Your mother may have nagged you growing up about placing your elbows on the dinner table. But no one will actually tell you, you have bad table manners when you’re an adult. Buzz60's Susana Victoria Perez has more. Buzz60


The Valkyrie Wine Tavern, an ambitious new project at 301 South Main Street in Independence is a quirky roller coaster that'll keep you guessing, a restaurant very much itself. Though it's not without weakness, it's a place that I think you should plan to visit, because a true original is hard to find. 

When the Monmouth/Independence Family YMCA moved, Savannah Pearce knew that she had to jump on the storefront it left behind. Sandwiched between the Independence Elk's Lodge and Second Chance Books, is a massive room with plate glass windows up front.  

Pearce, originally from Alaska, grew up visiting her grandparents in Independence, and eventually moved here. A student at the Chemeketa Northwest Wine Studies program who previously owned salons in New Orleans, she had a feeling about the space.

 "I always felt that there was something untapped here," she said, "the bones, the structure." She envisioned it as home to a tavern, a casual, friendly place built to serve Independence and also wine tourists.  

She tapped longtime friend and Louisiana-native Lindsay Darling to be the chef, luring her back to Oregon, where she had studied culinary arts.  

Armed with fearless DIY spirit, the pair turned, or, more aptly, are turning the room into The Valkyrie, named for warrior goddesses of Norse mythology. The restaurant is a work in progress.

The Valkyrie feels slightly unfinished, said Pearce, because it is.

The 4,000-square foot space that spurred the vision for what The Valkyrie would become is also the restaurant's biggest challenge. 

The tables swim with space between them, as though there's not yet enough of them.

"You could fit a hundred people in here and it wouldn't feel crowded," said one of my dinner companions. Another said, "I think they were trying to go for a cozier vibe, but the space made it difficult for them to do that."

 Brass and glass chandeliers hang overhead and the uniquely shaped bar surrounds an open kitchen. The gold-flecked tile bar and turquoise and maroon vinyl chairs are as unexpected as the room's main feature, a stunning column fireplace framed in black stone, topped with a taxidermied bison,

Food with southern roots

Darling's food is also refreshingly unexpected. Name another place where you can eat frogs legs in the mid-valley. I'll wait. 

At the Valkyrie, they're a supremely tender trade-in for buffalo wings, lightly breaded and fried, tossed with tangy red chili butter. In place of celery sticks they're served ($15) with celery and apple slaw, Rouge Creamery blue cheese and a buttermilk dill sauce that, let's be honest, is upmarket ranch. They wind up being one of the most talked-about dishes of the night, landing the sweet spot of being unusual yet approachable. 

Why serve wings, said Pearce, "when Arena [Sports Bar & Grill] makes such good ones? We live off of them when we're not here." What's more, Pearce remembers frog gigging when visiting her grandparents and guests have shared similar memories at finding frog on a menu. 

An ingredient used in French cookery, they make sense with Darling's menu, which pulls inspiration from Creole cuisine and Southern classics. Pimento Cheese ($10) is another one. Served heaped in a mason jar, it's great spread on crunchy pork cracklins (aka chicharrones or pork rinds). Vegetarians can have bread or pita instead.   

Two po' boy sandwiches hold down the spots of the menu where others might put a burger. The grilled andouille version ($14), topped with red cabbage slaw and slathered with creole mustard, is snappy, bursting with smoke and spice. The shrimp version ($14) is delicate; large, tender poached shrimp, perched on a load of lettuce. it's dressed with remoulade, essentially lightly spiced mayo, a premium shrimp salad sandwich. 

A special during one visit, Darling's fried oyster bánh mì is a nod to Louisiana's Vietnamese community. The oysters are also available as an appetizer ($9). They're excellent, velvety and creamy, punctuated by roasted pineapple salsa. 

A whole Deep Fried Game Hen ($18) is also a crowd favorite. As juicy and appealing as a roast chicken, with a crackling crust. It needs nothing more than the salad greens that accompany it, though the parfait cup of sweet, roasted corn-studded grits certainly doesn't hurt. 

A central element of The Valkyrie's kitchen and one that lends distinctive swagger to many dishes is Bertha, the restaurant's indoor charcoal oven. Several of Darling's strongest plates make use of the way it concentrates flavor and lends a smoky edge. 

She uses it to make a stellar pork chop with tangy apple onion chutney, more of those corn grits, and a heap of green beans ($18); and also a steak ($19) with garlic butter. 

Skip the Roasted Mushroom ($15), a vegetarian version of the steak dish, as the smokiness doesn't seem to do much for the portobello cap, and opt instead for the Seasonal Vegetable Board ($15). It represents a chance to taste many of the other starters and makes for an abundant board of wall-to-wall color: spiced cauliflower, roasted olives and grapes, coins of roasted beets topped with a crumble of goat cheese, a green swoosh of avocado and edamame hummus. It's vegetables at their very best. 

Tavern Tipples

Pearce's 15 bottle by-the-glass wine list is an eclectic mash-up that keeps pricing in the $19 to $39 range. It includes a few from Oregon, but the majority is sourced from farther away. Her thinking is that pinot noir burnout is real, especially for those who work in Oregon's wine industry. Instead of offering the same selection of local wines that many others do, Pearce says she's trying to showcase producers such as Independence winery, Redgate, that don't yet have tasting rooms or distribution. Guests can also choose from a shelf and cooler of 80+ additional bottles, either to sit and drink or to take to go.

There are a few beers on draft as well and Kenny Conly, the Valkyrie's single server, is offering a daily cocktail menu. Some are classics, including a margarita, a Blood and Sand and even mulled wine. Conly is also making infusions and ingredients for original cocktails such as the Apples and Pears, a refreshing combination of apple-infused vodka and pear nectar. 

Unfortunately, I wonder whether The Valkyrie's selection of beverages might be easily overlooked on busy nights. There's no printed beer list, which means Pearce must verbally relay to guests what's available, multiple times within a few minutes. The cocktail menu (and food specials) are listed on a notebook-sized chalkboard next to the cash register, but only by name. Getting more information, especially on Conly's cocktails or Pearce's wines, requires nabbing their direct attention. Perhaps that would pose no issue on a quiet night, but it can be difficult to snag one of them on busy ones. 

If this were just another bar, perhaps it wouldn't matter, but Darling's food is so good I can't help but want the other aspects of the restaurant to shine just as much. 

Pearce said they chose the counter service model in favor of creating a casual atmosphere, and because staffing a space so huge for table service would have likely made the business unfeasible. The downside? Groups seem to cluster nearby the cash register by the front door, despite the fact that the fireplace and most of the tables are at the back of the room. 

Understanding the full vision for what The Valkyrie could physically be is not yet fully realized, there are a few stumbling blocks that could be remedied without going full fine dining or changing anything about the space itself.

One might be adding signage instructing patrons to seat themselves and order at the counter. My dinner companions said they were "confused about whether we should have seated ourselves or if we were going to be seated. We were just standing around for a bit."

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Another, printing or posting menus for beers, cocktails and specials that include descriptions and prices might help reduce the line-up at the counter. Offering a full wine list, that includes tasting notes or pairing recommendations, could help guests decide what they might like without having the full attention of either Pearce or Conly.

Setting up a self serve water station would help guests be both comfortable and self-sufficient without providing table service. 

I believe The Valkyrie is doing something special, especially when it comes to the food. A little more structure is the difference between good and great, but Pearce has the wine knowledge and Conly the cocktail ingenuity to back up Darling's culinary chops. With a little polish I think The Valkyrie could be great. 

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The Valkyrie Wine Tavern

301 South Main Street, Independence

(503) 837-0505

Food: ★★★★

Atmosphere: ★★★

Service: ★★★

Value: ★★★★

Overall:  ★★★1/2 

What the stars mean: Five is excellent; four is very good; three is good; two is fair, one is fine, zero is poor.

301 South Main Street. Independence

(503) 837-0505

Cuisine: Daring but approachable Cajun-influenced food cooked in a wood oven

Hours: Mon. to Tue. Closed; Wed. through Sun. 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Price Range: $5-$25


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