Aviary - Portland, OR

CLOSED August 29, 2020

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEHvkmyhKgv/

1733 NE Alberta, Vernon

Established 2011

Visited February 5, 2013

The much lauded Aviary is neither for the proletariat nor the traditionalist. All who enter must have an open wallet and open mind. Aviary's most notorious and de facto signature dish is the chew toy of dogs. Pig ears. Price of pig ears at Petco: $8 for a package of 7 whole ears. Price of pig ears at Aviary: $16 for two chopped up ears. Given the everything but the oink movement, pig ears should have the foodies queued out the doors.

The waitress recommended ordering 5 or 6. We were confused. Five or 6 what? She explained the dishes were small and for two, order 5 or 6 dishes to be satisfied. Really?  Not every diner has an unlimited budget.

Shigoku Oysters. Where's the beef? This answered why she recommended 5 to 6. Aviary turns out to be a pretentious haute place with micro portioned mediocre tasting food. Buy into the Kool-Aid of not asking price. The oyster measured out midway between diameter of a nickel and quarter. Tasty but hardly tasting ultimate.  

The Artic Char has a footprint of bridge sized playing cards. Nicely executed, crispy skin, fresh tasting like a hybrid between salmon and trout but not quite as rough. It disappeared rapidly.

Crispy Pig Ears with coconut rice, Chinese sausage, and avocado felt to be an Asian fusion dish whether by design or happenstance. Even though offal is an intermittent part of my diet, I had reservations ordering this dish. How long must pig ears be cooked to lose the fear factor?

The pig ears weren't crunchy but retained their elastic chewiness. The rice was fully infused with aromatic coconut flavor but mushy. The coconut did not impart its flavor to the pig ears. Separate and stand alone was the savory Chinese sausage. In fact all the ingredients were distinct, not fighting each other but certainly not complementary. I'll leave pig ears, at least Aviary pig ears to the dogs.

Aviary falls into the category of restaurants where you go to another restaurant afterward for a real stomach filling meal.

Bottom Line:  I don't understand the hyper love they get.