For Oma’s Hideaway owners Thomas and Mariah Pisha-Duffly, Jell-O shots are more than a form of party fuel or source of future regret. They’re bite-sized mission statements.
“We like to say that we take what we do seriously, but we don’t take ourselves seriously,” Mariah says. “Our Jell-o shots are a great representation. They’re beautiful and technically proficient, sure, but the point is they’re delicious.”
At their latest project, the Pisha-Dufflys will build around that Jell-O shot. Literally. At The Houston Blacklight, a psychedelic new bar coming to the old Night Light Lounge, large format Jell-O shot “cakes” made in molds might come with internal garnishes on frilly lettuce, the kind of thing you find scrolling through the “70s Dinner Party” feed on Twitter.
The couple’s two previous restaurants with partner Toby Roberts — Gado Gado in the Hollywood neighborhood and Oma’s Hideaway on Southeast Division Street — have experimented with Southeast Asian flavors while never tying themselves to any one tradition. At the new bar, first reported by Portland Monthly, inspiration will come from Joe Beef, Au Pied de Cochon and other Montreal monuments to excess they visited while working in Portland, Maine.
Though the menu is still in beta, Thomas teases a handful of dishes that might make the final cut, including a bone marrow burger, a miso butter board, French onion ramen soup, seared octopus in a tin with sichuan oil and a whole section of things served with bing, his take on Chinese-style flatbread. If it’s anywhere near as good as the flaky roti at Oma’s Hideaway, it should be a treat.
Thomas, who cooked at rustic French-Italian restaurants and trained in charcuterie making in New England before moving to Portland, is excited to play with more “Old World” dishes without feeling the need to incorporate Indonesian or Malaysian flavors.
“When you open a restaurant, people always ask, ‘What kind of restaurant?’ and they expect a two-word answer,” Mariah says. “But you open a bar and there isn’t that expectation.”
In addition to the Jell-O shot cakes, Gado Gado and Oma’s Hideaway beverage director Em Warden is working on a drinks menu including draft cocktails, slushies, house amari, those Jell-O shot cakes and more.
Desserts won’t play a prominent role early on, but those with a sweet tooth will look forward to the eventual revival of the Night Light’s beloved old weekend drag brunch — I still remember the great pandan-green kaya toast served at an early Gado Gado pop-up.
Portland architect Mark Annen (Little Bird, Rum Club) is redesigning the space with a relocated bar, expanded kitchen and “nice back patio,” but the same familiar floor and horseshoe booths.
The Houston Blacklight takes its name from an old Texas head shop that sold bongs, blacklights and psychedelic blacklight posters in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Mariah has collected the posters since she was a teenager, and has used them as part of the decor at both Gado Gado and Oma’s Hideaway. The name and artwork, which will hang at the bar, reflect a “retro futuristic thing that we’re all into,” Thomas says.
“This is a bar, we want people to come and have fun, and the food and drinks are going to be good,” Thomas says. “But we know the energy is going to be dictated by the people who show up. Bars take on a life of their own, and we’re ready for that.”
The Houston Blacklight hopes to serve its first Jell-O shot cakes at 2100 S.E. Clinton St. in June.
Read more:
Get ready for a month of Indonesian noodle nights from the Gado Gado crew
Portland’s 10 best new restaurants of 2019 (includes Gado Gado)
Gado Gado team will launch ‘Asian stoner food’ pop-up Oma’s Takeaway
Oma’s Takeaway serves up Chinese-style barbecue, ‘cheeky’ Indonesian snacks
These restaurants reinvented themselves to survive the pandemic
Oma’s Hideaway’s restless energy proves tailor-made for a pandemic (review)
— Michael Russell; mrussell@oregonian.com
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