If there were a montage of my life as a food obsessive, there’d be snaps of my happy face alongside the roasted chicken at Coquine; cuddling the chocolate banana cream pie at Papa Haydn; locking lips with an oyster topped with uni at Nodoguro.
Also in the memory banks: me nuzzling up to a few small bites of a juicy, smoky brisket from Matt Vicedomini (Matt’s BBQ), over which Earl Ninsom (Hat Yai, PaaDee, Langbaan) poured an achingly spicy jungle curry bursting with fish sauce and galangal during Feast Portland’s 2017 Smoked event. Word spread quickly about the hot new power couple, and they soon had the longest lines at the event.
I’m not sure if that was the night Eem was conceived, but that collaboration, with the addition of my favorite bartender, Eric Nelson (Shipwreck), has birthed what’s sure to top Portland’s 2019 restaurant lists. (The name comes from the first initials of Earl, Eric, and Matt.) Most nights, the line is already snaking out the door onto North Williams before Eem even opens. It’s worth the wait.
