You can’t beat “Farm Spirit” for a True Farm-to-Table Experience!

While conducting my research for our visit to Portland, Oregon, I found a truly unique dining experience that sounded very enticing. Supporting my love for everything vegetable, this seemed like a perfect fit. Located in the Buckman neighborhood of Portland, “Farm Spirit” is a small venue in a retail strip building. It houses a long bar counter with about 14 seats accommodating two seatings per night. While seated at the bar, you are audience to an orchestration of food artistry that is beyond belief. This also offers you the opportunity to chat with the chef in a very comfortable setting, while socializing with your neighbors at the bar.

The restaurant offers drink pairings of wine or non-alchoholic beverages that are both complimentary to the courses. Courses – plural; yes there are many.  You can expect about 10-15 items each night, some no bigger than a fork or spoonful so don’t be concerned about seriously overeating. But not to worry, you won’t leave there hungry either!

I was most impressed with the attention to detail and the variety of processes that were used in creating each dish. Down to the tweezer application of each petal of fresh herb, every single dish was a work of art in both composition, texture and color.  Being a foodie and a private chef myself, I appreciated every morsel that played it’s part in the construction of each offering. I also felt that some of the items achieved perfection in both flavor and taste.

Portland is a land of friendly, caring people. This was demonstrated to the fullest extent when I called to add a last minute person to our party (my son) only to find out that the restaurant sat a small amount of diners at each sitting and that there was not one seat left. The owner/chef took it upon himself to ask one of the single guests if they would be so kind as to dine at the earlier time so that he could accommodate my request. In my book, that was far above and beyond any expectation I could have had and I was pleasantly surprised when the guest graciously agreed to make the change to accommodate us. Wow, I can’t imagine that ever happening in L.A., can you?

Enjoy the showcase of photos that I took while dining which includes most, but not all of our courses. They will certainly illustrate the expertise and grandeur of our experience.