Ascendant Northwest Chef Vedran Jordan Is Bringing Balkan Skewers and Yogurt Liqueur to Portland

After 17 years climbing through Portland’s most esteemed kitchens, chef Vedran Jordan is ready to take a shot at the belt himself. He’ll take his pop-up Alma to its first permanent location in early summer 2025, a tremendous restaurant space with serpentine arches and colorful ceramic tiles meant to invoke Turkey. Jordan, himself a refugee from Sarajevo who left when he was 12 years old, named the pop-up after his mother. “I always wanted to bring the food of my culture and the food of my family into Portland,” Jordan says, “[to] showcase and educate people on the Balkan region.”

Alma’s offerings are renditions of both family recipes and “Ottoman-era” classics. Kebabs feature prominently, part of Jordan’s commitment to using animals from head to tail. Lamb heart, liver, and neck are all cooked over thaan charcoal and glazed in a sticky pomegranate sauce. Tomato corba — a light Turkish soup with vermicelli, thickened with dehydrated yogurt and wheat known as ariz — comes topped with grated garlic and a dollop of yogurt.

At Alma, two people will be able to eat tapas-style through most, if not all, of the menu. All the meat will be Halal-friendly, highlighting his family’s Islamic culture. He points out that his home region has been colonized so many times that it can be difficult to highlight the indigenous cuisine of the area.

Moni Kovacs

Moni Kovacs

On the drinks side of things, there’ll be Balkan wines, classic cocktails, and even house-fermented yogurt liqueur. The latter will be handled by beverage director Chris Mateja, formerly of Nightingale. Rakia, which is somewhere between brandy and moonshine according to Jordan, will feature heavily, too. Flights of rakia come paired with pickled vegetables. That’s the common way to work through the drinks. “You always need snacks when you drink,” Jordan says.

Portland’s diverse dining culture is not lost on Jordan. The King neighborhood is historically a non-white community, and Jordan says remaining affordable and accessible will be important. He still stays in touch with chef Gregory Gourdet, a mentor of his who just opened five incredibly hyped food and drink projects inside New York’s Printemps. Jordan wants his kitchen to be free of the toxic kitchen culture plaguing many of the most competitive in the country. That means financial security for his workers, paid time off, and a sense of education rather than intensity. “We need a much healthier restaurant culture than we have,” Jordan says. “And it’s definitely shifted after COVID. I want to keep pushing for that.”

Moni Kovacs

Alma (5237 NE Martin Luther King Boulevard) will open in early summer 2025.