We took part in one of the Saturday night summer dinners that are $275/couple + optional wine, etc. Glad we went and here are the pros/cons we'd tell a friend who asks and wants details vs. a quick yes or no:
Pros:
Beautiful, rustic setting. You drive 30 minutes north of downtown Portland, park on the field and walk over to their iconic 400-yr old tree for dinner under which tables are set up for 180 guests, handed a drink as you stand in the check-in line, that opens an hour before dinner. It's next to a vast field of tall sunflowers in full bloom with a nice winding trail through them to the air conditioned bathroom trailer.
Friendly, attentive service. Staff all seemed happy to be there, could answer people's questions and were moving fast to bring out all the family style courses, keep the mason glasses of water topped off, etc.
Communal joy. Part of the fun with such events is the randomness of who you end up next to via the assigned seating at the long tables. So it you're going as a twosome it helps a lot if you're an extrovert or have brought one with you to sit across from you and make small talk with strangers for three hours. The crowd was a nice variety of groupings, from the group of 10 tan ladies arriving together in sun dresses, to the young pregnant couples, to retired couples.
Helping a small business. Whatever weirdness the state government had recently proposed that had local farmers crying in social media videos now viewed millions of times had recently and swiftly been resolved thanks to surge of support so we could all feel good about that and it put a celebratory vibe in the air.
Cons:
The experience is not worth the steep price. For a few reasons:
This was the once-a-summer Vegetarian menu, with the courses being Hermiston melon w/ arugula, broccolini with croutons, summer squash w/ blackberries and tzatziki, risotto with cherry tomatoes and mascarpone, and angel food cake with side of diced peaches and slivered almonds. Nice re: seasonal and we're guessing much of it grown nearby (nothing was said either way about that) but given that it was lacking flavor, served at room temp, and courses without, say, the preciousness and market rates of roasted lamb or fresh seafood, one might feel a bit cheated.
At similar farm-to-table outdoor events elsewhere, there's typically two aspects from the hosts that were lacking here -- Nice 1:1 interaction with the hosts throughout the time and some scene-setting/storytelling from them.
In this case, the couple checked people in at arrival on the clipboard and then an hour later welcomed everyone and intro'd the chef, but then spent most of the dinner seated at the end of one of the rows (other places the hosts usually do a bit of table to table to say hello, answer questions, note which things they harvested are on the menu tonight, etc.)
Noticed they in their nice matching cowboy hats did stand and talk to some seated diners before dessert but it was focused on on group, not working their way through, which would have been a nice touch, and would have loved to talk with them, to find out how long they've had this farm, how often or rarely they do this event, where do all these dishes get washed, etc.
Net:
If you go, think of like when you go to a revolving restaurant -- you're splurging for the beautiful view and unique experience, not necc. a memorable meal or something you'll rush to repeat. read more