PoMo Reviews Thrive Sauce & Bowls | WWeek Weighs in on The Feisty Lamb

PORTLAND MONTHLY—Writer Kelly Clarke tackled Erika Reagor's Thrive Sauce & Bowls this week, calling it "a welcome addition" to the neighborhood. While the menu "isn't life-altering enough to warrant a drive across the city," Thrive Sauce & Bowls  "hits that sweet spot" with "big salads groaning with shaved beets and goat cheese"; "hearty veggie and rice bowls crowned with juicy, perfectly cooked proteins for the carnivores"; and the "wildly-spiced house sodas" which easily become adult-friendly "with a jigger or two of good booze."

WILLAMETTE WEEK—A week after the Mercury's Ms. Damewood took down The Feisty Lamb,WWeek critic Michael Zusman offers his two cents. He writes that the "menu is, let's just say, idiosyncratic—and relatively expensive." Diners are "sparse." Whereas Damewood slammed the spot for spotty service, Zusman says, "Edelstein is busting her ass five days a week, enthusiastically preparing a short catalog of flavorful, well-composed plates" using "scrupulously" sourced ingredients. Edelstein is "often your server too." Zusman recommends the "curry popcorn," "fusiony lamb belly char shiu," the "lamb bacon" "sarmie," the "square of lamb bobotie," the vegetarian "Ratatouille Renovation," and the desserts in general. Still, he concludes, "The Feisty Lamb is an unusual and very personal project, and it may prove too eccentric for this city, but it's endearing nonetheless."

PORTLAND MERCURY—Portland Mercurcy critic Andrea Damewood writes, "Tastebud, like Firehouse, is a neighborhood spot that's worth a drive, with a pizza-heavy menu also featuring wood-fired entrees, a smattering of tasty vegetable dishes, and small plates." And though wood-fired pizza joints are "more common in Portland than Scarface posters in a dorm" and often come with "overpriced petite pies" that are "burnt and floppy in the center," Tastebud's pizzas are "much larger" and arrive "on a thicker, bagel-esque crust that holds up to the well-considered toppings." The pizzas fall short in just one way: "the toppings give way to too much crust to bother finishing."