Jun 7, 2012 at 4:00 am

Gorham's NoPo Landmark Turns Two

Comments

1
Tasty n Sons food is great! However, the hubris of John Gorham to have his waiters look his customers in the eye and tell them, "Just so you know, the food comes out of the kitchen when the kitchen has it ready." is so ludicrous, I can't even think of eating there again without feeling like my head is going to explode.
On my last visit, I placed an order for some Chocolate Potato Doughnuts as soon as I sat down, thinking I'd have something to eat while waiting for my meal. My doughnuts showed up more than halfway through my meal. I'd ordered the Breakfast Board as my main course, so my companion and I were at least served our meals at the same time.
The table next to us wasn't as fortunate. Two women from out of town, at the restaurant for the first time and excited to be there. The woman sitting next to me was the lucky one, her meal arrived first. Her companion, sitting next to my friend, wasn't served until 10 minutes later.
Why can't this restaurant serve everyone seated at a table at the same time? Timing in a kitchen is so basic. It's about making your customers feel welcome and cared for. I just don't get it. The only explanation is that Gorham just doesn't give a fuck about his customers and that the saps who eat there don't recognize an asinine concept when they see it.
2
Food and drinks are awesome.

What's less awesome:
1. Very little food at a Gorham establishment is veg-friendly.
2. "The food comes out as it is ready" is definitely ludicrous, and has led to some pretty awkward meals there. People aren't used to eating breakfast "family style," especially if they think (wrongly) their own food may come out sometime shortly after their tablemates'.
3. The 3 credit card maximum rule (ordinarily I'd have no problem with this) is applied even to large tables! I brought 14 people there and we were limited to 3 cards, which was a ridiculous pain in the ass considering how much we were spending.

So it's a good thing the food is really good, because everything else about the place says "we can treat you like nuisances rather than customers." Like other places I can think of in Portland,* they'd be out of business tomorrow if service were the only consideration.

* Hop & Vine and Savoy come immediately to mind.

3
@1-2. Thanks for the comments. Based on this review I was planning on checking TnS out.
Not so much now. You saved me an angry.
4
+

These two are exaggerating. This place has a couple of quirks, but they hardly outweigh the good food, friendly service and relaxed atmosphere. Don't miss out on this place.

"they'd be out of business tomorrow if service were the only consideration. "

This is true of so many places it's not even worth mentioning. The line outside Apizza Scholls leads me to believe that people are still more concerned about how the food tastes than they are the restaurant's particular quirks.
5
I've always had wonderful service at Tasty N Sons. If you don't like the idea of "the food comes as it's cooked" and "family style dining", then this is just not the restaurant for you. Take yourself down to the Village Inn on Broadway and everyone's food will come out nice and bland and lukewarm, but at the same time!

I, for one, love the family style dining - I want to try everything that everyone gets anyway, and now I don't feel guilty about it. Plus, if you really don't want to share, you could just say (as I did when I was there on Thursday) "No, I'd rather not share my cookies and ice cream, because I want to eat ALL OF THEM". Then lightly stab anyone who tries to steal your cookies, shakshuka or potatoes bravas with a fork and they'll get the message.

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