LAST SUPPER
Hidden in Plain Sight
The Comforts of Home at Luce by Chris Onstad
EAT IT!
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KATIE SWEZEY
BON APPÉTIT Restaurant Editor An- chovy is carefully enhanced by the oily fish drew Knowlton named Luce the number- without being fishy. After these little introductions are a four most important new restaurant in America, and overnight the quiet little cor- selection of fresh, house-made pastas ofner café no one seemed to know about was fered in two sizes, the smaller of which is mobbed. (Check out our review from last designed to be ordered if tasting a few other year, “Let There Be Luce,” Dec 1, 2011.) items. The tagliatelle with beef and pork People who had to look up East Burnside on ragu ($7/half, $14/whole) is thin and eggy, as a map (“It’s by Idaho, Susan, and the ski- perfectly prepared as it is done anywhere, ing is terrible”) rolled down from the West delicately presented with a rich crumble of meat and feathery dusting of Hills, across the bridge, and into Luce parmigiano. The ragu is deep the Buckman neighborhood, 2140 E Burnside and sophisticated, the tomato hungry for the newest place to 236-7195 flaunt their Coach handbags luceevents.blogspot.com cooked dark to complement the caramelized meats. The garand practice giving women their Pierce Brosnan eyes. It was a mathemati- ganelli ($9/half, $18/whole), essentially a cal—and undoubtedly brief—first response textured penne, is served in a shallow broth to a restaurant whose lovely soul has acci- with chopped and browned bits of rabbit and fresh peas. The simple liquor is deeply dentally made it fashionable. Knowlton’s stated criteria were, in sum, satisfying, tasting intensely of mirepoix a return to simplicity in dining out. It suits and rabbit juices, and the dish feels light the economy: We have less money to spend and elegant. A shrimp and squash blossom on restaurants. It suits culinary trends: We farfalle with saffron, and a linguine with a have weathered a decade of steadily compli- light, creamy avocado-and-nut pesto are cated food and want something familiar. It both so straightforward and perfect that it suits occupational fatigue: A guy who eats makes one wonder why it’s so hard to find out at such an accelerated pace just wants a such good pasta anywhere, since it seems so home-cooked meal. We go through regular effortlessly achieved here. A daily updated assortment of four or five gastronomic cycles of dark ages and enlightenment, and at this juncture Knowlton’s well- Mediterranean comfort foods, such as egginformed prescription is for the pleasures of plant, mussels, and braised meats, rounds good, affordable food made by people you out the small selection of specials. Hanger know—sans fuss and theater. It’s a timely steak with garlic and rosemary, at $10, is message well received by a town whose ev- a generous, sliced portion of this flavorful ery neighbor is curing jowl, bemoaning the butcher’s cut, awash in its own juices on a blip of morel season, or chopping the heads plate with nothing else. Pair the rare meat with the bare-bones charred cabbage wedge and tails off a hot pot of basement hooch. On my first visit, Luce was a steadily un- ($6) for a stripped-down bistro meal, and safolding, charming surprise, until it was a joy. vor the liquid with the crisp, chewy, generThe small restaurant is shoehorned into its ously oiled fresh focaccia ($3). Having grown space, but comfortable, with wooden table- up in a family of freshwater fishermen, I weltops and scarred, checkered flooring, tall come any opportunity to avoid trout, but Lucabinets of dried pasta, cases of cold anti- ce’s baked stuffed version ($12) looked crisp pasti, and baskets of tasteful sundries. It has and meaty, and was on many tables. The only letdown during these visits was the apparent service level of a friendly coffee shop, but the deep menu of a café you dreamt the watermelon pudding dessert ($7), a cold about after falling asleep between repeats of and mushy gelatinous half-sphere that tasted faintly of the fruit and mainly of nothing. NicJacques Pépin and Lidia Bastianich. A large menu of $2 antipasti creates er was the Luce cake ($7), a cautiously sweet, a low-risk sandbox for experimentation. crumbly, custard-filled pastry dusted with Though the staff humbly describes the powdered sugar and chopped pistachios. small portions as “heaping tablespoons,” Luce is exactly the restaurant I didn’t they are generally at least twice that, and know I was looking for: affordable, perenough for two people to get the idea be- sonal, and true to itself. The space underfore moving on. A few arancini, textbook- promises, the kitchen over-delivers, and perfect fried saffron risotto dumplings, well before the modest check arrived, I had should be on your plate, as should a wedge claimed it as my own. Get in line, and make of the tender farro-and-parmigiano pie, as it yours as well. both showcase simplicity and quality ingredients. Crisp, blanched green beans in a Wed-Sun 11 am-10 pm. Reservations for wrap of domestic prosciutto are served just eight or more. Beer, wine, and coffee availwarm, a nice twist on this typically cold ap- able. Expect waits during peak times from petizer, and the broccoli with garlic and an- here on out.
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August 30, 2012 Portland Mercury 35