After months of renovation, Laurelhurst Market, the butcher shop/restaurant from the Viande/Simpatica dudes (Jason Owens, Benjamin Dyer, and Dave Kreifels), finally opened last week at 3155 E Burnside, former home of that one crappy convenience store that always had stale gum. I swung by Monday after an afternoon spent inhaling other peoples' BBQ at Laurelhurst Park, during which open-air animal cooking really started to feel like the biological imperative that it, I suppose, is. Plenty of options at the meat counter—a variety of sausages, patés, foie gras, Draper Valley chicken, smoked duck, ground beef, short ribs, steaks, fresh eggs ($.50/each), etc. The butcher counter is open from 10 am-7 pm daily, selling sandwiches from 11 am-5 pm, and the adjacent dining room is open from 5-10pm Wed-Mon. There's also a bar in the back with a sliding door/window that opens onto a side patio, and the hostess mentioned the possibility of industry specials on Mondays, though she was fuzzy on details. I snagged a menu—it's a for-real steakhouse, with prices on the higher end: $18 steak frites, a la carte steaks and chops from $16-29; sides, like mac & cheese or grilled romaine w/romesco, in the $5-7 range. Things I really want to eat include pork rillettes with pickled rhubarb; foie with rhubarb mostarda and pistachio butter; a Southern fried game hen. And a porterhouse. (The doneness scale on the bottom of the menu is a wonderful thing, from Rare ["Red. Cool center."] to Well Done ["Not Recommended."]) Vegetarians should be able to build a decent meal out of sides and salads—or, you know, don't have dinner at a steakhouse. Everyone I spoke with was personable and welcoming in a way that made feel good about spending money there. Anyone had dinner there yet? Report back.
