New Lardo Brick and Mortar location opens in Portland Today

I have been a fan of the Lardo food cart ever since they opened in the food cart pod next to Movie Madness on Belmont. They were coincidentally located next to The Sugar Cube cart fronted by Kir Jensen who makes some of the finest pastries in town. Upon my first visit to Lardo owner Rick Gencarelli immediately commented on my The Hop & Vine track jacket and Upright Brewing Oyster Stout t-shirt. I knew immediately he was a beer geek. I had a feeling great things would happen between Rick's Lardo food truck and Kir's dessert truck and I am happy to say about a year later they have teamed up for the first brick and mortar location of Lardo on 12th and SE Hawthorne BLVd across the street from one of the original cart pods Cartopia. Not surprisingly Lardo will add an impressive draft beer selection to their new diner space while Kir's The Sugar Cube cart will rest in their parking lot between many picnic tables on the patio.

Lardo is known for an American take on Italian style and very meat centric foods. They have become very well known for their double burger and Porchetta which is ranked among the best in town.  The new space will have 16 taps with 2 of those going to wine on tap and one to a root beer. The walk-in cooler attached to the side of the building will have split lines to add an outdoor bar coming off of the cooler too. Right now they have a handful of patio tables and plan to add even more. Also of note they have a full liquor license but a limited selection of booze they will have their own house cocktails, including beer cocktails. Later down the road expect Lardo to host brewers nights and tap takeover events. For now they have a varied taplist that will include regular offerings from The Commons and Gigantic Brewing with one consistent for Peroni which fits with the Italian inspired beginning.

Lardo has a soft opening today starting at 11am to Midnight which will be the regular hours. The Sugar Cube will join them soon but is not yet setup on-site. The new Lardo is at 1212 SE Hawthorne blvd. Portland, OR. Check below for the opening draft list and food menu.




Taplist

Supergoose IPA

Amnesia Dusseldorf ALT

Terminal Gravity Breakfast London Style Porter

Double Mtn. Kolsch

Laurelwood Free Range Red Ale

Boneyard Hop Venom IPA

Peroni Nastro Azzurro Lager

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis

Unibroue Ephemere

New Belgium Ranger IPA

Occidental Dunkel (brown lager)

Firestone Walker Wookie Jack

Heater Allen Pilsner- Pils

Commons Madrone

Gigantic IPA

Occidental Alt

Silver Moon Bridge Creek Pilsner


Menu

SANDO’s
Griddled mortadella – Provolone, Marinated Peppers, Mustard Aioli
Pork Belly Egg & Cheese – Cheddar, Local Egg, Arugula, Caper Mayo
Smoked Coppa Cubano – ham, dijon, pickles
Pork Meatball Bahn Mi- Pickled vegetables, sriracha mayo, cilantro
Double Burger – pork belly, cheddar, lardo sauce
Porchetta – Caper mayo, gremolata
Smoked Chicken – Crispy skin, pickled red onion, horseradish, arugula

SIDES
Lardo Fries w/ fried herbs and parmesan
Dirty Fries – Lardo fries w/ pork scraps and marinated peppers

SALADS
Farmers Salad – Simington Gardens mesclun greens, seasonal vegetables
Escarole Caesar – White anchovies, croutons