Crazy Delicious in Portland!

Dinner last night at the counter at Le Pigeon was... insanely delicious.  I’m going to let the photographs speak for themselves.  Well, except for that dish above, which hit every single pleasure point in my brain.  It’s a wild rice pancake topped with a slab of seared foie gras, sea urchin and sour cream. What gilds this lily is the  salty maple syrup, which makes every bite zoom around your mouth in a completely seductive fashion. I’ve never encountered anything remotely like it - and I look forward to doing so again.

The bay scallop crudo was a wonderful contrast: cool, clean, totally refreshing.  It’s the yin to the yang of that mad pancake,  all icy sorbet, celery root, apple, with the tang of mezcal and the zing of jalapeno.  Pure pleasure.

I liked the "Rip City stir fry" - although it couldn’t begin to compete with the other two dishes.  It’s basically strips of onion tangled into pieces of heart: robust and fascinating food, all crunch and texture. 

Grilled pigeon, with couscous, cauliflower, onion raisin relish and pinenuts. 

Truffle parmesan risotto with orange-drenched carrots, squash and peanuts.

And for dessert..... Pigeon leg: deep-fried and spiced until it turned into a kind of avian cruller. Chewy, sweet and savory, all at the same time. And then, finally, this madly wonderful ice cream sandwich. What a meal!