 photo by TANISHA WALLACE-PORATH |
BY ROGER J. PORTER |
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Compass Cafe 4741 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 231-4840 Open 5:30 pm-9:30 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays; 9 am-2 pm Saturdays-Sundays. Moderate. Credit cards accepted. Children welcome, but uncommon. At Compass Cafe, diners tour the world at their seats.Any restaurant that features California cuisine one month and South African the next, giving you the culinary equivalent of Mileage Plus, must have Madeleine Albright for a muse. But these days a chef needn't travel to get inspiration: an inquisitive mind, a full shelf of international cookbooks and perhaps gastroexotica.com will do the trick. Compass Cafe spins its needle around the world, ultimately pointing it according to whim. Whim and whimsy mark much of what happens at this pleasant neighborhood spot. There's a playfulness about the cooking and the presentations and a sporty aspect to the dishes, as if chef Mike Siegel were daring himself to try out an unfamiliar, even audacious, combination of ingredients. Nothing too outlandish, mind you, nor excessively ornate, just mischievously playful, and with a good feel for interesting combinations of ingredients. During warm weather is the best time to go to Compass Cafe, since behind the mundane storefront lies one of the prime al fresco dining spots in town, a large and charming garden surrounded by shady trees, with colorful lanterns and terra cotta relief sculpture hung on the ivy-clad fence, masses of brilliant plants and a plashing fountain. The interior is quite informal, sparely decorated and unpretentious; the deli case at the heart of it is no piece of art, to be sure, but it's attractively stocked with Italian ceramic bowls, terrines and little pots au crème. In lovely weather, ensconced out back in the pastoral setting and with the crunch of pea gravel underfoot, you'll feel removed from the reality of Hawthorne Boulevard and maybe even transported to France or Italy. Compass changes much of its menu monthly. On the docket beginning this week is a Southern Italian bill of fare; Spain and Piedmont had their innings recently. The most recent menu was an African adventure, with ostrich and Moroccan lamb shanks, but no emu or wildebeest, let alone black mamba steaks--this is still Southeast Portland. Much like its previous incarnation, A Thyme Garden, Compass Cafe features wines from the country or region of the menu, so September saw excellent and inexpensive bottles from South Africa, part of which is roughly Oregon's southern hemispheric counterpart and thus a producer of good pinot noir. The menu at Compass is neither rigorous nor doctrinaire. There is always a number of pasta dishes, as well as a few items among both starters and entrees not from the designated locale, some which are fixtures. There are curious obsessions, including at least four dishes of late highlighted sweet potatoes, in the form of hash, purée or pancakes. Equally strange, for a summer menu there was a heaviness about several items: bean succotash, meatloaf with mashed potatoes and potato pancakes with brie and sautéed pears. However tasty they are, such dishes are far more appropriate for cooler, autumnal weather. And the plates seemed too heaped for summer appetites. Outdoor dining may put an edge on one's hunger, but prepare to be quickly sated here. The nicest appetizer is a finely shaved tuna carpaccio, with ribbons of fennel and pine nuts showered on top of the raw fish and a decent aïoli alongside. Tuna done this way is less satiny and succulent than smoked salmon but quite refreshing. Duck salad on a bed of crispy Asian noodles is enlivened with julienne of carrots and thin slivers of cabbage, another appealing appetizer. The seasonings in both dishes could be a bit more vibrant; if I have one complaint, it's about a frequent lack of assertion in the spice department. But salmon wontons make some amends: the filling is smoky, the accompanying chutney strong and flavorful and the glaze redolent of ginger. The sweet potato pancakes are a perennial favorite here, but they'll feel more appropriate as the temperature drops: with figs, apricots, sherry butter, hazelnuts, pears and brie all decorating the pancakes, this dish seemed too cloying for the recent smoldering summer evenings. And yet it is undeniably tasty, soft cheese oozing amidst the fruit, giving it an almost Persian look. Four California specials appeared on the menu: barbecued salmon; lemon roasted chicken; swordfish marinated in Riesling and chilies; and a three-pepper flan, something like an underdone quiche. This lineup hardly represents cutting-edge California cuisine, which is so assimilated anyway, but the three plates (the last three) I tried were all very respectable. Perhaps the best entree of all was not a special but a South-by-Southwest treatment of roasted pork, slathered with lime and cumin, piled atop a sweet-potato purée laced with Bourbon and sprinkled about with very crunchy nuggets of corn in salsa. Compass' other obsession is with black beans, put to exciting use with the nicely underdone filet of swordfish; the fish is stacked on sautéed greens, a hash of black beans and sweet potatoes and finished off with plantains, no less. Lots of eye-popping color here: black, yellow, red (tomatoes), green (chard) and pearl (the fish). Any one of those ingredients might have served for sufficient garnish; this is certainly get-your-money's-worth cooking. Roast chicken, always a test because of its very simplicity, passed handsomely; the bird is well-herbed and tangy with lemon juice. A nice bonus comes in the form of a corn and leek cake, lighter than the ubiquitous sweet-potato treatment. California, a multicultural haven and a state of mind, can encompass Native American, Hispanic and neo-hippie vegetarian cooking, all of which are exemplified at Compass. Desserts are enjoyable. I especially liked a peach and almond upsidedown cake, liberally moistened by crème anglaise spiked with cardamom and ginger. There's a nice selection of homemade ice cream and sorbet and an excellent bread pudding. But whenever I'm here, I grab for the Bananas Foster, an adult sundae with cream cake, ice cream, sauteed bananas, butterscotch sauce and a shot of Bourbon. Southern-style hedonism really takes over with this one. Bananas Foster: American for dessert. Compass Cafe has always been an easygoing spot, and it is easy to take. Lacking grand ambitions, devoid of pretensions and even of great focus, the restaurant offers a version of homecooking but with an attitude, and certainly with an amplitude. You are always welcomed here, and it's difficult not to enjoy yourself, despite--or perhaps because of--its modesty. .
originally published September 23 , 1998
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