Alex R.
Yelp
Before I write anything else, let me state this:
This place has the best sorbet I've ever tasted...ever...anywhere in the world. They call it "kalamansi"**!
The server could only explain it as "passion fruit mixed w other fruits". Having tasted it, there is no way she could've convincingly said what it tasted like. Imagine a spoonful of the citrus smell that puffs when you push your finger into the bottom of a tangerine to peel it. But, imagine that melting onto your tongue w a balanced sweetness.
I propose that Gross sell this sorbet to surrounding restaurants the way local coffee roasters have their coffee featured on local menus. More people need to taste this!!!
Many "nice" or "fancy" restaurants seem to offer dessert as an afterthought. Gross inverts the concept & skips dinner altogether branding themselves as a "Confection Bar". And they nail the concept!
We tried the "espresso, orange, cardamom" & the "apple crisp profiterole", plus the flannel crush cocktail & the chocolate martini cocktail.
I'd strongly recommend the "espresso, orange, cardamom" (a dish so good they named it w just ingredients)- I think this dish captures what Gross is going for. It's decisively dessert but presented like something out of Netflix's Chef Table. "Elevated" is cliché, but appropriate. The flavors paired perfectly, without becoming cloying or heavy. And if you enjoy texture, this plate has so much going on.
A 1st instinct would be to hit up a "dessert restaurant" after dinner elsewhere. Skip that. Treat this place as it's own destination, not an afterthought. Treat it like a bar or like you're "going out for a treat". If you show up here on a full stomach, you'll rob yourself of an opportunity.
And treating it like a bar seems fit for purpose. The cocktails were expertly mixed. And, even w the confection moniker, the ambience here is more West Elm than Willy Wonka. Taking full advantage of their basement location, this place seems to have all the space on that floor (a rarity at almost any restaurant in the area).
It's a simple concept that's difficult to pull off as successfully as they do. I don't really get the name, though. Maybe it's ironic or I'm missing something - bc there was nothing "gross" about this place. And that mix of surprise & intrigue makes me wish I lived in Portland so I could see Gross develop.
** I have since looked up Kalamansi & learned it is its own fruit cultivated in the Philippines & native to Southeast Asia. Not sure if actual kalamansi is used in the recipe for this sorbet. But, I know something new now & that makes me like this place even more.