Redwood

7915 SE Stark St.

503.841.5118

Brunch (am – 2 pm)

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm & 10 pm

All ages until 9 pm.

redwooodpdx.com

The circuitous route that led Susie Blue to her restaurant, Redwood, in Montavilla reads like the Johnny Cash lyrics, “I’ve been everywhere man.” Well not quite everywhere but she has experienced life as a rock star in LA and New York, did the circuit, lived in Mexico City and eventually returned to Portland where she continued to pursue her music career while supporting herself learning the restaurant trade.

Chef Susie Blue
Chef Susie Blue

“I started in the front of the house and eventually worked my way up to chef. I fell in love with cooking, it’s creative, similar to music,” Susie said. She’s worked in many restaurants and has been a chef at Broder and the Savoy.

In retrospect, she said, her experience as a child living in Mexico City with her parents impressed upon her the importance of dining. The people in Mexico were into food preparation and enjoying meals together with family and friends. It was their way of expressing affection–as it is in many cultures. “I came to realize that cooking is part of who I am,” she said. That’s why opening Redwood was a natural part of her expression.

ared-outWhen Susie began thinking about the menu proposal to her backer, her first inclination was to serve Mexican food but her experiences learning about Scandinavian dishes, mid western recipes, Asian and northwest cuisine made her not want to be pigeon holed into one category. “I like to keep it interesting by retaining the staples but then trying new recipes that I have learned,” she said. About every three months they switch out the menu and soon will be working with the produce provided them by the local grower, Old Soul Farms.

Some of the house favorites are the burger–claimed to be the best on the street; chilaquiles, roasted chicken, fried tortillas, green sauce, sour cream, queso fresco, fried egg; curry roasted chicken served with a fried potato pancake, green papaya salad; cohinita pibil, a marinated and roasted pork and the braised tongue. They slow cook this and other meat which makes them tender and more flavorful. The fried brussels sprouts and the stuffed poblano’s are a couple of the starters that are popular. All the pickles, sauces, dressings, salsa and pico de gallo are made fresh and right here.

Redwood’s desserts are also made in house from scratch. Some choices are: chocolate buttermilk cake with ganache, panecotta rasberry coulis, seasonal crisps and a special–this weeks was a brownie.

The brunch menu includes all the basic sides plus a variety of original sounding offerings like cheddar and corn  fritters, breakfast sandwich with roasted pork shoulder and eggs, smoked trout hash, wheat berries and baked eggs. Lunch is a selection of soup, salad, sandwiches, burgers and fries.

The big excitement recently was that Susie was invited onto the Food Network for the competition. Even though she didn’t win it was a great experience. “I realized that taking a red eye to New York and going directly on the show might have contributed to the mistakes I made,” she said. But she has applied for the redemption show and is waiting to hear back.

Susie and her staff look forward to serving you and giving you an exceptional dining experience.

Redwood

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