(Portland, Oregon)
A new restaurant project is promising to bring back the gangbuster Portland culinary scene, by going where the local, creative farm-to-table has feared to tread: the comfortable familiarity of the global commercial food industry.
A goal of the nascent effort is to bring economic relief to chefs who have lost businesses to the one-two punch of pre-pandemic real estate frenzy and pandemic shutdowns. Setting aside the experimental devolution of Portland’s indie past, the new restaurant will give chefs a nightly opportunity to “cover” successful dishes from America’s most popular restaurants including Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, and Applebees. There will also be Ironic Menu nights featuring fast-food oddities like McRib and Taco Bell pizzas, plus special (premium-ticket) artistic dinners that permit the kitchen staff to reproduce the biggest hits of Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse.
The new restaurant is called McTribute and is already booked solid with reservations through the first 27 weeks after its planned December 25 opening.
This isn’t just great news for chefs seeking a steady paycheck – it will also be great exposure for those quirky cooks who want to maintain a little side-hustle focused on their own quaintly original cuisine!