Leather Storrs’ much-anticipated new restaurant, Rocket, opened last weekend on the fourth floor of the same bright-red East Burnside building that houses the Chesterfield. I swung by last night to check it out—didn’t eat much, but I’ve heard so much about the schmancy Leeds Platinum building (energy efficient, rooftop garden, etc) that I wanted to nose around a bit.

And… the space sure is purty. The interior is very clean, very simple—surprisingly small—with huge windows flaunting an absolutely amazing view of downtown. There’s also a little patio perched out over Burnside, which is where we sat. The weather wasn’t quite cooperative—it wasn’t too windy on the ground, but four stories up things get a little blustery—but the view is well worth any subsequent time spent picking cabbage out of your hair (YES, I got coleslaw in my hair. It was windy!).

More impressions plus the menu after the jump

I'm not going to say much about the food or drinks 'cause they just opened and that just doesn't seem sporting. Cocktails feature inventive ingredients like taramind caramel syrup, black tea concentrate, and more... My Dark and Stormy (rum, ginger beer, lime) was dope. Foodwise I just had a crispy pork "pocket rocket;" an open-faced sandwich served on a toasty roll. No complaints, a good portion size at $7. You could easily drop some serious change on a full meal, but it's also possible to get in and out for under $15.

The menu is divided into three sections

PREFIX
red greens & breadcrumbs w/vinaigrette or goat cheese, $8
warm asparagus and mushroom salads $13
rhubarb, radish, pea shoots & beets w/rice wine vinaigrette, $12
butter lettuce, fennel & olive w/orange& cauliflower dressing, $10
lettuce, pee soup (heh), $8
cottage cheese tart with tomato jam, $7
rocket rolls (the server explained that these are essentially brioche buns made by the... Pearl bakery, I wanna say) $6
avocado in a shrimp shell, $13
chicken gizzards on a stick with honey-mustard cabbage, $11
rocket steak: sauteed beef on toast, rocket (arugla) and fried onion, $12
crisp dumplings and mixed mushrooms, $15
potato pierogies with catfish, carroway, and fried beets, $16

MATRIX (these all come with a choice of two sides: asparagus, mashed potatoes, roasted beets, fries, etc)

braised beef rib-red wine jus, $18
grilled spencer-shallot sauce, $24
broasted pork shoulder-marsala jus, $20
breaded pork cutlet-caper brown butter, $18
lemon pepper chicken, $18
grilled duck breast-fig sauce, $22
sauteed trout-almonds and sherry, $19
poached salmon-tarragon &breadcrumbs, $21
roasted onion filled with pearl couscous & mushrooms-rocket puree, $16

RX
hamburger & fries, $10
lamb corndog, $7
tongue hotdog, $7
scrapple, $5
grilled beef ribs, $10
pocket rockets (sandwiches)- shrimp, chickpea fritter, or crispy pork, $7