Yonder

Long awaited, Yonder, finally opened in Portland in the spring of 2019. Originally beginning as a supper club pop-up called Mae, chef Maya Lovelace, split the restaurant into two concepts Yonder and Mae. Yonder being the more casual restaurant with walk-in bar seating and reserved tables and Mae continuing as a reservation only supper club.

Fried chicken was the initial pull to go and try Yonder after it opened. It comes dusted, dipped, or hot. As an alternative to chicken, fried catfish and mushrooms are options too.

To round out the meal, you can build your own meat and three plate with the fried chicken and the addition of some sides. I particularly enjoy the iceberg salad.

For a summer lunch, I decided to try the grilled pimento and cheese. it is quite a grilled cheese with pimento cheese, bacon, and collards all grilled into one pretty massive sandwich.

And on my most recent visit for dinner, the menu has started to expand with some exciting seasonal specials. The angel biscuits with heirloom tomatoes and butter, were flakey and a great way to feature juicy end of season tomatoes. I always enjoy fried green tomatoes, and these were topped with country ham and pimento cheese.

I can’t deny it, I love grits and so the fried catfish with grits was really great. It was a massive bowl of crispy catfish with creamy grits, which I thoroughly enjoyed.