In Spain, it's possible to eat three meals a day standing up -- garlic-rubbed, tomato-topped toast in the morning, a crusty sandwich at lunch, then tapas, or their toothpick-speared cousin, pintxos, late into the night. So while you don't have to stand at Bar Casa Vale, Clyde Common co-owner Nate Tilden's new Spanish restaurant and bar, it's nice that you can. The long standing rail near the bar is one of many nods to the Barcelona and San Sebastian pintxo bars that inspired this project. The menu, executed by Louis Martinez (Clyde Common, Imperial), is generous and straightforward, with meat and seafood seared to a smoky char in a custom hearth, while the bar, backed by lush turquoise-colored tile, specializes in sherry.
The dish: How about two? Bar Casa Vale's early showstoppers include a chorizo-spiced octopus tentacle with hearth-roast potatoes and a whole pig snout crisped like Cantonese pork belly and laid on a chunky chickpea hummus. Before you reach those larger plates, you'll want something smaller, like a jumble of good Spanish ham, some anchovies skewered or stuffed into olives and a lovely yellow-orange-red rainbow of a pickle plate. Two vegetarian dishes, a big pile of wildly scorched cauliflower with pine nuts and some gently undercooked Brussels sprouts on smooth romesco, could signal the kitchen hasn't quite mastered a finicky hearth. But the tender lamb neck, with its black lentils and raisins, somehow combined a very Spanish dish with a taste of crunchy Eugene.
Scouting Report
First impressions of new (and new-to-us) restaurants in Portland and beyond.
The takeaway: Bar Casa Vale might not serve the best Spanish food in Portland -- right now, that's probably at Ataula -- but it could quickly become the most fun.
Sample menu: Spanish ham ($8-$20), anchovy-stuffed manzanilla olives ($3), "Chorizo style" octopus ($12), crispy pig snout ($12), crema Catalana ($4).
Drinks: Craft beer, Basque cider, Spanish wine and sherry, plus a cocktail menu including "sherry-based and pan-Latin classics." Word to the wise -- the cocktails are dressed to impress, but take their time in arriving.
Go: In a month or two, after the crowds have found this semi-hidden spot and the kitchen has mastered its hearth. For Bar Casa Vale, standing-room only will be a great look.
Details: No reservations, disabled access, dinner nightly, 215 S.E. 9th Ave., 503-477-9081, barcasavale.com
-- Michael Russell