The food? You never know where the tasting menu will go, and that's intentional. Tableside Korean barbecue and hot pots have taken center stage recently. Expect a mix of high brow and low, good ingredients, goofy-fun taste, and always, Peter's mom's kimchi. Plus: plenty of good beer, Korean makegeoli, interesting wines. It adds up to a singular experience, brought to life by charming eccentrics who double as staff. As the last diners are served, out come disco lights and a karaoke machine. Everyone feels welcome in their “home,” a scene of house-party chill, family vibes, and kids romping around a grassy backyard in full view of the cozy dining nooks. This Korean home-turned-restaurant experiment from Peter Cho and Sun Young Park unfolds in a magical indoor-outdoor space. Chubby and toothsome pastas like rigatoni amatriciana and tagliatelle alle vongole are the stars, carrying all the quirks of house-made noodles and nonna-approved sauces. Between, go for crostini-sided ramekins of baccalà and chicken liver mousse for the table. A meal here is best bookended by a negroni and a Spella espresso, the latter served beside a rich and sticky house-made chocolate gelato. There’s Old World charm to be had, but nothing about the place, opened in 2020, is old or stuffy. Vintage Italian ads pepper the walls and lush plants hang from the ceilings. Jazz booms through Campana’s long, sloping dining room down into the full bar, creating an atmosphere that’s upbeat yet never chaotic. Chef-owner George Kaden cut his teeth in New York under Marco Canora, a true chef’s-chef, lauded for his mythical gnocchi. NEW This out-of-the-way and under-the-radar spot is all about unpretentious and subtle Italian classics. On Tuesdays only, the breakfast sandwich of dreams: paper-wrapped fried egg, house bacon, and cheddar on cult Honey Bagels (which pops up at Café Olli on Mondays). Scan the pastry case up front for chocolate croissants, bomboloni doughnuts, pasteis de nata (Portuguese egg custard tarts), devil's food cake, happiness. The breakfast sausage sandwich could be called a burger's cool cousin, and sandwiches arrive on terrific crusty house bread. Portland's best new pizza is here: the Pomodoro, a Goodfellas-level pie mounded with stracciatella cheese. Seasonal salads, fresh pastas, and beautiful ricotta toast are in the mix. Day or night, a massive, wood-glowing brick oven is in play, firming up over-easy eggs or charring a fruit-crowned Dutch baby pancake. Most of what I need in life is found at Café Olli, where handmade everything is the house motto-the breads, the pastries, even the tomato paste.
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