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

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.

Mini-post: Screen Door

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

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

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.

Chinese Village

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

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.

Stanford's

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.

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.

Alameda Cafe

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...

La Bamba

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.

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.

Laurelwood Public House and Brewery

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

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

‘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.

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.

Thien Hong

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.

Widmer Gasthaus

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.

VistaSpring Cafe

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.

Concordia Ale House

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...

Stanford's

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.