CUVÉE MOTHER’S DAY WITH CHEF GILBERT HENRY AND COMPANY

Mother’s Day grows more importance when it’s part of a masterplan.

Add a road trip with a restaurant at the end and it edges toward epic.

It goes without saying that any two lane drive through rural Washington and Yamhill County is enough to make you want to sell everything and move into a dilapidated barn in the country, it also shows what pulled pioneers out of the midwest.

A forty minute trip does all that before you walk into Chef Henry’s realm of Cuvée in Carlton.

Cuvée?

We are moving back to California, and our biggest regret is that we won’t be able to visit Cuvee anymore.

Simply put, this is the finest restaurant in Oregon. Chef Gilbert is a master and the menu is outstanding, with a wide selection of specials that are constantly changing.

The price for what you get is beyond reasonable and at twice the price it would be worth it. You will not regret a visit to Cuvee and you will come back again and again.

 

Un Bistro, une Brasserie, un Restaurant?

My wife and I learned more about restaurants in France and Belgium.

We got directions from the hotel staff for gastronomic food, where the chef was the on-site boss.

These were small places with specific hours of operation.

 

Un Bistro = Your French Neighborhood Restaurant

Un Restaurant = Any Kind of Food

Une Brasserie = All Day, Late Night, Traditional French Cuisine

 

Why Mother’s Day at Cuvée with Chef Gilbert Henry and Company?

 

The gastronomic meal of the French is a customary social practice for celebrating important moments in the lives of individuals and groups, such as births, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, achievements and reunions.

It is a festive meal bringing people together for an occasion to enjoy the art of good eating and drinking. The gastronomic meal emphasizes togetherness, the pleasure of taste, and the balance between human beings and the products of nature. 

Why Cuvée Mother’s Day Way Out In Carlton?

Henry was the chef and owner of award-winning Winterborne Restaurant in Portland for 12 years. He closed that establishment in the fall of 2004 as he opened Cuvée.

Winterborne was rated Best Seafood by Zagat Review for several years running and has been listed as one of the top restaurants in the country in both Gourmet and Conde-Nast Traveler magazines.

At Cuvée Henry has expanded his offerings, and in addition to seafood, he now prepares such dishes as Boeuf Bourguignon, Cassoulet, and Biftek avec Pommes Frites. 

Cuvée reflects well Henry’s philosophy of preparing…”great food, from local ingredients, served in a classy yet comfortable environment.”

 

One of the benefits of finding an owner/operated restaurant out in what most people would call the sticks, is seeing who else has found their way there.

Way out there isn’t as far when it’s the same as driving across town, and it was a full house for Mother’s Day.

Perfect timing took us over hill and dale to a parking spot across the street from Cuvée, which I note because good parking bodes well for the rest of the evening.

With three moms at our table we were the flagship.

Other tables held mothers and grandmothers, but not both.

Another thing about Cuvée?

It’s no accident that the restaurant is arranged in a way that it could be in Paris, or Brugge, or London.

 

It could be at the end of a dirt road, in the bottom floor of a city tower, or wedged into a space along a block of other businesses in any country I’ve been to.

 

 

PS:

Cuvée is in Carlton. It was a treat to meet the same staff again. Everyone knows their role in a smooth running show.

The best part of the experience with Chef Henry and Company? They have command of the space and everything lands on time.

 

 

PSS:

Cuvée?

Cuvée (pronounced koo-vay) is a French wine term derived from cuve, meaning “vat” or “tank”.

It generally signifies a special blend or a specific, selected batch of wine, often implying higher quality, careful blending to achieve a “house style,” or the first, most delicate pressings of grapes (especially in Champagne)

 

This house has an abundance of style.