Gabbiano’s chef Liz Serrone. | Thom Hilton The chef shares her favorite Thai spot, go-to dive bars, and the farmers market treat worth waiting in line for Liz Serrone, chef at Gabbiano’s, feels content with how business has gone in 2024. Despite a perhaps too-eventful January, when Serrone and the team pulled through and stayed open for the neighborhood through a devastating ice storm, the rest of the year remained, thankfully, consistent. “Even our slow days are busy,” says Serrone, who sees guests pile into the no-reservations joint for Dungeness crab a la vodka, plate-sized chicken Parmesan, and fried mozzarella shots nightly. “We’re getting hit, we’re grinding, we’re always ready for crazy service.” In April, Serrone created the kitchen program for Gabbiano’s Spaghetti Western-themed sister bar Take Two across the street, which has found its groove after a somewhat quiet start. Serrone describes the menu as “a dotted line to Gabbiano’s, but not a through-line.” She approached the food from the outside in, putting the theme of the restaurant first and adding her own personal touches through trial and error. “Trying not to be too Italian, not to be too Southern, and coming up with these mashups was really fun for the creative side of my brain,” says Serrone. Those mashups resulted in dishes like jalapeño popper arancini, pepperoncini-brined chicken wings with Calabrian chili honey, and a bolognese-topped hot dog. “We have a kitchen manager over there that’s crushing it,” Serrone says. “I’m really hands off. I’m back here running this, which is enough.” We sat down with Serrone to chat about staying creative with home cooking outside of work, sweet treats worth a walk, and what she orders for delivery when her busy week is done. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Do you eat Italian food in Portland?Liz Serrone: Occasionally. I like Luce a lot. I like Montelupo’s whole vibe and love the storefront part of it. Other than that, no, I still cook a lot of Italian at home, which is weird. I cook a lot of everything at home. I don’t always want to go out and be around people when I work with people all day. When you cook at home, do you ever cook with stuff that is really distinctly Portland?I shop at the PSU Farmers Market for the restaurant, then do a lot of my own home shopping there. In tomato season, tomatoes are on everything in my house. I saw some kickass tomatillos, brought those back, and made pozole. I love cooking with Portland produce. We’re so spoiled with how much good produce we have here. I like to take advantage of that. Do you have any farms to shout out?We partner with Wild Roots Farm for our greens – little gems in the summer and chicories in the winter – they kill it. We use padrón [peppers] from Sunrise Organic Farm for our pork chop set. Are you a “little treat at the Farmers Market” girlie?Oh yeah. I am not a line gal, I don’t like lines, but some days I’ll wait in line for Enchanted Sun breakfast burritos. Thom Hilton Farmers market tomatoes. What food do you never want to cook at home?There’s not a lot that’s off limits if I want it bad enough, but I order a lot of Cha Ba Thai on Alberta. I love curry and rice. On Sundays, we’re getting something brought right to the door. I order a lot of burritos. I’m not gonna make all the components for my favorite burrito. It’s a lot of work and I respect it. I’m gonna order it from someone who knows what they’re doing. Who are you gonna order a burrito from?I love the chili relleno burrito from Muchas Gracias. It’s slutty, delicious. I order from La Bonita – old faithful. I also get in these Mediterranean moods where I’ll want hummus, pita, shawarma, stuff like that. Another thing I’m not going to make all the components of. I just order it so I can have all the bites at the same time. If there’s a sweet you’re getting, what is it?Ice cream and gelato. I’ll go out for that. I love going to Cheese and Crack. They’re my favorite for soft serve sundaes. It’s like a reward: I go on a little 20-minute walk, I get my ice cream, and I walk back. The sundaes are epic. I always think I’m gonna be able to finish a whole one and it never happens. Are you a late-night dive bar person?I live a couple blocks away from Katie O’Brien’s. That’s a favorite spot. If I’m not quite ready to get into bed, I’ll walk over to Katie O’s. Sometimes I’ll take a cheeseburger home with me. What is it about the dive bar burger that’s so appealing?I think it’s because it’s close to me. I’m a cheeseburger guy, I want cheeseburgers a lot. I’ve never been disappointed by a cheeseburger there. It’s consistent. I used to get the volcano burger that has a lot of jalapeño. Now I just get the classic cheeseburger. Sometimes I get a side salad, which always cracks me up, that I want a salad from Katie O’s. Thom Hilton A tray of proofed focaccia. Do you feel there are any restaurants or bars in Portland that are aligned with “The Liz”? In the way that you can rely on them for inspiration, relaxation, stress relief, anything that puts you in the zone?The way I like to cook is grandma-style. There’s no cutting corners. We’re making everything from scratch. I like when I go places and they’re putting in all of the same work I like to do. That means a lot to me. Anytime I have friends from out of town, I take them to Kachka. I’d never had food like that before I came to Portland. When you go, “Yeah, this is the shit someone’s grandma used to make.” I think those are the types of places I like relaxing in. On a different spectrum, I love Clyde’s. I feel like things haven’t changed there for years. It’s always such a good meal. Easy vibes in there. I’m always able to relax in places like that.