This (and Last) Week’s Mercury Food Section: On Affordability

Trust me when I tell you affordability is a concern when thinking about restaurants or events to cover in Last Supper and Lush Life. Not only do I consider the finances of my readers, but I also consider the budget for my own section (and let’s be frank, I’m not writing for the New York Times here). These considerations do keep me from covering some restaurants that carry weight for the city’s gourmands, or charity events that stop short of requiring attendees to flash a Rolex at the door.

For instance, as good as the food is purported to be, I’ll likely not review Metrovino where a majority of the entrees are above $25 and the starters top out at $13. Likewise, even though Cochon 555 (taking place on the 16th at the Governor Hotel) is a mind-bendingly cool event featuring some killer Portland chefs, you’ll likely not hear much from me about the benefit because ticket prices start at $125.

So where do I make the cut? A good idea would be to look at last week’s Last Supper and this week’s Lush Life.

Am I misguided? Justifications and your chance to respond after the jump!

Two of the best things about Portland is that it isn’t New York or LA. Being neither one of those cities means that we’re not required to pay those cities’ prices for really decent food. From what I understand, $20 entrees are generally the rule and not the exception in those great hubs of American commerce and glamor.

Thankfully we live in a town where we can get a really great five-course prix fix dinner for $55 (see Genoa). Granted, it’s not a place you’ll eat every night, but for special occasion dining it’s a pretty good deal. However, I’ll note you’ll have to be careful with the wine, which can drive the bill up significantly. But that seems to be de rigueur in the world of up-scale dinning (even in Portland).

Using Genoa for perspective, I called its neighbor Accanto the more approachable of the two. I specifically didn’t use the word “affordable” considering some of the entrée prices. Still it prompted a comment from someone saying they felt I’d misrepresented the menu prices. That prompted this response from commenter Spartacus:

$17 for a meat-based entree is affordable by contemporary dining standards. True you can get a cheaper steak at Saylers or a plate of fried chicken at the Observatory but those are not artisinally produced cuisine. I’m not saying I can afford $17 meals every night, but for dinner out it is reasonable. I wouldn’t want to pay less because then I would suspect the product or its treatment was of inferior quality.

To which I say, “Hear, hear!”

Back to wine: Let’s talk Portland Indie Wine Fest, which I covered in this week’s Lush Life. Did I hesitate covering an event that cost $75 bucks to attend? Yes, I did. Did I consider that very few of my readers would give any shits about a $75 wine event? Yes, I did.

So why did I cover it? For a wine event, this actually fairly bargain basement, especially considering the amount of pours you’ll receive and the caliber of the restaurants who will be serving food at the Bison Building this Saturday.

You’ll also get a chance to taste rare vintages from local producers who, being independent, normally do not take these wines out of their tasting rooms—scattered here and there around our state.

Finally, it’s an awesome chance for novice wine drinkers (like myself) to talk to the person who was there at every step of the production. These folks have deep knowledge of their varietals. You’ve got wine questions? They will have wine answers.

After all, I can probably spend close to $75 on a normal Saturday between cocktails and food. I might as well drop that money in one place (for a good cause) and be just as high and well fed—except the high will be a tad more cultured and the food way more delicious.

But, as ever, I’m curious about what you think, Blogtownies? What do you consider “affordable” for a restaurant meal? Do you think reviews like those for Genoa and Accanto are helpful? Fire away in the comments!