Chris Israel's Cozy KASK Debuts Near the West End's Gruner

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[Roth, 7/15/11]

After a delay that saw its opening date pushed back a couple weeks, the team behind the West End's Alpine hotspot Gruner — James Beard-nominated chef Chris Israel and ChefStable "Man with the Golden Touch" Kurt Huffman — debuted Gruner's sister bar, KASK, last Friday.

Both food and drink menus in the 25-seat spot focus on simplicity: Bites fall into the charcuterie, cheese, and "snack" categories, with the former featuring Gruner-made pork terrine and Olympic Provisions' sweetheart ham, the latter offering up house-made pickles and olives. For boozers, the current wine selection includes eight options; the beer list is limited to six (including one on-tap, an Upright saison). The focus here, clearly, is the cocktails: The seven-item cocktail menu (ranging from $9-13) highlights house-made extracts and syrups created by bartending duo Tommy Klus and Drew Putterman — an "Angel's Crest," for example, features Small's gin, yellow chartreuse, lemon, raspberry, cane syrup, Peychaud's, and a splash of Douglas fir tincture. The all-caps KASK — the latest bar to further Portland's Beard-nom-opens-bar trend — is officially open to the public now.
· @KASKpdx [Twitter]
· All Previous KASK Coverage [Eater PDX]
· All Previous Gruner Coverage [Eater PDX]