
But through all this where was Orin?
Well, even though he came to all of the other restaurants
we went to this week,
generally sleeping soundly on the seat next to us,
we thought that Beast wouldn't be the best place to bring a baby.
So we decided to leave him with out trusty friends Relk and Kara,
who live a few minutes away from the restaurant.
Just a couple hours... how bad could it be?
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