Return to Le Vieux Restaurant

Le Vieux Restaurant, 1937 NW 23rd Pl, Portland, 503.206.208.2907,www.levieuxpdx.com

Recently, Portland has lived up to its reputation as a rainy city! Sunday was no exception.  It was the kind of day that makes me want to stay home and read by the fire.  However,  I know that it is better to get out and do things.  Otherwise, the grey sky tends to color my thoughts and feelings.

So, my friend and I headed to Le Vieux Restaurant in NW Portland for brunch.  I am not a fan  of all you can eat hog calls for brunch as I do tend to eat all I can and feel miserable the rest of the day.   I knew from prior visits that Le Vieux would have lots of delicious choices that would leave me  satisfied but not stuffed.

As it was cold and miserable, the first order was for coffee prepared using a French press.   We enjoyed our coffee with small portions of Meyer lemon ricotta pancakes (fresh huckleberries and lemon curd)  and warm crepes folded over farmer’s cheese and persimmon puree.

Choosing our main course was hard as it all sounded so good!

My friend ordered an omelet with black trumpet mushrooms and ricotta served with a green salad.  I ordered steak and soft scrambled eggs…an unusual choice for me as I don’t eat red meat often anymore and I hate greasy food.   Plus, I am suspicious of soft scrambled eggs in restaurants because even if they are not over or under cooked, they are often cold once the plate reaches my table.  Not in this case!  The eggs were warm and cooked perfectly. The arugula salad provided a nice counterpoint to the egg, steak and grilled onions.  I took part of the steak and salad home for dinner that night.

We finished our meal by sharing a cranberry scone which did not seem like a scone because it was not dry and crumbly.  With the scone, pancakes and crepes, we realized that we had satisfied our sweet tooth but did not have a sugar high.

After lunch we lingered over coffee in the garden room.  It was warm and cozy and we were not in any hurry to brave the rain and wet streets.  It was great that we stayed awhile chatting with Annette as we met a wonderful couple from Newberg.  They love Le Vieux so much that they drive up often to  enjoy the food and ambiance. We exchanged information and made tentative plans to meet again soon.  A perfect ending to our time at Le Vieux.

Wonderful food does bring people together.  Thank you, Annette and Brian (owners) for creating a wonderful place for enjoying meals, wine and conversation!

Read Annette and Brian’s story at www.levieuxpdx.com/legend.html.  It will make you smile and make you want to be part of their story!