Wildwood Restaurant and Bar, or simply Wildwood, was a

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

and New American restaurant in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, in the United States. Operating from 1994 to 2014, the restaurant earned owner and founding chef Cory Schreiber a

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

nomination in the Best Chef: Northwest category. Wendy Culverwell of ''Portland Business Journal'' described Wildwood as "a pioneer in the farm-to-table food movement".

Description

Wildwood served

and

New American cuisine New American cuisine, also known as Modern American cuisine or Contemporary American cuisine, is the wave of modernized cooking predominantly served at upscale fine dining restaurants in the United States, originating in the 1980s. New American ...

on 21st Avenue in

northwest Portland Northwest Portland is one of the sextants of Portland, Oregon, United States. Northwest Portland includes the Pearl District, most of Old Town Chinatown, the Northwest District, and various residential and industrial neighborhoods. A range of ...

's Northwest District. In 2008, '' Body & Soul'' described the restaurant as "upscale" with a "casual, Northwest feel". The restaurant was noted for locally sourced food from the region, and both a traditional

wood-fired oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been us ...

and clay

tandoor A tandoor ( or ) is a large urn-shaped oven, usually made of clay, originating from the Indian Subcontinent. Since antiquity, tandoors have been used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti and naan, as well as to roast meat. The tandoor ...

. The menu included chicken, lamb, pork loin, rabbit, steak, salmon and other seafood such as mussels with saffron, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes. Other ingredients included

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...

, Chioggia beets,

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

, and shell beans.

History

Chef Cory Schreiber opened in Wildwood in May 1994. Jesse Dodson was head baker as of 2001. Dustin Clark became chef in October 2006. Jennifer Welshhons was the pastry chef as of 2010. The restaurant closed on February 25, 2014. Samantha Bakall of ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' said "lease negotiations were not met with an agreement".

Reception

In 1995, Wildwood was named Restaurant of the Year by ''The Oregonian''. Schreiber received a

in the Best Chef: Northwest category in 1998. The restaurant received ''

Nation's Restaurant News ''Nation's Restaurant News'' (''NRN'') is an American trade publication, founded in 1967, that covers the foodservice industry, including restaurants, restaurant chains, operations, marketing, and events. It was owned by Penton Media (acquired by ...

'' Fine Dining Hall of Fame designation in 2003. The

guide book A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...

''Northwest Best Places'' (1995) rates Wildwood three stars. ''Best Places Portland'' (2001) and ''Best Places Northwest'' (2004) both rated the restaurant 3.5 out of 4 stars. In the 2005 book ''Insiders' Guide to Portland, Oregon'', Rachel Dresbeck and Dave Johnson described Wildwood as a " destination spot" with "a loyal following". The authors of ''Explorer's Guide Oregon Wine Country'' (2011, 2013) called Wildwood "a champion for cooking from the source." David Sarasohn of ''The Oregonian'' gave Wildwood a 'B' rating in 2011. In 2018, Karen Brooks of ''

Portland Monthly ''Portland Monthly'' (also referred to as ''Portland Monthly Magazine'') is a monthly news and general interest magazine which covers food, politics, business, design, events and culture in Portland, Oregon. The magazine was co-founded in 2003 b ...

'' said the restaurant "helped define Portland's emerging farm-to-table dining identity".

References

External links

* * {{Restaurants in Portland, Oregon 1994 establishments in Oregon 2014 disestablishments in Oregon Defunct New American restaurants in Oregon Defunct Pacific Northwest restaurants Defunct restaurants in Portland, Oregon New American restaurants in Portland, Oregon Northwest District, Portland, Oregon Restaurants disestablished in 2014 Restaurants established in 1994 Pacific Northwest restaurants in Oregon

Description

History

Reception

See also

References

Further reading

External links