TABLE TALK

[June 29th, 2005] The experiment began at a kitchen table back in 2001, when Michael Hebb and Naomi Pomeroy launched Family Supper as an add-on to ripe, their thriving catering business. The invitation-only dinners featured a fixed menu and family-style seating and service, and were held in the couple's Northeast Portland home until the word-of-mouth guest list swelled to include dozens, then hundreds of names. Foodie America seemed hungry for new ideas, and Family Supper handily scooped up attention from the local and national press, including an approving nod from The New York Times.

The ripe crew, led by the couple who took on the name Hebberoy when they married last year, has built its rep on fresh and adventurous cooking, as well as curious and witty reinterpretations of traditional food formats. All that is on display at their restaurant, clarklewis, a buzz-worthy hot spot located in the former loading dock of an eastside warehouse, where chef Morgan Brownlow's food is known for its deeply thought-through simplicity. In April, the pair opened Gotham Bldg. Tavern, built on the remodeled bones of their beloved Gotham Building Coffee Shop. This "gastropub" is a collaboration with ripe chef Tommy Habetz and front-of-the-house manager Lauren Glazer, a New York restaurant-world vet. Family Suppers, now turned into promiscuous public-feeding frenzies, are served upstairs.

To take stock of the ripe hype, we sent two WW reviewers, Elizabeth Dye and Roger Porter, to the Gotham Bldg. Tavern, which they visited separately and together, before meeting for some table talk about the new restaurant and what it means to Portland.

Roger Porter: I think that Gotham is an attempt at restaurant democracy-nothing elegant or elaborate about the feel of the place. But everyone knows that only the coolest of the cool go there. So it's overstated understated. That's Michael Hebberoy's genius: He knows exactly how to play the culinary demographics game. How do you like it compared with clarklewis?

Elizabeth Dye: Well, I love clarklewis. When I'm presented with a glass of a sunny, midpriced Italian white wine and a plate of whole-wheat pasta, dining there seems simple. Concept never trumps cuisine. The Gotham Bldg. Tavern, by contrast, seems heavier on concept. One has the feeling that there is a lot to "get" about the Tavern-the floating driftwood on the mirrored walls, the Esque light fixtures dangling cartoon-anvil-like above each table, the cheeky non-tavernness of the menu (it's really a gastropub), the flock of cuckoo clocks menacing you from the bathroom wall, not to mention the phallic lamps in the restrooms. The food from Tommy Habetz's kitchen has ripe's hallmarks of inventive pairings of ingredients, freshness and classic and often unusual dishes. But it differs from clarklewis, I think, in that it's a gutsier, bolder and heavier style of cooking.

RP: It's earthy and peasanty, but in a sophisticated way. Take an outstanding entree of porchetta ($21): a spiral nebula of pork belly hugging and oozing garlic and fennel-laced ground pork sausage, an ideal take-home extra for an extraordinary cold sandwich on a crusty roll the next day-if you can restrain yourself from finishing this dish.

ED: And yet the menu seems to favor someone who has a level of culinary confidence. I love that every time I visit a ripe restaurant I learn a new cooking term or ingredient name, but some of Gotham's acrobatics in decor and menu may be strenuous for staff and patrons alike: "Look at all this proof we're stuffing into our pudding!" "Yes, yes, it's delicious!" There's a fine line between inspiring your diners and quizzing them.

RP: What about those unexplained terms on the menu: "Cana de Oveja," "Gougeres," "Patatas Bravas," "Farro," "Bavette Cacio e Pepe," "Fregola"? Much of the fare has a meaty, macho feel, but I love the idea that there's housemade blood sausage ($11) on the list, paired with a scallop: the newest "surf-'n-turf" combo. The boudin noir (or "blood pudding") is made with pig's blood, and this hearty combination of brine and barnyard is intriguing, with its nicely sour pungency.

ED: Not that the Gotham can't have a light hand with seafood. I tried the seared tuna with spring vegetable escabeche ($18) because it's such a standard that I thought it would be a good bellwether for the kitchen's overall performance. The preparation was fantastic-none of that fussy, steakhousey, black-pepper-on-the-outside, blood-red-inside business. Just a light saltwater taste and the pleasant background of the lightly pickled vegetables.

RP: My favorite entree was seared duck breast with rhubarb chutney and potatoes in duck fat ($23). The duck with its crackling skin is packed with flavor. It has a smoky, pungent authenticity-an exceptional bird. The chutney is subtle, just enough sweetness to contrast with the leathery-aromas of the duck. And the potatoes have the seduction of duck fat.

ED: My favorite dishes were a couple of salads. One was cracked wheat and Monterey bay sardines with citrus ($9). Excellent. The nutty grain is bedrock for an airy composition of briny sardines and tart grapefruit. An uncharacteristically light and playful dish. The farro, snap pea and pea shoot salad ($8) was similarly styled-insouciant, informal appearance on the plate, fresh and cleansing on the palate. But what do you think of the ambience?

RP: If the food weren't so much better than most anywhere in town, the noise could be overwhelming, a tsunami of cascading tumult.

ED: Everywhere I saw servers huddled over their tables shouting at diners, and diners craning to hear. Couldn't they keep the raucous tavern feel and still bring down the decibel level?

RP: The restaurant is named for the building it occupies, but did you know that "Gotham" as a nickname for New York comes from a proverbial English town known for the madness of its inhabitants? By the way, I love how in warm weather, when the front door is open, you have a stunning view of the Fremont Bridge with its graceful arched span.

ED: Right. It opens a vista in contrast to the way the crisscrossed timber bisects the space and creates a feeling of enclosure. But I wonder why they need those beehives in the rear. No one should have to pay an extra 50 bucks to sit in a bus shelter. Maybe make them semi-public pods for book groups or Scrabble competitions. Why should a tavern have private rooms?

RP: They're like Iron Maidens: Will the slats crush you to death? I want to say, "Tear down that bird cage." You don't pay for tatami rooms in Japanese restaurants, why should you pay extra here?

ED: That's a snobby touch, but as in all ripe ventures, there are egalitarian gestures: a very affordable wine list, and some seating arrangements that allow for sharing tables with strangers.

RP: I like the way a container on your table, filled with knives, forks and napkins, lets you restock your cutlery on your own time. And the service is as friendly and informed as it gets, anywhere. But it's brazen, isn't it?

ED: Yes, Gotham is clarklewis' dangerous cousin from out of town. Whereas clarklewis leaves you feeling serene and comforted...

RP: Gotham Bldg. Tavern heats up your molecules.