I’m spending a few weeks in Portland with my daughter and son-in-law, which means I’m getting to sample some great food while I’m here. Jenny and Josh are both wonderful cooks, so I’m never disappointed with whatever they stir up. They also have keen radars for local restaurants — everything from fine dining to what qualifies as fast food but tastes like anything but. Of course, as everywhere else, COVID shook up the dining scene here, forcing establishments to pivot and adjust or go out of business. Over the past two years they’ve seen some favorites close up, but they’ve also discovered new places or new services from “old” places.

They were excited to share with me the Hello Thursday takeaway service from Portland catering company Grand Cru Hospitality. The chef-owned company had built up a fine reputation in catering, food and bar services (Bar Cru) from its inception in 2012; and when the pandemic hit, the owners sought a way to support both their employees and their community. They developed a once-a-week takeout service from the business’s storefront in suburban southwest Portland. The menu is usually posted (on social media and delivered to subscribers’ inboxes) on a Monday or Tuesday for pick-up that Thursday, and it usually focuses on one global or regional cuisine. It might be Texas barbecue one week, Thai the next and Mexican after that.

This week we enjoyed a trip to France, and as is typical of a Hello Thursday menu, there were a few meals-for-two options, some solo entrées, sides and a dessert. Bar Cru also offered a couple of cocktails. Prices ranged from $32 for the Beef Bourguignon meal for two (which included mashed potatoes and a side green salad) to $10 for a hearty lentil soup, $7 for a side of pommes frites or the dessert of a tiramisu-inspired trifle. We ordered more than we three adults could actually handle at one sitting, figuring we needn’t cook for probably two dinners and perhaps a lunch, as well.

We ordered one of the Beef Bourguignon dinners as well as the whole roasted chicken dinner for two (which also included mashed potatoes and salad), and my daughter couldn’t resist ordering a reminder of her days in Paris, a cheesy, rich, Croque Monsieur served on a fresh-baked jumbo croissant and with a side of fries. We also ordered two of the desserts. One can order online up until 7 a.m. Thursday morning and pick up the food that evening.

I can assure you that everything was delicious, and the portions for two would easily satisfy three adults, while a single Croque Monsieur would feed two. The beef Bourguignon was hearty and rich, perfect on a cold winter night alongside the creamy mashed potatoes, while the salad added a crisp, lighter element and was garnished with pickled shallots, candied walnuts and tiny cherry tomatoes. The brined chicken was moist and flavorful, and the Croque Monsieur was almost too decadent, with bechamel, Black Forest ham, sharp white Tillamook cheddar and rich Gruyère; the croissant really was too light for such a burden. The trifle also proved unbelievably decadent, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying it!

I’m eager to see which cuisine next week’s menu will feature. It’s quite a treat to be able to have fine-dining international food right at home, one of those silver linings the past two years have served up.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor