Expatriate

By Matthew Korfhage

Expatriate is an update on what a restaurant can be—a place where cocktail and food meet publicly the same way wine and a meal first did 250 years ago in Boulanger's Paris. In this cozy, low-lit space slightly themed for the genteel colonialism of the East Asian British, bartender-owner Kyle Webster also doubles as vinyl spinner. It's possible to eat Naomi Pomeroy's Asian-inflected food without drinking and be satisfied. You could also order no food and just drink Webster's Dorléac ($12), named after a '60s French actress who died young and beautiful, the sweetness of honey, lemon and elderflowers in this vodka cocktail is balanced with the bitterness of Aperol and Angostura. But let's be clear: The food is made for drinking and vice versa, and everything here is a journey from bitter to sweet, with lingering spice.

Happy hour: $7 wonton nachos, 5-6 pm.

Entertainment: Your bartender is both your DJ and your librarian, with plenty of old books to leaf through.

5424 NE 30th Ave., expatriatepdx.com. 5 pm-midnight daily.

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