Palatable Portland
Published Apr 01, 2008
You can enjoy a Thanksgiving feast any day of the year at Huber’s, Portland’s oldest restaurant.
“Roast turkey is our house specialty,” says James Louie, co-owner of Huber’s. “We do it a lot of ways, but our traditional turkey dinner comes with sage dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and sautéed vegetables. We also have turkey sandwiches, turkey piccata, turkey cordon bleu and turkey Marsala.”
Housed in the historic Oregon Pioneer Building, Huber’s opened in 1879 as a saloon. The establishment quickly became known for its turkey sandwiches, which accompanied any cocktail order along with a ramekin of coleslaw.
When Prohibition began in 1920, Huber’s converted to a restaurant and expanded its menu to include not only turkey but also baked ham, steaks, veal, lamb chops, pork chops and seafood. Yet Huber’s continued to be frequented by those who enjoyed it as a saloon – in this case, as a speakeasy that served Manhattans in coffee cups.
Today, Huber’s maintains a faithful following and is considered a must-see for anyone visiting Portland. It is a landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.
“When I became active in the business in the early 1970s, my goal was to get our bar going strong again,” says Louie, whose great uncle Jim was the original chef at Huber’s. “Today, 60 percent of our sales are liquor.”
Huber’s began selling Spanish coffees 33 years ago, and the drink is now one of the establishment’s top sellers.
“I had no idea our Spanish coffees would get this big – we’re one of the biggest users of Kahlua in the country,” Louie says. “Our Spanish coffees are special because of the presentation. We’re the only bar and restaurant in Portland that serves them flamed tableside.”
Other Popular Places to Dine
Jake’s Famous Crawfish is another venerable star in Portland’s galaxy of dining spots. The city’s second-oldest restaurant, Jake’s was established in 1892 and specializes in more than 30 varieties of fish and seafood.
“We reprint our menu every day, because we get fresh fish flown in daily,” says Jayne Jablonski, operations manager. “We’re a traditional fish house you’d have seen on the East Coast in the late 1800s, with lots of wood, a long friendly bar, lots of oil paintings, chandeliers and sconces. We also have a great collection of oyster plates.”
Jake’s buys crawfish locally from Lake Billy Chinook and serves steamed crawfish from Easter to Halloween. Other popular menu items include Chinook salmon stuffed with crab, shrimp and Brie; Oregon Dungeness crab sautéed with mushrooms, artichoke hearts and wine sauce; and oysters on the half shell.
The restaurant is named for Jacob “Jake” Lewis Freiman, an early bartender of exceptional hospitality standards who gained a great reputation among Hollywood types such as Humphrey Bogart and Jack Benny. Today, Jake’s continues to attract throngs of entertainers and artists who come to eat and drink after appearing at Portland’s Center for the Performing Arts.
Hungry for more? Additional dining hot spots in Portland include Higgins Restaurant, Mother’s Bistro and Bar, Mama Mia Trattoria, and the Red Star Tavern and Roast House.
Story by Jessica Mozo
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