The Portland Restaurant That Turned Me On To Soviet Food And Is My Regular Special Occasions Spot

When the cocktail came out with a sugared baby pine cone on top, I knew I was going to enjoy my time at Kachka. Forest flavors of pine and cedar are some of my favorites, partly because of how rarely I come across them. Russians turn baby pine cones into jam (you can buy a jar from the upstairs shop), making the woody cones chewy and sweet with a hit of citrusy pine. I've gone back to this Portland, Oregon, restaurant many times for birthdays, anniversaries, or lunchtime family gatherings. At night, it's friendly elevated dining: low candlelight undulates over plastic-coated floral tablecloths, and a mass of sticks hangs from the ceiling. During the day, you order from the counter, as large windows let in whatever light the Portland sky is providing.

As a vegetarian, I can eat more of the menu at Kachka than I probably could in many of the former Soviet states the restaurant is inspired by. The vareniki (Ukrainian dumplings) are made in-house. We always get both the cheese and potato vareniki, but also enjoy the sour cherry. When it's on the menu, I love the cabbage schnitzel — marinated cabbage leaves that are breaded, fried, and served with turmeric mustard sauce. The mushrooms, whether they're in a noodle or rice dish, are meaty and rich. Beyond pine cone-garnished cocktails, the drinks include plenty of vodkas, infusions, and occasionally a housemade kvass (a lightly carbonated drink made from rye bread, a smart way to use a leftover loaf). These days, whenever I'm home in Portland, Kachka is a regular celebration destination.

Chef Bonnie Morales is the daughter of Jewish immigrants from Soviet-era Belarus. The story behind the name Kachka is dramatic. Morales' grandmother, Rakhil Altshuler, escaped her small town the night before all the Jewish residents were killed. On the run from Nazis for two months, Altshuler was stopped by a Nazi town warden who asked where she was from. Lying, she answered, "Ukraine." The warden tested her, asking how to say "duck" in Ukrainian. She nervously said the Belarusian and Yiddish word: "kachka." Thankfully, it was the same in Ukrainian. Morales' father immigrated to Chicago, where she grew up. 

In 2010, Morales and her husband, Israel, moved to Portland and opened the restaurant four years later. The city already had culinary clout and was still affordable. As Kachka's former lead prep cook Nick Jones told Eater in 2015, Portland was a place where a person was "able to live as a cook." Portland has become more expensive, but living on restaurant wages is a value Kachka believes in. A 23% service fee in place of tips allows the restaurant to pay a base wage of $25 an hour and provide healthcare for all employees.

Kachka is a key part of Portland's impressive dining scene. In 2018, the Los Angeles Times called it "one of the most important Russian restaurants in the country." I finally ate a meal there in 2023. Before Kachka, most of my Russian food experience was eating pelmeni at a late-night spot in Juneau, Alaska, that served the dumplings to drunk crowds. My favorite tea and dessert house in Portland, Rimsky-Korsakoffee, has a Russian theme but doesn't serve the food.