Editor’s note: This week and next, we’re counting down our favorite new Portland restaurants of 2023. At No. 8: Plumb, a surprisingly good residency inside Deadshot’s temporary Christmas cocktail bar.
How many restaurants in America — heck, the world? — offer guests the opportunity to eat a truly great steak frites while sipping on a mix of rums, ube-coconut orgeat and acid-adjusted pineapple juice from a ceramic Santa mug?
Such is the case at Plumb, perhaps the biggest surprise in a year defined as much by “residencies” (prolonged pop-ups, essentially) as proper restaurants.
For now, the French-leaning bistro is found inside the innovative cocktail bar Deadshot, which is currently hosting the annual Miracle Christmas Bar, making this a pop-up within a pop-up (and explaining the Santa mug).
Drop by to find chef Alex Trombadore and his team serving straightforward bistro dishes with a few global flourishes, a little tahini here, some labneh there. The technique is impressive, especially the saucing — my first ever bite here was the grilled cabbage and diced apple soaking in a note-perfect bechamel blended, Iceland-style, with caramelized whey. “Wow,” I said, almost involuntarily. “That’s good.”
Yet even if you don’t notice those chefly details, you can still enjoy the gorgeous crust on a NY strip and the golden fry on a bushel of McDonald’s-esque fries. Served drizzled with sauce vert with more sauce for dipping, it’s my favorite steak frites this side of St. Jack.
What to know: A good bistro needs a good burger, and Plumb has one, thick with melted gruyere and dill pickles, a half-pound remedy for anyone sick of the smash burger craze. But with the pop-up madness in full swing, the burger is off the menu until January.
What to eat: Should it return, the grilled cabbage with apples in bechamel is a must. Otherwise, try the aji crudo, the beets and pears in tahini, the best steak frites this side of St. Jack and the decadent bread pudding with its chocolate ganache and orange crème anglaise.
Plumb serves dinner Monday-Saturday inside Deadshot at 2133 S.E. 11th Ave., 503-875-0527, plumbrestaurantpdx.com.
— Michael Russell; [email protected]