Three Sheets, Portland

Ann's birthday arrived just days after we landed in Oregon and just days after our anniversary. I wanted to take her out for a nice meal and I wanted her to meet one of my former sous chefs, Danny Robayo, before he decamped for a new restaurant venture in Hawaii. I had some great talent in my kitchen back in Virginia and Danny is an all star. His exec gig at Three Sheets in Portland is about his fourth or fifth restaurant since becoming an executive chef in his own right and I couldn't be prouder of what he has become.

When we planned to move, I was excited to be able to hook back up with him. Over the course of the summer though, it became apparent that we might miss him: I did an extensive interview with his new employers in Hawaii and knew that he had been offered that gig back in September. We just did make it to his restaurant with only days to spare. In fact, I met his replacement who was in the restaurant training to take over the reins. That's how close we were to missing each other.

Three Sheets is a brand new restaurant on Hayden Island along the south shore of the Columbia River and is situated in what looks to be a condo building right at the Columbia River Yacht Club. We chose to come for Saturday brunch because that would be one of the slower shifts and hopefully would leave us more time to visit with Danny. As it turns out, we did get to spend several minutes with him at various points in the morning and we got to meet his wife and family as they came in for breakfast.

The Birthday Girl

And Her Date

We got ourselves situated and when our server asked if we'd like a Bloody Mary from their bar, who could resist? She offered to let us garnish our own, but we left her to do it, not expecting these crazily decorated concoctions! I love pickles of all sorts, so it was no hardship to feast on these meal-worthy cocktails. Garnish aside, the texture and flavor of the bloodies was fantastic!

Excellent Bloody Marys

I wasn't sure what to expect. Danny told me that he'd cook us something when I called him earlier in the week. He dropped by the table and told us to order entrees and he'd take care of the rest. So, at this point, we were pretty much starving and ordered two of their vast entrees from the menu, not knowing that we would soon have more food than an army could eat.

Steelhead Caviar with Blinis and Squid Ink Mascarpone

Ann and I are not huge eaters. We like to eat, but this plate of blini with squid ink mascarpone and a tin of steelhead trout caviar was a good start towards satiating our appetites. What a beautiful appetizer!

Matsutake Mushrooms on Pea Purée

Next came this plate of matsutake mushrooms on a pea purée. I'm surprised at green peas in October, but the seasons are very different out here. This was a beautiful dish.

Pork Belly and Quail Egg on a Biscuit with Syrup

Next up was an entire breakfast, a split biscuit stuffed with pork belly, topped with a quail egg and drizzled in maple syrup. At this point, we were already plenty full and our entrees had yet to make an appearance at the table.

Hangtown Fry

For my main course, I ordered a Hangtown fry with soft scrambled eggs, fried oyster, and pork belly all sitting on a grilled slice of sour dough bread, garnished with harissa. Really delicious.

Grilled Cheese with Duck Egg

Ann went for an adult grilled cheese, topped with an over easy duck egg. The plates are huge and so the mammoth slices of bread appear to be normally sized, but don't let appearances fool you: the portions here are enormous.

King Salmon on Fresh Chickpeas

Now a good 2-1/2 hours into our feast, out comes Danny with this plate of king salmon, "just because you have to try this." The salmon was cooked perfectly, but I expect no less from Danny and his kitchen, and it was a really spectacular piece of fish. Not all salmon is created equal, and this stood head and shoulders above most.

What made the dish so outstanding was not the salmon, but the fresh chickpeas, just slightly cooked and mixed with a mild harissa and feta cheese. I love fresh chickpeas and was fortunate to have Yael to grow them for me at the restaurant. They're a pain to shell out, but they taste so wonderful. This is probably the single best dish I had in a restaurant in 2017.

Lobster and Matsutake Mushroom Risotto with Black Truffles

On the way out the door, Danny handed me a cardboard to-go container and whispered conspiratorially, "I know you'll know what to do with these." Not that I couldn't already smell the truffle from several feet away, but I resisted opening it until we got home to find a couple matsutakes, a couple lobster mushrooms, and a black truffle. I did indeed know just what to do with them and made this risotto a couple days later when we had finally gotten sufficiently hungry to eat again.

My great thanks to Chef Danny Robayo for taking great care of us, affording Ann and me the much-needed time to sit and talk for a morning, and of course, for the goodie box. Danny, I wish you all the luck with your move to Hawaii and in opening your new restaurant.