Evoe
3735 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland Oregon 97214
503.232.1010
(connected to PastaWorks)
Hawthorne certainly has changed since I first moved to Portland. ‘Twas once the highest concentration of hippies in portland — there were four head shops and you could see each of the others from the front door of any — until housing prices started going up and Hawthorne got all yuppified and shit.
I was recently standing in front of Pastaworks/Evoe, and I detected not one iota of patchouli in the air. Refreshing!
Hippie panhandlers have largely been replaced with more annoying (but also better intentioned) OSPIRG panhandlers, and new restaurants have opened below 39th avenue (Sel Gris, Belly Timber and Evoe) challenging the tired and often disgusting hangers on (Cup & Saucer, I’m staring directly into your soul) for the stomachs of Sunnyside.
I dined at the new Evoe on a warm saturday afternoon with a fellow internet food nerd who lives nearby. Nestled next to Pastaworks in the space that previously housed Bar Pastiche and Pix Hawthorne, Evoe’s menu contrasts from its predecessors in that most everything is cooked á la minute. The menu is chalked on the walls, and butcher block counters provide most of the eating space; the sole exception is the one large stainless steel table by the window. Sandwiches, charcuterie, and grilled/sautéed dishes comprise the menu, because the kitchen is sparse: though one can see the Pastaworks kitchens through a door at the back of the restaurant, the kitchen in Evoe is limited to a panini grill and two table top burners. Having no hood ventilation system is tough, but it also insures a quiet restaurant.
What we had was very tasty: cornichons and pickled peppers, a cheese plate (they had eight cheese on offer, the standard plate is a selection of three) and flash sautéed Pimientos de Padrón. We commenced a thorough review of their wine list, which has five whites, one rosé and six reds, if I counted correctly. I also tried the Basque Hard Cider, which was very interesting. There are a few beers on tap as well as non-alcoholic beverages of some kind.
Evoe is not cheap, but it succeeds as the high society snack bar it aspires to be–you even get to pay at the Pastaworks register on your way out.
