My Timbers Army buddy Joe Joe, he of tiny stature and big heart, worked at Cava for years, until very recently, and was always trying to get me in there. I resisted for a long time, for the Foster Powell Triangle is not my favorite place to hang in SE, though not as bad as other areas with which I am familiar: the DQ next to the Jesus Complex on SE Duke certainly wins for that classic ghetto cocktail of meth heads, religious zealotry, fatty foods and idle teenagers.
I hadn’t actually mentally located Cava until Billy’s Dad and I decided to venture out there for dinner, but my assumption that it was surrounded by strip clubs was, in fact, more than true. Cava has strip clubs directly to the South, East AND west, making it the only respite from pasties aside the apartment complex to it’s north. In such an environment, Cava’s patio feels like a calm respite from the din of debauchery, like the Chinese Gardens during Fleet Week.
The inside of Cava reminds me of a cleaner, better presented Horsebrass, with dark wooden banquettes, ochre walls and dim lighting, but we opted for the aforementioned patio. We walked past a large room with long communal tables, probably a banquet room in progress.
The patio is really quite nice, with bench tables, umbrellas and a few planters scattered about t green up the asphalt floor and cement brick walls. I was impressed that we could hardly hear Foster OR the thumping music from Devil’s Point (or any of the others).
You get a bit of bread and butter when you sit down. I think they bake their own bread–it doesn’t resemble anything I’ve seen from the commercial bakeries, and it’s a short stubby baguette with a thinner crust and softer crumb than average–which is quite good. We opted for the Cheese plate, I had the Falafel sandwich and Billy’s Dad had the pan fried pork sandwich special. We both had gin concoctions, mine Magellan with Soda, his Aviation and Tonic.
The Cheese Plate had cheese on it. This meal was nearly a month ago, so I apologize for not remembering what most of them were. Maytag Blue was on there, which is a solid, if widely available choice.
Billy’s Dad ate his Pork in about 4 bites. He proclaimed it delicious, balanced and not oily or dry. His salad was a bit underwhelming, but it IS a side salad.
My falafel sandwich was a solid attempt: flatbread was home-made (not made to order), falafel themselves were on the smallish side, but 5 to an order, made in-house, with a very herby flavor. Slightly over-fried, but not too much, and neither mushy nor dry in the middle. Their house-made harissa, on the side, was a key addition. I dumped the whole ramekin in the sandwich and it worked well with the Tahini/yoghurt sauce. I’d order it again.
Cava
5339 SE Foster road
Portland, OR
(503) 206-8615
