Maurice Sparkles With 2.5 Stars; Deep Dish in Portland

Photo of Maurice courtesy Avila/EPDX

Since launching the starred review system six months ago, The Oregonian critic Michael Russell has yet to bestow a three-star review, but his second "almost there" dropped last week during his take on Maurice: The pastry luncheonette earns 2.5 stars for chef Kristen D. Murray's precision as a "culinary mixtape artist." As in other published reviews, there's much comment about the space — "It looks the like the kind of cafe a character in one of the quieter Hayao Miyazaki films might build" — and many compliments for the food:

Order a scone and "you might walk away thinking it's the best you've had in Portland," while a duck quiche is described as "fluffy, creamy, mildly gamey." Russell recommends the chocolate capuchin cake ("gooey" and decorated with pearlescent sugar), plus the citrus pudding cake, aka a "madcap lemon bar." And though he notes that the restaurant may still be "finding its identity," he argues the empty tables and lack of wait times "feels like an oversight (on our part)." Ultimately, finding success as a pastry chef "requires precision, skill, and flexibility," and Murray seems to have all of the above. [OregonLive]

The Mercury's Andrea Damewood has finally discovered good deep-dish pizza in Portland, and it can be found at downtown food cart Thick. (In an excellent baseball analogy, "Thick is making pies that hit more bases than the hapless Cubs this season.") Owner (and Chicago native) Michael Cline offers a simple menu of deep-dish slices, and each element seems to work: Sauce is "layered with spices," cheese "appropriately stretchy and thick," and the sometimes-mushy crust interior is balanced by a "buttery crispness... just right around the edges." Pro-tip: Pre-order a whole pizza and it's yours for "an obscenely low cost" ($20 for cheese). Ultimately, Thick provides "the first decent deep-dish pizza made in Portland." [Mercury]
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