Departure Restaurant + Lounge Opens in Portland, Oregon

Departure Restaurant + Lounge Opens in Portland, Oregon

Offering an unexpected perspective on Portland's urban cityscape, including a bird’s-eye view of bridges and distant mountain peaks, Departure Restaurant + Lounge opens today for dinner and happy hour on the 15th floor of the new luxury hotel, the Nines in Portland, Oregon. Departure's chef Bryan Emperor, 40, recently from New York City and Virginia, has created a modern Asian menu elevating the authentic coastal cuisines found throughout Southeast Asia and the Japanese-style Izakaya, a casual dining experience akin to a neighborhood pub.

Restaurateur Peter Karpinski, of Sage Restaurant Group, brought together the award-winning architect and interior designer Jeffrey Kovel of Skylab Architecture and Denise Korn of Korn Design, a nationally recognized brand design and strategy firm, to collaborate on the design and branding of Departure.

"When Sage purchased the Nines a few years ago, I envisioned a modern Asian concept in the rooftop space," said Peter Karpinski, COO of Sage Restaurant Group. "Luring Bryan Emperor to Portland to create the menu was a coup and working with both Jeff Kovel and Denise Korn makes for a world-class design team. Korn's expertise in brand design and her firm's commitment to creating holistic and integrated experiences, together with Kovel’s visionary interior architecture, is clearly a unique collaboration," said Karpinski.

Departure's Design Reminiscent of Urban Escape

Departure's design concept is grounded in the rich history of the site while taking advantage of the unique Portland culture. The restaurant is housed on the top floor of the Nines, formerly the famed Meier & Frank building. Adding a 15th floor to the building afforded the luxury of opening the restaurant to the urban landscape with two large decks offering views of the distant peaks of Mt. Hood and Mount St. Helens, the west hills or the city lights.

When guests arrive at the 15th floor penthouse level of the Nines they enter another world. The space captures the nostalgic days when shoppers could take the legendary monorail in the Meier & Frank Building and when an "around the world" ocean voyage was de rigueur for the modern traveler. Anchored with futuristic undertones, the restaurant features subtle reminders of historic ocean liners with marine teak decking, sailcloth panels, and nautical map murals. Ship portals appear in the corridor leading to the restrooms and offer a playful glimpse into the kitchen. In the center of the dining room, a teak-clad "smokestack" floats above the bar to penetrate a large windshield above.

The design aims to transport guests to a different place and give them the unexpected – both in food and design. "Our concept is based on the experience of travel and what it is like to be exposed to worldly things," says Kovel. "Like the perspective that comes with travel, there are endless ways to see and be seen. There are no bad seats in the house," he adds. "The play between observing and being observed is both subtle and overt. The city is watching you as much as you are viewing its urban horizon."

Kovel founded Skylab Architecture in 1999 and his work blurs the distinction between architecture and design and between the past and the future. Skylab also designed the Doug Fir Lounge and East Chinatown Lounge in Portland, Oregon.

The Menu: Bounty of the NW meets the Flavors of Southeast Asian Cuisine

Departure’s menu is steeped in the traditions of Asian cuisine with a modern sophistication, an updated presentation and both locally sourced and imported ingredients. Chef Bryan Emperor will leverage relationships he made during his two decades working and cooking in China and Japan – from his close ties to everyone from fish sellers to saké producers.

The menu at Departure is divided into a variety of sections and guests are encouraged to order from the different cuisines to share with fellow diners. For starters or Zensai, the popular sashimi is found in the Zuke Maguro, or sashimi of blue fin tuna with infused soy sauce; or the HamaSashi, hamachi sashimi with white truffle oil and fleur de sel. A Mikado Oniwa Salad combines salad greens from locally owned Latitude 45 Farms with sweet ginger karashi.

The concept of Dim Sum, or small plates, includes:
• Whole Shrimp Har Gau with steamed Hawaiian King Prawn dumplings
• Shiu Mai, marinated pork dumplings to Pork Buns with Sweet Briar Farms pork belly, Szechuan pepper sauce and cilantro
• Yu Choy, Cantonese Choy Sum with elephant garlic chips

Kushiyaki features dishes skewered and grilled on Japanese charcoal and includes:
• Yakitori with a choice of teriyaki sauce or ume shiso tori
• Premium Wagyu skirt steak in the Harami Garlic dish
• BLT with peppered bacon, cherry tomato, fresh bibb lettuce and Japanese mayonnaise
• Ton Toro features Sweet Briar Farms pork belly with Mongolian mountain salt and fresh shiso

Guests will find premium quality beef among Chef Bryan Emperor's personal selections or Osusume. In this menu section, Emperor raises meatballs to another level with Kobe beef and foie gras; or "ShinJiang Style" Lamb chops with Anderson Farm lamb, cumin, and dried chilies. Other specialties include:
• Bluefin Maguro Katsu with rice cracker crusted fatty tuna, curry sauce and Thai herb salad
• Calamari Tenpura with a Kochujiang cream reduction
• Seasonal Wok Fried whole fish of the day

Dishes with rice include Kani Avocado Tobiko with warm King crab leg, avocado and mentaiko caviar; and Ume Shiso Kyuri, Maki sushi with Japanese cucumber, shiso and sour plum. Soups, Broths and Noodles include Chicken Inaniwa Udon, Miso Shiru and Five Gold Curry with crispy tofu, chicken soboro, basil, cilantro and green onion.

Departure’s desserts feature Fried Ginger Cream coated with Panko and tossed with sesame seeds and powdered sugar; Chilled Thai Coffee with tapioca and iced sweet milk; and Coconut Custard with passion fruit caramel and caramelized cocoa nibs. In addition, there is a selection of tropical sorbets changing daily.

Global Beverages – from Hand Crafted Saké and Shochu to Exotic Cocktails

When traveling the globe, cruise ships visit many ports of call to breathe in the flavors of exotic cultures. Manager Ron Acierto has infused the cocktail list with ingredients found throughout the world, along with a specific emphasis on one port of call each month. Specialty cocktails include:
• A.E. Doyle, a modern interpretation of the classic Manhattan and a nod to the original architect of the Meier & Frank Building. Shucho rinsed with yamazaki and orange bitters.
• Perfect Ten, an East deck cocktail that refers to the view of ten bridges and uses pure 10 Cane rum, fresh citrus, mango, pineapple and blackberry puree.
• My Shy Geisha with sparkling saké, Croft pink port, orange zest and tonic
• A China Sea, in honor of Clark Gable, who starred in the movie "China Seas" and, at one time, worked for Meier & Frank as a tie salesman. This cocktail is Departure's version of a gentleman's martini with shochu, saké, cucumber water and garnished with ikura.
• Skylab is a nod to architect Jeff Kovel's favorite cocktail of grapefruit juice and vodka, but the in-house version mixes Chopin vodka with fresh Satsuma orange and lemoncello.

Departure's saké list features 30 hand-crafted sakés including unfiltered and house-style saké. The list will be one of the largest in Portland and include a few hard to find sakés from small artisan producers. Prominent on the beverage list will be shochu, a distilled beverage native to Japan and often served in the Izakayas. At Departure, the shochu will be served with filtered water ice cubes and pickled plum. Happy hour at Departure will be 4-6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and will feature a signature cocktail, beer, wine, shochu, and sake for $5 each, with beverages changing daily.

Executive Chef Bryan Emperor

A Brooklyn native, Emperor first discovered his passion for Asian cuisine while living in Japan as an exchange student. He traded a banking career with Lehman Brothers for the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park and spent his externship in Tokyo discovering the nuances of Korean style yakiniku. Once back in New York City, Emperor worked at Nobu and for two four-star chefs, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Gray Kunz. After helping a colleague open a Japanese restaurant in Beijing, China, Emperor returned to the United States to make his own culinary mark and opened TEN, a modern Asian restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia. Prior to moving to Portland, Emperor was the chef and founding partner of Mr. Jones, an Izakaya/Yakitori style restaurant in New York City.

Departure joins Sage Restaurant Group's growing list of innovative nationwide restaurants that pay as much attention to great food and service as they do to culture, architecture and style. The restaurant is the group’s second property in Portland, Oregon. Departure serves dinner Tuesday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to midnight and Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Happy hour is available Tuesday-Saturday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Departure is located on the 15th floor of the Nines at 525 SW Morrison Street, OR 97204; Tel 503-802-5370. www.departureportland.com