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APPEAL TRIBUNE
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016
Life in the
Valley y
sanews@salem.gannett.com
Gather is slow food done right
BROOKE JACKSON-GLIDDEN
STATESMAN JOURNAL
On a Tuesday morning, Christmas
carols play at Gather in Silverton as
couples sip cappuccinos. Little center-
pieces of Douglas Fir sit on each table,
budding with pine cones, juniper and
Spanish moss. You hear the whir of an
espresso steamer, work plans, counting
change, the voice of Ella Fitzgerald. It’s
an eat-slow, sip-slow dining room.
At a seat in the window, cars roll
past at a lazy river pace. The cafe
across the street is busier, more of a
midweek spot than the Main Street
restaurant. Gather is wholeheartedly a
brunch place, where the portions are
intimidating and the ceilings high,
where it would be just as likely to see a
hot toddy as a cappuccino. On the week-
ends, people are more patient. The
leisurely pace of the kitchen doesn’t
work as well mid-week, but when
caught up in conversation and lavender
lemon drops, long wait times are for-
given, if even noticed.
Anna Kuzmin and her husband
opened The Gathering Spot around the
corner in 2010 and moved into this
abandoned Mexican restaurant space
last year, shortening the name. The
couple scanned historic photos of the
building, which first opened in 1892, to
restore the restaurant to its past excel-
lence. Kuzmin, who grew up in Mon-
tana, wanted Oregon’s bounty and histo-
ry to shine through her menu and
space.
“We really wanted to highlight the
best of the Willamette Valley,” Kuzmin
said, and she does — from the EZ Or-
chards honeycrisp apples to the Port-
land Creamery chevre. If it’s not locally
purchased, it was made in house, like
her ciabatta and English muffins. At
Gather, an abundance of time seasons
every dish.
PHOTOS BY BROOKE JACKSON-GLIDDEN / STATESMAN JOURNAL
The bar area is seen at Gather in Silverton. The breakfast and lunch spot refurbished the interior to resemble the original space when it opened
in the 1800s.
Gather
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Where: 200 E Main St., Silverton
Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, with breakfast
served 8 to 11 a.m. Mondays-Fridays, 8 a.m. to
noon Saturdays and all day Sundays
What to order: Chicken and waffles, croque
madame, butternut squash and apple hash
with poached egg
Accepts cards? Yes
Best bites
Get in touch: 503-874-4888
Gather serves both breakfast and
lunch, but the former attracts the larg-
est crowds, especially on Sunday morn-
ings. The menu’s inventive takes on
brunch staples garner a Silverton cult
following. Gather’s cornmeal-crusted
chicken and waffles arrive drizzled in
sriracha honey glaze and brown butter
syrup, which adds a funky twist on the
Southern brunch mainstay. The classic
croque madame, a French breakfast
sandwich with egg, ham and Gruyere,
finds sweetness with hidden slices of
Oregon pear.
Kuzmin’s dedication to seasonal
Oregon produce benefits most brunch
dishes: Apple cider pancakes are em-
bossed with slivers of honeycrisp ap-
ple, a welcome textural change for an
eggy pancake (my preference). Those
same apples appear in a butternut
squash and apple hash, which tastes
Butternut squash and apple hash is served at Gather in Silverton. The hash is served with a
house-made English muffin.
delightfully autumnal, seasoned with
olive oil and sage brown butter. Cara-
melized onions, a classic pairing with
butternut, accentuates the silky squash,
with apple adding a nice textural con-
trast. Sausage and egg do well to
ground the dish in savory flavors,
though upon revisiting, I would omit
the Swiss.
Gather uses Silver Falls Coffee Com-
pany (a Silverton roaster), but I’ve
enjoyed their decaffeinated drinks
much more. A lavender lemonade is
sweetened with both Monin lavender
syrup as well as a dried lavender sim-
ple syrup made in-house; if you need
coffee with brunch, try a white choco-
late lavender mocha, which also uses
Church Directory
IMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH
25
dried lavender syrup.
What sets Gather apart are little
details — the custardy yolk of a per-
fectly poached egg, the 14 seasonings
crusted onto delightful roasted pota-
toes, the thick slabs of not-too-crispy
bacon. It takes time to perfect those
details. I’m willing to wait.
What you’ll spend: $8 to $14 per
entree, but you’ll get enough food for
the entire day. I have yet to actually
finish a plate of food at Gather (left-
over hash makes a great side with
roasted chicken).
Email Brooke Jackson-Glidden broo-
kejg@statesmanjournal.com or call
503-428-3528. Follow her on Twitter
@jacksonglidden, or like her Facebook
page www.facebook.com/BrookeJack-
son-Glidden.
ST. MARY’S CHURCH
303 N. Church Street Silverton, OR 97381
Phone: (503) 873-8656
Pastor Leah Stolte-Doerfl er
Sunday School 9:15 a.m.
Service time 10:30 a.m.
Nursery Available
Silverton
Friends
Church
Pastor: Fr. Philip Waibel
575 E. College St. 503-845-2296
Weekday Mass 6:50 a.m.
Saturday Vigil Mass 5:30 p.m.
Sunday masses 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m.,
and 12:30 p.m. (Spanish Mass) at
St. Mary Parish. Mass for Holy Rosary
Mission at Crooked Finger
is at 10:00 a.m.
Confession: 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
on Saturday
“loving God… loving others”
Pastor Bob Henry
Silverton Christian School
229 Eureka Ave. • 873-5131
silvertonfriends@frontier.com
Adult Sunday School at 9:00 am
Sunday Worship Service: 10:45 am
Full Nursery Care • Youth Group
meets Thursday 7:00 pm
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SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
COMMUNITY CHURCH
Pastor Jose Galvez
Saturday Services
Sabbath School 9:30-10:30 am
Worship Service 10:50 am
1159 Oak Street 873-8568
Inviting All to a
Friendly Bible-Based Church
Trinity Lutheran
Church, ELCA
Pastor Carl Hansen
500 N 2nd Street
Silverton, OR 97381
(503) 873-2635
Sunday,
Worship 11am
www.trinitysilverton.org
trinitysilverton@gmail.com
