Foodies Favorite Find: Scott Snyder of Levant Restaurant

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Monday, June 29, 2015

GolocalPDX Lifestyle Team

Scott Snyder is the chef and owner of Levant, a bustling East Portland restaurant that offers twists on traditional Arabesque-French fare, bringing the cuisine to Portlanders in an affordable and approachable way.

Levant has long been a favorite spot to dine for Portlanders, and now Levant will be open 7 days a week. Previously, Levant was just open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday. They recently added a wildly popular brunch service on Saturdays and Sundays, and as of Monday, June 22nd, they'll expand their dinner service through the entire week! This also means Levant's early and late night weekday happy hour featuring their famous lamb burger and other tasty snacks and cocktails will expand to Monday-Friday at the bar and on the lovely patio. 

The flavor profile at Levant is drawn from Middle Eastern, North African, Sephardic and Mizrahim cuisines, and classic and modern French technique is employed in the execution of each dish. Snyder uses a custom, 6-foot wide-open hearth to cook North African and Middle Eastern spices and meats, an inspiration he found eating food prepared by his grandparents – lamb, goat, birds and kosher charcuterie.  

For Snyder, cooking and food have been a circuitous route filled with familial memories across the US. Whether it was his grandmother cooking berry cobblers, or his dad teaching him how to open an oyster, Snyder accrued an interest in cuisine at a young age, which ultimately led to his opening of Levant, where he is the executive chef and owner. Snyder grew up in California, but much of his family, including his great grandparents, have Israeli-roots, having emigrated there from Russia in the mid 1800s. Their visits and the food he grew up eating – lamb, goat, birds and kosher charcuterie – are just part of the inspiration for east Portland’s Levant.

Snyder developed his taste as a young child spending summers in both the Puget Sound area of Seattle and with his aunt and uncle in Tennessee. Snyder recalls foraging for fresh berries that his grandmother eventually turned into cobbler in the small town of Home, WA. It was there that he also learned how to open oysters with his father. In Tennessee, Snyder stayed at his aunt and uncle’s farm, where he planted and harvested vegetables and milked cows, among other things. Snyder also remembers his grandparents’ Home neighbors – the wife of an early 1900s former Waldorf Astoria chef – using an antique Wedgewood stove is another fond memory that shaped his culinary style and palate.

In Santa Cruz, Snyder helped plan and implement a series of dinner-in-the-field events at a variety of vineyards in the area, featuring multi-course meals paired with wines. When his parents retired to Seattle in the mid-2000s, Snyder moved to the Pacific Northwest to be closer to them. Having honed his skills in San Francisco hotspots like Jardiniere and Postrio, Snyder moved to Portland and worked at Wildwood and subsequently helped fellow chefs and industry friends open their businesses. Eventually his dream of finally opening up his own space to offer food he knows and loves was an opportunity too good to pass up.

The rich history of the food cooked at Levant is something Snyder relishes, including the Ottoman Empire’s impact on the region’s cuisine, which is reflected in the restaurant’s insignia. For Snyder, a love of food started with family and travel and has come full-circle with the opening of Levant, reflecting both his heritage and interest in old-world cuisine. 

For Foodie Finds, Chef Scott Snyder's favorite haunt is Club 21.

"The food there is actually very good, one of the best burgers in town. It's been there forever, and I like that though the owners cleaned the spot up, they left it pretty much the same as it was originally. There's a nice covered patio, good pinball, great music, the staff is friendly, the beer is cold and the drinks are strong," said Chef Snyder. 

2448 East Burnside, Levant, (503) 954 - 2322. Dinner, Monday - Sunday 5:00pm - 10:00pm. Brunch, Saturday - Sunday 10:00am - 2:00pm. Happy Hour (at the bar and patio), Monday - Friday 5-6pm and 9-10pm

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Related Slideshow: Where to Dine Out in Portland’s 10 Hottest Restaurant Neighborhoods

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