2010 Santé Restaurant Awards Winners Announced
Santé is pleased to announce that 88 stellar hospitality-industry professionals are winners of the 2010 Santé Restaurant Awards. Now in their thirteenth year, the Santé Restaurant Awards were created to recognize excellence in restaurant food, wine, spirits, and service hospitality. The Santé Awards program is the only peer-judged restaurant and hospitality competition in North America.
About the Awards
Santé Awards for each category are given to winners in eight regions nationwide (New England, New York City, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Mountain/Southwest, California, and West Coast).
Seven Grand Awards also are presented each year:
- Culinary Hospitality Restaurant of the Year
- Culinary Professional of the Year
- Wine Hospitality Restaurant of the Year
- Wine Professional of the Year
- Spirits Hospitality Restaurant of the Year
- Spirits Professional of the Year
- Restaurateur of the Year
David Holstrom & the Nel Centro Wine Program
Portland, Oregon — Santé, the Magazine for Restaurant Professionals has named Nel Centro a winner of the 2010 Santé Restaurant Awards. Now in their thirteenth year, the Santé Awards were created to recognize excellence in restaurant food, wine, spirits, and service hospitality. The Santé Awards program is the only peer-judged national restaurant and hospitality competition in North America.
Dave Holstrom, owner and President of Guy du Vin, is the author and director of the wine program at Nel Centro. Chef/Owner David Machado and Dave Holstrom have collaborated on many projects since the mid 1990′s. They worked together at the Heathman Group where Holstrom created a ground breaking wine list at Southpark Seafood Grill and Wine Bar. Holstrom has won numerous awards for his wine programs, including multiple awards from Santé for the Southpark program; Best Wine Lists in America from the Monterey Wine Festival in consecutive years for Southpark and Bluehour; and Restaurant Hospitality’s Annual Best Wine Lists In America for two consecutive years.
Chef David Machado
Autumn in downtown Portland always signals the opening of a new performing arts season. White Bird Dance takes the stage September 23rd at the Newmark Theater with BJM Danse Montreal/Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal. The Portland Opera raises the curtain at the Keller Auditorium on September 24, with a production of Pagliacci & Carmine Burana. The Oregon Ballet Theater opens at the Keller Auditorium on October 9th, with Sleeping Beauty. The Oregon Symphony will host Yo-Yo Ma, Hilary Hahn, and others for its 2010 season at Schnitzer Concert Hall.
Nel Centro is a strong supporter of each of these performing arts groups. Each venue listed above is conveniently located just a few short blocks from Nel Centro. Won’t you join us pre or post event for dinner or a cocktail?
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Six New Dishes Grace the Menu
A cooler than usual summer delayed much of our local produce, which only makes September all the more inviting. Heirloom tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, eggplant and squash have arrived in our kitchen. They’re ripe and bursting with flavor. Here are six recent additions to our menu:
• Seared Pork Belly with Sweet Corn, Sugar Snap Peas and Saba
• Shaved Zucchini with Pecorino Romano, Almonds & Mint
• Heirloom Tomatoes with Fresh Mozzarella & Basil
• Lasagne Quattro Formaggi with Basil Pesto
• Risotto “ai Frutti di Mare” with Shrimp, Scallops & Calamari
• Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with Ratatouille
Private Dining – Come Celebrate the Holidays With Us
This holiday season brings new opportunities to celebrate and raise a glass with friends, family and colleagues. Nel Centro’s five private dining rooms are fun, handsome and versatile. We have a wide selection of available space and menus; We can accommodate an intimate dinner for 12, or a stand-up reception for 150. Consider reserving your event early. For more information, or to reserve a space, contact michelle@nelcentro.com.
Rotisserie Chicken with Panzanella Salad
Downtown Swings From Four to Six – Happy Hour at Nel Centro
As we leave summer and pedal into autumn, be sure to take advantage of our beautiful patio while the weather is still pleasant. Downtown Portland’s hippest happy hour takes place on the patio and at the bar, every day from four to six pm. New dramatic awnings, designed by Holst Architecture have just been installed on our patio. They soften the late afternoon sun and help keep your outdoor dining experience comfortable.
White Bird Dance Moves to Lincoln Hall
Nel Centro offers a hearty congratulations to White Bird Dance on the completion of their new home, the stunningly redesigned Lincoln Hall at PSU. On Saturday, October 3rd, at 1pm, Nel Centro will host a White Bird Dance reception/fundraiser that will allow ticket holders to meet and mingle with women choreographers. Tickets are $30.00. All proceeds help support White Bird Dance. More information about this event can be found here: http://www.whitebird.org/women
Press We Love – The Vancouver Sun
From Nathan Fong at the Vancouver B.C. Sun – “Nel Centro is the latest restaurant from popular chef and restaurateur David Machado. Located in the uber-chic Modera Hotel, this contemporary retro-designed restaurant showcases Machado’s modern take of classic cuisine from Nice and Genoa using locally sourced, seasonal food.”
Open Table Customers Speak Up About Nel Centro
Open Table is a reservation system that allows diners to easily reserve a table online. After a diner has made a reservation, (via computer, Android or iPhone App) and had dinner with us, Open Table encourages that same diner to report on their experience. Click here to read what some of our diners have said about their recent dining experiences at Nel Centro.
Today, the Williamette Week issued its Restaurant Guide for 2009. Without further ado, here’s their take.
Restaurateur David Machado’s latest enterprise, the house restaurant for the recently renovated Hotel Modera, is a departure from Lauro and Vindalho, his two casual, moderately priced restaurants in Southeast. Nel Centro occupies prime corner real estate in the heart of downtown’s banking district, with full-length windows looking out on the Unitas Plaza and the hotel’s own lovely garden courtyard. 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 large open kitchen prominently features a large rotisserie (fire is a Machado signature) that turns out excellent roast chicken and lamb. The menu, inspired by the food of Nice and Genoa, is a notch more expensive than Lauro’s—entrees average $21—but equally broad in appeal. The pastas are excellent, meats moist and desserts delicious. And don’t skimp on wine—David Holstrom’s wine list is exceptional.
Order this: Anything rotisserie. The half chicken and panzanella salad is a huge, hearty entree.
Best deal: Ravioli Niçoise with butter and Parmesan ($15). Rich, beefy perfection.
I’ll pass: The salt-cod croquettes are fine, but don’t compare to the fritters at Laurelhurst Market or Toro Bravo.
Ben Waterhouse
