1438 NE Alberta Street
503-288-6966
7 am- 10 pm
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the Portland
Alberta Cafe Is Blooming
BY PHIL AMARA
Tin Shed Garden Cafe
1438 NE Alberta
288-6966
You can almost gauge the growth of Northeast Alberta on
a daily basis. Each time you look, it seems like a new
restaurant, coffee shop, or art gallery has opened its
doors. But unlike some other parts of the city that have
suffered from Borg-like gentrification, Alberta is a magnet
for independent businesses that want to add to the texture
of their neighborhood, instead of spackling over it. Tin
Shed Garden Cafe is clearly in the former category.
"Creative energy is just ripping from the seams of Alberta,
and it's an exciting time and place to be," says co-owner
Janette Kaden. She and business partner Christie Griffin
opened Tin Shed in 2002, and from those humble
beginnings,--assembled a team of about 30 employees,
some of which have had a hand in sculpting the inviting
menu.
The creativity and perceptiveness of Kaden, a self-defined
"food geek," doesn't end there. While not a professional
chef, her instincts inform everything from the potato cakes
to the buttermilk biscuits to the bacon gravy. The menu is
loaded with inventive, delicious comfort food, AKA
"goodness." Try the Buck is a Fungi (named after their
long-time cook), a grilled sourdough sandwich filled with
raspberry-marinated portabella mushrooms, goat cheese,
sun-dried tomatoes, grilled red onions, and spinach. For a
chilly night, you can do no wrong with a cup of tea and the
Belly Pleaser, a creamy, sweet rice porridge flavored with
cinnamon and vanilla and topped with fresh mango. Need
a salad? Spinach, candied walnuts, dried figs, goat
cheese, and raspberry vinaigrette make up the very tasty
Sheeda. And for a sandwich truly worthy of the gods,
there's the San Fran. A whole free-range chicken is stuffed
and roasted with a squeezed orange, garlic, onion, and
rosemary before it's placed on sourdough with gorgonzola,
bacon, and green apples.
Tin Shed's patio is the place to enjoy their happy hour
menu (Wednesday-Saturday, 3-6 pm and 10-11 pm;
Sunday, 3-10 pm), whether accompanied by a canine pal
or not. The jalapeño mac and cheese is tangy spicy ($3),
and the Jammin' Quesadilla is packed with roasted
peppers, black beans, Tillamook cheddar, and--topped
with jalapeño-cilantro crème fraiche and cherry jam ($3)!
Wash it down with a Hamms for a mere buck.
If you're an early bird, the Shed's breakfast menu is just as
impressive, with offerings such as the Goat Boy scramble
(raspberry-walnut-marinated mushrooms, sun-dried
tomatoes, spinach, and goat cheese), the Fetch (potato
pancakes topped with smoked bacon, scrambled eggs,
and Tillamook cheddar), or a humble order of cheese grits.
Not a morning person? No worries. Breakfast is served all
day.--
There's something gloriously obsessive about food at Tin
Shed--in a good way. They use local, organic meats, and
try to use as much organic produce as possible, especially
in summer months. They even use produce grown right in
the restaurant's garden. The potato cakes, rosemary
gravy, applewood-smoked bacon gravy, apple crisp (highly
recommended, by the way), and hollandaise sauce are all
made from scratch.--Microwave use is minimal.
Portland is growing. Alberta is evolving. Summer is here.
Tin Shed is dishing out sweet potato-cinnamon French
toast, mango-black bean tortillas, and Peachy Chicken
sandwiches. All is right with the world. Hey, how bad could
life be with a plate of gravy-smothered buttermilk biscuits
right in front of you?
