Three Doors Down Cafe, A Fine Food and Drink Series, No. 3

Poiré Authentique, pear cider from Eric Bordelet, a delightfully fresh cider. Matt told me that it's rare and unforgettable, both true descriptors. You can see SE 37th reflected in its golden self.


Here it is, right after being poured. I read this about it online "...a traditionally off-dry, sparkling style ... made from three hundred year-old pear trees. These sixty foot high trees have never seen one bit of chemical treatment during their long lives and produce absolutely marvelous fruit with which to work. Monsieur Bordelet makes from them a brilliant sparkling cider: one that has great complexity, refined bubbles, a deep underlying minerality, with excellent length and cut on the finish." I don't know what some of that means, but I did see bubbles coming up from the bottom center of the glass for quite some time, and it did taste good.


Bibb lettuce, chives, bacon in a creamy roasted garlic aioli dressing--this crispy, perfectly cold salad makes me happy. And it's not just because it's shape reminds me of a ruffled party dress. It tastes so good!


The special--house-made cavatelli, duck confit, delicata squash, and arugula. Lamont thinks it's so neat that I eat duck confit as often as possible at 3DD, and I never even knew what it was before! You see, I had never eaten duck until I moved to Portland. Now, if it's on the menu at Three Doors Down, I get an immediate memory of that earthy, meaty taste as soon as I read the word. So I order it and enjoy it, time after time.

Last Sunday evening's dinner at 3 Doors Down Cafe, yum-yum...

...as in, used to express pleasurable satisfaction especially in the taste of food.

And then some.

Appetizer, prepared for us by my first-born, Lamont: braised rabbit basted in duck fat, crisped duck skin a la sort-of-like crackling, carrots, pears, parsnips, Brussels sprout leaves. Leland, Mama and I did not waste a drop, pieces of bread in our fingers circled until the bowl was clean.

Leland's salad, prepared by the able Abraham: Bibb lettuce, chives, smoked bacon--Nueske by name, and creamy roasted garlic dressing.

Mama got an appetizer for her dinner, the pan-seared scallops on a bed of parsnip, pear puree, surrounded with a Prosecco, vanilla bean beurre blanc and sprinkled with chopped chives.

Leland's dinner, the risotto with rabbit, parsnips, carrots, Brussels sprout leaves, sprinkled with ricotta salatta. He asked Lamont to add Nueske bacon to it, and he did. He loves his little brother.

My dinner, the splendid meatballs and bucatinni, named Portland's best meatballs in August, 2007, by Portland Monthly magazine.

And here's Mama's favorite 3 Doors Down Cafe dessert, Creole Bread Pudding with Hard Sauce. She ate the whole thing!


3 Doors Down Cafe is at SE 37th and Hawthorne, diagonally across from the Bagdad.