Whats Your Vision?
Like most mothers, Lisa nurtures her community as well as her guests. She is on the Board of Directors for the Oregon Restaurant Association, food editor of KPTV's More Good Day Oregon, on the Chef's Advisory Board for the American Dairy Council and a dedicated customer of Reynolds Optical! Here's to you Chef Schroeder. Thanks for the hospitality, the food, but most of all that home-made lasagna!

 

 

 

Since opening our doors in 1910 we've had the pleasure of working with many great people; designers, employees and especially customers. We are always intrigued by their adventures, professions and ideas. Throughout 2006 we will highlight some of them and share their stories with you.

 

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Chef Schroeder was photographed by Frank DiMarco

check out his website here.

This month Lisa Schroeder steps into our spot light. Lisa is a mother, grandmother, chef and restaurateur who is dedicated to serving better than authentic renditions of home cooked favorites in her two Portland restaurants, Mother's Bistro and Bar and Mama Mia Trattoria. The staff of Reynolds was lucky enough to hold our annual holiday dinner at Mama Mia this past year and the slow cooked lasagna is still being talked about today. Back in 1992 Lisa realized that there were plenty of restaurants serving such ethnic foods as Chinese, Mexican, Thai or Italian, but no place that served "mother food" - slow cooked dishes made with love - the kind of food she would cook if she had the time. Lisa was determined to open such a restaurant. Planning on calling it Mother's, Lisa spent the next eight years working toward that dream. Searching for a new beginning, Lisa relocated to Portland in 1998. In 2000 she opened Mother's Bistro and Bar to rave reviews, receiving the "Restaurant of the Year" award from the Willamette Weekly. Much more than simply comfort food, Mother's menu is based on made-from-scratch recipes utilizing the best available ingredients. In 2002, Mother's Bistro was recognized by Food and Wine Magazine as one of America's Top Restaurant Bargains. In august of 2004 Chef Schroeder opened Mama Mia Trattoria, welcoming Portlanders to experience the classic Italian dishes she grew up with which she describes as "southern Italian soul food".