Ben Dyer, Jason Owens and Company have leased a space the size of a single-family home (1,400 sf) adjacent to Simpatica in the Pine Street Studios Building. Undertakings will include more of the usual sausage, pepperoni and pates that Viande has become locally famous for, as well as deeper forays into the worlds of salami and prosciutto.
IN RELATED NEWS: Is the Simpatica diaspora beginning to rival that of the former Ripe empire? Former Viande employee Gabe Rosen’s new Japanese eatery Biwa debuts this evening in, you guessed it, the former La Luna Building. In addition to housemade udon and yakitori, Rosen will be one of the only people in the Northwest to handcraft ramen noodles, though that endeavor won’t start for another couple of weeks. Our hopes are high as hundreds of dollars in gas money saved on ramen runs to Vancouver, BC lay on the line. No pressure Gabe.
A divey palace of rock music throughout the 1990s, the former La Luna has handsomely transformed itself in to something of a food mecca. And speaking of the Viande/Simpatica world, former Simpatica chef John Gorham’s Toro Bravo opens in another rock venue, The Wonder Ballroom, on May 1st. Portland could use another Spanish restaurant.
Ate at Biwa last night. The service was a little spotty, which is no problem as they opened this week, but the food was great! This place is going to do very well.