PDX Restaurant Reviews by Regular Folks

Pok Pok

2010-08-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

I dined for the first time at Pok Pok on Monday with Rusty and our old friend Caleb. Arriving at 7 pm, I was told that there would be a 30 minute wait and I was directed to the Whiskey Soda Lounge across the street to wait (which is owed by the same person that owns Pok Pok). 30 minutes turned into a little over an hour.

At last, we were seated outside (after turning down a seat at the counter). We first ordered some of Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings, and after a few minutes, six wings arrived. Quite delicious.

Next, we ordered three plates; Muu Paa Kham Waan (Boar collar meat), Kung Yak Phao (Giant Prawns!) and Laap Pet Isaan (Spicy minced duck breast and duck liver). With the plates, we ordered two servings of sticky rice. The plates were small, but the flavors were powerful. I enjoyed the boar and the pork belly, but I wasn’t such a fan of the prawns. The boar was way too spicy for our friend Caleb (more for me).

Still hungry, we ordered two more plates, plus some Jasmine rice; Kaeng Hung Leh (the Thai sweet pork belly and shoulder) and Tam Kai Yaang (Roasted game hen). These two dishes were a bit more substantial and both had very complex flavors.

Over all, this was a great meal; It wasn’t cheap, the plates were small, the wait was ridiculously long (make a reservation!!!), but the food was spectacular. The menu changes from time to time. DO NOT TAKE your children with you. This is a very adult dining establishment.

Pok Pok is located at 3226 Southeast Division Street, Portland, OR 97202
(503) 232-1387
http://pokpokpdx.com/

Columbia River Brewing Company

2010-07-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

My family headed out to have pizza last night at the Laurelwood Pizza Company on NE 40th last night and were shocked to find it gone. In its place, an upstart, just-opened place called Columbia River Brewing.

A sign at the front advised that this was the soft-opening, which I knew was a risk, but at the same time our readers are worth it. So, in we went.

In appearance, it is the same place. This owes strongly, I suspect, to the fact that ownership appears to have changed hands and the new shingle raised in less than a week. In checking the news section of the Laurelwood site (link to be supplied later, when I'm on a computer), I learned that Laurelwood closed doors at this location on July 5th, so Columbia startes a scant four days later.

We'd come for a family-friendly pizza and beer. Family-friendly is still there - same play area, same color books, same crayon buckets. Beer was also there, as expected. I sampled the Peacenik Pale and the Wry Pale, which were both commendable. My wife, who craved a wheat, had to settle for the Mother Lode Golden, which I found entirely disinteresting. My Bro-in-law had a smoked ale with an inmemorable and inpronounceable name, which I passed on sampling.

The menu is varied but not particarly interesying. There are personal pizzas (only pepperoni, cheese, or Hawaiian) but no full-size ones. There are salads, sandwiches, and burgers. Also a wide variety of appetizers.

My wife and I decided to get an order of onion rings for the table. She ordered a shredded pork sandwich. I went for the Turkey and avocado sandwich. The Bro-in-law ordered a bacon burger.

The service was miserably slow. I chalk this up to the first-night thing. The eaiter, who was very nice but obviously still getting his legs beneath him, didn't know the menu. We chatted him up a bit during the hour we waited for dinner and learned that the wait staff apparently hadn't been given the opportunity to sample the wares, which I would guess is pretty important. The kitchen only had two people in it, which accounted for the slowness of the grub.

The food was adequate but nothing special. Bro-in-law's burger patty was too small for the bun, which made it appear like intentional skimpiness, where it may just be a sign of work-in-progress. My wife's shredded pork had a too-sweet sauce on it which totally ruined it, in my opinion. My turkey avocado was pretty good, but the chipotle mayo used had something wrong with it, which I can't quite place. Again, perhaps awork in progress.

For four beers, three dinners, an order of mostly-overcooked onion rings and a kids meal, the total came in at just over $50, which isn't bad.

The first impression wasn't strong, and a little more preparation was in order, for sure. I'll give the place a month or two and go back. I'd encourage our readers to also wait.

Wanna write for our blog?

2010-06-18T16:00:00.001-07:00

It doesn't pay, except for the pleasure of feeling compelled to eat out.

E-mail us at pdxrestaurantreviews [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested. Writing examples would be a good idea.

Caro Amico

2010-06-18T15:13:00.001-07:00

I likes me some Italian food. The problem is that I haven't found a great many decent places in town for good Italian grub. Most places seem to go with a "more is better" mentality that doesn't always pan out.

We've covered Italian in the past here. Looking at the list of restaurants that have made the list, the only really noteworthy ones are the fairly expensive ones. Pastini Pasteria is actually pretty good, but otherwise there's really a lot of schlock out there.

We've also covered Caro Amico before, but that was related to their pizzas. We haven't had a sit-down meal there for awhile.

Which is part of what excited me about Wednesday. For Father's Day, we took my father-in-law to Caro Amico, which is one of his favorite old haunts. Unfortunately, we took my kids as well, which made it hard to really enjoy the atmosphere or to really get into the food. This review will suffer on that account.

The view from Caro Amico is nice. We were on the middle floor, which has a deck/patio area overlooking the sloping west side down to the river.

The third floor has a better view, but there was a private party up there and I didn't wish to disturb them to get you a photo.

I've recently been trying to count calories somewhat (believe-it-or-not, considering my lunch at BrunchBox today), so I tried to avoid pasta for dinner and stick with something a little less carb-o-riffic.

My wife and I split a chopped salad as an appetizer. Delicious. A green salad with a nice light vinaigrette, it also had bits of salami, olives, and provolone cheese. The full salad could easily feed three, and we left part of it untouched.

For dinner I went with the Steak Marsala. This isn't in my normal wheelhouse, since I generally like to stick with more traditional pasta dishes, but traditional pasta didn't fit as well into my current dietary scheme.

My dish was a flat-iron steak topped with mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic in a marsala sauch. It was served with some penne pasta in marinara, which I did take a couple of bites of.

(Sorry for how dark the picture is; my wife gets bent when I get all food-bloggy on her).

The meal ended up being very satisfying, even leaving half the pasta aside. The steak was well-prepared, and the flavors worked well together without any being over-powering. I drank a Lagunitas IPA with my meal, and it was fabulous.

For four adults and two kids the tab was about $112 (pre-tip), which wasn't too bad. Service was great, atmosphere was nice (to the extent that I could enjoy it); I'd continue to say that Caro Amico is among the top Italian places in town.

Der Rheinlander

2010-06-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

I've been to the Rheinlander in the past, but it's been at least 10 years since my last visit. I went at the suggestion of a friend recently on a nice Saturday evening, expecting to take advantage of the early dinner menu, which really isn't much cheaper than the real menu but is presented as a bargain option.

I didn't make reservations, but since I decided to take a group with me (myself, wife, 2 kids, mother-in-law and brother-in-law) I thought it reasonable to call ahead. The person who answered was very pleasant, gave good phone if you will, and told me that while I couldn't get on the list, there was no line and I'd only need to wait about 5 minutes upon arrival. All great.

Upon arrival, the same person (I know because I checked later) didn't even look up as we walked through the door and didn't speak a word to me until I approached her. This might not be such a big deal, except I've been there many times and received a warmer greeting and have come to expect it. And, since it wasn't like she was addressing a long line of people, there wasn't a readily apparent and obvious explanation. Once I approached her to get on the list, she said it would be 2o minutes (this only 5 minutes after I called in to say I'd be there in 5 minutes), which was further un-plussing. And then, unlike every other host/hostess I've met there, she didn't refer me or my kids to the apple cider station or the toys that are available for people waiting. All off-putting.

So, I wasn't impressed with the hostess; out of fairness, though, I will note that during every other visit to Gustav's/The Rheinlander (they share the building and the host staff), I've been pleased with the initial experience.

Upon seating, we were taken into the virtually-empty restaurant. I think 8 tables out of 30+ were occupied. My guess is that the reason the wait was so long was because the waitstaff wasn't there yet; my opinion is that if you're going to be open to accomodate people, you need to have adequate staff on-site to do so. That said, once seated our waitress was readily available, and super-nice. Really, I haven't had such a good waitress in awhile, and I like to test waitresses out. The waitress met almost all of the food quickly (surprisingly so, in fact), which may have been a function of the slowness of the hour but was very nice nonetheless. She sang us two songs from The Sound of Music to make my daughter happy, and she and her busser brought each of my daughters a balloon just because.

The only downgrade was that she left my beer empty for several minutes before seeing if I wanted a refill. In her defense, she was setting up a large-party table that required some time to be spent away from us.

The food was good. With German food, you either love it or hate it. I love the flavor but always end up feeling like I've eaten too much. Rheindlander's fondue is fantastic; I'd go there just for that (and, in fact, I think that's the major premise behind Gustav's). For dinner, I had the Kraut Roulade (German cabbage rolls) and they were fantastic; my waitress stated that this was her favorite dish, which swayed me that way, and I'm glad I tried them. I sampled my wife's Jagerschnitzel, which is basically chicken breast with a mushroom and paprika gravy, and it was okay. My mother-in-law and brother-in-law both ordered chicken schnitzel, which was a bit dry and boring.

The beer at the Rheinlander is all pretty good, and they'll serve you a stein of it (if you want) which is great.

The atmosphere is gimicky, I think. German cottage decor, replete with plates on the walls and over-worked wood and lederhosen on the staff. It can be distracting or it can be great, depending on what you want out of the experience. It's so subjective in that sense that I won't knock it, I'll just state it and let the reader/eater decide what they think.

The prices are high. I honestly feel like everything was overpriced by a couple of bucks. I may be wrong, and that's fine, but I'd generally avoid The Rheinlander for the price alone. I feel like they limit themselves in that way, but they have a huge portion of the gimicky German cottage restaurant market, so maybe they're okay with that.

Overall, the experience was a good one. Good food, nice atmosphere, great wait-staff, and (more often than not) a good entry/exit experience as well. I'm pro-Rheinlander for a once-a-year event if you don't mind spending so dough. I'm pro-Gustav's for a monthly fondue, beer, and potato pancake outing that's more accessible and probably more enjoyable as well.

Mini-post: BrunchBox

2010-06-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

Had lunch at BrunchBox today (SW Fifth and Stark). Which is to say that I stopped by, grabbed some food, and went back to the office to devour it.

I'm an avowed fan of the Youcanhascheeseburger, which is a cheeseburger that replaces the typical bun with a grilled cheese sandwich on each side of the patty. Total gut-bomb.

Today, though, in an attempt to impress my intern, I went a bit further, settling instead on the Redonkadonk Burger. This is the Youcanhascheeseburger taken to the extreme, tricked out with an egg, some ham, bacon, and a slice of Spam. It's $9.00, it is hideously large, and it is delightful.

The service at BrunchBox is always good, the food is consistently wonderful, the prices are (generally) very reasonable, and with a patch of sun floating around outside, the carts are a nice alternative.

Now to sleep off this heinous food coma...

A Word on the Urbanspoons of the World

2010-02-12T14:43:00.000-08:00

Gotta be careful here. As a food blog, we are not too distant a cousin to sites like Yelp and Urbanspoon, which allow you to look for quick info on eateries in whatever location you are. It seems that most of the people who come to this site are looking (though often disappointed due to our recent inactivity) for some insight on places to go to eat and why they should or shouldn't go to them.

All well and good. I have used Yelp and Urbanspoon in other towns when I wasn't familiar with the food scene and wanted to get an idea of what to do. I encourage that. What I generally do is look at the general info (number of stars, number of dollar signs, cuisine type and hours) and then leave my mind open. If a place has no votes, I avoid it. If it has lots of votes and a consensus low opinion, I avoid it. If it is a place where several people have voted it above average and it otherwise fits what I'm looking for, it becomes a possibility to be considered.

Where I part ways with these sites, though, is the commentary. Blog comment boxes are often the last bastion for the anonymous flamer. The only people who comment (other than the spammers who are trying to sneak a link into your blog) are people that read you a lot, people that strongly agree with you, or people that think you're an idiot. The primary population of people that comment at Yelp and Urbanspoon are those that really, really liked a place, or those that really hated it during one visit. Neither of those groups really offers a great deal of insight, and (unlike our blog) you don't get to see their opinions rendered again and again to decide whether they merit your trust or not.

JLowe, for one, was recently upset by Yelp. He was reading about a coffee shop he loves on there and, while there were some opinions rendered which were well-reasoned and fair, there were some absolute kooks there as well, clearly flaming the place without any really objectively reasonable basis. I've read the same reviews, and while I'm generally less likely to take offense at some of these sorts of things, I saw the "outlandish-statement-for-the-sake-of-having-an-opinion" sort of things that troubled him most.

So, by all means, go to Urbanspoon or Yelp for a quick idea. If you're looking for insight and opinion you can trust, check us out, or any of the other blogs in our blogroll, all of whom seem to care about being honest, forthright, and real with you.

The Sapphire Hotel

2009-11-06T22:23:00.001-08:00

I owe this place. I've been wanting to blog it for months. I started at one point, then failed to finish. This post won't do it any justice at all, but (like I said) I owe, so I write.

The Sapphire Hotel (5008 SE Hawthorne) has been a fixture for a long time as a place to get drinks and have dinner. Over the last few months, however, they've become one of my main places to go for breakfast on the weekend.

What's good? First of all, the space is nice.

The service is great, too. The people there recognize you, since the breakfast is still somewhat undiscovered. This is followed by a fine beverage selection (I'm a fan of the Bloody Mick, a Bloody Mary garnished with bacon salt and a hunk of steak), though I've found working your way through the drink menu isn't a bad idea.

The food options are good. The Bistro Steak and Eggs (pictured) is forgettable and I'd recommend against it.

However, the Mediterranean Benedict is wonderful (and super-filling), and most everything else on the menu has great merit to it; I've found nothing else I'd warn against. The prices are fine as well.

This isn't a great review, because it wasn't written in the moment. However, I'm a huge fan of The Sapphire Grill for breakfast, and commend it to you for your own experience.

Lucky Strike

2009-11-06T21:57:00.000-08:00

There’s a down-side to writing about take-out.

It isn’t a complete reflection of the restaurant from which you’ve purchased the meal, and eating in your own home creates a loss.

Ambience, flavor, heat; these are all things that are robbed from the meal when you aren’t having it fresh and quick at the restaurant.

That said, sometimes take-out is a necessity. For a restaurant blog, the preference is to discuss dine-in. But when you’re at a place like Lucky Strike, that’s easier said than done.

Lucky Strike (12306 SE Powell) serves very good Asian cuisine. This much I knew before going there, as it was given a rave review in a recent issue of Portland Monthly.

A brief digression. “Best of” lists are great and all, but we prefer to figure out what’s best by personal experience, and we’re most likely to check out a place based upon word of mouth. There are times when we’ll go check out the hot new thing, whether its because a publication says so or it is just part of the local zeitgeist (for instance, The Original is high on my list of places I need to get to, based solely on buzz), but word-of-mouth is a better way to go.

Anyhow, my wife saw Lucky Strike in Portland Monthly and was pleased to see a restaurant near our home that was highly-touted. Thus, she demanded it tonight.

Having never gone there before, we drove over expecting to slide in for a nice dinner. We drove by out front to find cars all around the small building and people stacked up against the glass of the door. We pulled behind and I walked in to see if there was a take-out menu available (my suggestion of finding another place to go and dine in having been rebuffed). I found the inside to be tightly packed, with about 7 tables and 2 bar-type seats near the cash register. The biggest thing in the restaurant was the TV, which was playing the Blazers game. All of the seats were full, and no fewer than 6 people were standing in the cramped space available near the door, anxiously awaiting a seat.

I was given one of the plastic table menus and was permitted to take it out to the car for consultatation. I reviewed it with my wife, and we selected a nice array of items: the pineapple fried rice ($8), cold sesame noodles ($5), mano tofu ($9), Guiness pork ribs ($9), and “beans and beans” ($7). I called the number at the bottom of the menu and placed a take-out order. “Forty-five minutes,” I was told.

Frankly, I was a bit taken aback. A phone-in order to Sweet Basil takes 10 minutes. Very few places, frankly, take more than 30. However, this was an important experiment, so I agreed.

After running some errands and taking the wife and kids back home, I returned about 45 minutes later. The place was still quite busy. I checked in with the guy at the counter, who checked and told me that he was sorry to say that it would be another 15 minutes. This wasn’t pleasing, but I went along with it.

I went outside to wait. Twittered a bit, e-mailed a reader who was soliciting food advice, Twittered a bit more, texted my wife regarding my status, checked on the Blazer game through the window. Finally, 15 minutes had gone by and I headed back in.

The guy went back to check on my food. He (wisely, perhaps) decided to just attend to other things. If he’d told me I’d be waiting another 15 minutes, I may have just left. He didn’t, so I stood awkwardly amidst the small space, waiting and watching the Blazers.

So, about an hour and fifteen minutes after ordering, and about half an hour after coming to get my food, it was finally given to me. The guy was apologetic, but not as apologetic as I was thinking he should be (with that wait, comping me something would’ve been a good play), I paid and tipped (more than I probably should have) and off I went.

When I got home, I cracked open everything and took in the variety of odors. The Guiness ribs had a sweet odor with the unmistakeable earthy/chocolately Guiness undertones. The sesame noodles had a vinegar-and-sesame smell. The mano tofu was pungent and spicy, and a bit nutty. The pineapple fried rice smelled exactly as you’d expect. The beans and beans was green beans and hot red peppers, and smelled accordingly. I dished up a plate (used the steamed rice as a base for the tofu, which had a plentiful amount of sauce)and then it was time to dine.

I have to say, the food is good. The pineapple fried rice was supposed to be sweet, but the pineapple used was obviously canned and not impressive; that said, the package was pretty decent, and as I'd ordered it as a non-offensive item for my four year-old, I wasn't expecting much. The sesame noodles were much better than I’d thought they would be, and merited seconds immediately. The tofu was very, very spicy, sending me into a fit of hiccups followed by sneezing. Despite how that may sound, it was awesome. The ribs were less-than-expected; they seemed to taste a bit cardboard-y, which may have been a result of the Guiness or may have had something to do with being boxed; either way, I’d like to try them in the restaurant to give them a fair shake. All together, the food was quite good, but not as good as you could get at Thien Hong, which is a blog favorite.

I came away feeling a bit cheated; being so highly touted may have set me up for a disappointment, so I’ll try not to be unfair about it. And, again, a review suffers if you're eating take-out, so read my comments accordingly.

Lucky Strike: if you’re looking for a place to eat out, this probably isn’t it. If you’re looking for better-than-average take-out, call well in advance and then consider calling again to let them know you’re coming. The inconvenience factor is high, but the food almost makes up for it.

Cha Cha Cha!

2009-10-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

I have been on a quest for the past 18 years. When I was but 15 years old, I was introduced to the torta at a greasy little taco cart in Tijuana, Mexico. That "sandwich" was amazing. For the next three summers, I enjoyed tortas while my friends ate the tacos. I have never tasted its equivalent. And, believe you me, I have tried. Every taco stand at every county fair and every Mexican restaurant whose threshold I have crossed has been examined for a torta that would come just somewhat close to that delectable treat I had so long ago. Few even offer the torta. Those that do have fallen woefully short, until this very evening.

I have lived near Cha Cha Cha! on 27th and NE Broadway for over 6 years. Sadly, I had dined there before. I say sadly, because hidden away inside that very restaurant was the greatest torta I have ever tasted, the very torta for which I had been searching. It was a massive feast on bread. Here's the description from the menu: Clasica Torta; "French bread, pinto beans, guacamole, layered with al pastor, asada, ham, bacon, sliced cheese, romaine lettuce and tomatoes." The price for this masterpiece was only $5.95. Cha Cha Cha! has done with the torta what Stanich's has done to the hamburger...taken it to a whole different level.

My wife had the chimichanga. which was also $5.95. Equally delicious, equally filling. My wife only ate a third of it. Our daughter had a quesadilla. Total price, with one soda, this evening was $16.15. It was worth every penny.

Twitter Updates

2009-09-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

Trying to get around the fact that we're getting lazy, I've added some Twitter functionality to the blog. I'll eventually get our other writers in on it, but at this point (at least) there'll be occasional, restaurant-related thoughts available in the sidebar (see "The Twits We've Twatted" section).

You can also subscribe to us here.

Sckavone's

2009-06-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

My latest trend seems to be towards finding new and interesting breakfast options around town, so my next few posts will cover my recent finds. You'll be able to review all breakfast-related posts by clicking the "Breakfast" tab to the right.

First off, though, please recall that our blog's current fave-rave for breakfast is The Screen Door. Please consider this your jumping-off place for breakfast in Portland.

That said, my brother-in-law was in town, and my mother-in-law decided to go for something new and different. Hence our visit to Sckavone's at SE 41st and Division.

The restaurant itself is cute. Open space, simple in appearance, it's pretty no-nonsense, which is always a good sign. It being a nice morning, we opted for the outdoor seating (which is along 41st) and were delighted to watch the neighbor's bunnies hopping about (my daughter had trouble focusing on the food because the bunnies so enticed her).

The menu, like the restaurant, is no-nonsense. All pretty basic stuff. Again, I like a place that keeps it simple and sticks to a few items they do well. Too many places venture too far off towards the experimental to the detriment of the customer.

That said, I opted for a special (which is generally against my rules), a scramble with spicy sausage and gouda, so I figured there wasn't any real way to mess it up.

Gladly, I was right. The food was ably done, and the portion was sized consistent with the price. Certainly not a knock-out, but a quality offering that puts the place on the list of go-to places for future use.

The potatoes on the side have a nice bit of bite to them without overwhelming. The coffee, of all things, was the thing I liked the least, and it reminded me that coffee is an essential element to a good breakfast. Here, you're better served going for a juice.

My wife, as usual, ordered from the French Toast/Pancake menu, and the result was typically non-noteworthy. She had a side of bacon which was alright.

Brother-in-law opted for the Strapazzare, an over-whelming mash-up of pizza-meets-breakfast which he couldn't eat all of. He did enjoy it quite a bit, though.

Friendly service, good-sized portions, affordability and better-than-average food make Sckavone's a place to hit in the future. Let us know what you think.

BBQ Express

2009-05-22T15:15:00.000-07:00

Aloha! There is a new Hawaiian plate lunch restaurant downtown. The full name is BBQ Express Hawaiian BBQ. It's on the same block as the Lotus.

It's reasonably priced and the portions are large. There is nothing particularly special about it other than it being the only place downtown to get a Hawaiian plate lunch. The service is pretty good- they try really hard but there is a slight language barrier. My friend had a hard time trying to order something not using the number system and I had a hard time paying with a credit card because the cashier couldn't read the english on the credit card machine. The man who delivers the food to your table yells out your number and what you ordered. It reminds me of the soup nazi- "Number 1! Number 1! BBQ Mix plate! FOR YOU!!!!"

I will say they make a fine Spam Musabi. Large and only $2. It was gone into my belly before I could remember to take a picture of it.

The first time I went there, I had the BBQ Mix place which is grilled teriyaki chicken breast, sliced beef and short ribs, mac salad, and two scoops of rice. It was good and I felt I got my money's worth. The mac salad isn't the best. I think they maybe cheaped out and used some generic mayo instead of Best Foods/Hellman's (it seriously makes a difference). Another friend thought they just bought Costco mac salad and served it instead of making their own. Other friends had the chicken katsu (thumbs up!), the fried shrimp (thumbs down! undercooked) and the yakisoba (thumb sideways?). The second time I went there, I had the Kalua Pork plate. I've had much better at several other restaurants.

All in all, this is a good place for lunch downtown if you're craving Hawaiian BBQ.

Eat Pizza!

2009-05-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

Back on 05/30/2008, I purchased a restaurant.com $25 gift certificate to Eat Pizza! for $1.00. I forgot about it until today, 05/22/2009 so I decided to use it. I am so glad I did as the food was delicious. I placed the lunch order for take-out because their location is kind of weird and pizza sliced shaped (similar to Rocco's but smaller). It's kiddie-corner and down the street from PGE Park 20th & Morrison/Burnside.

I ordered the following:
Pizza Alla Casalinga (topped with Artichoke Hearts, Fresh Tomatoes and Spicy Italian Sausage): "A layer of dough stretched into a square pan coated with garlic-infused olive oil, then topped sparingly with shredded mozzarella, savory tomato sauce, olive oil, fresh basil, and oregano and baked until the top bubbles and the bottom is crisp. Delicious!"

I agree! This is the second best pizza I've had in my life. I loved the crisp, buttery yet chewy crust with the cheese baked in. The sauce was on top of the cheese instead of underneath and the toppings were spread evenly throughout. It looked and smelled so good, I dug right in. Then, I remembered I should probably take some pictures so all of you can drool as well. I liked that it was cut into squares so that I could bogart all the corner pieces.

Cheese Bread: "Mozzarella and Parmesan atop crispy bread and served with marinara sauce." Not bad but not the best I've ever had.

Cinnamon Knots: No description needed other than these little things were heaven. They were like eating the middle part of a Cinnabon. Except better. They came with their own little tub of cream cheese frosting to dip them in.

Raspberry Chimi: "Raspberry and cream cheese filled dessert pastry." Oh my. So so good. The perfect raspberry to cream cheese ratio DEEP FRIED! Not very pretty but looks are deceiving.

So there you have it. My first review. I highly recommend Eat Pizza! Great customer service (thanks Jeff the pizza guy!) and a pretty darn good deal with a gift certificate. About $37 worth of grub for $12. Here's the menu.

Mini-Post: Sweet Basil - Take-out buyers beware

2009-04-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

We love Sweet Basil here. Dependably delicious. In fact, JLowe and I both showed up there tonight, unplanned, to pick up take-out orders for our families.

Problem: I got home to find my box of rice for my House Special Curry was somebody else's shrimp pad thai. Which worked out okay; it was like getting a bonus meal.

Someone else got stiffed, though.

And this is the second time in a row that our order's been messed up.

Never had this issue anywhere before. When it happens twice at the same thing, it merits a mention...

Laurelwood Pizza Company (and thoughts on kid-friendly places)

2009-03-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

Close followers of our blog know that your humble authors are all laden with at least a kid each. Friends of the blog might know that I was blessed with a second child in October.

What this means is that we're always keyed-in to whether a place is good for family. Though we don't set out specifically to find family-friendly locales most of the time, they do need to be (at least) family-tolerant, and where we have kids that don't seem well attended-to, we're sure to take notice in these pseudo-pages. In fact, I've thought of creating a family-friendly tag, but we're over 100 posts now, and I don't feel like taking the time to go back through everything.

If you've got a kid, shoot us an e-mail and we'll let you know if any given restaurant will be good for you.

We've actually caught some guff in prior comments from folks who didn't seem interested in our thoughts on family-friendliness. Most restaurant blogs in town seem concerned with the aesthetics of their objects without addressing the dirty business of how places accomodate family units. And, for some, that's what they're looking for. We, though, are a breeder-friendly experience, and we refuse to apologize for pointing out when a place that is open to all isn't conducive to the messiness that is a family meal.

I digress. Sort of.

Last weekend, the Missus and I decided we wanted to go to a family-friendly place with some friends of ours who are also doubly-blessed with offspring. It fell on me to pick a location.

I racked my brain. I knew that I wanted somewhere that had something for the kids to do, because that would allow for conversation with our friends. My wife suggested Out of This World Pizza in Hillsboro, but I really didn't have the energy to go there and chase my 3 year-old around, nor did I want to sacrifice good food. And, frankly, living in SE Portland makes Hillsboro less-than-ideal for me.

I thought about Laurelwood Public House on Sandy. I love the place as a concept -- they make good beer and their food is decent, and they have a small play area for kids. But they're always too packed and I wanted pizza, after my wife had planted the pie idea in my head with the afore-mentioned Out of This World.

How about I split the baby, I thought? There's a Laurelwood on 40th, just off of NE Sandy, that serves pizza instead of burgers-and-such. And so we ended up going to the Laurelwood Pizza Company.

Pleasant surprise: We didn't have to wait for seating. Which was a shock. Here we were at 6:30 on a Saturday, and there was no wait to seat a party of 4 adults and 3.5 kids (I never count babies as a full person since they can sit in a lap or be set on a floor in their carrier if needed). Service was prompt and attentive and between order and food delivery, we only waited about 15 minutes (though the tater tot appetizer came within 10).

During that time, our kids were able to enjoy themselves in the kids play area, which is stocked with toys and carpeted for a moderate amount of safety. There were several unsupervised kids there who seemed hell-bent on finding ways to maim themselves, but the area is set up so that attentive parents can still monitor it from their table.

The menu is typical Italian joint. Salads, pastas, stromboli sandwiches, etc. The food, though, is quite good.

Our friends ordered the Big Island, which is a fancified name for the Hawaiian. Not special at all, but for a fine beer-batter dough and a good sauce. My wife and I are generally a little more adventerous, so she selected the Tuscany: roasted garlic infused olive oil, mozzarella, prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, goat cheese & balsamic reduction. It was an impressive pie, so much so that my wife declared it her second-favorite in town (the first being the Stevie's Wonder at Caro Amico).

I give bonus points to brewpubs. I like beer. And I like places that are able to show off the fact that they make their own. And Laurelwood does this, in spades, with a brewroom that is prominently displayed through some windows in their restaurant.

Perhaps the biggest seal of approval was from our friends, who are difficult to dine with. They don't really like anything, and I wasn't sure how the night would turn out. The wife, at least, loved the place, and demanded we let them know when we were heading back (which should be soon).

What did we end up spending? Well, I picked up the tater tots for the table. Two beers, two glasses of wine for my wife, a kids meal for my daughter (crappy mac-and-cheese, but she seemed to enjoy it) and our large $20 pie all for about $50. Not cheap, but we didn't really attempt to hold the tab down. A normal dinner for three of pizza and a couple of sodas (and water for the kid) could easily have been done for $30 with tip, so the place can be friendly to your wallet as well as to your kids.

Add this place to our list of faves. The food is more-than-decent and it works for real people in many ways.

Dragonfish

2009-03-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

So I've been to a slew of restaurants lately and need to catch up.

First up, Dragonfish, where I managed to cajole my co-workers into going for lunch recently.

It was a shock, really. My co-workers have a few old stand-bys - PF Changs (meh), Typhoon! (meh), Henry's (meh). Don't get me wrong, any of these places is good from time-to-time. But hearing these blurted out every time we're discussing lunch out of the office gets old.

One of the girls has been pushing for Dragonfish for some time, based upon how much she enjoys the happy hours there. We certainly weren't going for drinks, and I wasn't sure how sushi would go over, but I pulled the trigger when the chance came nonetheless.

The restaurant itself is beautiful. Located at 909 SW Park (at the corner of Park and Taylor, kitty-corner from the Fox Tower), the space is light and open and very pleasing. Two of the walls are essentially windows to the street. The back of the restaurant leads into a hotel lobby. The decor is very spare and clean and nice; it doesn't draw your attention away from the food, which is good, because the food deserves your attention.

For lunch, the menu is uncomplicated. You are able to order typical sushi fare if you want, or you can stick to the menu which is well-honed to highlight what the restaurant does well. Being momentarily in charge since the boss was running late, I ordered some appetizers for the table (this was on the company, after all). The edamame was fine, which edamame generally always is. We also ordered salad rolls (quite similar to the Fresh Wrapped at Sweet Basil, but entirely vegetarian), ginger chicken potstickers, and the chicken satays. I don't know that salad rolls can be done wrong. The potstickers were among the better ones I've had in the last year or so. The satays were kabobs of small chicken pieces and were neither excellent or bad.

For my own lunch, I ordered the Rock-n-Roll sushi platter, which contains some California Roll, some tempura roll, and some chef's special roll. I think it was a spicy tuna. For $11, the serving was not overly generous but not skimpy, with 4 pieces of each roll offered.

Everyone at the table enjoyed what they had, whether it was a bento box or assorted nigiri, all of which were available. I was pleased myself.

To be sure, Dragonfish isn't the best sushi in town. But if you're downtown looking for a cool place to sit and eat good food, it ought to be on your list.

Bernie's Southern Bistro

2009-03-08T22:50:00.000-07:00

Six years ago, my wife and I moved into NE Portland near Alberta Street, and not long after moving into the area, we had dinner at Bernie's Southern Bistro. We didn't go back, until last night. I don't know, we were just not that impressed six years ago. But last night, my wife came back into town, and we started having the dinner conversation; "What do you want?" "I don't know, what do you want?" "I don't know, what do you want?"

After batting back and forth, we both concluded that we didn't want to cook, so we decided to cruise NE Alberta Street until we found something. We started at 33rd, got all the way down to 15th, and started on our way back. Nothing was jumping out at me. My wife said, "How about either Concordia Ale House or Bernie's?" I love Concordia Ale House, but my wife's suggestion of Bernie's Southern Bistro was intriguing...

...And I am glad we went. We were immediately greeted when we entered the restaurant. Within a minute, we were being led to our table. Water and cornbread magically appeared, as we considered the menu. There were only a few selections, but they all looked good. My wife ordered the meatloaf, with sides of mac and cheese and buttered peas. I ordered the skinless boneless fried chicken, with mashed potatoes and collard greens. While we waited for our meals to arrive, our server noticed that we had scarfed down the cornbread and brought us a little bit more. We didn't wait long.

This was comfort food. My wife's meatloaf was fantastic. She could only finish (with my help) one of the two slabs. So, for lunch and again for dinner today, I got to have meatloaf sandwiches...but I digress. Our daughter loved the mac and cheese, as did my wife. The buttered peas were firm, not mushy.

The fried chicken was terrific. The plate came with both a breast and a thigh. Presenting it boneless made for easy eating with a knife and a fork. The mashed potatoes were country-style, with some lovely lumps. The collard greens came in a bowl and were prepared to perfection. I'm not a big fan of collard greens, but I ate every last bite, and was happy. Between the two plates that we ordered, we shared or meal with our two-year-old, and had left-overs.

Both plates were $15.00 a piece, and worth every penny. Our next trip to Bernie's will be far sooner than six years from now. You can find Bernie's Southern Bistro at 2904 NE Alberta Street.

Toro Bravo

2009-03-01T22:48:00.000-08:00

For my wife's birthday this year, she decided that she wanted to go to Toro Bravo. We've heard great things and we had tried to check it out three weeks ago, but the plan that night fell apart. This was our second chance, and we were going with four other people. Toro Bravo does not accept reservations, unless you have a party of seven or more. My wife and I arrived at 6:45, to find out that the wait would be 45 to 60 minutes. As we were the first of our party to arrive, we decided to wait it out. I ordered a Sazerac (which was terrific). By 7:10, our entire party had arrived. By 7:15, we were seated (15 to 30 minutes ahead of the quoted wait-time).

The interior is great. It's clean, with low light and a lot of atmosphere. Our server was prompt all night long. Rusty was a part of our group...he ordered the Casa-Rita. Well, he ordered two. Fantastic drink.

Now, the thing about tapas, is that if you're really hungry and really worried about how much you are going to spend, then it's not the place for you. The dishes are small, but they are really meant to be shared, which makes it a great way to try many things at the same sitting. That's precisely what we did. We started off with with the Tortilla Espanol. It was savory, with a smooth texture and quite salty. Next came the Bacon-wrapped dates dipped in honey. I loved them (but then I love dates). The bacon added a saltiness to it that was a nice combination with the honey.

The plates were now coming thick and fast. We had the Manchego fritters, which were piping hot, but not that exciting. We also tried the Roasted Leeks. They were OK. Right behind the leeks came the Sauteed Spinach; Buttery, well-wilted, with pine nuts and golden raisins. I was expecting more from the raisins, which added texture, but not much flavor. Followed by the spinach was the baked polenta. It was cheesy and warm. Then came the Chicken and Crab Croquettes. I really don't like crab, and I was not the one to order this particular plate. But I was glad that I tried it, for the chicken really off-set the powerful flavor that is often associated with crab. Another item that I did not order, but was glad I tasted, was the Oxtail Croquette. It was like a meat parfait. That description will most likely gross a number of you out, but if you love parfaits (and who doesn't love a parfait?) and you love meat, then you will love the Oxtail. Rusty wasn't impressed. Rusty makes me sad.

What scares me more than Oxtail? The answer is Brussel Sprouts. But, one of our party did indeed order the Sauteed Brussel Sprouts. There was quite a "strong" flavor to it. I didn't like them. But, to the rescue, was one of my plates, which was the Smoked Pork sandwich. On the side were slices of a sweet and sour pickle, which I found to be delightful. But the real draw of this plate was the smoked pork. Toro Bravo nailed it. It was smokey, moist and full of flavor. But, the Achilles heel was the choice of celery root on the sandwich. It added no texture or taste and it just kind of got in the way. What I thought while I was enjoying the flavor of the meat was, "I really wish they had used cabbage on this sandwich."

The last plate to arrive was the Whole Petrale sole. It was well-peppered, but the fish head was a little disconcerting.
For dessert, my wife and I shared the Churros and Chocolate. The chocolate was terrific, which made up for the blandness of the churros. Yes, I drank the remains of the chocolate straight out of the cup.

All in all, I had a great time. With tip, our share was $60.00. You can find Toro Bravo at 120 NE Russell Street, Portland, Oregon, 97212. Check it out.

Mini-post: Pix Patisserie

2009-02-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

We've covered Pix before. They are a blog favorite. Go there now.

Last night we made another stop there in celebration of a variety of birthdays. My wife's birthday last weekend, my friend Phil's birthday on Monday, and my own yesterday.

As usual, Pix is great. We went to the location on Williams and Failing in North Portland. Compared to the Division location, this one is better for seating and service. At my last visit, the Division location had a sit-down bar and a smattering of small tables, but it was essentially counter-service for dessert; the North Portland location has a large number of tables attended to by wait-staff that bring you menus, take your orders, etc.

I was stuffed with sushi and, as such, really didn't plan on getting anything. I was able to walk by the dessert case without changing that plan.

At the table, though, I looked over the menu (here's one from MenuPix which appears to be not-quite-complete) out of curiosity and was sucked in by the Pix Float. Chocolate stout beer with house-made mocha ice cream.

Awesome. Buy one.

(Oh - wife had the Amelie and was quite satisfied. If you want something solid, not a bad choice, though I'd opt for the Queen of Sheba Truffle Cake).

Yuki

2009-02-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

The joy, and the curse, of sushi is in its goodness. Not just in the yummo-factor, but the good-for-you-ness of it.

This was the very discussion I had with my cohorts last night as we ate a tasty birthday dinner at Yuki, on the corner of NE 14th and Broadway.

For me, the comment had double-meaning. I've embarked on a thinness initiative, as I'm going to a tropical locale in May, and I know for a fact that I have absolutely no self-control where sushi is involved, so gluttony was a foregone conclusion.

But I also knew I was planning a write-up, and with the variety of a sushi joint combined with the volume of items ordered combined with how sushi's always served on a giant platter that makes it difficult to differentiate what you're looking at or biting into, an item-specific post became a lost cause quickly.

The two large Kirins didn't help the cause.

So, for a general review of Yuki that's sadly lacking in food specific details...

Yuki is not the best sushi place in town. If I wasn't using a gift certificate to subsidize a large portion of my meal, I'd probably choose Yoko's or Masu for birthday sushi. That said, the food at Yuki is good, the fish is of fine quality, and they cover all of the basics ably. I find the food part of the experience superior to several places, including Koji's and Kappaya, though my socks weren't blown off by any means. But there are definitely better places to go (Meeka is my other top choice at this point...).

The menu is ample. Thanks to a new site I'm growing increasingly enamored with, MenuPix, here's a link to photos of their menu (so that I don't have to provide you the mostly-useless low-res shot I took with my cell phone).

The atmosphere is a mixed bag. The space is cramped, which can be a love-it-or-hate-it thing depending on what you're looking for. The tightness is appropriately countered by low lighting that accentuates the brightly-lit food prep area, staffed by uniformed and busy susharistas. Toward the back of the joint is a hall cluttered with boxes and high chairs that is readily visible from much of the restaurant and which detracts from the ambience. Probably due to a lack of storage space, this isn't a deal-breaker by any means but eliminates this place as an option for romantic dates.

Service isn't super here. Our waitress was very nice, but appeared either a bit too busy or a bit too disorganized, so that we were often needing water or beverage. One of our platters was delivered without ginger or wasabi, and it took several minutes to get the attention of the waitress to get the problem solved. Service is a big thing to this blog, so Yuki gets dinged here.

Presentation was fine. Nicely-arranged platters that were appealing to the eye. They made a ton of sushi look manageable, which was nice. I've seen better, I've seen worse.

Value was alright. There were six adults who ran up a $180 tab between food and drink. I think $30 a head for too-much-sushi is very fair.

Overall, Yuki is a solid sushi joint with a large and varied menu that's a decent price. The atmosphere is okay for friends hanging out, but not ideal for a date. The service is courteous but needs improvement. You can do better (and, if you're looking for sushi, I'd encourage you to go to Yoko's or Masu first), but you can do worse.

NEW AUTHOR!

2009-02-26T15:28:00.000-08:00

Ask and ye shall receive!

Friend o' the blog Mak is now going to write for us. She herself is an accomplished owner of several defunct blogs and is a resident haunter of all sorts of food locations. Certainly she'll be able to add to our list of good lunch haunts, since she's inspired several of our prior posts.

We're happy to welcome her and look forward to seeing her stuff!

New Stuff SOON!

2009-02-26T14:47:00.000-08:00

According to Blogger, it's been just shy of 3 months since we added a post to this space. Both JLowe and I have been in a budgetary swoon which, hopefully, will ease shortly.

Reader Mak, a close friend of the blog, asks in a wall post on my Facebook "are you guys gonna update your site or what?! I have new carts you should try."

Glad you mentioned that, Mak. As it happens, we were just talking about this sort of thing today over coffee at our favorite haunt (City Coffee on 4th and Salmon, where your humble bloggers get very special treatment). You see, we recently were notified that we're slated to be featured on a site called "Where the Locals Eat." According to the e-mail I received from them, we've been selected as one of "The Best Food Blogs in America" (clearly they're standards are low) and have been granted a spot in their locals section for The Best of Portland Food Blogs (you can find us here).

Of course, this shames us into wanting to do more writing. And, coincidentally, we have stuff to write about as tonight is Mrs. JLowe's birthday (dinner at Torro Bravo) and tomorrow is mine (dinner at Yuki Sushi).

So, new material coming, keep your eyes open, etc. We're always open to suggestions for places to review. We're also willing to come review your place in exchange for a free meal (note: we'll tell people the meal was free, and we'll be brutally honest. And we'll tip the waitstaff on what we would've spent).

And, hey, Mak, wanna come write for us?

Mini-post: Screen Door

2008-11-29T10:12:00.000-08:00

So we often post one visit and never discuss a place again. But today I'm establishing the mini-post. Places we've been before but where there's something new to say, quickly.

Today: Screen Door.

What's new? Ate different food.

What's the same? Great ambience, great quality, good service.

Today's quick thoughts:

Avocado omelette: super-good. It's a special item, but if it's on the menu, snatch it up.

Spicy pork scramble: not spicy. If you want spicy, stick with the cajun scramble instead.

The Olive Garden

2008-11-23T10:05:00.000-08:00

Rusty and I had a brief discussion as to whether we should include the Olive Garden in this blog...after all, it's just a chain. But, I felt that not including the meal we had at the the Olive Garden the other night would violate the spirit of this blog, which is to talk about where we eat. It would be snobby not to talk about it.

Rusty's family and my family met at the Olive Garden by Mall 205 this past Friday night. I remember when the Olive Garden first came to the Portland area...it was the coolest thing around (I was ten, give me a break). The Olive Garden is certainly a chain restaurant, in that the food is the same from place to place. Our meals were tasty, but nothing too exceptional. Rusty had a pizza, his wife had the soup and salad, and my wife and I both had the five cheese ziti al forno. Our daughters (ages two and three respectively) shared a dish of spaghetti. As is always the case, they brought us plenty of salad and bread sticks.

The Olive Garden is not cheap. Meal prices range from $11 to $18.

I think what was great about this particular meal was the service. Our server was terrific! A word of caution, this server did come on the heels of two very atrocious servers. But I have found, over the years, that the Olive Garden tends to hire and employee well-trained people. As Rusty observed, in a city like Portland where there are so many places to eat, sometimes what makes or breaks a restaurant is the service. I guess that's why we waited 45 minutes to be seated in a very full restaurant. The Olive Garden may not be exceptional food, but it is a nice place to go and enjoy a warm meal with good service and friends.

Hopworks Urban Brewery

2008-11-21T16:42:00.000-08:00

This is two reviews in one.

First, Hopworks the Happy Hour Spot:

Fantastic. No complaints. Highly recommended. Good deals, good beers, good environment, good service.

Second, Hopworks the Restaurant:

Spotty, so-so, nothing-to-write-home-about-except-for-beer.

I've been to HUB several times for the happy hour reason, and I'll go back several more. I've got no complaints whatsoever, and I can't think of a single reason to poo-poo the joint on that score.

Last week (Friday night, to be entirely fair), JLowe and I took the wives and kids there for dinner.

Hopworks lives up to their family-friendly credentials, which is commendable. They have a play area for kids that occupied our children for awhile as we waited for food. They live up to their brewery credentials with an array of good beers. But as a restaurant, it left something to be desired. On a couple of fronts.

First, food. JLowe and I ordered (as we typically do) a pre-dinner set of buffalo wings to enjoy together. Not great. A little too sweet, not spicy enough. The good part was that they were plenty meaty and not breaded, both nice points. The bleu cheese served with them seemed more like ranch. For dinner, JLowe and his wife got a pizza, which appeared nice. My wife got a chicken tender platter where the tenders appeared to be half-breasts that were breaded somehow and soaked in sub-par barbecue sauce. The texture was weird, the flavor not great, and the course altogether unappetizing. I had the Portland Bella sandwich, which was a nice vegetarian offering but nothing to rave about.

The food was not helped by the service. Our waitress was very nice and very cute. That said, our wives ordered appetizers that didn't come until after JLowe and I had been served our appetizer and I'd been served my sandwich. Same with my daughter's cheeseburger. And there was no communication with us to explain it. It was weird; JLowe and I were served our wings, the waitress disappeared altogether, and then the pizza and my sandwich came out. Then, for 10 minutes, nothing else. No waitress, no salad for my wife (per her order), no cheeseburger, no explanation, no check to see how we were. My wife ended up tracking down the hostess to track down the waitress to inquire as to the food. We were given some excuse about "the pizza side being ahead of the food side" of the kitchen (didn't explain my prompt sandwich with the pizza), and no apology. The waitress seemed to be mildly aware of agitation at the table because she made two trips to talk to JLowe and I (not to apologize, but to offer us a free sample of a new brew and then to, it appeared, just stand there and remind us she was cute), but the good move would've been to at the very least give us a thorough apology/mea culpa, and more appropriately comp us one or two of the appetizers or late courses. None of that, so a definite ding in my book.

I have only a couple of big musts in restaurants. The food has to be decent for what you pay, and the service has to be, at least, good. There's so much fungibility in restaurants that, often, the only thing that puts you over the top is value and service and, maybe, ambience. I love HUB's building and won't say anything against the atmosphere. But if the food ain't great and the service is sub-par (despite being cute), I see no reason to recommend it to anyone.

So, HUB - go for the beer and the happy hour pretzels. And nothing else.

Pinocchio Bar and Restaurant

2008-10-27T23:07:00.000-07:00

Pinocchio Bar and Restaurant is located at 1005 SW Park Avenue. I ate there for the first time about four weeks ago with Rusty and our buddy Jose. Rusty was just about to have his second kid, so we all thought we should have lunch together before he wasn't available.

We started with the Calamari, which was amazingly light, crunchy and tasty. The consensus was that it was the best Calamari any of us have ever eaten. Rusty and I plan to take our wives there again for the Calamari, as they are big fans of the fried squid.

For my meal, I had the Vegetable Panini. It was a large, fresh and filling sandwich. A salad came with it that was as equally fresh. All in all, a satisfying meal with friends.

Chinese Village

2008-10-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

Chinese Village is located at 520 SE 82nd Avenue. It's another one of my childhood haunts. I don't get to eat there very much anymore, as none of my friends like it. My wife isn't a big fan as well. But, a couple of weeks ago, I went to dinner with my parents and my grandpa. I love Chinese Village, but you probably won't. It's very American-Chinese. Most everything is deep fried. There's nothing authentic about it.

We eat the very same dishes every time we go; Sweet and Sour Pork, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Pork Fried Rice, Deep Fried Shrimp, extra white rice and lots of Chinese yellow mustard. This time, I talked my parents into ordering the garlic green beans...nice change.

The place is stuck in the '50s. The latest owners did finally add doors between the restaurant and the lounge, which helps to cut down on the second-hand smoke. There's a fish tank (which my daughter loved). For what it was, I enjoyed it.

Sayler's Old Country Kitchen

2008-10-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

Sayler's Old Country Kitchen, located at 10519 SE Stark Street, has been around since 1946. I've been eating there for half of it's existence. Tonight, on a whim, my wife, child and I decided to stop in for dinner. It's been a long time...a really long time. It's not the type of place I normally take my wife. But, once I suggested it, it called to us. The moment we sat down, all the childhood memories came flooding back. The prices have gone up since I first darkened the door, but it really is a pretty good deal for the price.

Within five minutes of being seated, the relish tray arrived; carrots, celery, baby corn, pickles, olives. There was also the potato topping, which is mostly sour cream, that arrived at the same time. While nibbling, we placed our order. My wife opted for the fish and chips. I ordered the Chicken Thigh Dinner with the baked potato. We both ordered coleslaw. All coleslaw that I eat is compared to this coleslaw. It is the standard by which I judge all others. It tasted just as good as always. While waiting for the coleslaw to arrive, the bread, butter and garlic butter arrived. I'm glad we opted not to have the onion rings tonight.

Deep into the second slice of bread is when the coleslaw showed up. Minutes after finishing the coleslaw came the main course. I should have just requested the doggy bag at that moment, because I was pretty full. But, I pressed on. No less than four thighs were on the plate, all deep fried (you could order it baked, but why???). I ate two, and the potato. Ice cream comes with the meal. I had the spumoni. My wife had the Tin Roof Sundae. My daughter had bites of both. The entire meal, minus the tip, was $30.00. We didn't order anything for our child, as she just shared what we had with her, and I still brought two thighs home with my very full tummy...fully satisfied.

Russell Street Bar-B-Que

2008-07-29T22:41:00.000-07:00

Few things help inspire the struggling amateur food blogger like a good night of barbecue, so it's not surprising to see my long-standing funk (which has generally shut down all writing) shattered after tonight's trip to Russell Street.

Context first. I love barbecue. L-O-V-E it. I've tried to make my rounds to Portland's better BBQ establishments over time, because if I have any genres that demand my loyal devotion to schlepping about and taking in new places, BBQ is at the top of the list (the other genres that push me out to try new places are sushi and breakfast).

To this point, I have been very clear. My favorite BBQ place has been Cannon's (33rd and Killingsworth) for quite some time. At one point I was a Big Daddy's devotee, but they've changed over time so that now I'll go to them in a pinch (and now that I've moved, those pinches are guaranteed to be fewer and farther between). In my opinion, Cannon's is in its own class, with Podnah's Pit coming in a very solid, but distant, second, and then a bunch of also-rans including Clay's and Campbell's, both of which have a better reputation than they deserve (in my book). There are two places that have been on my list of must-visits for some time, based on word-of-mouth: Yam-Yam's (which I've still entirely failed to get to), and Russell Street.

My mother-in-law told my pregnant wife that she wanted to take us out to dinner, to Russell Street, tonight, and fortunately for me the plans were made without my even being consulted. We met at 7:00, prime dinner time in most Portland restaurants.

From the outside, Russell Street is inviting. taking up several street-front windows near MLK, it's a bigger place than I imagined (how had I not seen it before?) and its clean appearance gives you the feeling that these people are beyond trying to affect a down-home environment to fool you into liking the food; they let the food stand on its own. As you walk in, the clean and open space sends the same message.

One of the things I always try to mention in my posts is the appearance. Sometimes being dingy or cramped or what-not is fine, if there's a reason for it. But, generally, I trend toward enjoying open spaces with good flow and a polished feel, and that's what you get at Russell Street. Visually, the only real distractions (not meant in a bad way) are a variety of pigs set up in the middle of the restaurant in a wall area, which are cute, and a neat display of hotsauces that is interactive, in that you can go and grab some for your table, if you wish.

The menu is impressive. Generally, there are the appetizers (I was tempted to try the hush puppies, but didn't want to spoil my appetite for the main event), salads (which I don't really believe in at a barbecue place, but c'est la vie), and the real stuff. The real stuff comes in platters (with corn bread and 2 sides), or you can have the daily special, which comes with one side. There's also a kid's menu, which is always appreciated but, frankly, wasn't expected here.

My general first meals at a barbecue place are either the brisket, because I love it, or else the pork ribs, because they're a staple and most everyone does them well. Tonight I chose the brisket with the optional 3 ribs added on for an additional $4. The sides with my platter were the greens and the barbecue beans. My wife chose pulled pork and got some cheese grits on the side. My mother-in-law chose the blue plate special (the daily), which was a shrimp dish along with grits. My daughter had the mac and cheese.

The service in general is great at this place, which is always a plus, and the extra perk here is that the food is quick as well. After ordering, our beverages (they serve a good variety of beers, mostly local micros, including the more-ubiquitous-by-the-day HUB tap) were out within 5 minutes, and our meals were served within another 10.

In terms of the food, I'll discuss by item. The beans were tasty. Not too sugary and thick enough to almost hold my spoon up, with nicely sized beans that pleased very well. The greens were ample; most places skimp a bit on the greens, but this serving was mostly greens with a bit of broth instead of the other way around, and they were prepared just right, well-cooked without being soggy and limp. To finish discussing the various sides, the grits were serviceable, but I expect cheesiness out of cheesy grits and these were sorta blah, for lack of a better word. My daughter had the mac and cheese, which is offered as a side, and it was home-style. Not creamy, which is great, and firm-noodled with a flavor of real cheese which was okay, but I've yet to find a mac and cheese at a Portland restaurant that is cheesy enough to justify the purchase. My daughter's mac and cheese came with fries, which are another of the sides offered, and they are serviceable but nothing special. Which, I suppose, is a good thing for fries to be; they don't hijack the meal, and they don't ruin it, they just fill it out nicely.

The meat was exceptional as to the meat itself. The ribs were meaty, the brisket was thick-sliced and plentiful. There are several choices of sauce, and I chose the classic, which is someone spicy but not anything designed to distract you from that which it's designed to highlight. The ribs were a bit over-cooked in my opinion; I like them to fall of the bone, and these were just a little too firm and dry in my opinion. They were good, but not Cannon's good. The brisket was the best I've had yet in town, though. It was cooked so that it was literally falling apart on the plate, the texture was lovely, and the flavor of the meat itself was smoky and sweet and good. My main criticism with the meat is the lack of extra sauce; on the brisket it was drizzled on top and running a bit off the side, but with the ample serving provided the sauce sort of ran out and I was left wanting more, which either highlights an over-dependence on my part or an under-provision on theirs. Altogether, the meal was filling and good.

Price-wise, it wasn't bad either. The blue plate special is $12 every day. My brisket platter was $12 and my pint of HUB Pale Ale was another $3.75. Kids menu items are about $3 each. So, for the four of us, we got out for a total of about $50, a great value.

All-in-all, Russell Street is a great place, and one I'd recommend highly. For the sheer enjoyment of the food, Cannon's still tops my list of Portland barbecue, but it's hurt by the lack of a real brick-and-mortar restaurant dining experience. If you're looking for a place to go and have a night out, this place is definitely one of the better options out there.

Stanford's

2008-06-17T22:43:00.000-07:00

We have posted about Stanford's before. This is a re-review, and I felt obligated to write it.

I have been eating at Stanford's over a decade. It's always been a stand-by. I could always count on a solid meal for a fair price.

My wife and I decided to get a bite to eat the other night. We sat down, noticed the new decor, and we looked down at the menu. My jaw nearly dropped out of my mouth. There had been a price adjustment.

The food was still solid. It's the price...it's become too much. This adjustment took it from a place where I could eat once a week, to a place where I might eat once every nine months...maybe. The menu's pricing is now more like Paragon, without the ambiance or originality. The food is still good, but not for the price. Stanford's is off my list.

Concordia Ale House - Our first "Bad Service" tag-ee...

2008-05-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

Our blog has long loved the Concordia Ale House. Not loved. LOVED. Which is why this is hard to say.

I may never go back.

In my opinion, food is half of the restaurant experience. The rest is composed of the various experiential points that make a place worthwhile. Price, ambiance, and, of course, service.

JLowe and I arranged, tonight, to meet at Concordia Ale House for dinner, at 6:45, with our wives and kids. We arrived at the appointed time and were seated promptly.

Then began the trouble. About 3 minutes later, JLowe's neighbors, a group of about 6 altogether, arrived and were seated on the other side of the restaurant. At that point, there was one open table remaining, and every other table was full. Shortly after, some other people were seated at the open table.

Typically busy Friday night, in my opinion.

We watched the two waitresses make the rounds, serving beer and drinks and food to the other tables, and continued to chat amongst ourselves. I decided I would have the Firehouse Burger and a Naughty Nellie beer. My wife decided she'd have chicken strips with Buffalo sauce. We decided between the families that the kids would split a grilled cheese. I don't know what JLowe and his wife were going to order, but they'd decided as well. The menus were closed and put aside, and we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

After about 20 minutes of waiting, we started watching. The people after us had been served. The people at the table behind me and my wife were chatted up and served by the waitstaff, as were the people at the table behind JLowe and his wife. We continued to watch as the large party off to our left (the wall was to my right) was addressed. An empty table outside was bussed.

JLowe waved his menu in the air, to the chagrin of us all. I sat, with my back to the remainder of my party, just trying to make eye contact with a waitress. JLowe talked to his neighbors, as a waitress was at their table, and made sure to mention that we hadn't been served yet (and the waitress looked towards our table).

Still, nothing. About a half hour, without water, without beverage, without food, and with waitresses actually looking at us and passing us up.

In my opinion, this is absolutely unacceptable. Even at the cheapest, crappiest franchise places, the wait staff knows to at least say "be right there" or send some water your way. We didn't even get the courtesy of a "hi" after being seated.

Thank God Cannon's, one of my favorite places, was nearby. After a half hour, we took our good legal tender there, while JLowe and his wife grabbed some stuff from New Seasons. We went back to their house and ate our food there.

So, what do you think? Would you go back? Frankly, I don't know if I will...

Cha Taqueria and Bar

2008-04-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

Tonight, my wife and I have a little time alone without the little one, between getting off of work and her class tonight. So, we ran up to Cha Taqueria and Bar, located at 305 NW 21st Avenue. She's been raving about the happy-hour menu for weeks.

When we arrived, we were promptly seated. Our server disappeared for a moment and returned with blue corn chips and their special salsa...which was unusual and delicious. But he warned us that the salsa would be disappearing soon, due to the main ingredient's exponential cost. He told us that the salsa was made of cilantro, onion, garlic, green tomatoes and avocado. I think he must have left out one ingredient, for the salsa had some spice to it as well.

My wife and I both ordered a plate of tacos (2 tacos per plate - $5.00). I ordered the tacos pescado (Ono!!!) and she ordered the tacos pastor. We were both pleased with our choices. Each dish came with some black beans. With our drinks, we were quite full (two pints will do it).

Besaws

2008-04-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

My wife and I used to live in NW Portland, and every Saturday, as we were driving around, we would see this huge line at Besaw's, located at 2301 NW Savier Street. So, we never stopped. But recently, we were out and about together on a weekday and spotted that there was no line. So, this time we stopped.

Once inside, we had to wait for a few minutes. It's a nice space, with lots of stained wood. My wife, as usual, chose French Toast. Our little girl had oatmeal. I chose an omelette. Now, on the website there is a link to the menu. The omelette that I chose is not on that omelette, which is sad, because I found the omelette an unusual choice.

I love cheese omelettes. It's the type of omelette that is a no-brainer for me, as it's pretty hard to screw up (although many establishments have managed to succeed!). What made this cheese omelette unusual is that there were two cheese omelettes, each with about seven choices of cheese. I didn't read the fine print, so the server had to correct me when I chose all seven cheeses from one of the omelettes. He politely told me that I could only choose three cheeses.

With my omelette came toast and potatoes, both which were good, but not noteworthy. All in all, the meal was good. My wife liked her French Toast. Our little girl ate only some of her oatmeal (she's going through a phase). The bill came out at about $25.00 (pre-tip).

It was a solid meal, but I was very glad that I didn't wait for 45 minutes to sit. That would have been just too long for this place. So, go, but watch out for the line.

Screen Door

2008-03-24T00:29:00.000-07:00

Screen Door is a spot located at 2337 E. Burnside. Up until Saturday morning at 8:05 am, I had never heard of it. But then again, there are hundreds of restaurants throughout Portland...right?

Rusty called and wanted us to try it out. I agreed. So, we both showed up, families in tow, at around 9 am. Now, I say "around" because Rusty was there before 9, and I showed up a few minutes past 9. Rusty said that there was a line waiting outside when he showed up. Screen Door doesn't open until 9 am on Saturday. Apparently, there is always a line. So, me and my family avoided a lengthy wait, as Rusty did all the hard work.

We were seated at a table for six, highchairs already in place for our young ones. This is a great place to take kids, as there is just enough background noise to muffle the sound of squawking kids, without feeling drowned out.

My wife and Mrs. Rusty both ordered the french toast. Rusty went with a scramble of some sort. I ordered the Banana Fosters french toast and a side of scrambled eggs. Why? I retort, why not? It seemed like it was going to be one of those signature dishes, and so I thought, what better way to first become acquainted then to try something special?

I was quite happy with my meal. The eggs were firm, warm, but not overcooked. The french toast was good enough to eat without either the Bananas or any syrup. The bananas were GREAT! My wife declared that her french toast was the best that she's had in any restaurant...which I found to be amazing, as that is all that she ever orders for breakfast at any restaurant. And I specifically asked if it was better then the french toast at Alameda Cafe or at Francis. She affirmed that it was the best. I dare not argue with my wife, especially when I think she might be right.

I mean, french toast is usually kind of dry. But this toast was just moist enough to need nothing else. I tried it with some syrup...it was better without. I tried it with some jam. Well, the jam was terrific, but it wasn't much of an enhancement. The french toast was that good.

Rusty enjoyed his scramble. It was a little spicy, he said. But, he decided to try all three of the hot sauces on the table. We both liked that touch, as it gave a measure of control to the diner as to how hot the food was going to be. I, too, tried the sauces on my eggs. This is where I was a little disappointed with the meal. There was Tabasco...which I always love...plenty of delicious heat without the feeling of being burned out. There was Louisiana Hot Sauce...which is OK (feel free to argue...I just find it kind of boring). Then, there was a homemade hot sauce. It wasn't hot, nor did it have much flavor (hence the disappointment...if you are going to have a homemade sauce on the table, next to the big T, it better be good).

Now, this lack of heat and flavor may be with me, and not the sauce. Recently, I suffered through the hottest hot wings ever to enter my mouth, while in Hawaii. The short story is that the wings were labeled "Ass-in-the-tub-hot wings" and I chose not to believe the label, even after being fully warned by the server. Rusty, who was with me, ate one bite, realized they weren't lying, and stopped. I, like the thick-headed numskull I can sometime be, pushed through and swallowed four wings. I then spent 36 hours of my vacation in complete and utter misery. I say all of that to say that this sauce had no real heat, but it just might be I caused permanent damage to myself in Hawaii.

All in all, the meal was great. The price wasn't too bad (about $10 a person, when averaged between 4 adults and two little ladies under 2 1/2). As we walked out, there was still a line.

DiNicola's

2008-02-09T10:53:00.000-08:00

I love Italian food. I find it hard to have an unpleasant Italian food experience.

And I love and respect tradition, honor it, and respect a place that can establish one.

So when my friends wanted to go out to dinner last week at DiNicola's, which I'd never been to (but had heard great things about), I was thrilled to take them up on the invite. And I was looking forward to what I'd find.

This review, by the way, will end up being a "pass" recommendation, but I'm going to start with what I liked.

First, the place is cramped and a bit messy in appearance. While in many ways that could be a bad thing, it fits well within the archetype of the family-owned Italian restaurant, and helps sell the place as being thoroughly what it sets out to be. When you sit there, you feel like you can expect good food.

Second, the food has some good qualities. The garlic bread (which you have to pay extra for, and which I'd rather see as a throw-in) is good. The pizzas are made with quality ingredients and have good flavor. The noodles are good quality.

Finally, the service was great, and the people were all friendly. And kids are welcomed and accomodated, which is always a plus.

The problem with the place is that the food is too rich, across the board. Nobody at our table is a dainty eater; we all had skills. I ordered a pasta dish with a "Mezza Mezza" sauce, meaning it was a mix of marinara and cream-based. My wife ordered a pizza, figuring she and my daughter would share a couple of slices and we'd take the rest home. Our friends ordered a separate pizza to split.

I couldn't get through much of my dish. Not that is tasted bad, but it just sits in your stomach like a rock. I took some home and tried again for lunch the next day, and ran into the same problem. It just sits too heavy and ends up making a person feel a bit queasy. My wife had the same issue with her pizza, and a couple of days later I had a slice and, again, felt gastronomically overwhelmed. Our friends didn't offer any actual complaints, but they didn't seem all that pleased with what they'd ended up getting.

We ended up throwing away about half of the pizza because, although it was tasty, it just wouldn't sit well.

Now, it could be that we were there on an off-night, either for us or for the restaurant. I'm open to input to that point, and I'm actually interested in getting some feedback from readers on this place. But given my experience, I'm not going to be heading back anytime soon, unless I hear some pretty clear indications that I'm being unduly harsh...

Alameda Cafe

2008-02-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

Portland has a lot of great breakfast joints. I love Roux, I love the Tin Shed, I love Fat City Cafe, and I (at least) enjoy Marco's. Cadillac Cafe's great, and the 24 Hour Hotcake House on Powell is quite good as well. And there are many, many more that I haven't tried yet.

In fact, aside from the franchise-type places (Denny's, Elmer's, IHOP, Shari's), it's hard to find a place in Portland with a bad breakfast. The only one jumping to mind at the moment is The Red Star downtown, which is over-priced and over-rated and which has food that seems to be the food equivalent of form over substance, which is to say that it's pretty but generally tasteless.

One of the places that's moved up my list quickly, though, is the Alameda Cafe.

In general, there's a lot of good stuff in the Alameda area of NE Portland. Stanich's is generally my favorite place for a fatburger. Amalfi's has good Italian food. The Alameda Brewpub has great salads. So it only makes sense that one of Portland's finer breakfast spots would be in the area as well.

My general approach there is to go for a scramble. I've had the breakfast omelette and liked it a lot, and I've had one of the benedicts and it was great, but their scrambles are a can't-miss proposition that are substantial and hearty while also being just fancy enough to be distinctive. They also have great home-fried potatoes on the side.

My wife is a huge fan of their special house french toast, which is unique in that it's coated with cinnamon and corn flakes, and is absolutely fantastic.

One of the huge factors for a family guy in a breakfast place is family-friendliness. Although the place looks a bit pretentious from outside, it's never provided a problem for us and our daughter during our several visits in her first two years. The wait-staff is super-friendly and accomodating and noone ever looks at you with the stink-eye when you walk in with a kid.

I've seen the knock (over at the Portland Food and Drink blog, in particular) that the place is a bit over-priced, and to the extent that it's more expensive than one of the larger omelette-mills, that's true. But in the grand scheme of breakfast joints, I think the prices are about middle-of-the-road, and the food justifies the prices.

So add one to the list of great Portland breakfast joints...

New Reviews Coming

2008-02-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

In the next day or so:

Alameda Cafe (breakfast)
DiNicola's Italian Restaurant
Jake's Grill

We'll also run our first forum question. Check back for more later!

La Bamba

2008-01-22T21:15:00.001-08:00

Having recently finished a weekend of eating out a lot, generally in celebration of my 7th wedding anniversary but also because I like eating out, I figured this week would involve lots of not-eating-out. So what a pleasant surprise when my friend Dave asked if my wife and I would like to go out todinner tonight.

The decision of where to eat was left to me, and I opted for Mexican food.

A couple of years ago, I mentioned in an old post on the Portland Metroblog that Portland has a serious dearth of good Mexican food. Recently, one of my favorite places, Romo’s, shut down, and I was left in a bit of a learch until my wife heard about La Bamba. Located on SE 49th and Powell, the restaurant appears to be family-owned.

In my two visits, I’ve found two truths. The place is not busy. And the food is some of the best Mexican I’ve ever had.

Last night, I opted for the Burrito Cancun. A combination of shrimp, crab, and chicken stuffed into a flour tortilla, it was absolutely delicious. The beans that came with it were typically delicious black beans. The rice was good, not too dry and well-flavored, which I find to be the exception as opposed to the rule in the world of Mexican rices.

There’s a wide selection of drinks available, though I always lean towards beer with Mexican food. The restaurant has all the usual suspects in bottles (including Corona and Sol, which are the beers I lean towards in these contexts) as well as a variety of local micros and other beers (Dave had a Mirror Pond on tap).

La Bamba has a very diverse menu. See these examples...

I’ve found that although there are all of the usual things that one could jump to in order to have what they’re used to (chimichangas, fish tacos, etc.), I’ve also found that the menu has a lot of exciting stuff that I’ve never seen before, and as such I find La Bamba to be an exciting, and inexpensive, place to challenge my palate and discover something new. I hope to see you there.

Higgins

2008-01-22T16:19:00.000-08:00

For our anniversary dinner, the wife and I headed out to Higgins, which we've been to once previously and like enough for a return visit.

The restaurant, located on Jefferson and Broadway in downtown Portland, is a beautifully-appointed place, ideal for a quiet dinner with someone special. The service is among the best in town, very attentive and quite knowledgeable about the components of the constantly-shifting menu and the over-sized bar selection. And the creations capitalize on local fare, as the place is owned and operated by local institution and super-chef Greg Higgins.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by a menu that boasted a variety of starters, mostly focussing on local fresh seafood and seasonal vegetable. My wife opted for the salad of "gathered greens," which has an interesting sound to it (so yuppy), while I had a wonderful potato-broccoli puree soup that was just fabulous.

For dinner, my wife opted for the off-menu special flat-iron steak. It came with potatoes and parsnips, but she had been hoping for polenta, and they were kind enough to make a substitution without any trouble.

I opted for the pasta e fagioli, as I've been shifting away from meaty dishes towards dishes lower in fat and higher in variety. For lack of a more insightful description, it was ridiculously good.

For dessert, my wife had a chocolate something-or-other. I had a warm apple crisp with vanilla bean ice cream.

The dinner was expensive, but also quite good. Higgins is a great event-type restaurant: anniversaries; birthdays; family-in-town. It isn't my favorite place, but I cannot say anything other than it's a great part of our local food scene.

Masu

2008-01-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, JLowe and I took our wives out for sushi at Masu, on the 400 block of SW 13th.

My wife and I had been one time previously, around Christmas time, and had found it to be worth a quick return. The reasons to go there are numerous.

First, the place is incredibly hip. I've yet to find a sushi place in town that I just can't stand, but with each one you get a different vibe. There's the usually-cramped Koji's type places, which are generally not very big but are bright and clean and spare in appointments. There's Kappaya, on Division, which has okay food but is essentially a dive to sit in. There's Yoko's in SE Portland on Gladstone, which is still one of my favorite places, which is dimly lit but really non-descript, in my opinion, if you're trying to define the style.

Masu is different from them all. The place is just south of the Pearl District, but has all the industrial-hip, low-light and big windows flare of all of my favorite places there.

Of course, the reason to go to these places is never so much the atmosphere, but instead is about the food. And, as sushi goes, Masu is currently 1a on my list (if Yoko's is 1) of the top places in town.

The servings at Masu are generally quite generous. Nigiri, as usual, comes in servings of two pieces per order. Rolls generally come in servings of 6-12 pieces, depending on what kind you get. They aren't inexpensive, but that said, they are worth what you pay. The fish is very good quality, the combinations in the rolls are creative, and there are a variety of interesting sauces that get worked into the rotation which provide some interesting variety you don't get at most places.

And they have a neat nigiri order of quail egg on fish egg, which is good for impressing the ladies.

And then bonus points to any place that has a future-tech hand-warmer in the restroom...

Masu is incredible. I'll be going back to Yoko's to see if a re-ranking is in order. And I'm interested in suggestions for other sushi places in town, so share your thoughts...

No Fish Go Fish

2008-01-22T16:05:00.000-08:00

No Fish Go Fish, the food cart, has already been covered on this blog. What we haven’t discussed, however, is No Fish Go Fish, the restaurant (located at 40th and Hawthorne).

I’ve had a few opportunities to go recently. We went on my daughter’s second birthday, knowing that she’d love the “No Fish,” which are specially-prepared, fish-shaped cornmeal pastries containing a variety of fillings, while we enjoyed one of the scratch-made soups.

This weekend, to launch our anniversary eat-a-rama, we changed our minds. We’d been planning Pambiche, but had made the plan thinking that we’d already have left our daughter with her grandmother. Things didn’t work out like planned, however, so we chose a more family-friendly lunch location.

For this visit, my wife enjoyed the “Cowboy Chowder,” a concoction of rice, cheese, and potatoes in some sort of creamy broth. I went for the lentil dal, which is always fantastic and is a mainstay at No Fish Go Fish. For fish, I had a mushroom pate (one of the new line of special No Fish) and the black olive, garlic, and basil No Fish, while my daughter had Apple Cinnamon and a PB&J.

No Fish Go Fish is super-affordable; the average lunch special (soup and two No Fish) is about $5.50, and if you choose a deluxe No Fish the cost goes up by fifty cents each. And the people working there, whether one of the two owners or one of their chums, are always friendly. At the restaurant itself, you can opt for non-soup items, but where the strength of No Fish Go Fish is the soup, there’s no real reason to diverge from the really good stuff.

The Chart House

2008-01-06T22:01:00.000-08:00

For New Year's Eve, we went to one of my favorite restaurants...the Chart House. My wife and I were joined by Rusty and his wife.

Our reservations were for 8:30 pm. Alas, we were not seated until about 10 pm. The place was packed, and it was New Year's Eve, so I wasn't too upset. That was the only down-side to the evening.

We started with two appetizers, the crab-stuffed mushrooms and the calamari. Both were delicous, and there was enough for four people (even after the 1 1/2 hour wait).

For dinner, my wife had the Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi (she always has the Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi). I opted for the swordfish, blackened. She loved her selection (that's why she always gets it). And, I must say, my swordfish was the best I have ever had, anywhere. It was blackened to perfection, and the swordfish was moist and tender.

For dessert, each couple ordered the Hot Chocolate Lava Cake. Here's the description from the menu: "Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, molten center, Dreyer's® vanilla ice cream, served with warm chocolate sauce and Heath Bar Crunch>" The shorter description would be "chocolate sin." If you are going to select this for dessert, and you really must order it, please be advised that you must order it when you order your dinner, as it takes 20 minutes, to prepare.

All in all, a wonderful evening and meal...good company, good food and a good view. The Chart House demonstrated once again why it remains in my top ten restaurants in Portland.

New Year's Addendum

2008-01-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

JLowe and I both gained a lot of weight this holiday season. He from his father's excellent cooking, me from my penchant for appetizers at my wife's and my various functions.

Anyway, the first half of January we're in detox mode, doing the annual flushing of our systems using the much-reviled but remarkably effective "The Master Cleanse" diet.

So, anyway, don't expect much new in the next two weeks (although JLowe did claim dibs on writing up our foursome's New Year's Eve outing to The Charthouse, which--aside from being seated an hour after our reservation time--was absolutely lovely).

New Year's Resolutions and the Appropriate Canning of the Rules

2008-01-02T15:04:00.000-08:00

2007 was a banner year for our little blog here. Over the course of just a few months, we put out 76 posts, almost all with something worthwhile to say about the local food scene, and received 7,021 hits. Not too shabby.

But what is perhaps more remarkable is the amout of content that didn't get put up this year. We have this rule, you see: no writing about a place once a whole day has passed since you ate there. The rule was designed to ensure only the freshest of posts. The rule ended up killing a lot of good material.

Some of the places that didn't get posted last year, despite our gastronomic endeavors at each:

The Hunan
Gresham Typhoon
Masu Sushi
Yuki Sushi
Buffalo Wildwings
The Charthouse
Chin Yen
Jake's Bar and Grill
Gustav's
La Bamba

And, certainly, many more I'm just failing to remember.

Seems our "freshness" rule got in the way of sharing quality info. So, our New Year's resolutions:

MORE POSTS, MORE PICTURES, and NO MORE RULES (at least, none that constrain us from offering useful info; if a post will suffer from too much time passing, we'll let it go in favor of another outing).

Also, if you have a place you're interested in and want to know about, let us know. We take suggestions, but chances are also pretty high that, between JLowe and I, we've been there and can offer some advice.

Finally, I hereby declare the death of GastroBoy. He was once a useful member of this blog; now he's just dead weight. Fare thee well, Chuck.

Serratto

2007-12-09T21:56:00.000-08:00

After dinner at Sunsai, my pals took me down the street to Serratto for dessert. A pretty penny was spent on the decor of this restaurant. Sadly, the chairs we had that night were quite uncomfortable, about an inch too tall.

But however uncomfortable the chairs were, the dessert Tuesday night was fabulous. I chose the Milk Chocolate Cobbler. A pool of warm chocolate was covered with a crust that was topped with vanilla bean gelato. Decadent, rich, creamy, and remarkable.

It's been too long since I had dinner at Serratto, so I can't comment on it. But, it's worth investigating, if only to have another Milk Chocolate Cobbler.

Sunsai

2007-12-09T21:44:00.000-08:00

For a belated birthday dinner, two of my pals took me out to Sunsai, located at 539 NW 21st Avenue this past Tuesday. I can't say that I am that discriminating when it comes to sushi, as I have only been to about five or six different places in Portland. But I will say that I did quite enjoy my meal.

I let my pals do most of the ordering, but I did have some say in a couple of the items. One item that just had to be tried was a sushi roll that included jalapenos...truly east meets west. I appreciated the spice that the jalapenos brought to the roll.

I also picked out some yellow tail tuna and some salmon sashimi. The fish came out draped across shredded daikon. Quite fresh, quite firm, quite delicious...if you are not afraid of fish in the raw.

The restaurant was clean. The service was punctual. All in all, a very nice experience. Price? Good sushi will always run you a few dollars. Come ready to spend.

Mayas Taqueria

2007-11-22T20:56:00.000-08:00

I found myself at the corner of 10th and SW Morrison yesterday, having dropped off my dry cleaning at a different dry cleaner for the first time (I have fired the dry cleaner that has been taking care of my clothes for the past five years). I was on my way to a book store, when I saw Mayas Taqueria. It had been a long time since I had darken that door. Found memories flooded back, my belly said I needed lunch, so in I went.

It was much as I remembered. The first thing you see is the grill behind the counter. Then, the upstairs seating catches your I. I looked at the board menu, and I got the vague sense that I had seen that menu somewhere else before. My suspicion is that Mayas is affiliated with Santa Fe Taqueria on NW 23rd.

I decided to order the Spicy Brazilian Old World Wrap. The staff behind the counter was very friendly, even offering to bring my food to my table. I paid my $7.99 and headed off for a seat upstairs.

As I waited, I took a good hard look at what was around me. The place is a rather run down. There is pealing paint. The chairs are quite uncomfortable. The dust was an inch thick on the ceiling fans. It was certainly not a place for a lunch meeting. Then, my food arrived. My wrap was topped with a fruit salsa and there was a good amount of chips. The wrap was delicious and filling. The meat was just spicy enough.

Although I enjoyed my food, I thought it was overpriced. The interior needs a lot of work.

El Palmero

2007-11-15T08:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I met my friend Nick for lunch. It was his idea and his first suggestion was that we meet in the food court at Pioneer Place. I wasn't so excited about heading down there (see my previous reviews of the Pit), but it was Nick's idea, so I didn't seize the moment to squash his plan. He called back and said that maybe we should first meet in front of my building. We met up and began to walk. Nick then asked if I had any suggestions for lunch. Well, of course I did. I had been thinking about where to have lunch with him since we first made plans a week ago. So, I said, "Let's go to El Palmero."

El Palmero is located downtown at 320 SW Alder Street. My wife hates the place. She thinks it's way to greasy (she had a quesadilla there ONCE, and hasn't gone back). When I told Nick my wife's opinion (they go way back), he said, "Let's go there."

El Palmero is a fairly good-sized taqueria, with lots of seating and a familiar menu. It has changed over the years from when I first darkened the door with my buddy Travis, but I think it has only improved.

The dishes range from $6.25 to $12.00+, which seems to be the standard rate for meals in downtown Portland. I had the Chimichanga. It was hot, filling, tasty, and not at all greasy (my wife thinks I am delusional). El Palmero is Peruvian. Stop by, say hi to the very friendly waitstaff, and have a lovely lunch.

Ruth's Chris

2007-11-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

My wife and I went to Ruth's Chris the other night to celebrate the eight years that we have been together. There is no better way to say, "I love you," then over to perfect steaks.

I've been to several of the local steak houses in Portland, and I have to admit, Ruth's Chris is still my favorite. In fact, I have voted it my second favorite restaurant in Portland.

The interior is clean, well laid out and elegant. However, it's not so stuffy that you would feel under-dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a sweater.

The waitstaff is superb, quite friendly, very professional and prompt.

And the meat, well, it's to die for. I had the New York strip and my wife had the Kobe sirloin. I ordered the strip medium rare and the chef hit it right on the mark. It was flavorful and filling...nothing fancy, just salt, pepper in a bit of butter. Ruth's Chris serves a la cart, so if you want a side, you will have to order one. We chose to share the green beans, which was plenty for two.

My wife's Kobe sirloin was medium well. It was tenderized, so although I prefer my meat still mooing, I was quite satisfied with the bites she shared with me.

For dessert, we shared the chocolate sin cake. It had a strong coffee flavor to it, which was fine by me. Others might find it overbearing.

Ruth's Chris is not cheap. Our meal, with tip, came out to +$130.00. That bought us two drinks, two steaks, green beans and a single dessert. Come prepared to spend. Leave very very happy.

Laurelwood Public House and Brewery

2007-10-15T23:55:00.000-07:00

Last night, in the ramp up to our 2nd Annual Stellaween festivities, we took our daughter and some family members out for dinner. Since the goal was to celebrate Stella's 2nd birthday (which is on the 29th, so we hence call this season Stellaween in honor of both her and the fun holiday she was born so close to), we decided to find a place that would be fun for her.

Unfortunately, Portland no longer has Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour (or Portland Ice Cream, the poseur that took it over). And we've sworn off of Chuck E. Cheese. So pickin's were slim.

My wife's dad suggested Laurelwood, which had also crossed my mind, seeing as they are touted as kid-friendly and a fun place for the whole family.

So we went. Upon arrival at the newest location, situated at 51st and Sandy in Northeast Portland, I was pleased at how clean and nice the space was to be in. I looked for the kid's play area, which I'd heard so much about. I was saddened to see it consisted of a small 4'x4' niche in the restaurant. If there was more for kids to do, I didn't see it.

We sat down and started looking for food, as various members of the family took turns running Stella to the play area. We were thrilled to find that Laurelwood has a happy hour every day, including Sunday, from 3-6 pm and from 9-close. Beers are $2.75/pint. Food's about $3.50 off of the happy hour menu.

We ordered two orders of the garlic fries to start. These are awesome. Fries, which in and of themselves are more or less normal (though none were soggy and all were fresh-cooked and crispy), topped with a bunch of minced garlic, some parsley, and some parmesan. They were simply delicious. I've never had garlic fries so good.

The menu is a bit all over the place, which made it hard for everyone to settle on something. There are menus that offer a nice selection, and then menus that offer too much. Laurelwood's falls in the second category. They'd benefit from finding a theme to work around, to help focus the mind of the diner and also to help complement their ample beer selection better.

I had a ton of trouble choosing. Until it was time to order, I was fixated on the crispy buffalo chicken sandwich. However, at the last minute, I switched to the santa fe burger (I'm a sucker for chiles and pepper jack cheese) with a side of onion rings. Total: $9.95.

The food wasn't fast getting out, but it wasn't too slow. We had a party of 8, and service took about 20 minutes, which is okay given that number of people. Our waitress was very friendly, if not entirely on-the-ball, and at least noticed empty drinks fairly promptly (though, on average, it would take 5 minutes to fill a drink order, though I was literally 8 feet from the bar). In terms of a place to go to enjoy company as well as food, Laurelwood does fit the bill.

I took some time to check out the play area with Stella. It was really a let-down. A few broken toys on a small city-scape carpet (if they'd had Hotwheel cars, we could've pretended to drive them on the roads, but alas they didn't). Toward the back corner of the space, I saw what appeared to be old mess of some sort under the carpet. There was no associated smell or crustiness or anything, but it conveyed a feeling of dinginess that was very unappealing. Stella didn't seem to mind, but at the same time she was obviously not that interested in the offerings for kids.

The food finally came and we all dug in. Stella ordered (via her parents, of course) the kids mac and cheese ala carte for $2.50 (you can get the main dish with fries and a dessert for $4.50), which she seemed to enjoy.

My burger initially looked like a sloppy joe. Though I didn't read the menu as indicating it, it was actually sort of a chili burger. The chiles were not really discernable, nor were any of the seasoning elements I'd homed in on while reviewing the dish on the menu. All in all, it was edible but disappointing. The onion rings were quite good, though, and didn't survive to make into my picture, below. My brother in law got the turkey burger, and he said it was good. My other brother in law got the open-faced meatloaf sandwich, which came with whipped potatoes (I tried them and they were alright, but not special) and green beans (cooked a bit too long, so more chewy than crispy, but seasoned nicely). I didn't get to sample the loaf itself, but he ate it all without any complaint, so it must have been at least decent.

My father-in-law ended up performing an act of grandfatherly exuberance, pulling out his card at the last minute to pay, so I never saw the bill. I think, for 8 people with drinks and the appetizers, we ended up around $100, which really isn't bad.

Laurelwood is touted as highly kid friendly. It's smoke free, generally clean, and noone minds your kid running from the table to the play area. But otherwise I don't see how it differs from most other restaurants. Perhaps other locations are more deserving of the kid-free mantle. The food is okay, but not special. The beer is good, and the plentiful happy hours make it a place to keep in mind, especially on a Sunday afternoon when you want to catch a game on the big screen over an affordable pint. It's a place that you'll never miss if you don't visit it, but also one that I could understand you liking if you're nearby and hungry.

The Greek Festival

2007-10-07T23:56:00.001-07:00

Among the venues where food is somewhat incidental, the Greek Festival is high on my list. I’m not Greek, my wife’s not Greek, and few people I know are Greek. And, yet, every year the Greek Festival is a must-go destination for my family and a few of our friends.

It was no different this year.

The essentials are always the same. ALWAYS get a gyro. ALWAYS get some loukamades. And ALWAYS get some baklava. Everything else is icing on the cake, and recommended.

Gyro’s are $4 a piece. The spanikopita is always quite good, and is $3 for 2. Loukamades, which are sort of a honey and cinnamon-covered doughnut hole of sorts (but lighter), are $2 or $3, depending on if you get the small or large servings. The baklava, along with the remainder of the the Greek pastry, are $2 each, or 2 for $3. You can also get Greek coffee (more a matter of preparation than bean origin) for $2, or a normal one for $1 (which is the price for soda and water as well). There is a large beer garden there as well. In short, everything you need for a full dinner.

The food varies in degrees of goodness, but it’s all some sort of good. The gyros are probably the least sensational of the items offered, as they are pretty standard bulk-gyro type gyros. The spanikopita is delicious, with a wonderful filo preparation that is light and flaky, and not overly greasy.

The loukamades are always just fantastic. And the baklava is simply devine. And, this year, the servings are huge.

If you’re reading this post now, you’re too late for this year’s Greek Festival. My weekend prevented me from doing this post in time to offer a true public service. But, in the realm of seasonal event-driven eating, the Greek Festival is an absolute must. Make your way next year.

Two tips: first, bring $20 minimum. It’s enough for 2 people, and you shouldn’t need more unless you’re getting beer. And, second, bring cash. The money system is based on tokens. You buy “talents,” which are $1 each, but which speed transactions there substantially.

The place is always busy, and it usually rains during Greek Festival time, but it’s always covered so just go, swim in the humanity, and get full. It’s a glorious time, and it’s a ton of fun.

The Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-07T23:54:00.000-07:00

‘Tis the season, or one of them, for some good, irregular food fun. So much goes on throughout the year, and my goal is to miss much of it in favor of huddling in my dungeon, getting a moon tan from my computer.

But, really, most food events just bug me, so I skip them as a rule.

There are events with related food, though, and those are the type I’ll show up at. Festivals, fairs, and the like.

And one of the like is the Pumpkin Patch.

One might think that this post is meant to allow me to post a cute picture of my daughter. And, in part, it is. But it’s also to shine a light on a worthwhile secondary purpose for making the annual trip with your kids.

In fact, I’ve been making this trip annually since before the kid came. But having the kid simply guaranteed that the trip will continue in perpetuity.

Most of us have gone to the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie’s Island from time-to-time over the years. Back when I was a kid, I recall it being a bare-bones operation. Pumpkins in a patch, basically. The name, literally, said it all.

Over time, it’s built up into something grand. A pumpkin patch, sure, but so much more. There’s a corn maze (a “maize,” of course), outhouses, a store, and in the last few years a growing food area.

This year, I decided that there was the requisite supply of foodstuffs available to provide a meal, and I sampled them for you.

I spent about 10 bucks altogether. With that money, I had a pulled pork sandwich, some of a cob of corn (actually bought for my wife and daughter), an elephant ear, and a soda.

The pulled pork sandwich, in particular, was awesome. The bun was typical Costco bulk fare. The pork, well, I couldn’t vouch for the quality of the pig it came from, but it was nicely prepped and mixed with a good barbecue sauce. It was served atop the bun, and further topped with some bulk-brand cole slaw, then enclosed with the bun top. A very, very simple sandwich, and yet somehow I’ve never had anything like it. Surprisingly, it was super-good, on a scale of 1-10. JLowe and his wife brought their kid with me and my wife, and his wife (who’s notoriously finicky) downed her sandwich, offering him only a bite, which in turn forced him to drop a 5-spot of his own for his own delicious pulled-pork experience.

The corn was very sweet, and very fresh. I have no doubt it came from one of the multiple nearby, and well-stocked, corn fields, and it was prepared so it was juicy and crispy and so, so good.

The elephant ears are a mixed bag. I like my elephant ears somewhat doughy and soft. These were thin and almost entirely crispy. The advantage to them, though, is that you get to apply your own butter (you paint it on with a brush, which is a fun experience) and then pour your own cinnamon and sugar on to make the elephant ear as sinful as you need it to be.

$10 was probably a bit much for what I got, but it was $10 that I was very, very happy to spend.
So, if you go to the Pumpkin Patch, go hungry. Though you no-doubt will go for the gourds, you’ll certainly be happy if you stay for some food.

The Cajun Grill

2007-10-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

Third time's the charm...for writing this review. I first ate at the Cajun Grill in mid-September with Rusty, and I failed to write a review. Which was sad, because I absolutely hated my dining experience. OK, it is in a food court, but this was really bad.

We got off on wrong foot when I was charged extra for the rice. On the menu board, it clearly stated that for $5.20 I would get my blackened chicken with a vegetable and rice. When I pointed this out to the cashier, the cashier stated that the particular rice I chose had an extra price to it (which is nowhere to be found on the menu board). I should have just walked away, leaving the food behind, but I didn't. Instead, I complained to Rusty and proceeded to place the food into my mouth.

The rice was icky (that's a profession term for tasteless, greasy and dry - how can a dish be greasy and dry at the same time? I don't know, but the Cajun Grill pulled it off). The chicken was gooey, due to the skin and fat still attached to the meat. I couldn't finish it. I only ate five bites and threw the rest away. The vegetables were tasty and crisp.

Imagine my distress when I failed to post the blog? All I could think was, "I have to eat that crap again?" And, back I went, because you, the readers of this blog, need to know the truth.

Round two happened a week or two ago. That time, I ordered the Bourbon Chicken and vegetables. I declined the rice, as I didn't trust them. The vegetables were mushier then the first time and the chicken was gross...sticky sweet with really no taste and a nice fatty finish. And yes, I failed to post a blog entry again. I felt ill (not due to the meal, just to the thought of having to return for Round Three).

Rusty berated me, and I deserved it. So, given my duty to you, and Rusty, I went back for a third time yesterday for the Blackened Fish and vegetables. I experienced a reversal of fortunes. This time, the vegetables were really very nasty (mushy and tasteless) and the fish was swallowable. But, for $5.99, it wasn't worth it. I would pay maybe 50 cents. And, now that I have posted this blog, I will never have to go there again.

The Daily Grill

2007-10-01T00:56:00.000-07:00

(BLOGGER'S BEING A JERK. PICTURES WILL BE ADDED LATER)

I'm calling a JLowe Mulligan.

I told him this today, as I called him out for failing to fulfill the promise of writing up our trip to The Daily Grill on Thursday.

In my opinion, JLowe's pretty much a slack-ass bastard. Case in point: we went to the food court several weeks ago, and he had food from the Cajun place, as neither of us had reviewed it. He hated it, and couldn't wait to let you all know. Of course, the post was never written, because JLowe's a slack-ass bastard, as I've mentioned already.

Last week, he went there again, on Monday. He didn't want to, but he agreed with me that he owed you, our readers, the service of going again. We have a rule that all reviews need to be written by the end of the day following our visit. The rule is fairly strictly enforced. It's designed to make sure we don't forget things that influenced our opinion.

Since I, for one, would never go to the Cajun place after seeing JLowe's reaction, and he really wanted to be able to bag on them for how awful they were, and he has a "three visit" rule before he'll totally write a place off, he figured he owed it to everyone (including the Cajun place) to go back. And I told him that he could cheat a review of his first experience in with the second one.

Of course, he never wrote that review either. He sucks. A lot.

There are other reviews he's missed. Thankfully, I have a really bad memory, so you don't have to be bothered with hearing about them any further.

But, anyway, we went to The Daily Grill on Park Avenue for lunch on Thursday, and it was blog-worthy, so here's your JLowe Mulligan-ed late review.

We went to The Daily Grill not by design, but because the restaurant we wanted to go to (The Park), which was new, had apparently closed up shop, leaving us towards the end of Park Avenue with few choices. We didn't want Subway, and chinese at the Hunan (oh, yeah, that's one he forgot to write...) would have been to heavy.

We saw The Daily Grill, and decided to check it out.

The restaurant's is a nice space. You walk in to a stairway down into the bar area and the host/greeter area. We were seated promptly in the next room over, which is a nice open restaurant space with high ceilings and good lighting. We were handed a "Blue Plate Special" lunch menu and a normal menu, and our server went immediately to fetch us water.

The menu is something. The Thursday Special is Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup for about $11. It has three kinds of cheese, but still, that's ridiculous, especially if you're going to call it a "special," which I've always thought meant "deal."

JLowe ordered the BLT. I ordered the California Turkey. We each ordered ours with the side of shoestring potatoes.

Each of our sandwiches was in the $10-12 price range, which was too much for what we got. JLowe opined that the prices were to "keep out the riff-raff." While the food was by no means bad, I'd suspect that he was right on the pricepoint selection. The Daily Grill appears to be as much about who's eating there as it is about what's being served.

For instance, the iced tea was $3, and my lemonade was $3.50. Sure, the refills were free, but the prices were still ridiculous.

On the positive side, the food was tasty and filling and the shoestring potatoes were nicely cooked, crispy, and not at all soggy. The service was excellent, with repeated visits to top off our water and other beverages and a visit by the manager to make sure all was well.

We left satiated. We felt heavier in our guts for having gone there. Sadly, we felt the wallet was a little too much lighter to justify a return trip. Apparently it got plenty of exercise while we were stuffing our gullets.

Gyros And Grill

2007-09-30T00:06:00.000-07:00

JLowe's thrown this whole damned blog off. First of all, I'm behind on my blogging because I'm dealing with his being behind. So, technically, this post is an hour beyond the time limit we've imposed. But, hey, crap happens.

Second, he claims to have hit pretty much all of the Pioneer Place food court places for review, and I thought he said he'd done Gyros And Grill. But in reviewing our work, I don't find any such thing. So, thank God I had a gyro there the other day, because now we're almost done with "The Pit" and all of its infernal food stuffs.

Not that I dislike the food court. Nothing's further from the truth. But a food court, while a mecca for downtown lunchers, is not really what the bulk of a food blog should cover. I like JLowe's mission to review the whole thing, because if nothing else it's a public service. But I'll be happy when we're free of the place and can return to other pursuits.

But, I digress.

Friday, a co-worker offered to buy me lunch because I'd covered a bunch of her stuff while she dealt with kid issues. Which was awesome. I mean, my usual asking price for covering a few days of projects is a cup of coffee or whatever, and I told her lunch was unnecessary, but she demanded I allow her to treat me. And, really, I love free food. So off we went, to the food court.

The choices were California Crisp, Wrapture, and Gyros And Grill. All good selections, I made the decision based upon the only criteria that mattered on this particular day -- line length. G And G had none, so there we went.

I've been there once before, when I ordered the falafel gyro with the potatoes and tabouleh. I enjoyed it last time, though I found the falafel gyro a bit dry, and the tabouleh a bit boring.

This time I opted for the Gyro platter. I again took the side of potatoes, and again I took the tabouleh. My mom used to make it from time to time when I was a kid and she was in a hippy phase, so when I see it on a menu I order it, even if there are other perfectly good choices. Irrational, but that's okay.

The service was prompt. The servers themselves were efficient. Not super-friendly, but that was fine given that they got right to preparing the order and made short work of dishing up our food. They also didn't skimp. I watched the guy slicing the lamb for my gyro, then piling it in, and I was happy that he didn't seem to be paying too much heed to how big the mound of meat was growing.

The food was bagged up for us and we headed out, back to our office. As we sat down, I took in the delicious odor of our food. And then I dug in.

The potatoes aren't necessarily anything to write home about. Seasoned fried potato coins. They're pretty much what you'd expect.

The tabouleh was zippy and zesty. It surprised me, and I coughed a bit when it hit my tongue. I suspect they over-spiced it today, which was fine, because it was actually really good. It was spicy, which is unlike any tabouleh I've ever had, and it was a very pleasant surprise.

The gyro itself was pretty much the same as any gyro you get anywhere. The lamb was better than you'd expect from a food court, the pita-type bread was of good quality, and in all the food was good.

My lunch cost about $7.50. Probably a little more than it was actually worth, but still not offensive in any way.

If you're looking for a quick gyro in town, go to Foti's Greek Deli on Burnside. But if you're stuck downtown for lunch, Gyros And Grill won't disappoint.

Blue Moon Tavern & Grill

2007-09-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I was disappointed and pleasantly surprised by McMenamins, all at once. Which pretty much sums up my life's experience with them.

The disappointments generally are outweighed by the pleasant times, which is why I keep going back.

Last night my wife and I and a bunch of friends (including JLowe and his missus) were all going to go to the Mission Theater to watch a movie, drink beer, and eat. When we got there, we found that the movie time was different from the listing that we'd read, so we scrambled to find an alternative. As I looked, through the magic of web-enabled cell phones, for other movies, the rest of the group agreed that, really, they were mostly just interested in the eating and beer. Which was fine with me.

So we headed a few blocks west to The Blue Moon, a McMenamins restaurant and bar located on the southeast corner of NW 21st and Glisan.

I've learned a few things over time about McMenamins restaurants. Don't expect good service. Don't expect consistent food. Always order tots. And only go there if beer is an essential part of your meal.

There were four couples in our party. There was plenty of seating, at 7:30 on a Friday, which was curious to me. The restaurant itself is neat looking, has a section near the bar with some pool tables for folks who want a more tavern-esque experience, and yet also has substantial sections of wall that can slide open on nice nights such as last night, to give the open-air effect. The only reason not to be there would be if you were looking for consistent food and/or good service.

Each of the fellows in our group ordered themselves a pitcher of beer. Really, that's the only cost-efficient way to handle things. Each pitcher is 3 pints, and for most guys that's just the right amount for a nice sit-down dinner where you plan on hanging with friends for awhile and chatting. My wife had a Ruby, JLowe's wife had a lemondrop of some sort, my friend Dave's wife stuck with water, and I don't remember what the fourth wife got. I had the Nebraska Bitter (which I liked quite a bit). JLowe opted for the porter, and the other two fellas got Hammerhead, which is my usual choice.

To start, we ordered two orders of tots for the table. I highly recommend the Cajunized tots, which are sprinkled with spicy stuff and are always delicious. We also had the regular tots, which I didn't like because they exposed some sort of odd taste in the oil. Of course, that didn't stop me from eating some of them.

We went on to scan the menu, which for me is generally a mere formality. My food choices at the McMenamins joints are usually pizza of some sort, or the Communication Breakdown Burger. I decided to diverge from the norm, though, and go with the Captain Neon. Something about bleu cheese and bacon was sounding mighty tasty last night. And, on the side, more tots.

Now, the surprise. Our server was (for the most part) very attentive last night, and the food was served rather quickly. And it was delicious. All perks, because I generally resign myself to poor service and slow food delivery at McMenamins, the trade-off being ample beverage.

For my wife and I (and keeping in mind that I had a whole pitcher of beer and we decided to pay for the two orders of tots we'd bought for everybody) the bill came up to about $37. Not that bad, really.

My parting thoughts? If you're looking for pub-type atmosphere, McMenamins is never a horrible choice. You'd do better, generally, at Concordia Ale House. You'd do worse, generally, at Widmer. If you're going to McMenamins, though, don't expect great service, order some tots, and buy pitchers, not pints.

Yento Bento

2007-09-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to decide if the blog's quest to tackle the entire Pioneer Place food court is awesome or irksome.

That as I find myself nearly falling asleep at the keyboard to capture the magic of yesterday's trip to the food court, and as I notice that JLowe appears poised to have to repeat his dreadful visit to Cajun Whatever as the clock slowly advances to the "all posts by the end of the next day" deadline that we so strictly follow. Hopefully he gets his post up, because he really, really doesn't want to re-do his experience of yesterday.

It's an interesting time here at the PDX RRbRF blog. We've been in a bit of a hiatus as I've been hording wealth for my recent vacation(s) and JLowe's been trying to maximize his budget. That said, I'm back, and JLowe's on his own in-town vacation right now, and we decided to step out yesterday for some well-deserved hooky.

So we met up at our favorite coffee shop (City Coffee on 4th and Salmon) and, after talking to the proprietor for a bit, headed off to lunch and a movie. How a movie in the midst of my just-back-from-vacation work day? The curious workings of my office, which allow for goofing off when certain pieces fall into place, which they did yesterday. One of those being the absence of my boss, another being a major project removed from my day, one which would have had me out of the office all day anyway. The office rule is, if you would've been gone anyway, and you wouldn't have been available to address anything at your desk, you're nearly required to skip work and take advantage. So the 5 hours I put in yesterday was my gift to my corporate masters. You're welcome.

The movie? Superbad. If this were a movie blog, I'd write about how good it was and how it had me flashing back to college (though it's a high school flick). Perhaps I'll hit that topic on my other blog later. We're about the food here, so back to the point.

The movie (clearly, I've no focus this late at night...) was playing at Pioneer Place at 12:50. We met for lunch at high noon, so we had limited time. I suggested the food court, and JLowe seconded my motion. We headed on down, and began to ponder the options.

JLowe noted that there were still three establishments left for review: Cajun Whatever, Gyros and Grill (which I've eaten at, but failed to post in time--I'll just say it's good, and will provide an actual review some other time), and Yento Bento. I allowed Jeff to decide which way he'd be going, and he went cajun. With the long line at Gyros and Grill, and the no-line at Yento Bento, my decision basically made itself.

Normally I would've shied away from a place with no line and the employee slumped over the counter. I wasn't feeling normal, though, so I walked right up. The employee, who's name I neglected to get, was extremely likeable. We discussed the menu (everything under $6, basically, all meat cooked on a grill over flame) and I asked him his advice on ordering. He explained that the chicken was pretty good, the salmon was surprisingly good, and he had some fresh salmon on the grill. I didn't have time though, so I asked him what chicken dish I should get. He said I looked like a healthy type of guy, so he suggested the chicken and steamed veggies on brown rice. I asked whether I should go for the curry sauce, and he eagerly answered in the affirmative. He heaped my dish together and happily sauced it up, and I was on my way. As far as food court service goes, it was the best I'd had in quite a long time.

I found a table and looked at Cajun Whatever to see JLowe still only half-way through the line. A gentleman, I waited for him to arrive before digging into my food. He was quite displeased with his order, chicken and rice and some veggies. I, on the other hand, was quite happy with mine.

I sampled his chicken, and it was horrid. It seemed fatty and fried. I gave him a sample of mine, fresh off the grill, and he thought it was great. Tender yet firm, flavorful, delicious. I picked around the squash in my steamed vegetables but devoured the baby carrots and broccoli, which all tasted pretty fresh. The brown rice was not dry, which is what I was expecting based on brown rices I've had elsewhere. It may have been the curry, but whatever the reason it was very good,

We were done eating by 12:35, and made our way to the movie. JLowe was grumbling and feeling a bit ill from his lunch. I was happy and full (I couldn't finish the plate) and very happy to have a new place I could go to when I needed a quick lunch, a short line, and a good service experience. Give Yento Bento a shot; I'm certainly glad I did.

Andina

2007-09-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

Andina is located at 14th and NW Gleason and is Peruvian. We went with a large group, so our meal was served in this private room below the restaurant. My, oh my, what a place!

We started off with several dishes from the menu de Entradas, such as the Yuca Rellena (I had three because I couldn't stop), the Tortilla de Patata (quite heavy and quite delicious), the Conchas a la Parilla (unbelievable), the De Pescado 5 Elementos (melted in my mouth) and the Palta Rellena de Cangrejo (the crab was very mild).

I really could have stopped at that point. I was full and happy, but we pressed on to the main course. I chose the Seco a la Norena. Now, the flavor of the lamb shank was mind-boggling (sweet and savory), but, I must confess, it was also a bit drier then I like. My wife had the ribeye steak...of which I had a small bite or two. I've eaten several ribeyes in my life in several steak houses in Portland. This ribeye was phenomenal. Ruth's Chris should take note.

Dessert. Why? Because I couldn't pass at that point. I went with the trio of Creme Brulee. Each night, different flavors are used. Last night my trio consisted of coconut, key lime and Kahlua. Each was quite tasty, but each was a bit too soft.

The Service. Our server was quite gifted, well-mannered, knowledgeable, pleasant, timely, you get the picture.

Will I go back? Absolutely. Andina has won me over.

Rovente Pizza

2007-08-28T22:25:00.001-07:00

So, yesterday a friend of mine and I decided to hook up for lunch downtown. I proffered a couple of places I hadn't been as choices, since I haven't had occasion to go somewhere that I could blog about lately (my vacation is this week, so the hording of wealth is almost over...).

He declined all offers, until I mentioned Geraldi's, which everyone loves (including us, if you look at prior posts). So we headed that way, me feeling a little let down that I was, unbeknownst to you, about to let you down yet again.

But then we were surprised to find that Geraldi's was closed. Appears to be a Monday thing. Good to know.

We looked around. Where to go? The Rialto? Maybe. I have friends who eat there and have enjoyed it. The Greek Cusina? I was leaning toward that, because I wanted a salad with squid on it.

My friend, however, noticed Rovente Pizza, a couple of doors down from Geraldo's, so we headed that way.

It's a simple place. Typical pizza-by-the-slice look to it. Large counter, pizza ovens behind, several pies on display. A few tables. A self-serve soda machine.

The choices were more or less ordinary. Pepperoni, Margherita, Vegetarian, Combination. But there was a special-of-the-day "Omnivore's Delight," with lots of meat and veggies, and there was a chicken pizza with a white garlic-y sort of sauce. I had my two slices.

The special's a good deal. A slice and a small drink (or, as they call it, "medium") for $2.95. I got my two slices and a soda to chase them with for $8, and that included the 20% tip.

The pizza was very good. Nice crust. The pie itself was piping hot, and I actually burned my tongue on it. The pieces are generous, and two slices is just enough to border on too much, so the special is actually quite enough to get you through lunch.

Pizza is hard to do wrong. But that doesn't mean that pizza done right should be taken for granted. A lot of pizza is fair-to-middlin'. I was happily surprised to find Rovente to be above average, and given the price it was fantastic.

Halibut's

2007-08-11T22:29:00.000-07:00

Fish and Chips on Ne Alberta...I really like this place. Maybe I shouldn't, given the price. Maybe I shouldn't, because of the small space and the feeling of dinginess. Maybe I shouldn't, because of the oil they use (transfat). And yet, I keep going back.

Last night, we had supper with my wife's parents. They were suppose to be on a plane, but it just didn't happen last night. So, we picked them up from the airport and took them to Halibut's. We chose to sit outside at a table along the sidewalk (We had the baby with us). There isn't much room inside. There are three tables on the restaurant side, with several more in the bar area. Usually we just take the fish to go, but last night was such a beautiful evening.

I had the catfish. My wife had and my mother-in-law had the Halibut. My father-in-law opted for chicken tenders. The food came quick. It was hot and tasty. There were plenty of chips. We were all full. I like this place a lot. I've heard that a lot of people have issues with this particular place...I'm just not one of them.

Jake's Famous Crawfish

2007-08-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

Last night we had dinner at Jake's Famous Crawfish located at 401 SW 12th. It's been around for over 100 years. And, I could taste why it's still around.

We were with a large group, and we all started with some appetizers; crab cakes, coconut shrimp, calamari...all delicious.

Then, I had the French Onion Soup. Not the best, but definitely very good (where's the best French Onion Soup in Portland? I can't tell you yet, although I have a very good idea where it may be found).

For my entree, I decided to have the ahi. It was grilled rare and served sliced into thin strips. Although it was rare, it was well done;) There was a very nice cucumber salad with it and a couple of sushi rolls. The rolls were not good, not good at all. Horrid. Jake's must stay away from pseudo-sushi. But other than those two hard little items, everything else was superb.

The service was great. The restaurant was very busy, our group was large, and we had the baby with us. I felt we had plenty of attention.

Dessert was terrific. My wife loves the bag of chocolate, which is a chocolate-shaped bag, filled with white chocolate mouse and whipped cream, showered in an assortment of berries. It's large enough for two to share. But, we were greedy, and we both got our own (which means I had one and a half bags). All in all, a very nice meal indeed.

Francis

2007-08-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

NE Alberta has another new restaurant. Francis has been open for a few months, but I hadn't been there until my wife's friend, who doesn't live to far from us, recommended it. And so we went, a couple of weeks ago. But, I failed to write about it. That weekend was just too busy.

To make up for it, we went again this past Saturday, and we invited Rusty and his family to come along. So, babies in tow, we headed off to Francis.

It's breakfast, with a twist. Everything served is just a little odd, but deliciously odd. For my breakfast, I chose the sourdough pancakes and a side of pan fried oysters. The oysters came with an orange relish. I was prepared not to like it, but I found that the addition of fruit to the oysters was really very good.

The pancakes were outstanding...truly a sourdough. I had mine with the berry syrup. I also got a bite of my wife's french toast. Nice and crispy on the outside. She also ordered a chicken sausage patty. I found it rather bland...but that was the only downside to the experience. We all shared a fruit platter to begin. Rusty and his wife seemed to enjoy their meal as well.

The one thing is that the menu is very side-dish-oriented. The pancakes came with just a side of fruit.

The restaurant has plenty of seating on the inside and a very large patio. The waitstaff was excellent and was very attentive to the fact we had small children. They were careful to place items away from the grasp of those small curious hands.

I plan to go back...a lot. It's just as good as Alemeda Cafe for breakfast, but different. The cost was on the high side, but the food was very good.

Superdog

2007-07-28T23:57:00.000-07:00

At the behest of friend-of-the-blog Mak, JLowe and I opted to try another hot dog place for lunch yesterday. And so we found ourselves in the 1400 block of SW Park, at Superdog.

We were actually quite looking forward to it. For awhile we've lamented the loss of downtown's previous hot dog king, Good Dog/Bad Dog. We've tried Wynn's, which is good. But it's no GD/BD, and so Superdog offered us a brief ray of hope in our otherwise sad world.

It was a beautiful day for a walk over. Mak, JLowe and I met at 11:50 and made the short jaunt over, each of us hungry and struggling to put together an order from the menu, which we'd previously viewed online.

It would get harder once we got there, as there are "Superdeals" to be had.

I ended up opting for the Mt. St. Helens Volcano Dog, Chicago Style. JLowe chose the Chicken Habanero sausage, Buffalo Style. Mak chose the Zweigle's White Hot, Portland Style.

For Mak and I, the Superdeal amounted to $6.25 for the dog, chips (or cookie - which I opted for), and a soda. For JLowe, the Superdeal was an additional $.50 due to the special sausage, though somehow he got charged $7.25. We still haven't quite figured it out, but it started his meal off in a sour mood.

The atmosphere in the place is nice. It's a simple lay-out, with a few tables inside and some more outside. There's a TV on the wall, which was showing Whitney Houston's "The Bodyguard" with no sound. Enough distraction to help time fly, but not so much that you can't carry on a conversation.

The bathroom was funny. I went in to wash my hands, and found the following inspired installation, presumably there to keep the walls clean.

It worked. I also saw several pieces of pro-Superdog advertising, which annoyed me. Once you've got someone in the place, using the customer's-only restroom, I think you've made your sale. Let us use the facilities in peace.

I returned to the table and attacked my dog, pictured above. The relish was extra-green, clearly the result of some ardent food coloring. It was a little disconcerting. This relish was greener-than-grass, almost a radioactive green. I didn't see the point. The dog also came with a bunch of tasty little peppers and some tomato slices beside it. I added stone ground mustard and onions, and there are ample other free condiments (like kraut, a bevy of mustards, and mayonnaise) available to doctor your dog up with, should you need them.

The dog itself was quite good. The sausage was very spicy. The relish tasted normal, even if it didn't look it. The tomato slices were quite fresh. The bun was firm, not squishy, and flavorful without distracting from the main event. All in all, very satisfactory. However, still not quite GD/BD.

JLowe wasn't satisfied. He promised a more insightful critique of his particular experience by way of a comment to this post, which I expect by the end of business Monday. Mak was pleased by not overwhelmed with joy.

So, Superdog is a good place for a capable dog for a reasonable price. If you want a real super dog, you can find one at the GD/BD at the airport, or else if you're near Wynn's on 4th and Morrison that's just as good. I certainly wouldn't discourage you from visiting Superdog, but I'll just let you know that there are better dogs to be had.

Sweet Basil

2007-07-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I have been to Sweet Basil. We just haven't been able to go. And, oh, how I have missed it. Sweet Basil is located at 3135 NE Broadway, which makes it 5 minutes from my house. I think it is one of the best Thai restaurants in Portland.

The restaurant is in a converted house and has a large back deck that is covered with grapes. We prefer to sit on the deck. The table inside can get a bit cramped, because the space is small.

My wife's favorite part of the meal is the appetizer. She always orders the Fresh Wraps, and I am thankful that she does. It's incredible how crisp and delicious they always turn out. The Fresh Wraps are served with an outstanding peanut sauce.

Last night we shared our dishes. We shared the String Beans and the House Special Curry. They made a great pair. We ordered the Curry as mild, because my wife can't handle the spice. I prefer Extremely Wild. But even without the extra heat, the Curry was spectacular.

The only issue last night was that the service was a little slow. Usually, the service is prompt. But, there were a number of other parties that were seated just after us, so I expect it was an aberration. I've only been to Sweet Basil about 30 or 40 times, and it was the first time the service was slow. Regardless, the waitstaff was still terrifically friendly.

Sweet Basil also has carry out and they will deliver for free to some area codes.

Typhoon!

2007-07-26T23:02:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was like the perfect storm for free food. Our regional manager was in town, two people from our office are moving on to new jobs (including GastroBoy) which meant a goodbye lunch, and someone reminded me that Typhoon! had a downtown location. As the office social chair, I set lunch up.

Typhoon! is a Portland-based regional Thai food chain. The locations used to each have special menus, which appears to no longer be the case. The set-up in all of them is up-scale, with elegant interior decoration that is generally minimalist in order to allow the food to be the spotlight. Presentation is important here, but not as important as taste.

Typhoon! is well-known for the tea selection. The menu is vast in that regard, and I usually find it intimidating. Since yesterday was warm, I opted for Pellegrino.

Our group of nine people split a couple of "Nibble Platters" for appetizers. Given the number of people sharing, I fought my natural urge to grab one-of-each from them and instead limited myself to a chicken skewer, a half a spring roll, and a small nibble that I simply can't describe. I was later given a shrimp wonton that otherwise would've gone to waste. All were very, very good.

For lunch I ordered the General's Noodles. I usually opt for Pad Thai, but decided to branch out into something new. The General's Noodles are a thinner rice noodle (similar to angel hair pasta) served with shrimp and chicken, topped with a combination of crushed red pepper, crushed peanuts, lime, and garlic (along with some spices I couldn't pinpoint) and a wonton on the side. I think I would've been happier with the Pad Thai, but with the crushed peanuts, my lunch was close enough in spirit to be satisfying. It wasn't particularly filling, though.

Everyone at the table was very happy with their selections, and they covered a wide range of the menu, so from that I'd say this is a safe place to take anyone with the assurance that they'll enjoy the food. I never saw the bill, but I'd imagine from the menu that the nine of us cost about $150. Not horrible, given the nibble platters.

Typhoon! is excellent, though I prefer Sweet Basil when it comes to Thai, and there are other places I've yet to try. The food is not disappointing, there are several locations (including downtown, NW Portland, Gresham, and Beaverton) and the prices are quite reasonable given the quality of the cuisine.

Lotus Express

2007-07-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

I'm nearing the end of my quest to taste all that the Pioneer Place Food Court has to offer. Tuesday, I stopped by Lotus Express. $5.20 bought me a plate of noodles and Mongolian Beef. It tasted OK. They do sell a lot of food. Lots of choices. The problem is that it's Chinese food made for the American palate. I guess we like things sticky and sweet. So, if you want something sticky and sweet for $5.20, by all means stop on in. If you don't want the noodles, don't worry, you can have fried rice instead.

We're Still Here

2007-07-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

We're just not going out so much lately. I'm saving for a vacation, and JLowe's been experimenting with food at home (tonight he's invited me over to try his first-ever batch of crock pot hot wings). GastroBoy forgot his password, so who knows if you'll ever read his drivel here again...

Anyway, we'll be back with more news and reviews sooner or later.

Thien Hong

2007-07-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

To start this article, let me reveal my ignorance to you.

I love Thien Hong. It's a great place. Perhaps their greatest dish is their pepper-salted squid.

That said, I found myself discussing last night's dinner with JLowe today, and I had to ask him a question. Is Thien Hong a Chinese food place?

"No," he said. "It's Vietnamese." I'd struggled with the same thought last night, as I was realizing the variety of noodle soup, Pho-like dishes on their menu.

"But," I said, "their menu has so much of the typical Chinese stuff on it. General Tso's Chicken, Kung Pao stuff, Sweet and Sour stuff, fried rice..." I was at a loss. "Perhaps I should just call it 'Asian.'"

JLowe advised that would be insensitive, and that it would be preferable to research the issue.

So, I Googled "Thien Hong," and based on what I'm seeing, it's sort of a fusion of Chinese and Vietnamese. And, thus, it gets categorized here as "Asian Cuisine" despite JLowe's wise counsel.

That out of the way...

Last night, my other brother-in-law was in town, and so my wife and daugther and I joined her mother and him at Thien Hong because he wanted "Chinese food." Really, if you want quality Chinese food in Portland (whether "Chinese" or Chinese), there are only two places on my radar -- Thien Hong and Hunan. So, even though I wasn't really thinking that Chinese was optimal, given the heat of the day and the usual heaviness of Asian cuisine, I decided that life would be okay.

Thien Hong is a nice, clean, open-air sort of place in NE Portland on Sandy Boulevard, near 73rd. When I say "open-air," that's in contrast to, say, Pix, where the sides of the restaurant are garage-door-like walls that roll up. Thien Hong is open-air in the sense that the room is well-lit (there are skylights all over) and there just seems to be a lot of space. I like that. I hate feeling cramped.

You can really go a couple of ways at Thien Hong. Most of the time, we go for a more traditional Chinese-type dinner. The dishes are all conducive to typical family-style Chinese eating, and a normal entree splits well among as many as 6 people.

Or you can go for the Pho. The bowls are generally large enough to serve at least two comfortably.

You can mix the two, but I don't see that done much. Perhaps it should be done more...

Either way, the meal will generally start with the salt and pepper squid. The stuff really is sensational, and is Thien Hong's signature piece. Our table was between the kitchen and most of the rest of the restaurant, so we were able to bear witness to the popularity of the squid, as we saw no less than 7 plates full being run past our booth to other diners (not counting ours) and dinner hour hadn't hit yet (we were there at 5, since my bro-in-law had to hit the road to home shortly after). I don't know what I love the most about the squid. The plate comes heaping with crunchy leg-parts, which I love, and also chewy-squishy torso parts, which are also very good but are normally what will appeal to more of the people at your table (last night, for instance, I got all the legs to myself as noone else relished the idea of chewing up tentacles as much as me). The chewy bits tend to be more flavorful, but nowhere in the whole plate is there a disappointing bite. Ever. I've never regretted an order of their squid.

We each chose an entree to contribute to the potluck. My wife chose her favorite, the asparagus in black bean sauce, which is always quite good, if a little boring (no meat in the dish). My brother-in-law chose the beef and broccoli, which was boring and, frankly, entirely forgettable. My mother-in-law chose the House Special fried rice, which had shrimp, beef, and chicken mixed into it. Very tasty, though I only actually saw one shrimp on the platter. Plenty of beef and chicken, though, so it wasn't like it was a rip-off or anything. I went with the good ol' General.

The service was prompt, about a 5 minute wait for our order to be taken, and another 7-10 minutes for it to be brought out. Absolutely top-knotch. All of the wait-staff is friendly, and they're generally quite attentive, even when the place is really hopping.

I didn't get to see the final bill, but the prices are not extravagant, the portions are always plentiful, and I've never walked away feeling ripped-off, so I'm sure it was reasonable. And all of us (except my daughter, who's only 21 months and thus has difficulty focussing on eating at restaurants) left full and happy. Too full, in fact, because I spent the rest of the night with that just-ate-Chinese bloated feeling that I always promise myself I won't get next time, and then never fail to get next time.

I think it's safe to say that Thien Hong is my favorite Chinese food place in town, even if they are a Chinese-Vietnamese food place. If you go, make sure to order the squid. Failure is not an option.

Encanto Restaurant

2007-07-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for good Mexican in town. Not too actively, but I listen to suggestions. My mom asked me, earlier this week, if I wanted to go try a new place by her house. She and her partner, who's a cook, love it. So I figured I'd try it out.

Tonight we met at Encanto Restaurant (5225 N. Lombard) to have some of what I was assured was the best Mexican food in town. My wife and I arrived first, and once we were all seated, we pre-ordered a plate of the chips and guacamole.

In looking around the place, Encanto is a neat location. It's spare and clean inside, almost an industrial look, with the shiny cement floors and plain walls with occasional decoration. It's that sort of trendy hipster attention to atmosphere which often cautions you that the food you get will be style over substance, because the decor is just too nifty for the people involved to actually be focusing on the food. But it's pleasing enough that you're willing to have high hopes.

I'm of the mindset that all Mexican restaurants should serve free chips and salsa. It's a time-honored tradition. So I was disappointed that none were offered, and in fact to get chips you apparently have to order them with guacamole, which means paying $6.

The guacamole is good, by the way. Very good. The chips are home-made and okay. Not particularly crispy, the bite was harder to make through the chip than I like. A bit too thick, I guess. They were well-salted.

The place also has Dos Equis on tap. I ordered it. Having a draft cerveza at a Mexican place is a bonus, so they get points there. It's served with a pre-crushed lime wedge already floating in the liquid, which saves some labor and is also a plus.

The actual menu is pretty spare. One page. One dessert (not counting what may have been on the specials menu, which I didn't look at that closely). There's nothing on the menu that looks good for a toddler. I imagine you could ask for a quesadilla or something but if, like us, you have a kid with you, it's nice to see options readily available.

I ordered the Flank Steak Enchiladas ($14), which I ordered with both the red and green sauce (as this was given as an option). My wife ordered the same, with green sauce only. The order arrived with one plate having only red sauce, and one plate having both. I let my wife have my order and took her's, but was a bit disappointed. That's why waiters often use pads to take orders, and apparently this waiter should have.

The enchiladas themselves were simple. The steak was served on top, and the enchiladas themselves were simply soft corn tortillas folded over some cheese, cooked, and then smothered in sauce. The sauce had a pleasing smokiness to it. The steak pieces were obviously good meat, but were served burnt on the outside, which was probably intended, but which gave a bitter finish that didn't go well with the surrounding food. The rice was blah; under-seasoned and bland and entirely worth skipping. The beans appeared to be seasoned with only cumin and maybe some garlic or onion. They were boring as well.

The service was overall quite good and attentive (aside from the order mix-up). The food arrived quickly and my mom and her friend liked their's a lot. My wife and I were both entirely under-whelmed. My grandma was with us as well, and remained silent on her feelings. I suspected she didn't like it all that much, but perhaps I misread her.

Encanto is not Portland's best Mexican food. Not even close. It's a nice place, but if you aren't in the neighborhood or you're not desirous of a hip joint to have a margarita and chips with guacamole, then you can probably find better for cheaper near where you live.

Rock Bottom Brewery

2007-07-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday my boss opted to take us out to work, considering that we only had a skeleton crew in the office and (I think) he forgot to bring his lunch. He was thinking Thai, but ended up deferring to the staff (me), and I ended up deferring to the lone female working yesterday, which resulted in lunch being at Rock Bottom on 4th Avenue by the MAX line.

There are reasons to go to Rock Bottom. Having never done so for lunch, the reasons clearly in my mind involve the imbibibles. If you can't have a brewsky, though, as I couldn't yesterday, the value of the restaurant is called into doubt. But I schlepped on, because it was free, and because I needed to investigate for you, the reader.

When we got to the restaurant (at almost exactly 11:55), there was plenty of room for our party inside and out, which perhaps should have been a sign. We took it as an opportunity, and opted for the outside seating to enjoy the weather. Initial service was prompt, and our drink orders were quickly taken, and quickly delivered as well (short the ice water I requested, but these things happen).

The menu was varied, but not with anything that really called to me. After much hemming and hawing, I ended up settling on the Turkey Bacon Cobb Sandwich with a side of fries.

Our food order was taken at about 12:10. Not bad, not great.

Our food wasn't delivered until 12:40. Given that the place serves a downtown clientele and, thus, is assumed to be aware of the concept of "lunch hour," this wasn't acceptable.

During the wait, one of my cohorts had ordered a bottle of Pellegrino, which was delivered with a glass lacking ice (remember, we were outside, and it was about 90 degrees out). He requested some lime slices for his water. These weren't delivered for about 10 minutes (despite at least one pass our way by the waitress). My Sprite sat empty at one point, with ice melting, for about 15 minutes before being freshened up. That's part of why I ordered the water; I knew it was hot out, and I was thirsty.

Eventually the food arrived. We were all so hungry and so annoyed that we just started eating in earnest so that we could leave. I forgot to snap a pic until I was half-done with my sandwich (and the onion rings as well). The sandwich was alright. Plenty of meat, and it was of good quality. The additional fixin's were also good; avocado, sprouts, tomatoes, and greens. Theoretically there were bleu cheese crumbles there, but I couldn't taste them. The sandwich itself, though, wanted to fall apart and was messy to eat, which for some people isn't a problem, but during a work lunch is embarassing.

The onion rings were so-so. They were over-peppered and ended up tasting a bit funny because of it.

The Sprite was cold. They got that part right.

In the end, the boss left a small tip in recognition of the service, and we left. The food was okay, but not worth the money paid for it, and the service makes this a place I wouldn't recommend (unless you're getting suds, and then you tend not to notice quite so much...)

Papa Haydn

2007-07-06T22:17:00.000-07:00

Ah, dessert. I do miss living on NW 23rd...because parking is next to impossible now when we head over to Papa Haydn. But, if you can find a spot to plant your auto, the time it took you to find that precious piece of real estate will be well worth it. Papa Haydn's food is good (which I won't talk about now, as we didn't have dinner at Papa Haydn's last night), but the real reason to go is the dessert.

Besides the 15 or so staples that Papa Haydn has ready every night, day in and day out, there is the Dessert Special menu, which consists of another dozen plus desserts. Deciding is difficult, because they are all so tantalizing. What helps is that Papa Haydn keeps all of the desserts on display in the case.

Usually, my wife and I share. But, I felt greedy last night. So, she choice the Boccone Dolce, which consists of "Swiss meringues drizzled with semi-sweet chocolate, layered with fresh fruit and chantilly cream." Light, sweet and satisfying (I got a couple of bites...isn't she sweet?).

I chose one of the specials, the Mayan Chocolate Cake. It's a chocolate cake, infused with cardamom and cinnamon, slathered with a chocolate ganache. It was, perhaps, one of the best pieces of cake I've had in many, many months.

Desserts run $7.00 +, but each is a healthy portion of sweet goodness. I've tried about a dozen of the desserts over the past several years, and I've never been disappointed.

Il Piatto

2007-07-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my wife and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. For dinner last night, I took her to the place that we went to on our very first date...Il Piatto. This restaurant is tucked away in a neighborhood on SE Ankeny. But don't let the off-the-beaten-path location fool you. It's a fantastic and romantic place.

We decided upon a very earlier meal last night, so we arrived at 6:00. Only one other couple was there, which was fine by us. Every other time, the place has been packed. We were seated promptly, ordered some beverages, and perused the menu. My wife opted for the risotto and I chose the Ravioli di Spinaci. But first, I started with Spinaci con Pancetta salad.

The restaurant is laid out with a number of smaller tables surrounding some larger tables. There is a mix of lamps, pictures, cloth and bobbles throughout the room...just enough to make it feel authentic without being ticky-tacky.

My salad arrived, well timed. I found the salad to be superb...lots of spinich tossed with gorgonzola, pears and warm bits of pancetta. It was large enough that we could have shared it to start.

Then, the meal arrived. My wife's risotto was out of this world.; thick, creamy and tender. There was too much for her to finish, so she had to bring some home. My ravioli was just enough. There were four large ravioli stuffed with spinach and mozzarella. The tomato sauce had a kiss of saffron (which I found to be just right, but it was a bit much for my wife, who doesn't particularly enjoy the saffron).

The cost of the meal was a couple of dollars a dish more then you would spend at the Olive Garden, but light-years ahead in quality and flavor. We didn't have dessert at Il Piatto, as I had another place in mind.

By the way, this is my second-favorite restaurant in all of Portland.

El Gaucho

2007-06-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

Last night, Rusty and I had a meal without the wives at El Gaucho. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a fancy meal with just Rusty, but there we were, sitting, just the two of us, in the opulent, but cozy, dining room of one of Portland’s high-end steak houses.

Cozy doesn’t quite capture it. It felt cramped, like there were just too many tables for the space, and too many diners around each of the tables and too many servers and helpers moving throughout the entire room.

Although there was some lovely live Latin guitar music playing in the background, it tended to get drowned out by the chatter of the other diners. The room was packed and I was quite glad we had reservations…on a Thursday night (hint, hint, hint).

We were placed in the back, near the kitchen, which was just fine by me, as we had a front-row view of the open kitchen. There was this massive grill, buried with steaks, tended lovingly by the grill master. We watched in awe as he poured the salt on the beautiful pieces of meat…for it was quite a lot of salt…more than I would have thought to use.

Our server appeared and took our drink order, which then gave us time to plan out what we would be feasting upon that night. Rusty chose to start with the Caesar Salad (because, according to Rusty, "it’s what El Gaucho is known for"). For his steak selection, he went with the 12-ounce baseball cut top sirloin.

Salad just didn’t sound so good to me, so I opted for the French Onion soup, followed by a 12-ounce New York and a side of the Bourbon Sweet Mashed Potatoes.

By this time, we had been at our table for about 15 minutes. It was at that moment that we began to notice exactly how attentive the wait staff at El Gaucho truly is. Rusty has this thing for liquids, especially water. He drinks it like it was going out of style. But, try as he might, he could not empty his glass for long. It would seem that each time he emptied his cup, a person would be by to fill it up again, which pleased Rusty to no end. In fact, water refilling is one of his little tests for service in a restaurant.

Meanwhile, it was time for the grill master to stoke the coals of his grill. El Gaucho has this tall chimney, which houses coals to get them to operating temperature. He scraped his grill, pushed in some new glowing coals, and proceeded to layout another round of meat.

My soup arrived, hot and steamy. Rusty’s salad was prepared tableside. He adored his salad. The soup, although quite good (and very heavy on the cheese, which was a PLUS to me) was not the best French Onion Soup to pass these lips. That honor falls to another local restaurant, which I shan’t mention in the review. But, it was really very good.

Not long after the plates were cleared, the focus of our attention arrived, steaming hot and pungent with the smell of good cooking. I cut into my New York to find that it was perfectly cooked…medium rare. Sadly, it’s not often that a restaurant hits the mark dead on (even a high-end steak house...I've had problems in the past at a number of them). The steak was clearly a superior piece of cow, but I was mildly disappointed. It tasted great, but it lacked something, of which I can’t quite put my finger upon. Rusty concurred. His sirloin wasn’t a home run either.

Now, those Bourbon Sweet Mashed Potatoes were nothing less then spectacular. I would have licked the bowl if I could have gotten away with it.

Just before we finished our steaks and mashed potatoes, a most amazing thing occurred. Neither of us has ever seen its equal. One of the young ladies that had been filling our water glasses all night walked passed our table. Without stopping, she switched out Rusty’s glass of ice (for the ice nearly filled the glass, given the number of times they brought him water) with a new glass of water that had far less ice and far more water. Amazing!

To end the meal, El Gaucho provides a selection of fruits and nuts and a platter of cheese and dates; a very nice touch. Given all that we had consumed, we accepted the these plates of goodies, but opted not to have a more formal dessert.

I also indulged in single espresso. That was a mistake. It had an acid finish, which might have been cured with sugar and cream…but…I shouldn’t have to do that.

All in all, magnificent. The service was some of the best I’ve had, but the steak just didn't quite do it for me. Given the price, I think it fair to expect magnificence in every aspect of the meal, and especially in the main course. El Gaucho did not crack my top five, but it is certainly a very fine place.

Yucatan Grill

2007-06-23T22:54:00.000-07:00

My wife and daughter came to visit me yesterday for lunch. I had not planned on having lunch, nor upon seeing them until work was over. So, it was a double-surprise. She was in a hurry, as was I, so we opted to catch a quick bite to eat at Yucatan Grill, located in, you guessed it, the Pioneer Place Food Court.

We both ordered a quesadilla. She ordered one with chicken and I choose one made with carne asada. The quesadillas were both quite large and tasty, costing just $4.79 a piece. But, I was disappointed in the salsa. There were three to choose from. I chose the two hottest salsas. They were both just kind of boring. The quesadillas were much better without the salsa.

If you are planning on using your plastic, please be warned and prepared. Yucatan Grill will not accept cards for purchases under $5.00.

Elephant's Deli

2007-06-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

I couldn't take it any more today and I skipped out on the Food Court. Instead, I ran into Elephant's Deli, or more specifically Flying Elephant's at Fox Tower, to get a bite to eat. Yes, I've been there a few times before. In fact, I ate there last month, but failed to post a blog about it. Today was a make-up lunch (and a break).

I wanted something a little different for a sandwich and I wanted to see exactly how fast I could get in and out. Even though there is usually a full house (deli?), getting in and out is quick. That's because there are scores of pre-made sandwiches. There are also salads, hummus platters, lots of cookies, treats, candies, bread, beverages, all just a cooler away. They serve soup, but that's behind the counter. They may also make to-order sandwiches, but I admit I have never fully investigated that bit. And today was not the day, because today was all about speed.

I hit the thresh hold at 11:58:40 am. On the north side of the deli are located the sandwiches and salads. I was being blocked by a girl and one of the waitstaff. I dodged left, then right, then left again, to get into position to snag a French Baguette with fresh mozzarella, basil, oil and sun dried tomatoes. Sandwich in hand, I made the turn, cut in front of the wandering guy, and grabbed a small bottle of San Pellegrino (one of my few lunch-time beverage weaknesses...normally I drink nothing while I dine...call me wacky). Before the wandering guy realized anything, I was in line, wallet in hand, waiting to hand the cashier my debit card.

After a brief interlude of 15 seconds, with a few pleasantries, the cashier took my card, swiped it, printed and handed me the store copy. I filled it out, with a bit of a tip, handed it back to him, stashed my card back in my wallet, accepted my copy, wrote down how much I had spent, shoved the paper into my wallet, stopped for a napkin, and re-crossed the thresh hold to the outside. Time: 12:01:25 pm. That's right, less than 3 minutes elapsed. Total price (excluding tip): $7.75.

Yes, Elephant's Deli is not the cheapest spot. But all of those pre-made sandwiches (which run between $6.25 to $6.75) are quite fresh. Normally, I refuse a pre-made, spoiled brat that I am. Daddy had a deli when I was growing up...but the pre-mades at Elephant's Deli are really very good. And even though I paid a little extra, the time I saved made up for it, in my mind.

Suki Hana

2007-06-20T23:05:00.002-07:00

Stopped by Suki Hana in the Pioneer Place Food Court yesterday for lunch. I'm not a big fan of Bento, but I am dedicated to this blog. So, I spent about ten minutes trying to decide what to have. There were three people working the counter, and they were more than willing to offer me a sample of whatever I pleased.

I settled on the Pineapple Chicken. Why? It's not deep-fried like a couple of the other choices and it's got pineapple. Although I love hot, spicy, fiery food, I also love the pineapple. Makes me think of Hawaii.

As I rarely ever get a drink with my meal, the price for lunch was $5.25. The plate was quite full (to the point where I was unable to complete the meal). Overall, tasty. What I especially liked was that the side of vegetables (cabbage, broccoli and peppers) was still crispy. That's a big plus in my book. Over-cooked vegetables are nasty. So, I was pleased.

Pix Patisserie

2007-06-20T23:05:00.001-07:00

So, to end what (by far) has been my most prolific day of eating out in a very, very long time, my wife's family and I went out to Pix Patisserie after our tasty dinner. Pix has two locations (one in North Portland, a little north of Emmanuel Hospital, and the other on SE Division at around 34th). Since we were already in NoPo, we headed under I-5, past the hospital, and north on Williams to get our fine dessert.

Pix is extremely impressive. When you walk into the NoPo location, you are greeted by a wide-open space (especially in the summer, when they can roll up the garage-door like windows to create an open-air space) that is fairly minimal in decoration, until you look at the dessert case.

There is where Pix's art lies. In a variety of delectable, irresistable, and entirely too-good-to-be-true dessert choices that defy you to pick one.

I usually get the Queen of Sheba Truffle Cake. Last time I was there, I got the Shazam (which is served in a bag made of chocolate!). This time, I opted for The Royale.

The Royale is described in the following way:

Chocolate mousse blankets a crisp hazelnut praline filling and dacquoise base.
Grab your paper Burger King tiara and indulge yourself!

Indeed. I don't know how to put into words how good this dessert was. It was worth the entire $6.50 it cost, and probably more. Usually, when there with friends late at night, I'll order a beer to go with my dessert. Given the day's indulgences (which, as I type, I'm starting to feel rather acutely), I opted for a glass of water. I was able to down the entire dessert, but I warn you that the treats here are as rich in your gut as they are on your palate. If you plan on hitting Pix after a meal, make sure to leave a little extra room before you go there.

For four people the tab came in at $21.75. Not too bad, given how indulgent we felt in the moment. I really can't advise you in too-strong words that you need to try Pix, at least once. It is one of the guiltiest pleasures Portland has to offer.

Widmer Gasthaus

2007-06-20T22:47:00.000-07:00

Perhaps making up for depriving me of a good lunch, my wife called me this afternoon to inform me that her mom wanted to take us out before her brother left town to go back to California. So there was free food for me, after all.

I got home, stowed my bike, showered off, and then we sped away for dinner at the Widmer Gasthaus. JLowe previously reviewed it here.

I hadn't been in awhile. As I recalled, the food is generally pretty good (I've had it bad there, and never had it great there, but on average it's fairly solid) and the prices are too high. Tonight reinforced that. Of course, since I didn't pay, it was fine.

We started with the cheese fondue ($6.25).

The fondue is served with chunks of rye and sourdough. As fondue goes, it's alright. The cheese is good. The bread is good. Really, there's not a lot to complain about. That said, it's ordinary, not extraordinary. The fondue at Gustav's, for instance, is superior.

I decided to go out of my normal range of selections and order something that wasn't in my wheelhouse (like sandwiches and salads), so I got the pork schnitzel. The price was $13.95. The plate had two pork chop-sized hunks of pork filet, lightly breaded and fried. They were served with a very light and tangy sauce, and an option of various potato sides (I chose the potato pancakes). The pancakes were very good; they were light without being boring, and you could taste the sour cream and onions in them (and not in a potato chip kind of way). The schnitzel itself was fine, nothing to write home about but nothing to turn your nose up at. There was some grilled zucchini on the side which I didn't even touch.

The real reason to go to Widmer is the beer, and I made sure while I was there to enjoy it. Tonight I had the Drop Top Amber to start out, and then switch to the L-something Pale Ale. Both were fantastic, of course, and so improved my overall feeling about the meal.

Widmer is a great place to take a group; everyone can find something to eat. Just don't take anyone who is looking to eat on the cheap, because they won't be very happy. And don't expect your socks to get blown off by the food; the restaurant is really a showcase for the beer and the brewery, and if you approach it like that you won't be disappointed.

Taste of Bali

2007-06-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

Interesting day. My brother-in-law is in town, and my wife had the day off, so we had devised a plan on Tuesday for me to go out to lunch with them (and my daughter) today. Then we had dinner with my father-in-law, who invited himself out to lunch as well (to his credit, he offered to pay), but since they all went to the zoo today before lunch, and none of them wanted lunch near my office, I got screwed.

GastroBoy had already left to try out QDoba, a new chain burrito place, so I needed to figure out a plan. I walked down Broadway, intent on hitting Taco Del Mar, when I saw a restaurant I've often thought about trying without ever actually succeeding. Taste of Bali, on Broadway just north of Salmon.

I opted for the number 8, the Satay Ayam Malaysia. It's essentially a grilled chicken skewer on steamed rice, with a spicy peanut sauce. It costs $5.95. I had two spring rolls with it, as a side ($2.50) and a Diet Coke.

The people at Taste of Bali are very nice. In terms of the in-restaurant experience, that's about all I can say. Through the doors into the recesses of the kitchen area you can see huge stacks of dirty dishes piled high, with no apparent emphasis placed on trying to appear interested in cleaning anything. The place feels dingy. I would've taken a picture, but there wasn't a way to do so without getting pinched.

The food took about 15 minutes to prepare, and there was really not much going on in the place (I didn't get there until around 12:45). I did get through a goodly portion of Willamette Week while I waited, but that's not necessarily what I'm looking for in take-out. To be fair, there's a sign that warns that grilled foods can take 7-10 minutes to cook, but the wait got to be a bit ridiculous.

Once I got my food, I headed back to the office to enjoy. I recalled after my first skewer that I should grab a pic.

The serving was large, and I shouldn't have eaten it all, but I was hungry from biking into work and missing breakfast, and I was watching Judge Mathis in our conference room. The sauce was good, but there wasn't much of it. The rice was, well, rice. You really can't mess that up. The chicken was moist and well-prepared.

But given the money I spent, I felt let-down. The food took too long, came from a scruffy-looking place, and seemed to be a bit skimpy on the flavorful part that I bought it for.

Taste of Bali serves adequate food, but if I had to pick between them and Subway, I think 9 times out of 10 I'd go with the latter. Which isn't an absolute slap in the face (I didn't say McDonalds or -- shudder -- Sbarro after all) but it's close.

Paragon

2007-06-19T23:57:00.000-07:00

Last night for dinner, my wife and I took her parents to Paragon. I unabashedly love this place. This was our sixth or seventh time, and each time I have walked away, or perhaps waddled away, completely satisfied.

The restaurant is fairly small, so reservations are a good idea Thursday through Saturday night. Paragon has a large bar area as well, which seems to always be nearly full. The interior is comfortable and unassuming.

We always get as an appetizer the Gorgonzola cheesecake. Super-delicious. My wife is such a fan that she asked if we could get the recipe several months back. You know what? Not only did they give it to us, it was pre-printed.

The waitstaff was very attentive...and patient. And, that's the way it should be, given the kind of money you will drop at this place. I wouldn't say it was outrageous ('cause if it was, my wife wouldn't go back), but be prepared to spend between $18 to $22 on your entree. After tip, the four of us dropped $155.00. Whew! But worth every penny.

The menu is brief. I think I counted a total of eight entrees. This is comfort food; a hanger steak, a pork loin, ravioli, lamb shank, pot roast, a fish selection, you get the picture. My wife can't leave the pot roast alone. And why should she? It's tender, moist and flavorful. In case you're wondering, my wife's parents both had the pot roast, too.

I had the lamb shank last night. Beautiful. That's really all I can get out.

For dessert, my father-in-law had bread pudding and I had the pots de creme. Both desserts were fantastic.

Paragon is definitely in my top-five of the restaurants that I eat at in Portland. I don't see that changing any time soon. What are the other four? You'll just have to keep checking back.

Sbarro

2007-06-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

Continuing my quest yesterday, I stopped at Sbarro in the Pioneer Place Food Court (the Pit). For $3.99 I was able to purchase a single slice of one of Sbarro's famous stuffed pizzas, the Broccoli, Spinach and Tomato. Why? I thought the vegetables might help with my guilt.

It was...filling. Sadly, it lacked any zing. It lacked character. It lacked appeal. It didn't lack grease. So, what I got was a belly full of blah for under $5.00. If you're looking for super-cheap downtown, then here's an option.

Baja Best Mex Grill

2007-06-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

Here's the second half. While Rusty was gorging himself on Gandhi's yesterday, my lunch came from the other long-term resident, Baja Best Mex Grill. I don't eat there very often, as I give in to Gandhi's. But, yesterday was about the readers, and not my own particular weaknesses.

It's been a long time since I have partaken of Baja. And after yesterday's meal, I am really questioning myself as to why. The short of it is that I had a terrific lunch, for $5.90. I chose one of my favorites...fish tacos. I've eaten fish tacos all over Portland and I thought yesterday was the perfect chance to stack Baja's fish tacos against the competition.

There were two choices; 1) cod or 2) the fish of the day. What was I to do? At $2.95 a taco, I decided to have one of both. The fish of the day was Ahi.

Baja wasn't the fastest. It took a while to get those two tacos to me, and there wasn't anybody in front of me. But, it gave me a chance to survey the real strength of this place, which is the salsa bar. There were no less than four salsas. I tried three (passing completely on the pico and just going for the more fiery choices). There were also pickled carrots and pickled jalapenos.

The Ahi taco was good. It was grilled, not fried. Quite delicious. The cod was actually better. It was crisp and tasted quite fresh. The Ahi was just a bit on the dry side.

All in all, it was very good. It wasn't the very best fish taco that's ever passed these lips, but it was solid and well worth the price. I was quite satisfied.

My favorite part was the pickled jalapeno. I swear, it tasted almost exactly like the sweet pickles my Uncle used to make (except he used cucumbers and not jalapenos). Rusty thought I was crazy. I retorted that I hadn't had my Uncle's pickles in nearly 20 years (and as he passed away in 1992, there is no chance I will ever get them again) and it was the idealized memory of those pickles that I was comparing the jalapenos to. What does that mean for you? Nothing. But, I thought I should mention it.

So, try the Baja Best Mex Grill, if you can make it past Ganhdi's.

Gandhi's

2007-06-13T23:49:00.000-07:00

JLowe and I conceived of an idea last week that we thought was pseudo-brilliant: going to a food court, dining at separate locations there, and doubling up the blogging for you.

Apparently he got a head start without me yesterday, opting for Wrapture in the Pioneer Place food court while I was at Geraldi's. The funny thing is that, independently of that, GastroBoy and I almost went to the food court ourselves. Had we run into JLowe, given that he's already covered Thai Go, I imagine the choices yesterday would've been California Crisp and Paradise Bakery, although there's always S'barro (Michael Scott's favorite authentic New York pizza on The Office) or, heaven forbid, the only thing worse than McDonald's, which is McMallDonald's.

Anyway, I had a little cash in my pocket today, so I suggested to JLowe that we do our idea, but with a twist which we'd also discussed. Instead of going to the Pioneer Place food court, we would go to the International Mini Food Court (as me and my ilk affectionately know it) to dine.

The IMFC is located on SW 2nd Street, just a block south of the MAX, and contains (at the moment) a Mexican place (where JLowe went) and Gandhi's. There's also usually some sort of asian cuisine up front, but that particular kiosk changes users like I change underwear (which may not have been much in the past, but now that I'm riding my bike to work most days, I'm averaging 2.5 pairs per day). Currently they are between occupants, which made for ample empty seating upstairs.

JLowe made curry last night, and brought some for lunch to work today (and, upon getting my text message invite to lunch, promptly downed it for breakfast), so there was no fight (as there otherwise would've been) over who would get to eat, and thus blog, Gandhi's.

Gandhi, or whatever the owner's name is, runs a quick and easy business right up front in the IMFC. Lining the wall that you wait along are newspaper critics' homages to his little niche. His menu is simple. A few chicken dishes (vindaloo, makhani, and a third that simply escapes me right now) and a vegetarian option. With each you get a vegetable side, a few optional condiments (like cilantro, some sort of red spicy sauce, a yogurt-and-cucumber sauce, and another creamy something), all atop a huge serving of steamed rice. There's a lamb option, too, if you really need it, but noone does.

Most everything costs less than $6, so if you opt for a soda you generally will spend about $6.50 altogether.

Today, I ordered the chicken vindaloo, as always with spinach.

I then headed upstairs to enjoy.

And enjoy I did. The vindaloo, which is often spicy, was a little extra so today, which was a nice surprise. The spinach was creamy to the point of butteriness, but without feeling too heavy. Within the vindaloo was a lot of chicken, well over what you would expect for $5.50, and it was cooked moist-yet-firm so that it wasn't dry at all.

Given the price you pay at Gandhi's, the servings are massive. I suppose the heaping helping of rice has something to do with that. The plate is heavy as you carry it, and it's hard (though almost always possible) to finish your food because it is so plentiful. I ended up leaving some of my rice on the plate today, and still walked away absolutely stuffed.

As a side-note, GastroBoy ended up showing up as JLowe and I finished our lunches. That would be the first time the three of us have dined at the same table together. For what it's worth.

I went back to my office ready to nap (sadly, I didn't get to), happy with the knowledge that I'd cost-effectively stuffed my gullet with the best Indian fast food in town. Everyone I know who has been to Gandhi's has enjoyed it. You will, too.

Wrapture

2007-06-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

I really wasn't planning on eating anything for lunch yesterday. But as I was walking around, I suddenly decided something needed to go into the pit that was becoming my stomach. That's when I found myself in "the Pit;" AKA: the Pioneer Place Food Court. Nothing sounded good. But, as I stood there, surveying the wonder that is the Pit, I remembered a little promise I had made to myself just a week earlier...I am going to try every spot at the Pit. Why? Well, much like climbing mountains....because it's there.

I've covered two places at the Pit so far on this blog. Where was I to go next? And that's when I set my eyes upon Wrapture. Wrapture makes wraps. I know, that's earth-shattering news. They also have salads. I chose the BLTA, which is a Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and...wait for it...Avocado wrap.

The bacon was very crisp. The lettuce and tomato were fine. I couldn't really taste the avocado, mostly because there was some kind of spread on the wrap. The real problem with a wrap is that it rarely holds together. The stuff just kind of falls out as you bite into it.

I got a choice of a side salad to go with my wrap. There was a Caeser salad, your typical iceberg lettuce salad, a pasta salad, and the cucumber salad. I chose the cucumber...mostly out of guilt for consuming bacon.

How was it? Well, it filled my belly. It tasted OK. But, I felt that it was over-priced at $6.75. I paid exactly $2.00 too much for it. But, maybe that's the price of convenience?

Geraldi's

2007-06-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

I'm always hopeful that GastroBoy will get off his keister and write something. But, in a painful acknowledgement of the truth, I find myself jumping the gun and posting about our lunchtime spot today.

I was planning on eating in (honest, I was). I have a package of my favorite Trader Joe's freezer burritos here in the office, waiting for their 3 minutes of nuclear (or, as JLowe and the Prez say, "nukular") exposure to prepare them adequately for consumption. But GB mentioned going out, and it got my juices flowing.

We couldn't decide where to go. GB threw out many options, even uttering our eventual destination once or twice. But I was so busy mulling bad choices that I failed to hear the good one, and then, suddenly, my mind seized upon it. Geraldi's on 4th! And, like a shot, we were off.

Geraldi's, for anyone who hasn't been there, specializes in quick Italian fare, but the primary reason to go there is the sandwiches. They come in two sizes, big and bigger. All are served on fresh french bread loaves, nice and warm and sliced down the middle. The half sandwich, depending on type, costs on average $6 to $7. The whole gets up closer to $9, a good value given the size, but too big unless you're regularly a pig.

I ordered the 1/2 Chicken Parm, shown below.

Not a flattering picture, for sure. The sandwich isn't supposed to look pretty, though. It's supposed to taste good.

And it does. The chicken is plentiful and filling. The sauce is always the same, which is nice in that it you want predictability in a regular haunt, and when something is so right, to change it would be a crime. And the mozarella cheese is plentiful.

GB got something different, but I was too busy madly devouring my lunch to admire his.

I don't have it in me to do a thorough expounding upon the virtues of Geraldi's. But let me say this: it is one of the most popular hero joints in downtown for a reason, and anyone who's had it swears upon it for life. If you're not a chicken parm guy, go for the meatball hero. If you aren't into that, JLowe usually gets the Chicago beef. Really, there's no way you can possibly go wrong. And, if you don't want a sandwich, I recommend the lasagna. Whatever you get will be filling, delicious, and you will walk away highly satisfied for about $10 every time. Go to Geraldi's once and you, like all three of us, will be a fan for life.

VistaSpring Cafe

2007-06-09T00:04:00.000-07:00

Yay for payday!

My day went long today, and I was pleasantly surprised from a text from my wife recommending she pick me up from work (I biked in today) and take me to dinner. My kind of surprise.

The question, of course, was where to eat. I hate the question. The general rule is it gets asked, I throw out 3 or 4 locations that sound really good to me, and then we end up settling on Stanford's or Caro Amico (both of which have been discussed in this very blog). Not that either of these is bad, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

I threw out a Chinese food restaurant for my wife, figuring she'd bite. Nope. I didn't have the energy to try further, so then I threw out Stanford's. No dice. I even tried Concordia Ale House, figuring (since it's in JLowe's neck of the woods) that we could invite him and his wife. Again, no.

We were in the downtown area. My mind raced, and it settled upon an old standby. VistaSpring Cafe.

Vista Spring, per their menus, is now VistaSpring. The menus look different in form, but are the same in substance, which is a good thing. The restaurant itself is also exactly the same, too. So despite the new, trendy name, the place is the same old cozy place to have a bite.

VistaSpring Cafe is, as the name cleverly alludes, located on the intersection of SW Vista and Spring, on your way up from 23rd towards Council Crest. The menu is diverse, but generally contains some pastas, some salads, some sandwiches, and some pizzas (served both in a large format and in a personal size). You can't really go wrong in either category, and all are pretty reasonable priced.

The space is nice. There's an old, antique fan system hanging from the sealing, which does not appear to function but inspires great images in your mind of what it must have been like when it did. There are wood accents surrounding a pretty sparse space, where things are minimal in the good way and you end up feeling like you are in an elegant and trendy space, even if the money you pay isn't ritzy in itself.

My wife opted for a cup of the chicken tortilla soup, followed by the Southwest Chicken Salad. I was at a loss for what to order, and in a panic chose my standby item, the Reuben Sandwich. My daughter had the kids' menu spaghetti, which is around $3 and, as a warning, comes sans sauce.

I was pleased to find that I wasn't able to get my old standby beverage, Mirror Pond, or even the acceptable alternative, Stella Artois. Instead, I had to settle for Moretti, which means I was feeling pretty good about life.

The reuben itself has kraut, mayo, pastrami, and jarlsberg cheese. It's served on a light rye with kettle chips. And it is delicious. It's heavy enough that you know you've eaten a reuben, and still light enough that you don't feel like you pigged out.

I've had many of the other dishes there, and I've never felt wronged. The least impressive dish was the ravioli, but even that was good.

For two dinners, the cup of soup, the beer, a diet Coke and a kids spaghetti, we paid $32. Really not bad. The service was very friendly and very prompt, the food was quick, and we were able to get in and out without feeling rushed in about 45 minutes.

If you're in the SW foothills looking for food, definitely check out VistaSpring Cafe. You won't be disappointed.

Romo's La Jara

2007-06-06T15:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm calling an emergency suspension of the 24 hour rule. Basically, we have a standing rule here that any review has to be written by the end of the next day following the eating adventure (technically, not a 24-hour rule, but oh, well, what are you going to do?)

Last night I was sitting down to write about Romo's when I learned that my internet connection was down. It stayed down all night.

So, I discussed the issue with JLowe, since GastroBoy is indisposed and nearly disqualified from any discussions related to this blog, given his recent bout of slacking off. And JLowe agreed that, given the technological impossibility I stumbled upon last night, an emergency rules suspension is in order (sadly, he was unable to argue himself into allowing a suspension when he fell asleep last week before getting to the computer to write a post on The Hunan, so we are left with the need to go back again to allow us to blog with integrity about superior Portland Chinese food. Man, having standards sucks...). Thus, I get to offer this review.

The other night, my wife wanted to go out for dinner. I'm always game, even though we actually can't afford it right now, so it was decided that we'd head out . Lately, we've been hankering for Mexican food lately, which is hard since (as I've previously lamented in other blogs) Portland's Mexican food scene is a bit unimpressive in the last few years.

She was interested in going to La Bamba, a place on Powell that a friend of her's had recommended. But we were with child, and unsure of whether they would have the requisite kiddie seats. So, instead, we headed to Romo's La Jara, on SE 50th and Hawthorne.

When I was a kid (late 80's), Romo had a place out on NE Sandy Blvd. It was discovered by my grandma, hardly a Mexican food officianado by any means, and it became one of my favorite places to go. Romo would often come out to the table to chat, and his chimichangas were awesome.

Sadly, he disappeared, and I feared he'd never, ever return. And then, a few years ago, he did.

I've been back a few times, and typically don't like the food anywhere near as much as I used to. Mostly, I reckon, because I've avoided the chimichangas, which are steeped in all sorts of trans-fat or whatever death-dealing foodstuff there is out there to dread and fear.

But I decided on this night to neglect my arteries and opt for my tastebuds. I ordered the Chicken Chile Verde Chimichanga (about $11).

As we waited for our food, my wife and daughter and I munched on fresh, hot tortilla chips. A little bit greasy, but very good and nicely salted. The salsa that was served was a little less pico de gallo-ish, like you see commonly now. It was very wet, but among the thin wateriness were chunks of delicious and savory veggies that put a nice zing on my tongue. Actually one of the better restaurant salsas I've had in the past few years.

My chimichanga came served with rice and beans. The beans had cheese on top. The chimichanga itself was about 6 inches long, 3 inches tall and piping hot, with fresh guacamole and sour cream on top. Inside was delicious savory chicken, nicely chunked, in a wonderful, zippy-but-not-too-zippy green sauce that made me very, very happy. Normally, I try to split these things into two meals these days, to try to keep from feeling too heavy afterward. This meal stood no such chance.

My wife ordered the shredded beef chimichanga and complained that it was a bit dry and boring. I didn't get to try it, but I suspect if she'd asked for a little more salsa for the table that would have made things right.

My daughter had a cheese quesadilla (actually, one-fourth of one, which was to my delight as it gave me the next day's lunch) and it was well done. Not too much cheese, not too little, and the tortilla was very good.

So, having been to Romo's a few times, I say it's adequate in general, but the chimichangas are to die for.

By the way, I'm always soliciting ideas for good Mexican food in Portland. Please offer your suggestions in the comments.

The Dublin Pub

2007-06-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

A bunch of the fellows headed to the Dublin Pub last night for a little bachelor party. And like a good pub, the Dublin Pub had a fairly large menu of items to choose from. Rusty and I chose to share the Nachos, which were priced at $11.00. We opted to to have ground beef added for an extra $1.50.

I admit, in the back of my mind, I was thinking I was about to get ripped off. $12.50 for ground beef nachos? The only reason I agreed to do it was because Rusty and I were splitting the cost.

Before I get to the nachos, let me tell you that right off the bat I was a bit upset with the Dublin Pub. There was a $5.00 cover charge for some band that was playing. I REALLY didn't want to pay the cover, given that I could HEAR the band in the background. It was horrid...some folk singers butchering songs from the '70s. But, peer pressure as it is, I went in (it helped that Rusty covered the cover for me).

So, back to the nachos. About 15 minutes after ordering it, the massive plate of food arrived, piled high with all sorts of goodies; ground beef, cheese, sour cream, olives, guacamole, jalapenos... It was worth every penny we paid, including the cover. Was it the best nachos that I have ever had? I don't know...but it has spark a quest that Rusty and I shall be partaking throughout the summer. We shall be hunting for the best nachos in Portland.

Wynn's Hotdogs

2007-05-31T16:10:00.000-07:00

I like a good hot dog. I don't generally go out of my way for a good hot dog, but if one presents itself, I'll happily oblige it with inclusion in my gastric contents.

So, a couple of weeks ago when loyal reader (and chum dating back to my days as a Madison Senator) Mak mentioned that she had gone to, and enjoyed, Wynn's Hotdogs (at 4th and Morrison), I took it as an invite to see if I liked them as well. Because we do accept reader ideas for places to try out. Hint hint.

And wasn't today a nice day to take a walk?

So, at 11:45 Gastro Boy and I walked down to 4th and Salmon, where we met JLowe. GastroBoy ended up heading over to Romano's Macaroni Grill (perhaps he'll write a review, since he's been slacking shamelessly) and JLowe and I forged on for weiners (cue the Beavis and Butthead laughs here).

As you walk up on the Wynn's cart, kitty-corner from Pioneer Place I and so close to Geraldi's sandwiches that I almost failed to stop, there's a sign advertising their 8-inch beef franks. That's a good start.

The menu is simple. Regular dogs, of course, and then a few specialty dogs. There's the Big Bad Red, which is a hot-link type sausage dog; The Chicago Dog (hotdog with fresh cucumber and tomato slices); the Seattle Dog (hotdog with cream cheese and bacon); and the Portland Dog (a combination of the Portland and Chicago ingredients). The specialty dogs are available with a hot-link instead of a regular frank. The non-specialties are available with cheese and kraut. There are condiments available, including relish, pickle spears, jalapenos, pepperoncini, and onions, plus the traditional mustards and ketchup.

JLowe opted for the Big Bad Red, with only yellow mustard on top. That was $4.25.

I opted for the Chicago Dog, to which I added onions, relish, deli mustard, and a thin line of ketchup. With a can of soda, I was at $5.50.

We then headed over to Pioneer Courthouse Square, grabbed a stair, and dove in.

My reaction? Mixed. The quality of the ingredients is not questionable. The beef frank was not fatty or otherwise suspect. The vegetables were clearly fresh. The bun held everything well and entirely refused to disintegrate. But the flavor was a bit of a let-down. The frank was non-descript and mostly unnoticeable. The cucumbers and onions didn't really do much to add to the flavor, and the whole thing just ended up being uninspiring. Which is sad, because I figure if you're going to go out of your way to eat food you otherwise shouldn't, there should be a payoff in the palate. This indulgence ended up just being sort of blah.

JLowe was pleased with his hot-link, however.

Now, I plan on going back. I have two more attempts in mind. I'll have the Big Bad Red with some cheese and kraut, and I'll have the Seattle Dog with a hot-link. I think one or both will probably prove worthwhile, and I'll try to let you know.

One thing that I shouldn't neglect to mention: the people at Wynn's are super-friendly and, in and of themselves, merit you stopping by. We saw Jim Francesconi, former mayoral candidate, walk by, which launched JLowe and I into a discussion about whether he'd run in the next mayoral race, and whether Tom Potter would as well. The people at Wynn's noted that Tom Potter had never been seen by them on the street, whereas they used to see Vera Katz all the time, and she'd even come by for dogs from time to time. I'm always happy to patronize a business where they can take part in your conversation without making it weird, and where you can walk away feeling like you've gained some sort of knowledge, even if it's relatively mundane.

So get outside and try a dog. Just make sure to really indulge, and go out of your way to add some flavor.

Kells

2007-05-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Rusty and I stopped into Kells last night before the Timbers game. It would be hard too not like Kells. We were just in time for Happy Hour. The following items were $3.00 each, with a minimum drink purchase, on the pub menu: Oyster Shooters (4), Jameson Hot Wings (8), a meat loaf sandwich, the Dublin Chicken Curry and Chips, and Kells Irish Nachos. Our total bill was about $25.00 and we were both very full and quite happy.

Any item, by itself and at full price, would have been disappointing. The shooters weren't as good as at Montage. The wings weren't very hot and kind of thin on meat. The meat loaf sandwich didn't compare to the meat loaf at Widmer Gasthaus. The Dublin Chicken and Curry Chips was truly skimpy. The Nachos lacked enough toppings.

But, all of this, taken as a whole, was fabulous. You can't beat the price.

And, of course, it's Kells. It's a beautiful pub.

Concordia Ale House

2007-05-24T22:09:00.001-07:00

JLowe's already covered this place, just shy of a month ago, but I get a crack at it too, if only to explain new rule of sorts.

You see, tonight our wives were heading out to dinner, which meant that JLowe and I had to head out to dinner as well. I mean, really, we didn't strictly have to, but what fun is it to stay in?

We discussed our options. The first idea I had was Halibut's, over on Alberta, because I haven't had fish and chips for awhile. But, as we talked over that option, a couple of thoughts came to mind.

First, Halibut's (or any good fish and chips place) was a touch more expensive than I was down for this evening. And, second, I had my daughter and didn't remember if Halibut's had kiddie seats. So a new option needed to be found.

My next thought was Concordia. JLowe loves it. I like it a lot, too. And they have a wide selection of beer, which I like a lot. And they have kiddie seats, which I like a lot. And they serve good grilled cheese, which just made it too good to pass up.

So, off we went. As we arrived, we were both starved and, just as importantly, parched. The service was prompt, and beers were quickly ordered.

I went for the Caldera something or other, a beer from (I believe) Southern Oregon which was quite tasty. JLowe got the Nostradamus, and later opted for an ESB. Whatever. Beer is good, but it's not the point of a food blog.

We opted for an appetizer. Last time we did this, we downed some onion rings. This time we went big and ordered the Buffalo Wings.

I wasn't expecting much. Wings can be wildly inconsistent, depending on where you go. My old favorites used to be at Big Daddy's, until they started sucking. I've been at a loss for favorites since (though Fire On The Mountain, over on Interstate Avenue, is quite good, but that's for another day).

The order came out pretty quick (and, to my pleasant surprise, they brought my daughter's grilled cheese at the same time, which was great because I was dreading having to watch her sob as we ate spicy chicken and she sat, hungrily, being denied nourishment). The wings were quite good. Meaty, without an actual wing in the bunch. What was there were actually 10 smaller-size drumsticks. The sauce was nice and spicy. They came with ranch (really, I think wings should come with bleu cheese, but you can't have it all...) and an assortment of carrots and celery.

Having bitten off about as much as I could chew, I hoped that my burger would be quick so that I could down it before my body realized I was already at capacity. They obliged, which was nice, and also unexpected. I have to say this for CAH: in the past 6 months or so, since my first visit, the service has gotten much, much better.

I ordered the Firehouse, which is JLowe's favorite burger there, and mine as well. There's a picture of it on his prior post. It's a half-pound patty with a couple of onion rings, pepper jack cheese, a spicy sauce of some sort, and jalapeno slices. Very good. Very heavy. And very flavorful.

This leads me to one of my primary reasons for writing, actually. A little piece of house-keeping.

In the middle of eating, I mentioned to JLowe (who was looking on hungrily at my burger, since a recent dietary issue has him avoiding the Firehouse for a month or so) that my burger was very good tonight. He retorted by noting that he was considering in his mind whether the Firehouse was the best burger in town.

I stopped eating immediately. JLowe had blasphemed.

Though we haven't been there recently to allow a review (since all reviews must be posted within a day of eating at a place, to keep us honest and current), it is well-settled in my mind that Stanich's (and, particularly, the one in NE Portland) has the best burgers in town. Particularly the "World's Greatest Cheeseburger," an aptly-named behemoth topped with cheese, bacon, ham, an egg, and the ubiquitous special sauce (really, why does everyone think it's so special when we all know that it's thousand island dressing?). We've both acknowledged that this is the burger by which all other burgers are to be measured, and we've both universally failed to find anything even close to wresting the title away from it.

So, I was shocked at JLowe's impudence. He'd clearly lost his marbles. And, yet, I needed to really think this through because, damn it, the Firehouse is a really good burger.

A compromise was accomplished when I pointed out that we were comparing apples to oranges. Burgers have a traditional range of toppings, including (and pretty much limited to) cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion, pickle (or relish), catsup, mustard, mayo, special sauce, and for fancy folks mushrooms, eggs, ham, and bacon.

The Firehouse, therefore, isn't strictly a burger. It has an onion ring, jalapeno's, and a spicy sauce (as opposed to the special sort).

So, we've reached a compromise, and it will frame our future burger discussions. There are burgers, and there are "boutique burgers," which are those that have special and entirely non-traditional flourishes which remove them from the typical burger discussion.

The new rule set, and with an agreement that it would be posted forthwith, I returned to mowing through my newly-dubbed boutique burger. So far, the best boutique burger I've encountered in town.

And, by the way, I think this place has the best fries in the city. Bar none. If I find better, I'll let you know. But don't hold your breath.

With 4 beers, an appetizer, two burgers and a grilled cheese sandwich, the bill came up to $49. Not too shabby. And we got a new rule, a nice buzz (at least in JLowe's case), a full toddler, and a resolution to our hunger out of the deal.

If you can, go to the Concordia Ale House. It is very, very hard to walk out disappointed...

Rose's Deli

2007-05-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

Teapot, meet kettle.

So earlier today I threw some smug JLowe's way for always going out to lunch.

Then my wife showed up downtown with my daughter, forcing me to go out to lunch for the second time in as many days.

I suck.

Anyway, we were on our way to The Spicy Pickle, which is a current fave (went there last week with JLowe and had a nice sandwich, but I didn't feel like re-blogging the same place). We walked past and realized the set-up really isn't all that conducive to a toddling little girl. So we passed by, and headed over to Rose's.

Rose's has history in Portland. Back when I was young, Rose's had two locations of which I was aware, one on NW 23rd and one out near Gateway in NE. They may have had others, but I wasn't aware of them.

The one on 23rd was a favorite hang-out in my high school years. I loved to go there, have some Matzo Ball soup, and then head up to Washington Park. The NE location was good for the occasional lunch with grandma, who lives out that way to this very day.

Both closed, to the chagrin of many people who really enjoyed their sandwiches and, perhaps more importantly, their desserts.

A few years ago, they re-opened in a smaller location on NW 23rd, closer to Good Sam Hospital. Much more deli than restaurant, the new location was uncluttered, simply appointed, and encouraged prompt eating over lounging about. But the food was every bit as good.

Other locations opened (they currently have five), but beyond the downtown location in the Wells Fargo Building, I haven't ventured any further to try them out.

Anyway, back to today. We headed to Roses, because although they don't have high chairs or anything like that either, at least there is some room to breathe and it's a bit more conducive to a kid-let.

The options are many. Generally, my advice is to stick with one of the Reuben's. They are all good (if a bit too-good) and you can't miss with any of them. However, given my recent attempts to clean up my diet a bit, I opted for the Gardenburger. My wife got the Turkey Club. For the daughter, grilled cheese.

The Gardenburger was disappointing. Served on normal whole-wheat bread (no other options were provided) with tomato and lettuce and nothing else, it was boring. Rose's offers a variety of local Beaver-brand mustards on the tables, so I ate one-half with deli mustard and one-half with spicy hot. Okay, but certainly not great.

I sampled the wife's Turkey Club, which was great. Served on sourdough, the turkey was plentiful and delicious, and the bacon was chewy-but-not-crispy (just the way I like it) with little discernable fat. The sandwich comes with mayo on it, and really nothing else was needed.

Wanting to be very thorough for you, my intrepid reader (there may be more than one, but I don't want to assume too much!), I tried the grilled cheese. Crappy. The bread was too-soft and not at all buttery, which I think are two signs of a poor grilled cheese. There was plenty of cheese, so no let-down there, but I wept for my poor child.

Sandwiches come with a choice of chips or potato salad. The potato salad is good; I believe it's home-made. My wife has an aversion to potato salad that is to "mayonaisse-y," and for her this potato salad didn't cut it, but for most people I think it would be just great. My daughter loved it.

The finishing touch is the pickle. The Spicy Pickle gives you a spicy spear. Rose's gives you a flavorful-yet-painless whole pickle. It was good. I could tell not only by eating it, but by the hilarious frowns my daughter made with each successive taste, showing me that although she hated it, she had to have more. I wish I'd brought my camera.

For the three of us it was about $21. A tad over-priced, but not too shabby.

Rose's is a decent option for a good lunch. If you want a Reuben, it's a can't miss. If you're looking for less deli and more healthy, there are better choices downtown.

Pastini Pastaria

2007-05-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

Man, that JLowe goes out to lunch alot.

In fact, I can report to you that he went out to lunch yesterday. I know this because I was there.

It goes like this. I used to work with JLowe, and also with some other people. I don't miss JLowe at all, since he's widely known as my "Hetero Lifemate." But I do miss some of the other people, so I invited one in particular out to lunch.

Now, I'm a married man. The person I invited out is an unmarried, attractive woman. She's a great person and a good friend who used to work in the same department of the office that I did, so that was why I asked her out. But I know better than not to bring a wingman to maintain the appearance of propriety, so I invited JLowe.

The plan was for lunch last Friday. In fact, I went out and had pictures of my 19 month-old daughter printed up so that my friend, CW, could see them (whenever I see her at the coffee shop or whatever, she asks to see pictures, and I didn't feel like being that lame-ass dad who only has the ones on his cell phone when she asked again).

Friday turned into Tuesday when my boss surprised us with a lunch meeting. I had been assigned the job of picking a place, and I threw that job back on CW because I picked the last time we went out to lunch (which, I believe, was last fall). She shifted the job over to JLowe.

JLowe and I happened to go to the driving range on Saturday, and on our way back into my area of town we passed a billboard for Pastini Pastaria. And we were surprised with some knowledge: they have a new store at 9th and Taylor, downtown, well within range of our various offices. And so the decision was made, at that point, that lunch would be there.

Pastini Pastaria is a local chain with 5 locations hitting most of the major areas of town (they aren't in NoPo yet, but I bet that's just a matter time). Their hallmark is affordable, delicious pasta dishes served quickly. Not really any frills.

We got there at about 11:55. We ended up being a party of five, thanks to some last-minute (and entirely welcome) additions from my old office. Noone chose the same dish.

I ended up ordering the Linguini Misto Mare, which is shrimp, halibut and seasonal shellfish with garlic, lemon, herbs, butter and white wine. It comes with some nice bread on the side. It cost $8.95.

The dish itself was well-sized. Not so much that eating it all made you feel at all guilty. Not so little that you were left wanting any more. Exactyl perfect. The fish wasn't skimped on (there were four mussels, four shrimps and several chunks of halibut). It was just about perfect, as far as portioning goes.

Food was served to our group about 7 minutes after it was ordered. We were able to have good conversation, order, be served, and eat in an unhurried manner and were done by 12:40, which was, in my mind, pretty good given the range of pastas we selected and the number of people being served.

Most importantly, everyone was pleased with their food. No complaints.

The only disappointment was that none of us ever remembered to ask them to split the check, and they never offered. I think a downtown place during lunch hour ought to, but that's really a minor gripe. Just be sure to ask for it, if you need it.

So, go to Pastini Pastaria. I've been to two of the five locations, always been happy, and never felt like I over-paid.

Thai Go!

2007-05-22T22:45:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of very tasty Thai restaurants throughout Portland. But, I must admit, one of my very favorites is located in the food court at Pioneer Place.

Thai Go! opened up about two years ago. There are two ways to get your food: 1) there are some dishes under a heat lamp or 2) you can order it fresh. I've never had the stuff under the heat lamp.

Yesterday, I had the Showering Rama, which is baby bok choi in peanut sauce, with your choice of chicken, pork, beef or tofu. I had the chicken, spicy level 5 (1 is mild and 5 is as hot as they will make it). They added some broccoli. Meals cost $6.50 and there is a lot of food on the plate. I haven't finished a meal in a very long time.

The best part is the punch card. Each time you go, they mark off your card. Buy nine dishes, and your tenth is free. Yesterday, I had my forth free one.

Happy Bowl

2007-05-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

You're in a hurry, you have $5 in cash, and you want something tasty. Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do?

If you're like me, you'll run down to Happy Bowl, at 5th and Salmon.

I love Happy Bowl. Not necessarily because the food's so yummy. It's marginal. But the value is excellent, and it's just so easy.

On any given day, you can go in at lunch hour and walk out 5 minutes later. I always get the beef teriyaki, shown here:

What do I like about it? First, it's enough for two lunches. Between the beef and the rice, it's pretty filling. The beef is sometimes a little suspect, in terms of little bits of fat or what-not, but generally it's a good value.

The service is always super-friendly, and the place has some devoted regulars. A couple of tips:

Cash only. There's an ATM there, but I would guess the fees are hideous.
Use the condiments. If you take the bowl as-is, you'll find it boring. I usually load up on extra teriyaki sauce and then cover a portion with the Red Rooster/Sriracha sauce to mix in.
You can eat it all in one sitting, but you'll feel bloated after. It really does make a nice two-lunch, cheap option if you have a fridge at work.

Happy Bowl is one of the first places on my list for cheap convenience in downtown Portland. Don't go if you're seeking an enlightening food experience, but go if you need a quick, inexpensive, filling lunch.

Stanford's

2007-05-09T20:48:00.000-07:00

I've been eating at Stanford's forever. Once upon a time, my sister worked at Stanford's. Today, I am headed to Florida with my wife, child and mother-in-law. We are currently at the airport and we just finished dinner at Stanford's. Yes, there is a Stanford''s here at the airport. And the best thing is that Stanford's at the airport is the very same price as anywhere else, a refreshing change from the usual airport restaurant.

I cannot say that any of the food at Stanford's is remarkably unique. But, I have found that it is always tasty. Meals are a couple of dollars more a plate then I would like, but clearly that has not been a hindrance to my returning time and time again.

It's been a long time since I ate at Stanford's on a Wednesday. Do you know how I know? Each day there is a different soup. And Wednesday is cheese soup day. I love a good cheese soup. And the cheese soup at Stanford's is really good. I think it is better then the cheese soup at Henry's. Which I now, all of a sudden, find to be odd...I just realized that Henry's and Stanford's are both owned by Pacific Coast Restaurants. Anyway, neither cheese soup is quite as good as the cheese soup at the Widmer Gasthaus. (you would think they were paying me...but I assure you, they are not).

But here is what really made me happy tonight at Stanford's. My wife and my mother-in-law decided to split a salad (I do love the salads at Stanford's). Both got a piece of cheese bread. The server brought the salad split into two bowls...and when we got the bill, there wasn't that annoying little split fee that many restaurants charge. And, we were all full and happy for $26.00 (+ tip, which I will not disclose). Stanford's has been my fall-back restaurant for a long time, and it shall remain so.

La Terrazza

2007-05-08T23:42:00.000-07:00

I've eaten at La Terrazza dozens of times. They have simple, quick hearty pasta dishes, a daily soup, salads and sandwiches. You pay before you sit, so you can just leave when you're done (my wife's favorite feature). My wife always gets the Fettuccine Pesto Y Pollo.

Today, I was having a lunch meeting with an old friend and we decided that this would be the place to get lunch. I ordered the Ciabatta Turkey Pesto, but that's not what I got. Instead, the Ciabatta Prosciutto and Mozzarella showed up. But, I didn't realize it 'til I was half-way through the sandwich. I was hungry and not paying attention. When I finally came to my senses, and started thinking about what I was eating, I found myelf disappointed with the Ciabatta Prosciutto. Why didn't I say something about getting the wrong sandwich? But, it's the first time that I've really been disappointed at La Terrazza. I will return, as I'm just chalking it up to an exceptionally busy day for the restaurant. La Terrazza is located at 3rd and SW Salmon.

Crema

2007-05-06T22:51:00.001-07:00

20 minutes. That’s how long it took this morning from the moment I stepped into the line to order until I was walking out with my cup and bag in hand. It’s become a one-sided game for me…how long will it take today?

My wife and I started coming to Crema as a compromise. I hate Starbucks and all that it stands for (intentionally and unintentionally. I especially despise the coffee that Starbucks produces. I need coffee, daily. My wife really likes going to Starbucks (for much the same reason everybody that goes there does…it’s always the same). My wife also likes a little something with her coffee.

So, we heard about the wonder that is Crema. And the reason we return time and time again is due to Crema’s fabulous baked goods; cheese corn biscuits, zucchini muffins, honey bran muffins, the morning bun, etc. Scratch, baked in the back daily and always delicious, Crema has some of the best baked goods in Portland. We’ve been back about 20 times now.

The coffee is…good. I personally am not a fan of Stumptown. I appreciate Stumptown’s roasting methods and what Stumptown stands for…but it’s only good to me, and not terrific. Granted, I am quite biased when it comes to coffee (which is why you will never see a blog from me on this site about a place that is strictly a coffee shop). My Dad owns three independent shops and has his own roaster…and I am taking my inheritance early once cup at a time…enough said.

But, I can at least comment on my frustration with Crema’s coffee…it takes too long. Yes, each drink is hand-made with loving care…but explain to me why they need that beautiful tri-group espresso machine if they are only going to have one barista making each drink, one drink at a time??? A well-trained barista should be able to MULTI-TASK. Today, the barista was exceptionally fast for Crema standards. It only took seven minutes once the order had been placed for my wife’s drink, a double 12 ounce non-fat vanilla latte (I had my espresso somewhere else earlier and really didn’t need any more this morning).

The other HUGE problem with Crema is that they don’t know how to manage a line. There is a single register. The place has a huge staff (at least seven employees are working there at any given time). But, if there are more then three people in line, expect to be in that line at least 10 minutes.

So, here it is…if you have the time, go to Crema. The food is always great (baked goods, sweet treats, soups, sandwiches, bread, etc). There is lots of space, free wi-fi, plenty of tables, personal French-press coffee and a nice atmosphere. But, if you are only planning to pop in quickly to get something to go, be very prepared to spend 15 to 20 minutes in line waiting…this is not a quick stop. Crema is located on the corner of 28th and SE Ankeny.

Bella Faccia

2007-05-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

Tonight, even though it's a Friday, we decided to stay in. It's been a long week. And during the drive home, the conversation turned to dinner. I really didn't feel like cooking tonight, and I kind of expected to eat out, 'cause it's Friday. So, we settled on pizza. But, "settle" really isn't the word when you decide to get a pizza at Bella Faccia.

It's located at 2934 NE Alberta and it's great pizza...not that typical fast-food-call-and-get-it-delivered-with-a-special-price-for-the-first-two-toppings pizza, if you know what I mean. Bella Faccia will deliver for orders over $100 with advance notice, but otherwise it's eat in the shop or take it away. Yes, we took it home.

Bella Faccia only has one size (18 inches and thin), or you can buy it buy the slice. We got a split pizza...she wanted the SCHMO (tomato sauce, mozzarella, chicken sausage, mushrooms, black olives and onions (but opted for roasted garlic instead of onions)). I wanted the Green & White (Basil pesto covered with dollops of creamy ricotta, mozzarella, roasted red and yellow peppers, roasted garlic and a sprinkling of pine nuts). We also got an order of the Garlic Knots.

Normally, my wife gets the Brooklyn Veggie and I get the Popeye (tomato sauce, bacon, mozzarella, spinach, onion and garlic). I love the Popeye, but the Green & White was just as good.

The pizza will cost you between $16.50 (cheese) to $25.00 (split with other stuff) and it's worth every penny. I was only able to eat two slices. My wife ate one piece...breakfast and lunch tomorrow!