Bazkari Catering at the Public Market House

I’m really digging the Public Market House expansion.  With the opening of the second floor, it’s becoming a great place to grab a quick lunch from a variety of interesting and creative food vendors.  Most recently, Bazkari Catering started selling lunch on Wednesdays (Monument Square farmer’s market day) from Spartan Grill’s old spot on the first floor.

Bazkari operates a daily lunch-delivery service in Portland and So. Portland and features Spanish food prepared by Ana O’Connell, who has lived in Andalusia and the Basque region of Spain.  Each day it offers a different dish which can be delivered to your workplace in the morning; ready to heat and eat for lunch.  From 11:30 until 1:30 on Wednesdays, you’ll find several of these dishes offered, along with traditional Spanish deserts and sandwiches.

I’ve tried the “very special rice,” which I would generally describe as a Spanish fried rice (though much less oily than you’re usual Chinese style fried rice).  It is subtly flavored and features abundant pieces of Serrano ham, chicken, shrimp and egg omelette.  Since the rice is mildly spiced, you really notice the flavors of the individual proteins, particularly the ham and egg.  Still, I found myself wishing the rice had a bit more flavor.  Other entrees include pollo al jerez (sherry chicken; which was on the menu Wednesday) along with Spanish shepard’s pie and stuffed piquillo peppers with bechamel sauce (available by delivery and hopefully on future Wednesdays at the Public Market).

The “bocata de jamon y manchego” (ham and cheese) is a great example of letting high-quality ingredients shine.  When you’re composing a sandwich with Serrano ham and manchego cheese, what more do you need?  After ordering, you watch as Ana first carefully slices several pieces to order from a large ham and then slices the manchego cheese.  A few tomato slices and some olive oil complete the sandwich, which is served on ciabatta bread.  I love food like this: a good, simple, sandwich, composed with great care.  My next deli ham and swiss is sure to pale in comparison.

The Public Market House seems to be providing a variety of local food businesses the opportunity to sell lunch, without permanently committing to a full-time restaurant or food stall.  Hopefully Bazkari maintains its Wednesday spot and other vendors appear on other days (there was Mexican food one day last week in the same spot).  Ideally, you could stop by for lunch and find different cuisines featured throughout the week.

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