Kraft House No. 5

Since moving to the Powell area, Jeff and I’ve been semi-regulars at The Powell trio, so when Jeff brought up Kraft House No. 5 for a Sunday brunch this summer, mentioning that they were under both new ownership and a new executive chef, I was down.

I’ve realized this year, more than in years past, being light later in the day, we’ve been cooking at home on a much more regular basis, and as such, it’s quite a while since we hit one of them up for a meal. New chef and ownership, let’s check it out.

The outside of Kraft House No. 5 hasn’t changed at all, the minute you cross the threshold, everything is different in the best of ways.

It feels like I’ve stepped through the door, leaving the street in Powell for an eatery on the east side of Portland. I was intrigued.

The menu itself is gorgeous in elegant simplicity.

Brunch consisted of the Spicy Chicken Sandwich for me, the Cobb Salad for Jeff, and Deviled Eggs for the both of us.

Brunch at Kraft House No. 5

Brunch that afternoon the Spicy Chicken Sandwich from the Buns & Such section of the menu. (Served on a brioche bun with dill pickle, Duke’s mayo, and shaved lettuce), Jeff went for the Cobb Salad (Bay greens, confit chicken, pickled onion, egg, bacon, avocado, & green goddess dressing). All of the flavors were perfect.

That during brunch, I asked our server who the new chef was, and she gave me the “oh someone new, I’m not really sure of his name.” Mmhmmmm

Too small of a shop for that to float. But sure, Ok, I’ll play along.

Not long after the chef himself came out to introduce himself, as clearly the word had been passed that someone was asking after chef. We talked for a bit, covering food, and when I asked him for his name, his answer was one that I’d not heard before, “come back for dinner, let me feed you, and I’ll tell you then.”

Touché sir.

As we talked further, I asked if he knew Charlie Payne, the proprietor of Covey Rise Farms, as, without a doubt, these two need to working together if they weren’t already.

Turns out that they were, and [chef] told me the story of the Mother’s Day brunch that Charlie saved when he was working up North.

Covey Rise Farms raises bees, making their own honey (which is to die for delicious, not really, that would be weird, but you get the point.) and as such, is always happy to rescue an errant swarm that’s looking for a home.

Covey Rise Farms honey, straight from the honeycomb.

Mother’s Day brunch, last year, just such a swarm found its favorite tree on the patio of 1808 up in Delaware.

Honeybee swarms, while vitally important to our world as a whole, not the most inviting of patio dining companions.

That weekend my brother and mom had come out to visit, Alex and I together cooked dinner for what has become somewhat of a tradition, Mother’s Day dinner out on the deck at our house with friends and family all together.

That evening, he told us of his day, showing up straight from working on his farm, workout shorts, running shoes, and a T-shirt on the patio of 1808 American Bistro, atop a ladder, coaxing this errant hive from their tree into his travel hive, the chef holding the ladder he was balanced on.

(Hearing that story from the other side, was one of the coolest dejavú moments I’ve had.)

Alright. Again, I’ll play.

We scheduled dinner for the following Wednesday.

Dinner at Kraft House No. 5

That Wednesday evening rolled around, and Toran (Y’all remember him, he was one of the contenders at the Hot Plate Iron Chef this spring) came with me to check out dinner at Kraft House No. 5. (As much as I love dining solo, and trust me, I really do, when it comes to reallllllly appreciating a meal, and food, it’s way better to do so with a fellow foodie)

We started our evening in the kitchen, watching Chef Nate Hall and Sous Olivia Hamann do their thang. To say that Hall’s kitchen runs like a well-oiled machine doesn’t come close to describing the calm good jujus that is the Kraft House kitchen. Not only does the kitchen run smoothly, it’s filled with a calming, easy going energy that is not often found in working kitchens.

I believe hugely that watching a chef work will tell me almost everything that I need to (or want to) know about how they view and approach food. Watching Nate, it held true. His attention to detail is amazing, and holy f&ck the flavors.

The first dish Hall and Hamann put in front of us was the Warm Burrata, which sits atop a bead of grilled sourdough and ramp pesto. Whoa. WHOA.

Cheesy bread, of any kind, more affectionately known in our family as CMOS (Cheese Melted on Stuff), is always good. This, however, this takes the cake. Hands down the best toasty and burrata combination I’ve ever had.

Warm Burrata. Grilled Sourdough. Ramp Pesto.

The Meal

After the Burrata and time in the kitchen, Hall showed Toran and me to our table in the dining room, where he assured us that dinner would be amazing, and the dishes he was serving Amazing was an understatement.

Looking at the menu, the thing that stood out the most to me was the simplicity of the dish descriptions. That elegant simplicity carried over to the dishes themselves, in the best way imaginable.