A few weeks ago at work (Reo’s Ribs) I was perusing the magazine pile during a break, and I came across a flyer for a new dessert restaurant and bar opening in Beaverton. Needless to say, I was interested, as I myself am a baker, and love the idea of a fancy-schmancy dessert place relatively close to the house. The flyer said that the restaurant was opening in January, and when I called, I found out opening night was January 29th. Unfortunately, the same day, I was flying to Milwaukee to spend obscene amounts of time in bridal shops with my engaged friend. So when I returned from the trip, I decided we would go to Dessert Noir for dinner that very night. When we arrived at about 6:00 on Saturday eve, the place was relatively busy, with about three-quarters of the tables filled. We were seated almost immediately, and commenced to perusing the menu. Jon decided on a house salad with a lemon vinegrette and pears, and a bowl of roasted tomato soup with horseradish cream and chives. I had the smoked chicken and taleggio risotto with crispy salami. We split an order of calamari with jalapeno-lemon aioli as an appetizer. I wanted a mojito (my favorite drink of all time) but they regretfully informed me that they were out of mint. The bartender suggested a banana daquiri and I went with that instead.
Overall, the food was excellent. Jon ended up getting a spinach salad with oranges and pecans instead of the house salad that he’d ordered, but it looked so good he decided to keep it. The calamari was good, a little rubbery but perfectly seasoned and crispy. I’m not a jalapeno fan, so I pretty much left the sauce untouched. The risotto was also very good, nice and cheesy, with big chunks of chicken. Jon’s soup was excellent as well, although he said it could have been a little more brothy; it had the consistency of salsa rather than soup. The menu listed the savory items under the heading Petits Plats, but the servings were very generous. They were definitely meal-sized, rather than small plate sized. This was good, since the prices were a little high.
Since the focus of the restaurant is dessert, of course I had to order some. After about 10 minutes of hemming and hawing, I decided on a Valhrona Chocolate torte with a Earl Grey creme anglaise and blood orange compote. Yum. It was excellent. I was unsure about the sauce, I’m not a big bergamot fan, but it was incredible with the oranges and chocolate. The plating was very minimalist, which I really liked…it seemed like the focus was on the actual dessert, rather than a whole plateful of sauces of contrasting colors. Anyways, I can’t wait to try the other desserts on the menu.
The bill (including tip) for a salad, a soup, and appetizer, two drinks, one entree, two coffees and one dessert was $70.21. Not cheap, but very good. Since Dessert Noir is right by the Cedar Hills movie theater, it would be a perfect spot to have coffee and dessert after a movie date.
I just saw this place in the Portland Tribune. Have you been here yet:
http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=28218
Sounds delicious. 70 bucks doesn’t sound too bad.