Mini-post: BrunchBox

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...

Dragonfish

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.

The Olive Garden

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.

Besaws

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

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.

No Fish Go Fish

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 Daily Grill

(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

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.

Yento Bento

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.

Rovente Pizza

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.

Superdog

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.

Typhoon!

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.

Rock Bottom Brewery

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...)

Elephant's Deli

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.

Taste of Bali

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.

Baja Best Mex Grill

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

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

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

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.

Wynn's Hotdogs

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.