Carafe Portland Or

Portland's Petite Perfection

From a diner’s perspective, Petite Jacqueline has loads of good mojo. Some of that is inherited: The French bistro occupies the storefront that for years housed Café Uffa, one of Portland’s most beloved neighborhood eateries.

More recently, it was home to Evangeline, chef Erik Desjarlais’ effort to translate the adventurous French fine dining he’d offered at Bandol for the masses. So when Petite Jacqueline opened in March, two key elements were already crossed off the to-do list: a comfortable, welcoming vibe (albeit with itty-bitty bathrooms) and a legacy of tasty French fare, heavy on the butter, and perfectly sauced.

Of course, one restaurateur’s ability to serve beautiful food in a particular piece of real estate has little bearing on the success of subsequent tenants’ menus. That’s where Steve and Michelle Corry, with business partner Elizabeth Koenigsberg, come in. Flush from the success of Five Fifty-Five, which landed Steve Corry on the cover of Food & Wine magazine and quickly became a Portland fine dining institution, the Corrys decided to launch a more casual place. “Michelle’s family is from France, and she and Steve had cooked with her grandmother, Jacqueline, who was an amazing French chef,” says Koenigsberg, who first worked with the couple when she served as general manager at Five Fifty-Five. “All three of us thought that Portland really needed something more casual, more approachable, but with the same high-quality ingredients we use at Five Fifty-Five.”