Celilo restaurant in Hood River town on the Oregon bank of Columbia River is another exception to the rule that foodies can find cuisine with sophisticated tastes only in big cities. We subscribe to that, and when we travel, we tend to temper our expectations to a “good enough” level regarding restaurants.
In Hood River, we had a mix from “never again” to “ok” and “excellent”.
Celilo was the first restaurant we dined in town, and they set the flavor bar so high that other restaurants pale in comparison. Here’s why.
Wine List
Hood River is part of the Gorge wine region, and wine lists are naturally dominated by local wines, if not exclusive. On the contrary, Celilo’s wine list is well-balanced between Columbia Gorge, Oregon, Washington, French, and other international wines. They have well-known labels and rare finds like 2020 Domaine Dugois “La Sombarde” Ploussard Arbois Rouge from the Jura region of France.
Prices are reasonable, especially for American wines, and some present great values. For example, Rombauer Chardonnay is only $70 ($35-40 retail), and a few others.
Celilo’s wine list is the best in town we have found so far, considering the diversity and very reasonable prices.
Celilo Menu
The menu can satisfy anyone from vegans to pescatarians and carnivores. For starters, we paired Crémant de Bourgogne with oven-roasted Willapa Bay Manila clams with fresh fennel, garlic, red chili flakes, and fennel pollen.
For the main course, we ordered a couple of dishes:
- Pan-roasted Pacific Black Cod served over squash purée, roasted radish, cauliflower, and huckleberry-sherry sauce.
- House-made pasta with lamb and pork merguez sausage, sweet pepper and onion piperade, fresh scallion, and shaved Ricotta Salata cheese
Wine Pairing
Each main course needed a different wine, but we challenged ourselves to find one that would satisfy both dishes. Pasta with lamb needed red, yet light enough not to overpower Black Cod. It also needed to be fruity to complement the huckleberry-sherry sauce and sweet pepper.
The obvious choice would’ve been Oregon Pinot Noir, and plenty of good options were on the list. Still, we wanted something more interesting. It would’ve been mission impossible in other restaurants in the area but not at Celilo.
2020 Domaine Dugois “La Sombarde” Ploussard Arbois Rouge
We settled on 2020 Domaine Dugois “La Sombarde” Ploussard Arbois Rouge. It’s made from 100% Ploussard, a fun alternative to Pinot Noir with a bit more earthiness and tannic structure.
Interestingly, “La Sombarde” came from the Jura appellation, located east of the Burgundy region on the border with Switzerland.
The barnyard earthiness, which Ploussard is known for, came right through. We even had to wait for the wine to open up and for the barnyard aroma (a good thing in French wine) to soften and release the fruity nature of “La Sombarde.” And it did!
Raspberry, red currant syrup and crème de cassis stepped forward, complimented by green notes of sour cherry leaf, mushrooms, and rainy forest aromas.
It tasted like all kinds of crisp red berries: lingonberry, cloudberry, dogwood berry, and red currant. If those berries don’t ring any flavor bells, think of cranberry cross with strawberry and raspberry.
What can we say? We had a very diverse upbringing and had a chance to try all of them and even grow some in our garden. By the way, you can familiarize yourself with lingonberry on your visit to Ikea and red currant in June-July from local produce or farmers markets when they are in season.
Well, back to wine and food pairing! While “La Sombarde” had more tannin than typical Pinot, it was soft and didn’t overshadow sublime wine flavors.
The acidity and tannin balanced the richness of Wild Boar Pappardelle, and fruitiness complimented Black Cod with Huckleberry-sherry sauce.
2020 Domaine Dugois “La Sombarde” was a unifying component of our dinner, just as we anticipated.
Dessert and Wine
We were instantly curious when we saw Chocolate Panna Cotta on the menu because it was the first time we’d seen it chocolate flavored. Still, to hedge our dessert bets, we also ordered Pluot Upside Down Cake.
Our immediate question was about the texture: Is it as smooth, creamy, and a bit gelatinous as the original Panna Cotta? We were assured that it was.
As we thought, the chocolate changed the texture and consistency, best described as a chocolate mousse rather than a classic firm and lightly wobbly Panna Cotta. Still, we had no regrets because we loved the flavors.
When it came to Upside Down Cake, it was precisely what we expected – a perfectly made moist sponge cake with balanced sweet and sour flavors of plum and apricot.
To accompany our desserts, we ordered Celilo’s interpretation of Old Fashioned with Jerez and 2008 Sauternes, a classic dessert wine.
The nutty undertones from Jerez paired excellently with the chocolate flavors of Panna Cotta but overpowered Pluot Cake.
It worked in reverse with Sauternes because it budded heads with creamy notes of Panna Cotta. Yet, its sweet orange, apricot, and honeyed flavors, along with refreshing acidity, went hand-in-hand with the plumy-apricoty profile of the cake.
Overall, based on the diversity of wine and food menu and sophisticated cuisine, Celilo presents a unique epicurean combination we would love to revisit next time we’re in the area.