Alder Pastry and Dessert Opens on E. Burnside

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The E. Burnside explosion continues: Former Heathman pastry chef Matthew Zack (who most recently earned raves as a James Beard-featured "StarChef" during his stint as pastry chef at Walla Walla's 26Brix, and later at his own shop, Colville St. Patisserie), has returned to Portland, debuting Alder Pastry and Dessert yesterday. "I've always loved Portland," says Zack, who first moved to PDX from New York City in 1999. "I feel really lucky I got this spot... the whole strip from 7th up E. Burnside, there's a lot of good restaurants."

The 46-seat shop features pastries, desserts, and "gelato-style" ice creams, with everything made from scratch. Daily options include seven to eight varieties of mini mousse cakes (in flavors like coconut kalamansi and chocolate vanilla); breakfast pastries like almond croissants, ham & cheese croissants, and stuffed danishes; and 10 flavors of ice cream — "similar to what I was doing in Walla Walla," Zack says.
Alder Pastry is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 9am to midnight (to catch the dessert-seeking post-dinner crowd); no website yet.