I’ve had many culinary firsts, and can easily remember them all. There was my first octopus. My first foie gras. My first meal in a Michelin-starred restaurant. My first sous vide. My first suckling pig. My first guinea pig. My first visit to a restaurant on the World’s 50 Best list. My first durian.

But a first I’ve never experienced before is visiting a restaurant run by a chef I’d originally met when he was a toddler. That took place Sunday night in Portland at Chef Gabriel Rucker’s Le Pigeon. I was supposed to dine there with Gene O’Neill, with whom I’d attended Clarion in 1979. Gene’s kids used to babysit Rucker when the families were neighbors, and I apparently met the future chef during one of my visits to Napa. Who knew that chubby cheeked kid would turn out to be a world-class chef?

I was supposed to head over to Le Pigeon with Gene the Friday night of last weekend’s World Horror Convention, but my old Clarion pal cancelled out on the con. I wasn’t going to let that stop me from hitting Le Pigeon, though, especially not after getting a look at its amazing menu. Which meant that Friday night was given over to Pok Pok, and I made Sunday reservations for Le Pigeon.

I ended up going with Ellen Datlow (who’s joined me for other fine dining outings), Portlander Leslie What (who shared a ton of local foodie tips), and Greg Chapman (an Australian with whom I co-presented this year’s Stoker for Superior Achievement in a Graphic novel).

Le Pigeon is set up for communal dining, and I was glad we arrived before the four others who were to join us, because our rectangular table narrowed as it jutted out from the wall, and if we’d been on the outside, that would have meant less room for food. And since the many dishes we ordered were large and beautifully plated, we needed all the room we could get. (more…)