Young Artisan Chef Steps Up To The Table

Portland Chef Anthony Cafiero Takes The Reigns As Chef De Cuisine at Laurelhurst Neighborhood's Tabla Mediterranean Bistro

Portland, OR (August 3, 2009) - Tabla Mediterranean Bistro's founder and owner Adam Berger is pleased to announce the promotion of Sous Chef Anthony Cafiero to Chef de Cuisine, rounding out a tight-knit staff at the NE Portland neighborhood restaurant.

"Tabla Mediterranean Bistro is a restaurant that has won the hearts of Portland diners because of quality, consistency and value," says Berger. "Anthony is grounded in these values and brings his own sense of youthful daring."

A longtime artist and woodworker at heart, Anthony is a self-taught chef originally from upstate New York who moved to Portland in 2000 to study fine arts at Reed College. Anthony swapped tools for utensils after graduating and found his true calling building flavors in the kitchen. After spending time in renowned kitchens like Nostrana, Paley's Place and Ten 01, Anthony found his home at Tabla Mediterranean Bistro in 2008.

"At Tabla MB I am working alongside a team that is more like a family and I have the freedom explore my creative instincts in the kitchen," says 28-year old Cafiero. "We offer guests the complete food and wine experience and I am dedicated to making Tabla MB one of the best restaurants in Portland. The value here for any diner is unbeatable, and the menu allows me to explore ingredients, flavors, cooking techniques and my many culinary influences."

Tabla Mediterranean Bistro has been a leader in sophisticated value driven dining since opening in Portland's burgeoning Laurelhurst neighborhood in 2003, bringing a European dining style to Portland. The pace, elemental simplicity of cuisine and unexpected discoveries transport diners to the epicurean coasts of the Mediterranean, where what's served is inspired from the backyard gardens and farmer's markets of Portland. Tabla MB's young team of passionate professionals give guests the best quality for the lowest price, offering a $24 three-course prix fixe menu that includes an appetizer, a pasta and an entr�e.

Cafiero's dishes are both visually driven and surprising - flavors are subtly layered, engaging diners' senses. His menu maintains signature dishes like the Tabla ravioli - housemade ravioli with chard, ricotta, poached farm egg and poppy seed butter - a dish owner Adam Berger learned while cooking in a small, family-owned restaurant in Italy. While embracing the housemade pasta as the star of the middle course of the menu, Cafiero has introduced the farmer's market's local ingredients to every dish. The current summer menu features dishes like warm haricot vert salad with chioggia beets, hazelnuts, aged balsamic and fried farm egg; fettuccine verde with basil-pistachio pesto, cherry tomato, ricotta salata; and coriander crusted Oregon albacore with roasted red pepper, pine nut agrodolce, minted yogurt and couscous. Cafiero and Wine Director Michael Garofola work together to offer suggested wine pairings alongside each dish.

Cafiero's fresh approach to Tabla MB's cuisine complements the restaurant's buzzing Northeast 28th Avenue neighborhood. A common bike route for many Portlanders, Tabla MB will soon install bike racks conveniently located outside the restaurant and offer and encourage two-wheeled dinner guests to take a seat and enjoy new flavors coaxed from great ingredients.

Tabla Mediterranean Bistro is located at 200 NE 28th Avenue (on the corner of NE 28th and Davis) in Portland, Oregon. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday 5 p.m. to close. To contact the restaurant, call (503) 238-3777, or visit http://www.tmbistro.com

Media Contacts:
Watershed Communications
Lisa Donoughe / 503.827.6564 / lisa@watershedcom.com
Katie Burnett / 503.827.6564 / katie@watershedcom.com