There's a rightfully beloved Russian restaurant in PDX called Kachka, and when I told Sean, "What I want for my birthday is for you to reserve a table at a place that sounds good," he chose Kachka. Because I'd been there once before with the former friend, and he'd never been properly (he showed up to get me and finish my pressed hen), and it was absolutely the perfect choice. It let me re-write my experience to something that does not carry baggage, and MY GOD THE FOOD.

THE FOOD.

We started with the meat and cheese board, and there was a smoked string cheese that my brain was certain was a meat because of how the strings wrapped. And there were various cured meats and a not-fucking-around spicy mustard, and the restaurant prepares for possible allergies, so they had tiny buckwheat pancakes for me to use instead of bread.

For entrees, Sean ordered the rabbit in a clay plot. I almost ordered it first, but then the server said, "If you want a completely gluten-free meal with no substitutions, the cabbage rolls are totally safe, and it's a pork/beef/lamb mix."

I nearly shouted "YES" because it sounded AMAZING.

Also, I've had rabbit, but I've never had cabbage rolls, and I love to try new foods.

So, the rabbit in the clay pot came out first, and the server brought me thick-sliced roasted potatoes so I could enjoy the full experience of the meal. The course is usually served with potato cakes that include wheat. Sean tried one of my potato slices with the rest of the dish and reported it tastes basically the same.

It was AMAZING, by the way. Just a really well-balanced rabbit stew, basically.

Then my cabbage rolls showed up, and my god. My god. MY. GOD.

Every Christmas, my dad sends a very heavy box of home-canned foods he spends the whole year making in large enough quantities for the family (his dad was one of ten kids; he doesn't send food to everyone, but it's at least 20 people). He has a marinara clam sauce that he does, made with whole clams and homemade tomato juice and lots of spices and mushrooms and it's just real fucking good, okay? When he and I were first figuring our shit out when I met him at 14, he asked if he could make me a birthday dinner, and I said yes. He asked what I wanted. I said pasta. Because I've always loved pasta. The current clam sauce is a descendent of the first sauce he made for the first time he cooked for my birthday.

The cabbage rolls were served in a thick tomato sauce, and the entire dish reminded me wonderfully of my dad's cooking. I nearly cried.

It was astoundingly good.

Kachka has earned rave reviews since it opened in 2014; it was a semifinalist for 2015’s James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. It might be the best Russian restaurant in the country. The chef/owner cooks “the food of the former Soviet Union.” The interior is dimly lit, with retro wallpaper and portraits of famous Soviets like Lenin, Marx, and Gorbachev. The Russian music they play definitely helps set the mood of stepping back in time to the Soviet era. Of course, they offer lots of vodka and caviar.

The menu includes cold appetizers (cold zakuski), hot zakuski, dumplings (pelmeni, vareniki), shashliki (kabobs), mains, pickles and breads. They recommend sharing dishes.

Visser’s endives ($9): smoked farmer’s cheese, candied walnuts, grapefruit, poppyseed dressing. I was surprised by how good this was, even the candied walnuts were exceptional – they tasted roasted and sweet but not too sweet. Everything was so balanced, fresh, and flavorful.

Imerulian khachapuri ($13): smoked sulguni cheese wrapped in pillowy fried dough – different than the baked khachapuri w/ phyllo dough that I’ve had before, Kachka’s version was deep fried, rich, and heavy.  

Short rib borsch ($9): beet soup w/ shredded short rib, sour cream, and fresh dill, dark rye bread and Russian mustard. A lovely, earthy beet soup. The short rib was fine but not really necessary. The Russian mustard was as strong as wasabi – be careful.

Adjika rubbed wild prawns ($16): One skewer had four giant prawns and a fresh grapefruit salad. This was our least favorite dish because the spices didn’t penetrate the prawn.

Lamb lyuyla kebab with green adjika ($14): One juicy, ground lamb kebab, complementary sauce made with fresh herbs

Rabbit in a clay pot ($29): hindquarter braised in smetana, porcini, sour cherries, garlic, draniki. This was the best dish we had – luscious rabbit in a savory gravy (maybe smetana? What’s smetana) and thick, crispy potato pancakes. Divine.

Brindza & lepyoshka ($6): paprika sheep cheese spread with grilled to order uzbek style bread – pretty nice, like Russian style pimento creamy cheese, the bread is a thin grilled flatbread

Portions were fairly generous. Kachka makes you realize just how good Russian/Soviet food can be.

5 out of 5 stars

WHY! IS! IT! ALWAYS! PORTLAND?!

On a sunny weekday afternoon, chef Bonnie Morales leads me past the Q subway line in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. We are going shopping for Russian food.

Morales owns Kachka, a restaurant in Portland, Ore., that serves food from the former Soviet Union. It's one of the most popular places to eat in one of the hottest food cities in the country.

Now, Morales has a new cookbook — also called Kachka. Its publication inspired this jaunt to Little Odessa, the kind of neighborhood where the child of Eastern European immigrants feels at home.

Kachka: The Word That Saved A Family During WWII And Inspired A Chef