Oven And Shaker Opens In Portland's Pearl District

Oven and Shaker is now open, bringing delectable wood-burning oven pizza, Italian street food and ingredient-driven, classic cocktails to Portland's Pearl District. This exciting new urban saloon is the collective vision of three Portland hospitality veterans: three-time James Beard nominated chef Cathy Whims (Nostrana), bartender Ryan Magarian and ChefStable visionary Kurt Huffman.

Known for their fanaticism for flavor and quality ingredients, Cathy and Ryan agree on what makes a fun night out - delicious fresh food, intelligent recognizable cocktails and a natural ease of service and style. Working in tandem for the first time at Oven and Shaker, they are thrilled to fuse and share their similarly relaxed yet authentic styles with Portland diners.

Anchoring the 3,200-square-foot, 76-seat-space are two veritable stages - the wood-burning oven and the 45-foot bar - where Cathy and Ryan showcase their respective crafts. Riffing off of one another, each has created a menu organized by defining categories. For Cathy it's all about the way you eat the food: the menu is divided into Pizza, Fingers (Sicilian-style fried snacks), Fork (delicious meats like Bresaola with apple horseradish sauce speared on forks), and Salads. While for Ryan it's all about the style of the drink and its effect on the palate: Fresh (fruit forward, refreshing), Dry (intriguing flavor combinations), Strong (classic, liquor driven).

Nostrana pizza fans can rest assured that Cathy is sticking with her slow-rising sourdough Neapolitan-style crust (if it ain't broke, why fix it?), however served at Oven and Shaker without the famous scissors. The rotating menu worships at its altar of Oregon and Italian ingredients, including Chanterelle with radicchio, fontina and fried sage and Pear with speck, taleggio and leeks. Margherita with house-made mozzarella and basil will, of course, always be available for purists.

Cathy and Ryan both agree that the perfect companion to cocktails is a salty, fried snack, preferably eaten with fingers. So naturally, Cathy traveled to the streets of Sicily to research how it's done best. The result is a selection of lip- smacking Polenta Crostini with whitefish, Tuna Meatballs and golf-ball sized Arancini.

Ryan's cocktail menu reflects his passion for all things liquid and delicious, with an emphasis on classic cocktail twists made with whimsical and often unexpected flavor combinations. His signature Pepper Smash #2 balances Krogstad Aquavit and freshly pressed lime juice with peppermint and freshly extracted yellow bell pepper juice. The result is vegetal yet all at once familiar, complex and refreshing. Whereas his classic Gin Martini, honors the original to a T right down to a careful dash of Regan's No.6 Orange Bitters.

Oven and Shaker is located in the Pearl District at 1134 NW Everett Street in Portland. Hours of operation are 4 p.m. - midnight everyday. To reach the restaurant, call 503-241-1600 or visit www.ovenandshaker.com.