When Cathy Whims opened the Italian restaurant Nostrana in a former Southeast Portland market in 2005, she figured she only had a decade left in the restaurant business.

She wasn’t burned out. Quite the opposite. Yes, Whims had already spent 18 years climbing the ranks from line cook to co-owner at longtime special-occasion restaurant Genoa. But wine-buying trips to Italy had lit a fire under the chef, inspiring her to consider a simpler, more ingredient-driven approach to Italian cuisine.

“At Genoa, there was this long tradition of being the special occasion restaurant in Portland, and there were a lot of European continental recipes that came into our menus,” Whims said. “It’s funny to me now, but for a restaurant that called itself Italian, we would have rack of lamb with Béarnaise sa

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