Hennessy and Anti-Smash Burgers Reign Supreme at After Ours by chef Richard Le | Eater Portland

"Portland’s first chef-driven vinyl bar opens August 7 as a moody, low-lit hangout to put your feet up, listen to records, and eat, from chef Richard Le (Mémoire Cà Phê), Kim Dam (Mémoire/Portland Cà Phê), and Mikey Nguyen (Index), with record-lined walls nodding to Madlib’s Lord Quas and Lauryn Hill’s Unplugged. The all-day menu pulls hits from Le’s cart Matta—salt and pepper squid, garlic noodles, fried rice, chicken and catfish sandwiches, and burgers topped with egg—plus a dinner lineup paired to inventive drinks by Ketsuda “Nan” Chaison (Norah, Libre). Brunch brings California-style breakfast burritos and avocado toast done up like a banh mi, and the sharing-style format channels the trio’s homes—plate after plate of duck liver and fried and grilled meats meant for snacking with Heineken and glugs of Hennessy. Standouts include the tavern burger, an anti-smash 4.5-ounce patty pressed but not flattened for crust and juiciness, the beef marinated in fish sauce for hours and stacked with American cheese (the “king of cheese,” per Le) and a house “seksy sauce” riffed from Vietnamese staples (“Everyone and their mom is doing a smash burger… I don’t want a crispy piece of paper,” Le says). Late-night, the Hanoi-style pho lands the plane with thicker rice noodles and a fattier, heartier broth—chicken or beef—served simply with maybe scallions and cilantro, a charred lime wedge, fish sauces, and chiles. The bar leans into Nguyen’s devotion to cognac with the Saigon Old Fashioned (Hennessy in place of rye or bourbon), alongside salted lime gin and tonics and lychee martinis. Open 9 a.m.–10 p.m. Sunday–Wednesday and 9 a.m.–2 a.m. Thursday–Saturday." - Paolo Bicchieri