Autentica

Seven of the 20 nominations for The James Beard Best Northwest Chef went to Portland chefs and we are working our way through the restuarants we have not been to; next up on the list Autentica and Chef Oswaldo Bibiano.

Autentica is located in the new NE restaurant vortex (there are at least five amazing places on the same stret) and the serve up traditional recipeies from the Guerrero region of Mexico. These are hearty dishes, of which the chicken mole (which I ordered) is the king. The Pollo en Mole Guerrerense is half a chicken in Autentica’s house made mole sauce, with more than 30 ingredients including: nuts, chocolate, chiles, bread, plantains, tortilla, tomatoes, onions, cinnamon, cloves, garlic, anise and more. You could eat the mole with rice and make it an entire meal, but you would miss out on the amazingly moist chicken that falls off the bone. The Carnita Autentica is traditional pork carnitas , served with amazing refried black beans and grilled tomatillo sauce, another must.

As a starter we tried the ceviche crudo, which was very nice. Add a couple of Caddilac Margaritas and you will be in great shape. The only dissapointment was the lime cheescake that was way too dense and filling at the end of such a heavy meal.

Tue- Sun 5-10 PM
Weekend Brunch: Sat+Sun 10 AM-2 PM

Autentica

5507 NE 30th Ave

Portland, OR 97211

503-287-7555