café tour part I: everett street (i)

...and eleventh. One of my favorite intersections in the Pearl. Evidently, I have always been drawn to cafés with an international feel, something that I'm sure in reality I owe that largely to my mother. Our Café Days began at the Pearl Bakery when I was little, but I'll come back to that.

Having the experience fresh in my mind I feel that a better subject would be the Everett Street Bistro. This European bistro throws you across the country, across an ocean, and into a little café in Paris the second you step through the door and catch Edith Piaf floating from the high-up stamped ceiling. Wicker chairs cluster around little tables, giant mirrors and a quiet bar create a sensation of casual European refinement.

The menu is classic. Quiches, soups, salads...steak tartare. The antipasti plate is perfect to share with assorted meats and pickled vegetables.

Inexplicably, the light and open space hurled me back to one Parisian café in particular. This one was long, dark, and narrow, reaching back away from the street, seemingly endless. Perhaps the only similarity being the commanding presence of the giant mirror on the furthest wall. Though the latter may sound unwelcoming and austere, in fact it was not and it proved to be the perfect escape from the relentless drizzle on the street.

While the Everett Street Bistro is far from severe, the minor details collaborate to create a distinctly European (and in my eyes Parisian) experience.

(Image from Breakfast in Portland)