beakerandflask.com Blog

Small

Butter Lettuce, Buttermilk and Tarragon Vinaigrette

Pan-Seared Sweetbreads, Spring Vegetable and Bacon Chowder, Sweet Herbs

Grilled Asparagus, Warm Goat Cheese, Hazelnuts, Golden Beets and Honey Vinaigrette

Fried Soft Shell Crab, Golden Beets, English Peas, Potatoes, and Sea Urchin Vinaigrette*

Grilled Scallop, Smoked Mussels, Shaved Asparagus, Fava Bean Puree

Fritto Misto, Aioli*

Nicky Farms Grilled Quail, Arugula, Pickled Rhubarb, Strawberries, Aged Balsamic

Bread Plate, Housemade Butter

Large

Grilled Beef Shoulder Tender, Smashed New Potatoes, Green Garlic, Grilled Onion and Romesco

Mustard Grilled Rabbit, Bacon, Braised Artichokes, Sautéed Morel Mushrooms

Trenne Pasta, Basil Pesto, Baby Summer Squash

Pan-Seared Halibut, Carrot Purée, English Peas, Radish, Bay Shrimp, Sweet Herb Crème Fraîche

Tails and Trotters Pork, Cabbage Slaw, Grilled Onions, Pomegranate Glaze*

Cattail Creek Lamb, Chickpea Salad, Grilled Romaine, Smoked Feta and Salsa Verde

*Some items may contain raw unpasteurized eggs

Sweet Plates
Warm Chocolate Brownie, Caramelized Banana, Foie Gras Mousse

Panna Cotta, Beignets, Strawberries

Xocolatl de Davíd Chocolate Plate with Zaya 12 yr Rum

Small

Butter Lettuce, Buttermilk and Tarragon Vinaigrette 6

Grilled Pork Cheeks, Braised Peppers, Pickled Octopus, Aioli * 10

Cabbage Roll, Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, Lentil Salad, Mustard 9

Mussels, Leeks, Cream, Grilled Lemon, Sweetbreads 10

Borscht, Pork, Horseradish 8

Grilled Romaine, Salsa Verde, Smoked Feta 8

Bread Plate, Buca Butter 2

Large

Grilled Beef Shoulder Tender, Root Vegetable Gratin,
Celeriac Puree, Foie- Gras, Balsamic 22

Rabbit, Cranberry Beans, Bacon, Carrots 19

Ricotta Gnudi, Spicy Tomato and Fennel Sauce, Poached Egg 15

Grilled Alaskan Spot Prawns, Escarole, Ham Hock, Manilla Clams 18

Fried Skate, Spaghetti Squash, Apple and Parsley Salad, Foie-Gras Hollandaise* 18

Maple Braised Pork Belly, Creamed Kale, Delicata Squash, Apple Relish 18

Pan Seared Whole Trout, Roasted Potatoes, Radicchio, Quince 17

Cocktail $8

Stuck in Lodi: Rye Whiskey, Gewurztraminer Syrup, Cynar, Peychaud’s Bitters.

Unnecessary Noise: Bourbon, Aperol, Bianco Vermouth, Absinthe

Giant Steps: Cachaca, Lemon, Pineapple, Egg White*, Orange Flower Water

Bird Bath: Pinot Gris, Rye Whiskey, Cynar, Ginger.

Norwegian Negroni: Krogstad Aquavit, Cynar, Sweet Vermouth

New Vieux: Rye, Apricot, Benedictine, Bitters

The Old Main Drag: Muscat Grappa, Carpano Sweet Vermouth, Bittersweet Lemon, Butter’s Orgeat, Peychaud’s Bitters

General Population: Calvados, Bourbon, Bitter Grapefruit, Pomegranate

Sal’s Minion: Aged Rum, Pineapple Gomme, Coconut Water Ice Cubes.

Foggy Notion: Vodka, Cherry/Lime, Nocino

Farigoule Scotch Sour: Blended Scotch, Farigoule, Lemon, Demerara Sugar, Orange Bitters

The Cold Shoulder: Gin, Fresh Grapefruit, Stonepine Liqueur, Grapefruit Bitters

Sandy Shandy: Pilsner, Pomegranate, Lemon, Orange Bitters 5

Here’s the menu for the rest of the month. A few changes might be taking place, but you should count on most of these items being available.

Dinner

Small

Butter Lettuce, Buttermilk and Tarragon Vinaigrette 6

Grilled Pork Cheeks, Braised Peppers, Pickled Octopus, Aioli 10

Antipasto: Marinated Beets, Eggplant, Roasted Red Peppers, Butternut Squash Fritters, Celeriac Salad 10

Fried Razor Clams, Beets, Frisee, Horseradish Cream 11

Grilled Romaine, Salsa Verde, Smoked Feta 8

Chanterelle Mushrooms, Parsley, Garlic 6
Add Smoked Bone Marrow 1

Bread Plate 2

Large

Grilled Beef Shoulder Tender, Root Vegetable Gratin,
Celeriac Puree, Foie- Gras, Balsamic 22

Rabbit, Shell Beans, Bacon, Carrots 18

Ricotta Gnudi, Leeks, Squash, Cream 15

Grilled Alaskan Spot Prawns, Millas, Fall Vegetables 18

Grilled and Smoked Mackerel, Potato Salad, Dungeness Crab 16

Maple Braised Pork Belly, Creamed Kale, Delicata Squash, Apple Relish 18

Risotto, Braised Lamb, Roasted Tomato, Spicy Greens 18

Sweet

Huckleberry Crepe Cake, Chocolate, Sabayon 6
Panna Cotta, Bruléed Peach, Aged Balsamic 6
Cheese Plate 9

Cocktail

St. Mark’s Reviver: Brandy, Maraschino, Lemon, Egg White, Bitters, Cherry Heering 8

Farigoule Scotch Sour: Blended Scotch, Farigoule, Lemon, Demerara Sugar 8

Valerie’s Swimsuit: Calvados, Becherovka, Cinnamon, Lemon, Cremant D’Alsace 8

Giant Steps: Cachaca, Lemon, Pineapple, Egg White, Orange Flower Water 8

Norwegian Negroni: Krogstad Aquavit, Cynar, Sweet Vermouth 8

New Vieux: Rye, Apricot, Benedictine, Bitters 8

Broken Shark: Gin, Averna, Grapefruit, Wormwood 8 (add $3 for Ransom Old Tom Gin)

Sal’s Minion: Aged Rum, Pineapple Gomme, Coconut Water Ice Cubes. 8

Foggy Notion: Vodka, Cherry/Lime, Nocino 8

Country Touch: Pisco, Pears, Yellow Chartruese, Lime 8

The Comb Over: Gin, Damson Plum, Cardamom, Lemon, Bitter Orange 8

Daddy Issues: Vodka, Campari, Concord Grape, Lemon 8

Sandy Shandy: Pilsner, Pomegranate, Lemon, Orange Bitters 5

Happy Hour Cocktail List: $5 until 6pm, $7 after

Walk, Don’t Run: Nice White Rum, Grapefruit/Wormwood Soda, Angostura Bitters

Night and Fog Cocktail: Cynar, Oloroso Sherry, Ginger Beer, bitters

Daiquiri: White Rum, Lime, Triple Sec, Sugar

Paul Revere: Bourbon, Bianco Vermouth, Pinot Noir Grenadine, Lemon

Well, two months are in the books and so far, and we here at Beaker & Flask are pleased with our progress and have settled in to our new digs here on Distillery Row. Some news and notes: we’ve maintained our original hours up to this point, but have decided to adjust, in accordance with what the crowds have dictated. We are finding out that we are more of a later night destination, so we have decided to open at 5 pm for dinner service and eliminate our early happy hour food menu, but will offer about half of the items throughout the evening. Basically it’s the best of both worlds, as you can come in for a full dinner experience, or just enjoy a small snack and a cocktail depending on your mood. We feel it’s the best compromise and feel that essentially, it’s what you want. We will be open until 12am on Monday-Wednesday, and 1am on Thursday-Saturday. Sunday will remain a day of rest.

On Thursday, September 24, our chef Ben Bettinger will be contributing to INDULGE @ the Jupiter Hotel, a fantastic event, showcasing much of the incredible food and drink scene developing here in the inner SouthEast. The event benefits the Ecotrusts Farm to School Program and more information can be found at www.indulgeatthejupiter.blogspot.com .

The summer stone fruit and berry season is coming to an end and as a result, our cocktail list is undergoing its first major overhaul as we move into Fall. A friend dropped off a bushel of Damson Plums the other day and they were quickly worked into a cocktail, utilizing Aviation Gin, cardamom and a housemade bitter orange liqueur. We look forward to further experimentation as pears, apples and some fresh pressed pinot noir juice come our way.

We are now offering a handful of amazing coffees from Caffe Vita, including a number from their “Farm Direct” line.

Look for a few special Sunday “Spirit Dinners”, hosted by our very own Tim Davey as well as an expanded spirit and wine list. We’re starting to hit our stride and now it’s time to play. We look forward to seeing you as summer turns to rain and, as always, thank you for drinking.

I finally got a chance to head up to St. John’s and see what my soon to be chef Ben Bettinger has been doing these last few months, cooking, what turns out, are excellent Sunday Dinners at The James John Cafe. If you are not familiar, The James John is a coffeehouse opened a few years back by my old cohort from Paley’s Place, Suzanne Bozarth and her boyfriend Ken Yates. She enlisted the help of Benny awhile back to bring the kitchen up to the level of Ken’s already amazing coffee and with the addition of a full liquor license, they really have the makings of something truly special. I know at this point, they are offering dinner on Friday and Saturday as well, but Sunday nights are the family suppers, and at $30 a head, it’s a tough deal to beat. 4 courses, highlighted by an excellent seafood ravioli and a braised beef brisket wrapped in eggplant and smothered in stewed(?) peppers. The wine list had a few perfectly complimentary choices and Suzanne and Emily (from Toro Bravo) are there to make you one of Suzanne’s amazing cocktails. Highly recommended.

This is something I’ve been waiting for for a long time. Sunday the 21st of September is the next Spirit Dinner, brought to you by Tim Davey. I will again be bartending, BUT NOT ALONE! Lance Mayhew and Doug Paquin will be joining me and Ben Bettinger will be cooking the food. This is the first chance to see a rough outline of the future Beaker & Flask. The theme is Rum and we’ve been working hard to develop something to please the Island Gods. I’ll post the press release below, and I expect you all on time.

Friends and family,

Reservations: spiritdinners@gmail.com

Yes, I’ve been out of touch lately. The Clyde really has me busy these days. The good news is, Tim Davey and I have really made significant progress and I think the beer and cocktail lists have really started to shine.
On to more interesting things. Construction has begun in earnest on Beaker & Flask. I actually have walls! My Dad was in town last week and I didn’t know they had actually started. I took him there, walked in, and had something to show him. It was a pretty nice feeling. Below is a picture I took with my phone. It is kind of bad, but you’ll get the idea.

In the meantime, I realized I had hired Lance Mayhew without ever actually seeing him bartend. This might have been a problem, but Lance has since opened the bar at 50 Plates and I’ve been in multiple times to observe his technique. I must admit it was rocky at first (granted, I was there opening night), but he has since, very obviously, grown accustomed to his surroundings and the bar is a welcome new addition to the Portland scene, putting out some great drinks you will not find elsewhere (at least not yet). I also think the food is really good. Randall has done a real nice job of capturing a little slice of America in his cooking. I think I have had at least the left side of the menu and nothing has disappointed.

I leave you tonight with a drink and a word of advice. Go get the new Fleet Foxes record. The drink is something I’ve been playing with for a few days and I think I’ve got it right. Very simple and something that Kelley Swenson might enjoy: Joe McCarthy’s Ghost.

Joe McCarthy’s Ghost

2 oz. Christian Drouin Calvados
3/4 oz. Creme de Violette
1/4 oz. Lucid Absinthe

stir over ice, strain and garnish with a lemon twist.

I’ve been a bit hesitant to post much in the way of recipes or drink ideas I have that will find their way on to the menu at Beaker & Flask. The thought process being, I was not really bartending anywhere where my drinks were being featured and well, I’m not really concerned so much about receiving the credit as much as not looking like a copycat should someone use something I may have posted. I’m generally quite open about giving away recipes and I think it’s the proper way to go about it. Things have changed recently, though, and now that I’m in charge of the cocktail list at Clyde Common, I feel I can post about some things I’ve been working on.
I’ve had the words “watermelon” and “quinine” written in my notebook for a while now, with the desire to pair these two flavors together. It’s not really watermelon season here in the Northwest just yet (we get amazing melons out of Hermiston, OR), but with the recent 4th of July holiday and the sublime Oregon summer weather we have been enjoying, I felt the time was right to experiment with this idea.
My idea was to go as neutral as possible with the spirit and just see how the two flavors worked together so I chose vodka as my base. I cut up a baby watermelon and infused it in 100 proof vodka for about four days. I then strained the vodka and took the left over melon and combined it with a cut up fresh melon, a few pinches of salt and fresh cracked pepper and pureed the whole mess in my blender. I started making my own tonic water a few years ago, which is basically a syrup that I combine with soda water to make the tonic, so I used this to get the quinine flavor in the drink.

The basic recipe is as follows:

2 oz. watermelon vodka
1/2 oz. tonic syrup
1 oz. watermelon puree
build over ice and top with soda water. Turn it over into a metal shaker and then serve in your favorite rocks glass.

The combination of flavors was exactly what I’d hoped for, refreshing and clean, and honestly a better use for the tonic than a standard G & T. I’ve put this drink on the menu at Clyde Common and called it The English Picnic. Upon further review, I tried out the drink using a blanco tequila instead of the watermelon vodka and I think I like this version better. Which is great, because then I don’t have to infuse the spirit at all. I have a bunch of the flavored vodka so I’ll run with that for now, but I think I’ll be changing it over to the tequila version as soon as that is gone. If you are interested in my tonic recipe, I’ll post that below. It’s actually very easy to make and it beats the hell out of commercial tonic waters.

Tonic Recipe #5
4 cups water
3 cups unrefined pure cane sugar
6 tablespoons powdered citric acid
3 tablespoons quinine (cinchona bark)
3 limes
3 stalks of lemongrass (chopped)
1/2 cup juniper berries

Boil the sugar and water to dissolve, making a syrup, reduce heat
zest the limes in to the syrup
squeeze the limes and add the juice to the syrup
add the lemongrass
grind up the juniper berries and add
add the acid and the quinine, stir and then turn up the heat and bring it all to a rolling boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about half an hour.
Then I’ll strain the mixture into a large jar to get out the large particles. Put the jar in the fridge overnight and then gently pour off the syrup. The mass of quinine should sit pretty solidly in the bottom of the jar. There you have it. Just combine about 2 oz. of gin with 1 oz. of syrup over ice, squeeze in a fresh lime wedge and top with soda.
I have done many variations on this recipe, some work, some don’t. You can add other spices to create different tonics that work well with other liquors.

There are two stories I like to tell when people ask me about my philosophy of bartending. They both took place early on in my career and they have shaped everything I have been about since.
When I was brand new to the profession, I was filling in one night on a busy Friday night at Wildwood Restaurant and found myself knee deep in the weeds of the service well, doing all I could to maintain my sanity. An order came in for a 1977 Dow’s Vintage Port, which I pulled from the shelf and poured into the glass, finishing the bottle (think about it), which I deposited in to the recycle bin and then moved on with my work. Now, those of you who have ever done what I had just done, probably know the outcome of this story. Vintage port, especially an old one like that, develop a whole mess of sediment as they age and the last pour of the bottle usually contains all of it. The manager of the restaurant soon came back to the bar with the almost empty glass that looked a little like someone had rid themselves of their last dip of Copenhagen in the bottom of it. The manager scolded me pretty severely and then let me get back to work. At the end of my shift, he discussed the matter and explained a few things about the world of vintage ports and pointed me in the direction I might take to learn a little more. I took him up on that offer and then proceeded to go a few steps further. My lesson for the night: Always know what you are pouring.
The second story also took place at Wildwood. I was again working the service bar and a young guy ordered a rum and coke. I made the drink, in the process finishing the bottle of Bacardi just short of a full pour. I was busy so I figured he wouldn’t notice if I just added a little extra coke and sent him on his way. About five minutes later, I notice him talking to the other, more experienced, bartender complaining about the weakness of his drink. The other bartender walks over to my well and pulls the empty (mistake number 2) bottle from my well to add some more to the man’s drink. I was busted right there as I obviously gave the guy a short pour. Lesson number two: Never take shortcuts!
Why am I telling you this? Well the manager that I spoke of in story number one turned out to be something of a mentor over those years at Wildwood. His professionalism and class were guiding principles for me as I found my way behind the bar. Over the years we became good friends and eventually peers and I always looked to him for an example of “the right way to do things.” His name is Randy Goodman and after all this time, he and his wife Nancy have finally opened their own place. It’s called Bar Avignon and it’s located over on SE Division. I was invited to the opening party and it looks as though they have captured exactly what they are all about. If you appreciate fine Alsatian wines, good food and a welcoming neighborhood vibe, I’d go check the place out. I’m sure he has no recollection of that fateful night back in 1995, but the impact on my career will never be forgotten.