Sample Platter: A snapshot of our recently reviewed restaurants

Elevation at Cascade Culinary Institute (COCC)

In addition to regular culinary courses, the curriculum at the culinary institute includes hands-on front-and back-of-the-house training for students at Elevation. It’s a chance for students to experience firsthand what it’s like to work every position within a full-service restaurant. Profits from the restaurant cover the food and administration costs, but the gratuities from Elevation—which seats more than 75 people—go entirely into a scholarship fund for students. Virtually every ingredient on the menu is locally sourced, from the meat, cheese and produce, all the way to the beverage menu, which includes a nice variety of Oregon wines, Sierra Nevada Elevation Ale and Portland-produced sodas. Highlights include Draper Valley chicken with apple fennel farce and the Lacino kale appetizer. 2555 NW Campus Village Way, 1-877-541-2433

Old Mill Brew Werks

The restaurant opened 18 months ago, but changed hands in January, freeing up former owner Dave Love to launch a new brewing endeavor simply called Brew Werks. Love and the new owners are working together on that beer venture and will soon take over 10 Barrel’s original space off Empire. In addition to starting their own beer line, the new owners also brought in chef Rudy Garcia from Portland, who has dramatically upped the pub’s food quality. We had just two real regrets. One was not trying the half-pound burger, stacked nearly six inches tall and smothered with bbq sauce, cheddar cheese and shoestring onions that passed in all its ground beef glory to another table. The other was not trying any of Garcia’s specials, which go way beyond mere pub food, such as stuffed duck breast with an apricot rum sauce and a walnut encrusted pork loin with horseradish and green apple whipped cream. Also look for the Scotch egg, a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage and rolled in breadcrumbs, then baked and fried before being sliced in half to show off the cross-section, then served on mashed potatoes and drizzled with an IPA-infused mustard. 384 SW Upper Terrace Dr. 541-633-7670e

This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 4, 2012.