Touché Restaurant & Bar
| Touché Restaurant and Bar | |
|---|---|
| File:Touché logo.png | |
 The building which housed the restaurant, 2022 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1995 |
| Closed | May 14, 2017 |
| Food type | Italian |
| Street address | 1425 NW Glisan Street |
| City | Portland |
| County | Multnomah |
| State | Oregon |
| Postal/ZIP Code | 97209 |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: 45°31′36″N 122°41′09″W / 45.52667°N 122.68591°W ⧼validator-fatal-error⧽ |
Touché Restaurant and Bar, or simply Touché, was an Italian restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Pearl District, in the United States. Established by Frank Ernandes in 1995, the restaurant was housed in a former fire station and became known for its wood-fired pizzas and pasta.
In 2016, plans emerged for a developer to replace the building, along with others, to build a new 12-story apartment building. Touché closed in May 2017.
Description[edit]
Touché was a "Mediterranean-influenced" Italian restaurant. Downstairs was a combined dining area and bar, and upstairs was a billiard hall with six tables,[1][2] as well as backgammon, darts and Lotto.[3] It was housed in a former fire station, built in 1913, and located on a 5,000-square-foot lot at the intersection of 14th Avenue and Glisan Street in Northwest Portland's Pearl District.[4][5]
The restaurant became known for its wood-fired pizzas and pasta entrees.[6] The appetizer menu included fried calamari with capers, chili flakes, garlic, parsley and fresh citrus juices. Entrees included lamb papadelle and grilled lamb with walnut hot sauce. The happy hour menu had gyros.[2]
History[edit]
Building[edit]
The firehouse was listed on the City of Portland's Historic Resource Inventory for its 20th-century Italian Renaissance architecture and historic importance. According to the Historic Resource Inventory, the building was designed for Engine and Truck Company #3 and was "one of four stations of similar design erected on the west side, all designed by Battalion Chief Lee Holden, father of the gas-driven fire boat. This station was originally designed for horse-drawn apparatus and was remodeled later to accommodate mechanized fire equipment."[5]
In 1967, the station was sold and the building served as a warehouse and freight outlet.[5] The building later housed Delevan's, described as the "hottest, hippest jazz joint in town", [7] and Remo's.[8]
Portland's first restaurant to serve wood-fired Italian pizzas, Perlina, opened in the building in 1992.[6][9] Giuliano Hazan, son of Marcella Hazan, was Perlina's chef.[7] In 1995, Jonathan Nicholas of The Oregonian said Perlina "was launched on the reputation of a high-profile chef, Giuliano Hazan. Then it sank. This time around, owners are taking a different approach... Renamed Touche, Perlina has been pared down to 'pasta, pizza and pool.' It just opened for dinners, seven nights each week, with a lunch trade set to follow by August".[10]
Robert Ames and James Puckett owned the building, as of 2016.[5] In 2016, The Oregonian said the building's "interior is so altered, its original occupants wouldn’t recognize the place if they arrived in its lobby by way of time travel, though they may be pleased to sit down and have a meal at the restaurant, Touché, which now fills the space".[11]
Touché[edit]
Frank Ernandes (or Ernandez)[7] established Touché in 1995.[6]
In April 2016, Touché's general manager confirmed a developer's plans to demolish the former firehouse, along with two neighboring restaurants, and construct a 12-story apartment building in its place.[4][12][13] In June 2016, The Oregonian said the building "will remain standing after all, as a developer has altered plans to replace it with market-rate apartments".[14]
In an online post, the restaurant's staff confirmed its last day would be May 14, 2017:[15]
Our wonderful run is coming to an end. We have been faithfully serving food and booze in the Pearl for over 20 years, long before the boom of condos and apartments that is unfortunately pushing us out. We are working on finding a new location, but in the meantime, come down and see us while you can. We love you, and thanks for the two decades of love and support.[6]
Reception[edit]
In 2001, Rod Patterson of The Oregonian said, "The sign outside says it all. Or most of it: late-night dining. The Touche story, though, as told on the menu, is one of fair prices and food that isn't froufrou, where you can get a five-course dinner or just a pizza."[3] In an article about the restaurant's pending closure, Eater Portland's Mattie John Bamman wrote, "With Touché, Portland loses one of the more unique nightlife opportunities in the city: a robust Italian restaurant and bar with an expansive, second-story billiards room atop a spiral staircase."[6]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Portland, Oregon: Including the Metro Area and Vancouver, Washington. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7627-5580-6. Archived from the original on 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-04-26. Unknown parameter
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Touché". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-04-26. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Patterson, Rod (April 20, 2001). "Pearl District Down-to-Earth in a Lofty Neighborhood". The Oregonian. p. 16.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Benner, Mike (April 29, 2016). "Touche Restaurant & Bar facing potential demolition". KGW. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "1913 Firehouse Home to 'Touché Restaurant' Faces Demolition". The Portland Chronicle. April 1, 2016. Archived from the original on May 14, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Bamman, Mattie John (May 8, 2017). "Touché Restaurant to Shutter After 20 Years in the Pearl District". Eater Portland. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 NICHOLAS, JONATHAN (January 28, 1992). "THINGS HEAT UP AGAIN AT OLD FIREHOUSE". The Oregonian. pp. D01.
- ↑ SARASOHN, DAVID (September 3, 1993). "WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S PERLINA". The Oregonian. pp. AE34.
- ↑ NICHOLAS, JONATHAN (February 7, 1993). "A REAL PERL BOBS BACK TO SURFACE IN PEARL DISTRICT". The Oregonian. pp. L02.
- ↑ Nicholas, Jonathan (June 9, 1995). "Len and His Laptop". The Oregonian. pp. C01.
- ↑ "Portland developers should remain mindful of the past". The Oregonian. May 9, 2016. p. 11.
- ↑ Steele, Tim (April 11, 2016). "Portland appetite for housing eats restaurants". KOIN. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Bell, Jon (April 4, 2016). "Historic fire station building, home to longtime Portland restaurant, may come down for 150 Pearl District apartments". Portland Business Journal. Archived from the original on April 4, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2023. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Hammill, Luke (June 1, 2016). "Pearl District firehouse won't be demolished". The Oregonian. p. 12.
- ↑ Bakall, Samantha (2017-05-08). "Longtime Pearl District restaurant Touche to close". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2023-04-26. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
External links[edit]
Other articles of the topic Food : Honey, Starbucks Corporation, Kreplach
Other articles of the topic Oregon : The Portland Mercury, NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship
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