iheartportland: a trip to genoa

one of my funniest memories of my travels in italy was the train ride from pisa to genoa. i had been studying italian in lucca for a month and was headed to paris on the train. i was in a car with five older italian women from sicily. they had been talking about me the entire time, mostly just curious about me and why i was traveling alone. of course none of this was said to me directly because none of them realized i could somewhat understand them, i just nodded and smiled. as i departed to change trains in genoa, i said in the very best italian i could muster that i had enjoyed the ride with them very much and to have a nice trip. they all just looked at me for a moment and then burst out laughing as i got off the train.

i thought of this story every time i would drive past the restaurant, genoa on belmont. well this thought and also, "what the heck is behind those windows?" i never understood why a restaurant would want to cover up their windows so people couldn't see in. and being that i don't go out to seven course meals very often, i had never dared to go inside. i knew the place had a great reputation and had been around for a long time but it just seemed unapproachable like some kind of private club.

well let me tell you, that was the old genoa. driving by the other night i was shocked to see that there is life on that corner now and you can see in the windows!

so last week a friend suggested we visit the cafe side of the restaurant called accanto (more on that later) and i jumped at the chance. after we had a snack at accanto, my friend ran into an acquaintance and he invited us in for a tour of genoa's new digs. and while i still don't often have the opportunity to eat a multiple course meal, my curiosity was satisfied and the restaurant is very lovely.
they just reopened after a three year break and it's so good to see this corner looking fabulous and fresh.

so here's a little tour of the "new" genoa for you (i apologize for the photos, i forgot my camera and took these on my phone).