Last Tuesday was my last day of culinary school. To celebrate, last night my parents and I went to dinner at Thirst Wine Bar & Bistro and ate our way through their Portland Dining Month menu.
The food and wine were great, and the location really couldn’t be beat. It’s right in the south waterfront area of Portland and if you sit outside, there are views like this:
The menu had 3 first course options, 4 second course choices and 3 different desserts.
Menu:
First Course:
Seasonal Greens
~OR~
Individual Hot Crab Dip
~OR~
Petite Baked Brie in Puff Pastry with Apple Slices
Second Course:
Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon with Wild Rice and Sautéed Asparagus
~OR~
Thirst Bistro Steak with Caramelized Onion Smashed Potatoes and Sautéed Kale
~OR~
Pulled Pork over Truffled Polenta
~OR~
Wild Mushroom Ravioli with early sweet corn cream sauce and sautéed asparagus
{We didn’t order this, so no picture}
Dessert:
Creme Brûlée
~OR~
Seasonal Cheesecake
~OR~
Prickly Pear Sorbet
The food was really, really good. We paired our meal with a glass of Michael David Chardonnay, recommended by our server, which we thought was the perfect choice.
First Course: The salad was delicious. It was some mixed greens with tomatoes, red onion, feta and some chopped nuts – simple, but tasty. The hot crab dip was great — individually presented in a ramekin with breads slices for dipping. I’m not a big crab fan, but I would definitely eat this again. The brie was probably my favourite first course dish. Cheese and apple is one of the best combinations and the melted brie was perfect with the crisp apple slices.
Second Course: The salmon, wild rice and asparagus was so tasty. The salmon was perfectly cooked, the asparagus was nice and crisp and the wild rice was a perfect complement to both of them. The steak was incredible! It was lovely and crispy on the outside, while being nice and tender in the middle. Now the pulled pork, definitely my favourite of the second course options. The pork was so full of flavour and had a nice little kick to it and that was some of the best polenta I’ve had.
Dessert: Nothing beats and good creme brûlée and this was exactly that. I didn’t think the dried fruit on top was necessary, but the creme brûlée itself was fantastic. The cheesecake was great — a simple vanilla cheesecake with a caramel sauce. Sometimes, simple is the way to go. The prickly pear was a lovely, vibrant pink colour and the perfect palate cleanser at the end of the night. The menu originally stated that it would be a mango sorbet but we were informed it was actually prickly pear that night and I’ve got to say, I’m glad it was.
Everyone visiting and living in Portland should pay a visit to Thirst. When we were there, they were only seating reservations, so be sure to use these OpenTable links to make yours. Take your friends, date or any visitors you have; the view is beautiful and the food/wine delicious.
