Portland Restaurant: Q Restaurant

What: Q Restaurant & Bar
Where: 828 SW 2nd Ave
When: Dinner daily, lunch on weekdays, and brunch on weekends
Honey's Heart: The Quiche

Veritable Quandary, a classic old Portland restaurant and favorite of downtown professionals and travelers alike, recently closed its doors after 45 years. The property that was home to VQ is being turned into a new Portland Courthouse (boring) and so the GM and chef were forced to start a new venture or, in some ways, replicate their previous one.

Q Restaurant, their new spot, does share much of the same vibe as VQ with dark wood, similar menu items, the bar separated from dining space, etc. It is missing VQ's beloved patio, but we have insider news that Q is working with businesses in the building with the hopes of utilizing the rooftop at some point in the future.

Anyway, here's the real question. Is it worth the trek downtown on a weekend morning?

We started our brunch at Q with grapefruit mimosas, which were some much needed hair of the dog for this gal who had indulged in wine, fireball shots, and vodka sodas the night prior.

Katie also ordered a black coffee with cream and sugar (which I shared with her...did I mention the state I was in?) and it was beautifully presented. Perhaps taking up a bit too much table space, but never-the-less an upscale coffee experience.

To amp up our citrus intake, we also enjoyed Grapefruit Slices ($5) with green tea simple syrup and mint. If you're looking for something super light and refreshing, this is a great starter dish to share. One for a group of four would probably be great.

For our savory brunch items, we opted for the quiche special ($16), which we learned Chef Annie only makes occasionally. It was definitely our favorite dish with sweetness from caramelized onions and hearty squash and cheese, and I think probably they should just make it all the time. I would be fairly disappointed if I went there for brunch and didn't get to have this!

We also shared the Chilaquiles ($15) which were tasty and beautifully presented. Our waiter had also recommended the Monte Cristo and I feel like that could have been a good direction for us - apparently it's the real deal.

On the sweet side, we shared the Pugliese French Toast ($14) with bananas, mascarpone, and candied walnuts and Cinnamon & Sugar Churros ($7) with dipping chocolate. Unfortunately, both slightly missed the mark on texture and flavor. The french toast felt bland and a bit dry to us, and the churros weren't quite crispy enough on the outside, leaving the whole bite with a pretty doughy consistency.

We should also mention that the service we received during our visit was impeccable, right down to the thoughtful tour of the kitchen that Q's GM Erin took us on.

So, will Q be around in 40 some years like its predecessor? Will people be up in arms when/if it closes? I'm not sure yet, but I think the new location combined with the strong references to its predecessor is nothing but a good thing. 

Portland Restaurant: Hamlet

9.12.15 Update: 
Co-owner Ryan Magarian invited us back to Hamlet for another try after reading our initial review. We sampled the Melon vs. Meat and Endless Midnight cocktails for a second time and were happy to find that when made with a more experienced hand, the flavors, though still nuanced, were much more enjoyable.

Ryan also let us play a round of his bartender's choice game. He asks your favorite drink plus a random, spur-of-the-moment question (Katie's was "Who's your favorite male actor?"). Her answers: a southside and Chris Pine. Ryan delivered The Monarch which is basically all our favorite cocktail ingredients combined: gin, St. Germain, mint, and lemon. Well, done Ryan! Thanks for inviting us back- we're glad we gave Hamlet another shot!

---

What: Hamlet
Where: 232 NW 12th Ave
Honey's Heart: Giving second chances  

Katie and I try our best to keep up with the Portland food scene and often know of places and have them on our list for a few weeks before we're actually able to coordinate our schedules and get there. That was the case with Hamlet, the new project for Cathy Whims, Ryan Magarian, and Kurt Huffman.

After a Children's Cancer Association event, we stopped by Hamlet for a drink and snack to share. Hamlet has a great location in the Pearl next to an old favorite from our college days, Vault. Tuesday after Memorial Day weekend (whoa this post is old), the restaurant was fairly quiet and we took a seat at the bar.

We started with two cocktails- Melon vs. Meat made with gin, lemon juice, honeydew juice, orange bitters, and prosciutto, and Endless Midnight made with pisco, green chartreuse, blackberries, lime juice, simple syrup, and an egg white.

It seemed interesting at first that the exact cocktail recipes were printed on the menu (we could steal these and make them at home!), but after being generally underwhelmed by our drinks, we decided maybe it wasn't such a risky move. The Melon vs. Meat was reminiscent of diluted honeydew water while the other shockingly had very little flavor at all despite its bevy of ingredients.

For food, we turned to the selection of pig. I love some ham, prosciutto, speck, I'm all for it, but after our spendy weekend in Vancouver, BC, we weren't looking to spend $16+ on some ham to share, so we went for the $8 ham and salted butter sandwich.

Not that it wasn't good, and sometimes the most basic combo is also the most satisfying, but we felt like we could have made this and picnicked in the park with some rosé for a fraction of the cost.

The warm (hot) olives ($5) were good, but not special enough to compensate for our otherwise disappointing stop by Hamlet. Sorry Cathy, we won't be back.