Leather Storrs: How Russia Can Teach Us to Enjoy a Meal

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Leather Storrs, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Everything goes in and out of fashion, but the resurgence of Russian food is as unexpected as it is peculiar.

Here in Portland, “Kachka” has emerged as the consensus restaurant of the year among chefs and food writers alike. That’s a neat trick when you’re talking about a notoriously jealous and cutting industry and especially when your currency is cabbage, kasha and pickled everything.

Kachka’s secret, in addition to delicious and technically excellent food, is to season with spirit and soul.

Eating at Kachka encourages you to celebrate the who and the why of your meal, not just the where and the how. “Ruskie Zakuski”, as described on the menu is a way of life: assemble your friends, cover your table with delicious little plates, fill your glass with vodka, toast your companions, eat and repeat.

Of course, with enough spirit, the food becomes secondary. Maybe that’s ok. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate why we dine. Is it to unearth the hottest, newest foraged food? Is it to notch our belts with Instagrams of the bloggiest dishes of the moment? Is it to share air with the chef who made that thing on that show?

Well, it shouldn’t be. It should be about the who and the why and the now. My friend, Charlie Redd (The masked madman behind “Redd’s in Rozzie”, in Roslindale, Mass.) taught this to me many years ago when I was a food critic. After a forgettable meal at a restaurant I was reviewing, Charlie turned to me and drawled “Man, I hate goin’ out to dinner with you. All we do is tear apart the food and I just wanna hang and have a good time.”

Granted, the why of the dinner was the review, but it was also because my wife and I love Charlie. The fact that I allowed the meal to take precedent over my friend and his enjoyment revealed my mistaken priorities. No dinner should have the power to undermine the pleasure of your companions.

In our speedy, ephemeral and virtual world, this is even more important. How many experiences afford you the luxury of sitting still with your partner and friends for an extended period? Shouldn’t we protect this sanctuary? Shouldn’t we be present? Put the phone away, the chef probably has a better lit picture of your plate on his web page. Besides, your friends will vouch that you were able to get reservations. Your dinner sucks? Have another drink and tell the story about that one time in college…

Food is a fickle industry already. The warp speed with which the herds stampede from hot to hotter does disservice to everyone. For restaurants, these unreliable swells create havoc in terms of staffing, purchasing and performance. Insidiously, diners chasing trends devalues consistent commitment to excellence-the most important, difficult and mundane achievement. For customers, the drive to be first trumps spirit and soul: posting pics to prove you were there should not be the primary reason for eating out. Further, collecting dishes and chefs as trophies makes dining feel like sport fishing. But remember, that lacquered marlin over the fireplace fed no one.

Leather Storrs is an Oregon native who has served 20 years in professional kitchens. He owns a piece of two area restaurants: Noble Rot and Nobleoni at Oregon College of Art and Craft, where he yells and waves arms. He quietly admits to having been a newspaper critic in Austin, Texas and Portland.