Nel Centro will participate in The Classic Wines Auction Winemaker Dinner to be held the first week of November. This special evening at Nel Centro will host approximately 20 guests and will offer diners a rare opportunity to mix and mingle with top winemakers and our chefs. Proceeds benefit local, non-profit, family and children charities. See below for additional information.
More on The Winemaker Dinner
Over the three evenings, 20 winemakers from Oregon and Washington will pair with Portland area restaurants to create unique menus. Plan to join us for an intimate evening of fabulous food and wine! The series benefits five local non-profit children and family charities: Metropolitan Family Service, New Avenues for Youth, Friends of the Children – Portland, Trillium Family Services and YWCA Clark County.
All dinners begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $150 per person and can be purchased online here: (http://www.classicwinesauction.com) or by phone (503-972-0194).
New this year – enter to win eight (8) $100 gift certificates to our participating restaurants. Raffle tickets are $50 each, limit 5. Only 100 tickets will be sold. Winner will be notified November 5, 2010. Buy raffle tickets here. (http://www.classicwinesauction.com/winemaker_dinners/winemaker.html )
by Ben Waterhouse – Willamette Week Nov. 25, 2009
Restaurateur David Machado seems to have a thing for culinary trysts—those places where the foods of two or more cultures, after a night of steamy passion, find themselves with delicious child. His first two restaurants, Vindalho and Lauro Kitchen, serve dishes inspired by the great culinary crossroads of the spice road and the Mediterranean. His latest enterprise, the house restaurant for Hotel Modera, continues the theme: Nel Centro’s menu draws from the border-crossing cookery of Nice and Genoa.
Aesthetically the restaurant is a bit of a departure. Nel Centro occupies a corner in the heart of downtown’s banking district, with windows looking out on the Unitas Plaza and the hotel’s own lovely garden courtyard, a bright cove of hardwood and ceramic tiles where diners can sit by firepits and the city’s only “living wall.” The 150-seat dining room, designed by Holst Architecture, is stunning: strips of chocolate-brown paneling and white columns accented with blond wood and gleaming glass light fixtures.
The spacious kitchen prominently features a large rotisserie (fire is a Machado signature) that turns out excellent roast chicken and lamb ($18). The menu is a notch more expensive than Lauro’s—entrees average $21—but equally broad in appeal. The housemade pastas ($15-$17) are excellent, the meats moist and desserts delicious. And don’t skimp on wine—David Holstrom’s wine list is exceptional in quality but not in price.
While you might expect Nel Centro to slouch during non-dinner meals, when it caters primarily to an audience of hotel guests, such is not the case. Brunch was the most well-rounded meal we’ve had at the restaurant, and the most economical. The kitchen’s take on eggs Benedict, on polenta with cured pork loin ($12), was flawlessly prepared. Even better is the steak-and-eggs platter ($14), which pairs a New York strip with two eggs, roasted peppers and a mound of oven-fried potatoes.
The restaurant does have a few odd flaws. The chairs are too short, leaving taller diners aching from stress on the knees. This makes for an uncomfortable dinner, and I imagine could be excruciating for an older customer. Fortunately for the Big & Tall set, the booths and bar stools are just fine.
The kitchen is also less consistent than at Lauro and Vindalho—herb gnocchi ($17) varied between heavenly soft and unpleasantly chewy, and some items (“Burrida” seafood stew; croutons) were shockingly oversalted—but generally quite good. We imagine food consistency will improve with time; we can’t say the same for the seating.
WEDNESDAY JULY 15 SUMMER MENU CHANGES FROM CHEF PAUL HYMAN
BUCATINI WITH LAMB MEATBALLS AND AGED RICOTTA
AL CEPPO WITH OLIVES , CAPERS AND TOMATOES
ROASTED HALIBUT WITH RATATOUILLE AND TAPENADE
GRILLED WILD SALMON WITH FRENCH LENTILS AND POMMERY MUSTARD SAUCE
SAVORY CHARD TART WITH PINE NUTS AND GOLDEN RAISINS
SEAFOOD FRITO MISTO WITH GRICHE SAUCE
SHAVED LOCAL ZUCCHINI SALAD WITH PECORINO ROMANO, ALMONDS AND MINT
