Cottage Pie, Bridgeport Brewpub and Ale House, Portland OR

Downtown in Portland's Pearl District, a friend and I are sitting in Oregon's oldest craft brewery: Bridgeport Brewpub and Ale House. This is the place that first introduced "micro-brew" to Portland beer enthusiasts. And the town hasn't been the same since. 

For food, I am looking at Bridgeport's pub standard, a mouth watering cottage pie.

Cottage Pie

Made with black angus beef and braised with Bridgeport's own dark porter, the cottage pie arrived right from the oven, iron skillet hot. Along with root veggies and a creamy potato crust, the dish was an eyeful of culinary delight.

Passing the vision test, a forkful of angus beef came across savory, tender, and malty sweet, given the porter base. The taste reminded me of the caramelized sweetness from a slow cook dutch oven concoction. You can see the the caramelized beef and porter stock in the photo. It tastes better than it looks.

The potato crust was creamy on the inside and had a nicely baked outer shell that made dipping your fork into a treat. Mixing the potato with the root vegetables and meaty sauce on a fork and you have a solid mouthful of cottage pie goodness.

For the starter, we had the tasty garlic cheesy breadsticks with marinara. It was almost a meal by itself.

Garlic Cheesy Breadsticks

For my brew, I chose the seasonal  Dark Rain IPA. This IPA tasted with a more robust malty sweetness to it, but still had the crispy hoppyness of a true IPA. Bridgeport serves their ales in 20 ounce imperial pints, which is always appreciated by brewpub habitués. 

Bridgeport Brewpub is located in a Historic Landmark Building that features rustic brick, aged timber and classic iron. Within easy walking distance from downtown, Bridgeport is popular with the Happy Hour crowd as well as those who just want to belly up to the bar and have a pint. 

1313 NW Marshall St. Portland, OR

503-241-3612

Tuesday - Thursday: 11:30am - 11:00pm
Friday - Saturday:11:30am - 12:00am
Sunday-Monday: 11:30am - 10:00pm

http://www.bridgeportbrew.com/