[Welcome to Snap Judgment, a regular Blogtown feature developed by my predecessor, Patrick Alan Coleman. The idea, still, is to drop by places both old and new for a one-dish fly-by, to develop an opinion based on that singular experience. Often, I'll return a few months down the line for a Last Supper column. Sometimes I won't.]
Remember when magazines were paying all those celebrities millions of dollars for first photos of their babies? (Do we still do that?) We, as a public, had an insatiable hunger to see what came of two really beautiful people having sex with each other. That's kind of how I've been waiting for the new offspring of Ben Meyer (formerly of Ned Ludd) and Upright Brewing. I'm pleased to say that Grain & Gristle is, like, Suri-Cruise cute (and way more affordable than Angelina Jolie's babies).
Located next door to Podnahs (future home of Pok Pok Noi) at 14th & Prescott, Grain & Gristle would probably fall under the category of Gastropub (if the last New Yorker food issue hadn't made me feel insecure about using that term). The space has kind of a chic cabin-in-the-forest feel—unfinished beams, lanterns hung from the ceiling, a giant, knotty, wood bar (EaterPDX has pictures). The menu seems pretty geared toward carnivores—there are some promising vegetarian appetizers, but not much dinner fare.