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Portland Monthly Inteviews David Machado

June 18, 2015 by DMR

The Portland food pro on his new Hotel Eastlund eateries, beer, and why hotels love chefs.
By Kelly Clarke

Owner David Machado with Cara Powell, executive chef, pastry chef Natalie Harkness. photo by Whitney Price
Image: Whitney Price — Altabira and Citizen Baker owner David Machado with Cara Powell, the executive chef of both restaurants, and Citizen pastry chef Natalie Harkness.

For three decades now, David Machado has been building and running large-scale food operations that strike a balance between serving as a home away from home for travelers and a destination for locals.

He’s best known as the man behind Hotel Modera’s successful pre-theater haunt Nel Centro; others trade memories of drinks at his Southpark wine bar or Italian grub at Pazzo, the venerable downtown fine diner he built and ran for Hotel Vintage Plaza in the 1990s (just one of six Kimpton properties he launched). And longtimers still get positively weepy reminiscing over the chef’s independent project, Lauro Mediterranean Kitchen, the neighborhood bistro that made SE Division Street a destination before Pok Pok charcoal-fired its first game hen.

His latest salvo is the sky-high beer-centric restaurant Altabira City Tavern and smaller Citizen Baker cafe, a double-barreled blast for the Modera team’s new Hotel Eastlund, located right across the street the Oregon Convention Center. The two eateries may help transform the rapidly changing Lloyd District from a fast food wasteland to a chic dining go-to. On the eve of Altabira’s debut, we asked the food insider about beer, bread, and why a chef can be a hotel’s best friend.

1. YOU’VE BEEN IN THE HOTEL FOOD GAME FOR YEARS. WHAT DO ALTABIRA AND CITIZEN BAKER BRING TO THE TABLE?

With Altabira, I wanted to move out of the euro-centric, wine-based Mediterranean thing I’ve been doing for years. Every time there’s beer, for the most part, it’s in a brewpub or sports bar setting—very burly or clubby. What about a real restaurant that does dinner and a nice job with the menu, creative and fresh, but that aligns with beer? We’re working with dishes from some traditional beer cultures—England, Belgium, Germany—you can’t not do that. Pork schnitzel, a rabbit pot pie, smoked brisket…homey stuff that goes with beer and has connection with beer culture. Also, charcuterie—pate and rilletes, duck liver mousse. I’ve had to caution the kitchen about sugar and salt. It’s easy to start salting and curing and brining everything and soon enough everything becomes a ham! I’m trying to strike a balance.

We’ve gone as micro as we could on our 16 taps: Commons, Coalition, Breakside….We didn’t do any national brands, didn’t even do the regional brands that made Portland famous. We tried to choose producers in NE and SE Portland; operations that are around [the hotel]. There’s some people doing incredible work in beer right now—the balance and quality of the beers, making old recipes contemporary. My model customer knows some things about food, about beer and wine, and is traveled and educated. But when it comes to these young people making beer in Portland that I have on tap, they’ll be, “I just didn’t know.”

2. WHAT ABOUT CITIZEN BAKER?

I hadn’t opened a cafe since Pazzoria in 1994 or ’95. And I felt that if we were gonna do a café, we might as well do everything from the ground up—baguette, levain, beer bread, focaccia… It’s a tight program, we’re doing five or six things really well and we’ll leave it at that. Our pastry chef Natalie Harkness’ work is incredible—the apple strudel; her strawberry rhubarb hand pie. It’s tough to kick off an artisan baking program, but we got the starters right and figured the ovens out already. A bakery is very much a live operation; it’s a whole different world.

3. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPENING A NEIGHBORHOOD AND A HOTEL RESTAURANT?

They are completely different experiences—the lifestyle, who comes in and eats there. At Lauro, we came in as fundamentalists: we cooked what we wanted, said hi to everybody, and then went home. When you get in these bigger situations, you have to think of travelers, business people, people going to shows and sporting events…it’s a different model.

When the Modera owners came to me in 2008 to open Nel Centro, they had some criteria: they wanted a local chef that could come in and operate as a draw from the community. They wanted more than a service for guests, they wanted to create a destination for the city. That’s becoming more and more common. It’s often said that a hotel is a very profitable capitalist model except for food and beverage. But we’re in a cycle where savvy hoteliers are looking for independents [chef-operators] to lure in because a hotel is enhanced by the chef. That’s a big shift.

4. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR NEW NEIGHBORHOOD?

Hotel Eastlund is in a neighborhood that’s never had any fresh or real food—just formulaic chains. Having to eat here for the last two months while overseeing restaurant construction has been brutal—it’s just Red Robin and Denny’s; remnants from the Portland’s old Highway 99 of 30 years ago. But now, the whole neighborhood is in this massive state of flux. There was no master plan, it just happened that we got in right before all this major development. I hope it all works out; that we did the right thing. That saying is true: opening a restaurant is like birthing a baby, you say you’ll never do it again. And then you do.

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Filed Under: Altabira Press, Blog, News Tagged With: Altabira City Tavern, Chef David Machado, citizen baker

Hotel Eastlund opens in Lloyd District

June 12, 2015 by DMR

Photos: Hotel Eastlund opens in Lloyd District
By: Sam Tenney
June 12, 2015
DCJ Oregon

Hotel Eastlund

A grand opening was held this week for Hotel Eastlund, a newly-remodeled Lloyd District boutique hotel. The former Red Lion on Northeast Grand Avenue was purchased in 2013 by Seattle-based Grand Ventures Hotel LLC, a group of partners also responsible for the 2008 renovation of Hotel Modera in downtown Portland.
Holst Architecture designed the hotel’s $10 million renovation, which general contractor Deacon began work on last September. Major improvements included updating the building with a new curtainwall that provides rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, conversion of a vehicle driveway to a pedestrian entry with expanded lobby space, removing sections of post-tensioned concrete to accommodate an express elevator to the hotel’s top-floor restaurant and bar, and opening up the previously-windowless ballroom and exposing it to natural light.
Corner rooms at the hotel were combined and converted to suites, bringing the room count from 174 to 168. A ground-floor bakery and café, Citizen Baker, will double as a wine bar in the evenings. Altabira City Tavern, the hotel’s top-floor restaurant and bar, features views of downtown Portland and opens Monday.

Read the article and view the gallery of photos HERE.

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Filed Under: Altabira Press, Blog, News Tagged With: Altabira City Tavern, citizen baker, Hotel Eastlund

East side energy: Altabira, Citizen Baker and Hotel Eastlund

June 3, 2015 by DMR

Travel Portland | David Machado Restaurants

Hotel Eastlund brings new energy to east side

Hotel Eastlund rendering
Hotel Eastlund rendering

Opening in June, the Hotel Eastlund in the Lloyd District will offer boutique accommodations within blocks of the Oregon Convention Center and the Moda Center on Portland’s east side. Nearly one year and $10 million in renovations has transformed a ‘60s-era structure into a plush, modern establishment with breathtaking views of the city skyline. Featuring mid-century-inspired design and floor-to-ceiling windows, the 168-room property boasts two executive boardrooms, a ballroom and two private dining rooms.

Backed by Grand Ventures Hotel (developer of the local Hotel Modera and Seattle’s Hotel Andra and Hotel Deca), Hotel Eastlund’s crowning glory is its rooftop restaurant, Altabira City Tavern. Led by David Machado (of Nel Centro), the beer-centric restaurant comes complete with 16 taps for local craft brews and a bounty of Northwest wine and spirits. American cuisine dominates, incorporating local, seasonal ingredients throughout. The views are inspiring from inside as well as out, where an expansive patio with fire pits and heating elements beckons guests. Downstairs, Citizen Baker, a daytime café and evening wine bar adjacent to the lobby, also showcases Machado’s exptertise. Artisan breads and pastries accompany soups and salads, along with coffee from local Ristretto Roasters.

Hotel Eastlund rendering
Hotel Eastlund rendering

Hotel Eastlund is easily accessible by Portland Streetcar and MAX light rail, making the hotel an ideal jumping-off point for exploring all corners of the city.

View and download a pdf of Travel Portland’s Media Update, June 2015.
Read the entire Travel Portland newsletter.

http://www.travelportland.com/

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Filed Under: Blog, News Tagged With: Altabira City Tavern, citizen baker, Hotel Eastlund, Ristretto Roasters, Travel Portland

The Oregonian: Lloyd District Rising with Hotel Eastlund and David Machado

May 28, 2015 by DMR

Former Red Lion Hotel in the Lloyd District to reopen as boutique Hotel Eastlund

Thursday, May 28, 2015 at 5:00 AM
By Elliot Njus
The Oregonian/OregonLive

Chef David Machado, Altabira City Tavern
Restauranteur David Machado will operate two eateries at the Hotel Eastlund.


When Seattle-based Grand Ventures Hotel bought the Lloyd District’s Red Lion Hotel in 2013 and launched a major renovation, it was one of a few scattered examples of private reinvestment in the eastside district.

As the hotel reopens Monday as the Hotel Eastlund, fresh from a $15 million renovation that took the building down to its bones, it’s in a district that could have thousands of new residents within a few years.

Meanwhile, the Lloyd Center mall is in the middle of its own $50 million renovation. And Metro is well on its way to landing a large hotel near its Oregon Convention Center, which the regional government says will help drum up new business both for the convention center and nearby hotels.

“When we started, we were not really aware of the breadth of development in the district,” said restaurateur David Machado, who will operate two eateries in the new hotel. “What’s happened around us was very surprising.”

Grand Ventures, hoping to duplicate its success in turning around the downtown Hotel Modera, bought the Lloyd District hotel in 2013 for $12.5 million. As at the downtown hotel, previously a Days Inn, they aimed to create a destination not only for travelers, but also nearby workers and residents.

The Lloyd District hotel opened as the Cosmopolitan Motor Hotel which, as its name suggests, was built for guests coming and going by car. For people walking by or traveling by transit, it might as well have been a fortress.

So a design by Holst Architecture of Portland aimed to turn the hotel inside-out, adding pedestrian access from all sides. Much of the lobby is space once occupied by an auto ramp. Space formerly used for guests-only breakfast will now be Citizen Baker, Machado’s bakery-cafe and wine bar that will be open to the public that will also cater meetings at the hotel and provide room service.

The hotel’s upper floors were largely gutted as well, necessitated by the presence of mold, asbestos and lead paint, Grand Ventures partner Alan Battersby said.

The top floor will house a 5,300-square-foot ballroom, small meeting rooms and Machado’s Altabira City Tavern, which replaces the Red Lion’s Windows Skyroom and Lounge. That restaurant and Citizen Baker are expected to open later in June.

— Elliot Njus

Read the article on OregonLive. Be sure and look at the slideshow!

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Filed Under: Blog, News Tagged With: Altabira City Tavern, Chef David Machado, citizen baker, Hotel Eastlund

Peek inside the former Red Lion hotel before its big boutique reveal

April 20, 2015 by DMR

Wednesday, April 15, 2015, 10:22am PDT
by Jon Bell
Portland Business Journal

PBJ.4.17

Just a few months ago, almost any vantage point from inside the former Red Lion Hotel on Northeast Grand Avenue offered expansive views of the city in just about every direction.

The reason: the 1960s-era hotel had been gutted and stripped down to its steel and concrete skeleton as part of a $10 million remake.

“It was just columns and concrete floors and ceilings, and we took everything else out in between,” said Desmond Mollendor, general manager and a partner with Grand Ventures Hotel LLC, the firm behind the renovation. “You could see right through the building.”

With just a few weeks to go before the hotel reopens on May 5 as the Hotel Eastlund, that’s not the case any longer. The 168-room hotel has been nearly built anew, with a much more pedestrian-friendly setup, revamped rooms and meeting spaces and two new restaurants from Portland’s David Machado.

No longer can one see right through the building, but the hotel still offers commanding vistas of the downtown skyline, the booming Lloyd District and even an occasional peek at Mt. St. Helens.

The roughly nine-month renovation, led by S.D. Deacon, is expected to wrap up in time for a May 5 opening. The hotel has already begun taking reservations, with rooms starting at $189 per night. When it opens, the Eastlund will employ about 65 staff members. The two restaurants will have between 80 and 85 employees, according to Mollendor.

Read the entire article and view the gallery of photos here>>

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Filed Under: Blog, News Tagged With: Altabira City Tavern, citizen baker, David Machado Restaurants, Hotel Eastlund, Portland Restaurants

First View Atop the Hotel Eastlund from Altabira City Tavern — GoLocalPDX

April 13, 2015 by DMR

First View Atop The Eastlund Hotel

Friday, April 10, 2015
Byron Beck, GoLocalPDX Features Editor

Photo from Altabira City Tavern by Byron Beck of GoLocalPDX
The view featured here is from inside the Eastlund’s (currently under construction) Altabira City Tavern, helmed by acclaimed local chef David Machado. Photo by Byron Beck.
In May of 2015 Hotel Eastlund will be opening their doors for the first time. Here’s a look at the space in progress. The view featured here is from inside the Altabira City Tavern, helmed by acclaimed local chef David Machado. Portland’s newest boutique hotel will feature rooftop dining, floor-to-ceiling windows, a spacious work-friendly lobby, and a beautiful view of the Portland skyline.

The first contemporary, luxury boutique hotel of its kind on Portland’s Eastside, it is developed by Grand Ventures Eastlund Hotel, LLC, who also developed the renowned Hotel Modera in Portland, Ore., as well as Hotel Andra and Hotel Deca in Seattle.

Hotel Eastlund is adjacent to the Oregon Convention Center, Moda Center, Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the Central Eastside’s creative hub. The hotel will offer easy access to both of the cities rail lines — the Portland streetcar and MAX Light rail. Hotel Eastlund, with its mid-century inspired design, features 168 rooms and suites, a flexible ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows, two executive boardrooms and two private dining rooms overlooking downtown Portland.

The downtown skyline comes to life with the views from these outstanding venues. The rooftop restaurant and bar, Altabira City Tavern by celebrated chef David Machado, offers American cuisine with a beer-centric menu and Citizen Baker, adjacent to the lobby, is both a casual daytime café and evening wine bar.

Altabira City Tavern offers regional American cuisine focused on updated classic dishes with 16 taps of local craft beers, select Northwest wines and locally distilled spirits. The Tavern is open for lunch and dinner in a modern setting with large floor-to-ceiling windows with sweeping views of Portland’s downtown skyline and inner eastside. The dining room seats 60, the indoor bar area seats 76 and the expansive outdoor rooftop patio – with windbreaks, heaters and three fire pits with lounge seating — accommodates 103.

Citizen Baker is a locally owned, urban bakery/café located adjacent to the hotel’s mid-century modern lobby. The artisan bakery and gourmet coffee bar serves freshly baked artisan breads, pastries, soups, fresh salads and sandwiches as well as single origin coffee from Ristretto Roasters. During happy hour, the bakery transforms into a cozy and casual wine bar with local wine and beer on tap.

Hotel Eastlund is located, 1021 NE Grand Ave, Portland, Oregon 97232.

Read the article on GoLocalPDX.

Altabira City Tavern
Citizen Baker
Hotel Eastlund

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Filed Under: Blog, News Tagged With: Altabira City Tavern, Chef David Machado, citizen baker, Oregon Convention Center, Portland Eastside Restaurants

The old Red Lion will soon be a modern boutique

March 30, 2015 by DMR

From the Portland Business Journal
March 24, 2015
by Jon Bell

It’s no HQ hotel, but the old Red Lion will soon be a modern boutique


Hotel Eastlund rendering, Holst ArchitectureWhat was once a ho-hum Red Lion Hotel is just a month or so away from being unveiled as Portland’s newest luxury boutique hotel with rooms starting at close to $200 a night.

Seattle-based Grand Ventures Hotel LLC is heading into the final stretch of the massive renovation that gutted the Red Lion in the Lloyd District to make way for the Hotel Eastlund. The new hotel, scheduled to open in May, will feature 168 rooms and suites as well as a flexible ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows, two executive boardrooms and two private dining rooms overlooking the Portland skyline.

As of this week, the hotel has begun accepting reservations. Opening rates at the low end run $189; deluxe suites approach $470 per night. Guest rooms and suites have either California kings or what the hotel claims are the first-ever California queens, as well as commissioned artwork by Loui Jover and Badri Valian.

Read the entire article in the Portland Business Journal.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Altabira City Tavern, citizen baker, David Machado Restaurants, Hotel Eastlund

The Nel Centro Fall 2014 Newsletter is here!

October 20, 2014 by DMR

nel centro logo
October 14, 2014
Book a Table | Menus | Nel Centro Gallery | Blog

Dine With Us, Then Waltz To Your Show.
The Fall Arts Season Is In Full Swing.

Dining at Nel Centro

Dinner & a show couldn’t be easier, really. October signals the start of downtown Portland’s vibrant performing arts season and Nel Centro is conveniently located just minutes away from Portland’s premier venues such as the Keller, the Newmark, Lincoln Hall, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and the Portland Art Museum. Nel Centro has a proud tradition of supporting and partnering with such esteemed arts organizations as White Bird, Chamber Music NW, The Portland Opera, Third Angle New Music, Oregon Ballet Theater, PDX Jazz, Friends of Chamber Music and Northwest Dance Project.

Nel Centro is the perfect location to rendezvous for drinks, appetizers and dinner before or after a show. Reservations can be made at nelcentro.com or by calling 503-484-1099.

Fall Menu

Mushroom Agnolotti with Brown Butter

The new fall menu has just been unveiled and it showcases a number of comforting and delicious fall pasta choices including Spinach Gnudi with Radicchio and Gorgonzola Sauce, Mushroom Agnolotti with Brown Butter Parmesan Brodo and Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto with Toasted Hazelnuts and Sage. New fall entrees include a Braised Pork Osso Buco with Risotto Milanese and Citrus Gremolata, Spit Roasted Pork Loin with Seared Risotto Cake and Celery Root Apple Salad, and a Grilled Ribeye Steak with Kale, Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes and Porcini Butter. On the lighter side we have a new Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Fresh Chives and Olio Verde as well as a new Grilled Radicchio, Bacon and Goat Cheese Pizza.

Reservations can be made today through Open Table. 

Cocktails and Craft Beers to Pair with Panache

Two new seasonal craft beer handles have been selected by gentleman barkeep Nathaniel Stout to spearhead our fall beer offerings. The first is a Hopworks Urban Brewery Survival Stout. This beer is a creamy, organic, multigrain coffee-forward stout. That was a mouthful. Try a pint with our grilled leg of lamb dish and see if it is true that charred lamb and stout are a perfect match.

Our second new offering is from Redmond Oregon’s Wild Ride Brewery and it is named  “Mount Up” Maple Brown. This is a delicious Brown Ale with rich dark undercurrents of chocolate and maple flavors. Be adventurous and pair it with our Tiramisu Bombe and let the cards fall where they may.

Bar manager Nat and his talented crew of young mixologists: Peter, Bryce and Molly have authored a new cocktail list that shifts away from the lighter easy-drinking summer spirits to darker more mysterious and complex ones. Two of my favorites from the recent tasting session are the Vieux Carre made with Old Overholt, Courvoisier Brandy and Carpano Antica and Autumn Leaves made with Makers Mark Bourbon, Averna, Apple Cider and Fresh Lemon Juice.

Tuscan Winemaker Dinner Announced for November

Fattoria di Petroio Winery, Tuscany

Join us for a very special evening with Diana Lenzi, Tuscan Chef & Winemaker from Fattoria di Petroio Winery on Tuesday November 4th at 6:30pm .

“Last spring I traveled to Tuscany with Nel Centro General Manager, Daren Hamilton and our Wine Director, David Holstrom as guests of the Lenzi Family, owners of Fattoria di Petroio Winery. There we met Diana Lenzi, their young chef & winemaker who we invited to come to Nel Centro this fall to cook a traditional Tuscan Dinner to complement her delicious wines. This is a terrific opportunity to enjoy the authentic recipes of traditional Tuscan family cuisine along with the stellar wines of this famous region. We would be honored to have you join us.”    David Machado, chef/owner

The cost is $95 per person inclusive of reception, dinner, wine & gratuity.

Seating for this intimate dinner is limited. Please call for reservations at 503-484-1099

Announcing Altabira and Citizen Baker at The Hotel Eastlund

You may have heard the rumors about a new Eastside hotel/restaurant project near the Convention Center. The time has finally come to announce the two new restaurants that we will be launching in May of 2015 at the new Hotel Eastlund. The first establishment will be a ground-floor bakery/cafe and wine bar named Citizen Baker and the second will be a top-floor, beer-centric, casual American concept called Altabira City Tavern. The upstairs restaurant will feature stunning views of downtown Portland from the dining room and bar as well as an incredible outdoor patio. The design work has been a collaboration with the wildly talented gang at Holst Architecture. We could not be happier about this project so far. Stay tuned for more information.

Nel Centro Wins Oregonian’s Best Downtown Happy Hour

Nel Centro Patio

On September 5th, the A&E section of the Oregonian selected Nel Centro as one of Downtown Portland’s Top 10 Happy Hours. Thanks for the shout out and recognition (as if we didn’t already know). But wait, there is more to the story. Just four days later, The Big O announced the results of its reader’s poll and Nel Centro was voted by the people as Downtown Portland’s Best Happy Hour. Now that is more like it. Thank you, Portland.

Still Time To Book A Holiday Party at Nel Centro

Nel Centro Private Dining

Still need to book a holiday party for your company, family or friends? Nel Centro still has several dates and private rooms available for this Holiday Season. We can provide an intimate dinner for 12 or a stand up reception for 150 and just about anything in between. For more information on availability please contact our Private Dining Sales Manager, Brianne Rudolph at brianne@nelcentro.com or by telephone at 503-484-1096.
 


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1408 SW Sixth Avenue

Portland, OR 97201

Tel: (510) 123-4567

Email: manager@nelcentro.com

www.nelcentro.com

Download the Nel Centro Fall 2014 Newsletter as a pdf.

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: altabira, citizen baker, downtown portland restaurants, Hotel Eastlund, nel centro, pdx jazz

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