Grace in Portland
Went to Grace last night, and wow all the pretentious foodies in Portland are gonna love this place. I will say the inside is unique (and that is what every table around me was talking about) and a people watching dream but the love stops there. We were only there for a glass of wine and an appetizer which was a good thing because they really don't have that many tables and they were on a serious wait which I would attribute to the newness of all the staff. We made our own table from some extra seats/tables around -sat down and waited for 15 minutes without any sign of service happening. I went to the bar to order which has 5 seats and she looked harried....asked for a bottle of wine and she stated there is service at the tables. I said noone had been there in 15 minutes so why don't you let me help myself and if you give me the bottle of wine I will take care of it. She said she doesn't have wine behind the bar and refused to take my order. She said she would send someone over-so back to the table I go. That someone eventually comes to the table drops off 2 clip boards..says so you want a bottle of wine-we say what kind and she disappears for another 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile I see the food come up from 200 feet across the room and up the stairs-good luck keeping that hot and the topper for me is she is bringing one thing at a time. All I had to see was the crate and barrel dinghy shaped dish with 10 fried green beans in it for 5 dollars and I knew I was in trouble and going to leave hungry and poor. So after absorbing the atmoshpere for 25 minutes with nothing in front of me, I did leave hungry but not poor thank goodness and headed straight for the armory which serves a fruit/cheese plate that has strawberries, blueberries, apple, brie, 4 kinds of crackers, grapes, oranges, dill havarti, smoked mozz for ten bucks that is absolutely fantastic. The people who work there are great and the wine list is reasonable and thoughtful. Plus didn't tgifridays just run a special on t.v. featuring fried green beans.......hmmmm
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We went to Grace last week and I was disappointed. Expensive, small servings, very
limited menu, but service was very good, and the place is beautiful. I still feel a little funny have a hard drink in a church. I feel they have a lot of hard work to do before they start making a profit, and may have to increase the menu, lower the prices, and add more tables.
