The Picnic House

The Picnic House
The Picnic House
Restaurant information
Established	2012
Owner(s)	Aaron Grimmer; Jessica Grimmer;
Chef	Casey Gipson
Food type	American
Street address	723 SW Salmon Street
City	Portland
County	Multnomah
State	Oregon
Postal/ZIP Code	97205
Country	United States
Coordinates	45°31′03″N 122°40′53″W / 45.5176°N 122.6813°W
Website	picnichousepdx.com

The Picnic House is a restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Park Heathman Hotel, in the United States.

Description

The Picnic House is a restaurant in downtown Portland's Park Heathman Hotel, originally known as the Heathman Hotel.^[1]^[2] Thrillist describes the restaurant as a "prohibition-styled eating space" with a long dining table made from 700 year-old reclaimed fir wood and a menu of "classic, traditional American-style eats".^[3] In her guide book Moon Portland (2014), Hollyanna McCollom described the restaurant as an American and French-style bistro with a simple menu and the option to rent a picnic basket with food and wine to consume at the nearby South Park Blocks. She described the interior, which features dark wood and black-and-white tiles, as "bright and open" and "cute" and "rustic".^[1]

In 2015, Eater Portland's Mattie John Bamman said the restaurant offers "fancier, international fare".^[4] The website's Erin DeJesus has described The Picnic House as a "charming fast-casual spot" with "elevated picnic fare" including pastas, salads, sandwiches, and soups. One soup has roasted cauliflower with Parmesan, and salad options include ricotta and vegetables. The menu also has roasted pork loin and small plates with pickled shrimp and bavette skewers,^[5] as well as charcuterie and desserts.^[1]

History

Aaron and Jessica Grimmer opened The Picnic House in mid 2012.^[5] Casey Gipson served as chef, as of 2016.^[6]^[7]

The Picnic House has hosted a variety of special events and performances. In 2016, the restaurant hosted a "one-man dinner-theater show" in which Phillip J. Berns portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge and other characters in an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. Berns performed on a staircase and was accompanied by a pianist. Shannon Gormley and Jack Russell described the "set" as a "dining room reminiscent of the first-class quarters aboard the Titanic".^[8] In 2019, The Picnic House and neighboring Barlow Artisanal Bar (also owned by the Grimmers)^[9]^[10] hosted a fifth annual New Year's Eve celebration. The carnival-themed party included fortunetellers, games, live music and circus performances, and raffles, as well as a costume contest, an ice luge, and a glass of champagne for toasting the New Year.^[11]^[12]

In November 2018, Picnic PDX opened in northwest Portland as a "whimsical sister restaurant" to The Picnic House and Barlow.^[13]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c McCollom, Hollyanna (May 14, 2019). Moon Portland. Avalon Publishing. p. 66. ISBN 9781640493681. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ Walsh, Chad (July 2018). "What's Opening" (PDF). Northwest Examiner. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ "The Picnic House". Thrillist. Group Nine Media. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ Bamman, Mattie John (September 29, 2015). "Late-Night Frybread Spot Opens Near Luc Lac". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ ^a ^b DeJesus, Erin (June 5, 2012). "The Picnic House Unpacks Near Downtown's Park Blocks". Eater Portland. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ Ross, Thomas (December 16, 2015). "High Noon Is the Downtown Destination for Frybread Freaks". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ Batt, Andy (August 22, 2016). "Oregon Storytellers: Casey Lee Gipson". 1859. OCLC 489252235. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ Gormley, Shannon; Rushall, Jack (December 14, 2016). "We Saw Three Versions of A Christmas Carol In One Weekend". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on December 15, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ Bamman, Mattie John (January 31, 2017). "Portland Restaurateurs Unveil Food/Horror/Talk Show Series". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ Bamman, Mattie John (February 13, 2017). "ChkChk to Fry Its Last Chicken Sandwich February 14". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ Stein, Rosemarie (December 21, 2019). "New Year's Eve 2019: 10 ways to ring in 2020 around Portland". The Oregonian. Advance Publications. ISSN 8750-1317. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ "The New Year's Eve Party Megalist!". Portland Mercury. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (2 May 2018). "This Knockout Bagel Shop Just Opened on N Russell". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.