15th Avenue Hophouse

Jack's back with another review from Oregon! Thanks Jack!

The 15th Avenue Hophouse http://oregonhophouse.com/ is a great place to get a beer, particularly an Oregon microbrew. But, it turns out to be a great place to get a little taste of Québec, as well. The poutine on the menu is worth the trip, even if you aren't after great beer.

It's full-holiday season in Portland, so we were all in a festive mood. I went to this pub prepared to have a burger, when, What to my wondering eyes should appear, but poutine on the menu among all the beers...OK, I'll knock it off.

I was skeptical given the menu description: a vegetarian gravy and cheddar curds. What gravy can't use some meat drippings, and generally, "curds" is good enough. Plus, I live a long way from the mothership of poutine. On top of that, I am fighting the "battle of the bulge" so poutine is an unusual treat and I want it to be great. But, it's the holiday season, so what the hey? I ordered the wasabi deviled eggs as a backup.

The small order arrived with more than enough for one person (although this person managed to finish it). The fries were crispy and stood up to the gravy to the very end. The gravy could have been a bit saltier, but, it's easy to add a little. And, even though the gravy was missing a key ingredient in my book--meat--it was very tasty. The curds were yellow, I suppose to emphasize the "cheddar" part, and tasty, however, there was no squeak. I'm here to tell you that if those curds had spoken, they would have said "FIVE CURDS!"

But, I have to withhold a half curd for squeak. I'll add a quarter since it came on a nicely heated china plate. So, 15th Avenue Hophouse...drum roll please...4.75 curds out of 5. It will stand up to almost every poutine I've had in Québec. Now, if the waitress can just learn to pronounce it like Richard... 15th Avenue Hophouse, 1517 NE Brazee, Portland, OR Website: oregonhophouse.com