The restaurant that brought Scandinavian brunch to Portland is now bringing it to the city of Hood River: Broder Øst will officially open for brunch and evening happy hour this Saturday, May 28, and you can see inside the historic venue now in the gallery above.
Longtime Broder manager Chad Hinman tells Eater Hood Riverians have a glut of brewery and pizza options but few breakfast spots. Broder Øst will bring the breakfast, serving the same brunch menu as Broder Cafe on SE Clinton—including its signature trout hash and aebleskiver pancakes with lingonberry jam and house-made lemon curd (see full menus, including happy hour, below). Over the following week, Broder Øst will also offer happy hour from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. nightly.
Then, beginning June 3, Broder Øst will add dinner to the mix, and Hinman says the menu will feature "a lot of simple approaches to proteins like chicken, pork, and salmon. We have been very inspired by Magnus Nilsson's new Nordic Cookbook."
Hood River is Hinman's hometown and 70 miles east of Portland in the Columbia River Gorge. In an email to Eater, he explains why he chose the city as the fourth Broder location.
"The Gorge continues to attract those wanting to escape the over saturation that Portland is currently experiencing," writes Hinman. "I've always romanticized the geography of the Gorge. There is a lot of energy built up in what I've always envisioned as a void between Oregon and Washington. So much activity takes place in this void. There's the river, the wind, the recreation, and commerce that takes advantage of these elements—all flourishing and occupying this empty space. Anyway, that's a little abstract, but it's what has always drawn me back."
What to experience the void for yourself, and then fill it with aebleskiver? Broder Øst will be open May 28 through June 2 for brunch and happy hour, and beginning June 3, it will be open daily for brunch, happy hour, and dinner.