Lauro Newsletter :: Winter 2007

Eastern Migration

Others may have followed our lead with Mediterranean-themed menus, but at Lauro Kitchen we prefer to look ahead, explore and evolve. Poring over stacks of the best, most intriguing cookbooks, experimenting with recipes and a recent trip to Europe have all informed our exciting new menu with exceptional dishes that move us east. We are tasting the “bread basket” that the ancient Romans called Egypt and the complex culinary cultures of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia and North Africa. These nations are swirling with unique spices, herbs, fruits and lusty combinations of flavors that have been in use for a millennium, while religions, customs and cultures have collided around them.

We offer some new menu items created with our special Lauro touch.

Our new winter menu includes Lebanese Lamb Kabobs with Tabouleh, Egyptian Flatbread with Dukka and Honey, Roasted Taverna Shrimp with Tomatoes, Feta and Ouzo, Moussaka of Grilled Eggplant, Spiced Lentils and Sauce Bechamel, Braised Oregon Lamb Shank with Caramelized Pears and Shallots, Spice-Rubbed Culotte Steak with Pommes Frites and Harissa Butter and Greek-Style Pork Shoulder with Aleppo Peppers and Corona Beans. Seasonal dessert highlights include Chocolate Midnight Cake with Crème Anglaise, Warm Cherry Bread Pudding with Pistachio Caramel Sauce and Yogurt Honey Ice Cream.

view our winter menu

New Year’s Eve:: Celebrate!

Chef de Cuisine Jennifer Buehler has cooked up some tantalizing specials to help you ring in the New Year with style:

Pumpkin Soup with Roasted Chestnut Butter, Six Kumomotos on the Half Shell with Meyer Lemon Mignonette, Oven Roasted Scallops with Blood Oranges, Ginger and Fennel, Risotto with Dungeness Crab, Champagne and Butter Braised Leeks and Mascarpone, Roasted New York Strip with Gruyere and Roasted Garlic Potato Puree and Wild Mushrooms with Sherry, Grilled Ahi Tuna Spiced with Sumac, Aleppo, Fennel and Citrus with Dried Apricot and Almond Basmati Rice.

Pastry Chef Nancy Forrest knows that her Chocolate Cherry Trifle (chocolate genoise cake soaked in kirsch, amarena cherries, chocolate custard, mascarpone cream) will send you reeling toward midnight!

C-O-C-K-T-A-I-L?

Bar Diva Gloria Preston has hit a new high with a chalkboard full of magical winter potions. Perfect for the upcoming festivities, our bar chef mixes these concoctions just for you. Pictured here is the Manhattan Holiday featuring our inhouse cranberry-infused Bourbon. Then we add a dash of sweet vermouth and orange bitters. The balance of sweet and bitter is a welcome twist on a traditional Manhattan. Pair it with the Egyptian Flatbread with Dukka and Honey. The Dukka, an Egyptian spice blend of hazelnuts, sesame, cumin and black pepper and the sweetness of our local honey strike a perfect balance.

A warming drink for our cold weather is the Steamed Brandy Alexander. Brandy, Tia Maria, steamed milk and a dash of nutmeg join forces to satisfy and warm you up. We are convinced that this is just what the doctor ordered.

Press Clippings

The debut issue of MIX magazine included a piece by Grant Butler on the Old Guard of Portland’s Chefs as they nurture the up-and-comers. Lauro’s David Machado was one of five top chefs to be featured. Asked to name one of the next wave, David chose Oswaldo Bibiano of Autentica. Over his nearly seventeen years in Portland, David has identified and trained many of the best in town. Congratulations David and Oswaldo.

Lauro was the focus of a feature in Willamette Week’s annual Restaurant Guide. Mike Thelin’s piece Line Dance chronicles his dive into restaurant theater where he deconstructs the kitchen line and gets schooled. Chef de Cuisine Jennifer Buehler led Thelin around by his apron strings one busy night as he researched his story. Mike did lots of heavy lifting, dishes, slicing, dicing and time on his feet. And he did a great job. Mike, please call us back – we need you on sauté this Saturday night.

(Willamette Week cover and top photo courtesy of Willamette Week).

Spiffing Up for 2008

We will enter 2008 in high style as Lauro undergoes a bit of a makeover. As she heads toward her fifth birthday, Lauro has earned some spit and polish. Stop in and check out the reveal for yourself. Notice two nicely-appointed bathrooms with gleaming subway tiles, new fixtures, mirrors and red walls. We have updated our palette in the dining room and hallways using environmentally-friendly zero VOC paint. Notice the wooden counters at the bar and kitchen - nicely refinished and pretty in polish. You’ll also see back lighting to illuminate the bottles at our handsome bar and sexy new pendant lighting with vintage fixtures. And finally, be on the lookout for our original maple tabletops enjoying a new life with custom-made sleek copper covers.

Hungry for Knowledge

In 2007 we launched our Hungry for Knowledge program, where we give back to our community with a focus on the neighborhood public schools of Southeast Portland. During the school year we feature a different school each month and 20% of the evening’s proceeds are donated to that school. Planting gardens, buying books, playing music and learning languages has all been possible with Lauro’s help as students, teachers, parents and neighbors come out for a great evening together. In 2007 Hungry for Knowledge has raised nearly $10,000 for SE schools. Thank you to Abernethy, Sunnyside, Buckman, Winterhaven, Richmond, Hosford, Llewellyn and Atkinson. Look for our 2008 schedule to honor more of Southeast’s finest.

Super Sustainable Lauro – We Dig it.

Working closely with Portland’s Office of Sustainable Development we have completed our conversion to über-green. We believe that what is good for the earth and the neighborhood is also good for business. This innovative program helps us work smart, minimize our footprint, keep foodwaste out of the landfill and ultimately produce compost to grow gardens across the city. We are fully setup to compost all of our food waste, related paper products, flowers and plant products and compostable serviceware items.

In conjunction with our long-held committment to buy from nearby farmers and producers, donating our fryer oils to be converted into biofuels, walking and biking to work and using sustainable paints, fabrics and materials in our restaurant this effort puts us over the top. We are proud to be leading Division Street to where green street meets Main Street.

Please note that we will be closed December 24-26 and January 1st. From our families to yours, thank you for your continued patronage. We wish you the happiest of holidays.

Lauro Kitchen is open Sunday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Complimentary parking is available in our private lot on the west side of the building. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Please try to arrive early to insure a table for you and your party.

Salud,

David Machado Chef and Owner Lauro Kitchen