GQ's Alan Richman Names Roe, Sweedeedee to Top 25

Photo of Roe courtesy Avila/EPDX

GQ restaurant man Alan Richman unleashes his annual list of the 25 Best New Restaurants in America, and the 2014 installment features two Portland spots on the opposite ends of the spectrum: NE's sweet, line-inducing cafe Sweedeedee, and Trent Pierce's haute seafood restaurant Roe, the latter of which lands near the top at #3.

At the former, ranked #21, Richman laments the hour-long wait ("I felt like I was in Grand Central Terminal on a day when the trains had stopped running"), but was stopped in his tracks by the braised beef sandwich, deemed "the best non-delicatessen sandwich of my life." (He was also a big fan of the honey pie.) Meanwhile, at Roe — described as a Mostly Seafood Japanese Gem, Hiding in Plain Sight — Richman finds the "understated restaurant of the year," using the word "exquisite" more than once. ("Perfection is so rare it has an excitement all its own.")

Roe is bested only by Qui in Austin and Trois Mec in Los Angeles. All apparently passed the GQ marker of deciphering "what men crave — we want places that slake our appetite, romance the hell out of us, and provide us with a sense of promise and possibility."
· 25 Best Restaurants in America 2014 [GQ]
· All Previous Roe Coverage [Eater PDX]