Home cooking.

Rather than eat at the roach coach around the corner from my house, last night Loni and I made our own tacos! I'd started some pinto beans soaking in the morning before our hike, and cooked them after I got back in my new stainless pressure cooker (thanks, Emily!)

Trader Joe's is one of my favorite places to buy good food. I got some thick handmade tortillas rather than stack two of the thin ones.
I also grabbed a giant slab of carne asada marinated meat, some Jalapenos, an onion, a bag o' limes.
Still had to get cilantro from Fred Meyers, but that's okay.
Salsa: Jalepeno, garlic, onion, lime juice, cilantro, salt.
Taco: several strips of meat, a couple spoons of beans, and a couple spoons of salsa.
Overall, delicious. Should have got some serrano peppers for the salsa, because the jalepenos weren't that hot. I ate three and was stuffed. They tasted pretty authentic, even though my neighborhood anthrax shack doesn't use beans. Oh well. Fiber is ALWAYS good for you, right?

 

Update: Added a habanero and serrano pepper to the salsa, to see if it could be kicked up a notch. The answer is yes. Also added some queso fresco for greater fat content, and cubed the beef for convenience. God, I could fork myself full of those tacos until I died of complete cardiovascular arrest from lipids plugging my pipes. Ahhhh.

Country Cat is so fired.

The first visit to the hipster restaurant "The Country Cat" was okay. Mediocre bloody Mary, but attentive service and pretty tasty food (lemon preserves in their hollandaise were unusual but very good.) Somewhat on the high end for prices, so I never went back. The second visit was awful.

Loni and I did our traditional pre-hike breakfast, and chose this place again as it was almost on the way. We had a tattooed waitress with reddish Betty Boop style hair who was...attentive, but colder than ice. It didn't seem very busy, but she seemed really put out when pressed to provide service.

It all started to go downhill when we asked for EXTRA SPICY bloody Marys. We got the same ones as last time, if not weaker. Also, the last time we were here, the waiter/bartender guy suggested the Indio wasabi vodka because we were discussing local liquor. Took a bottle of it to a little party, thinking it'd make an interesting addition to the mix. As it turned out upon sampling, this vodka bears more than a slight resemblance to diesel fuel. You could see what they were attempting with this blend, but they failed badly... Oh well, hopefully it got drunk eventually. The guy making this recommendation would probably be the same guy mixing your Mary.

Our entrees were the huevos rancheros. When you pop $11 for a plate of the absolute cheapest down home ranch food you can imagine, you'd expect a lot of food, right? Or that it would be the most amazing plate of beans and eggs on tortillas you'd ever had, right?

Not so much, either way:

• Two tortillas.
  
• Two eggs, over-poached (sigh.)
  
• Some cheese.
  
• A smattering of beans.
  
• An ocean of mediocre green sauce.
  
• Some mediocre salsa.
  
• A dollop of sour cream.

I just priced this out, and the actual food cost of our meal was approx. $0.92 per plate. I just spent an extra $10 a plate for the vibe of having brunch in a stupid hipster cafe for an unsatisfying meal with an irritated waitress? That's one strike for the price, one strike for the food, one strike for the service. I don't even have a strike left for the drink.

Okay, that's as mean as I can be to this place. It'll succeed anyway. We need more breakfast places in this town.




Below is rambling, for my future reference. I'm just saving my thoughts on this visit, and it is pure blahblahblah. You should run away before your brain dissolves into the vapid essence of "my theory of what happens to restaurants", part one million.

I figure what happened is this: someone had an idea for a nightclub and breakfast cafe that was cool. Really cool. Awesome decor, awesome space, awesome staff. Everything would set the right mood, and be attended to so that everyone was happy. Drinks, food, music, it would have it all!

They pulled it off. It's called the Doug Fir.

Everyone else has been distant second comers for that competition, unfortunately. D.F.'s got a hotel on site, the best location close to both hipster SE and downtown, and they've been up for a while and getting better (fortunately!)

The Country Cat seems like a D.F. that could have been. It feels like it's getting burnt out and overloaded. They've lost the attention to detail that make a place stand out. It's attracted all the wrong folks (me and mine), real people, who aren't awesome! We're not the hung-over hedonist hipsters holding down semi-grown-up jobs who spend slightly too much money who frequent the night life part of this restaurant scene. We're just good food people, and normal folks, and neighborhood locals. On the menu, you make like your food is the bomb. But it's not. It's just fairly well executed regular food on a larger and faster production scale. For the prices, I could be eating at Francis or Genies or the Doug Fir or even Screen Door!
They all do it better and they're all bigger operations! I'm not sure what the Country Cat folks pay in rent, being that close to Stark's finest oddball storefront set. Tan-n'-tub (Your [sic] going the wrong way!), Foam Products, Ya Hala (my mind has a conscious association Ya Hala=Good), and a farmer's market. Maybe some of their food is from there? I can only hope...

I feel the same way about the Screen Door as I do about the Doug Fir. They've been up for a while, and they keep getting better! How is this possible? They get more expensive, but not really, and not by much more than the rest... I just have to give props to the places that make it, and that stay true to their food. It makes me want to eat out ALL THE TIME, just to see what'll come up as a special on the chalk board.

Francis also goes in this category. Their message is something like this: "You can always come for standard breakfast fare! Our specials are very well constructed. Eggs, good bacon, excellent breads, potatoes, pancakes, french toast, etc. But today only, you can try *THIS*!" Usually it's amazing. At Screen Door, it's always a meat or seafood dish, rarely anything vegetarian unless it's on their small plate list. Their breakfast standard fare involves fried chicken and waffles, which is AWESOME, just don't even think about going up Hamilton Mountain at speed if you eat the whole thing. I wanted to vomit several times during the ascent, and may have suffered minor strokes during the hike due to congealing fat in my brain.

It took, literally, half a bottle of weirdly watered-down Tabasco to bring the bloody Mary at Country Cat up to snuff. We even had to ASK for the Tabasco, like they were surprised it wasn't spicy enough... Their Mary has beef jerky on the skewer with a non-pitted olive and some sweet pickled green beans. Big deal. Save your jerky, pit your olive, and sweet has NO PLACE in a bloody Mary! Bring some HEAT, peeps! We ask for extra spicy, the appropriate response is "Would you like scalding, scorching, or face melting?" and that's it! Better yet, why don't you pit your olive and stuff it with an habanero, so you can shut up numb-skulls like me when we ask for it? Not too much to ask, I'd think, unless the rest of your clientele are completely wankers.

The best response I can think of from the house, when asked for a bloody Mary, Extra Spicy would be to offer the equivalent of a Salvador Molly's Great Ball o' Fire.

Those things are no joke, I ate the whole set of five with ALL the sauce at the old S.M. off Belmont only to find out the jerks had no film for their Polaroid camera. Later that night I felt like I was dying from the pain of the capsaicin-laced cheese passing through my body. I can handle one of these, no major problems. I even find it sort of exciting! No more than one, because that's when life gets all ugly. I'm pretty sure I was hallucinating for a bit after eating them.

Anyway, WAY too many words later, I arrive at this: Nobody makes a super-hot bloody Mary. I think it should be a mark of pride for a breakfast place to offer a superbly crafted and extremely remarkable Mary, virgin or otherwise that BRINGS THE HEAT. If nothing else, purchase a vial of Satan's Blood and throw a couple the drinks according to heat preference! My very first Genie's Bloody Extra Spicy was THAT HOT! Totally on fire in my mouth and brain, feeling awake and alive and fantastic. And on fire. Hot hot hot hot. Now, when you get a Genie's Bloody Extra Spicy you have to dump half a bottle of the Secret Aardvark sauce in 'em just to wake them up. Is that entirely me? I doubt it, I still have the same sensitivity to Tabasco I've always had. My spicy scale is still calibrated the same way. Maybe they aren't instilling their vodkas as long, or they aren't changing their peppers as often.

Pho Van 82nd

Another phenomenal meal on Saturday night. Pho Van on 82nd.

I had eaten here once before, right after moving to Portland. It was less refined than it is now, with bistro-style seating and a more..."Styrofoam box to go" sort of flavor. I had heard from the H-man that it was one of his favorite places to eat, so I had to give it a try again. I'd been hanging out with a seasoned food critic that day, and they agreed to give this place a thorough once-over for dinner.

On arrival, I notice that parking is awkward all the way around. Oh well. That's what I get for removing power steering from my truck... The front desk could be any asian restaurant anywhere. We were seated in a booth below some faux-rice-paper shades, which were actually grass-patterned plexiglass light covers. It was a good solution for lighting and made the whole place more pleasant. It's a rather open building with high ceilings and a semi-courtyard feel to everything. I liked that I couldn't hear any music playing, or if it was it was so non-offensive that I didn't notice it. Recently, my asian dining experiences have been made less pleasant due to the piercing drone of traditional instruments combined with the semi-nasal singing in languages I don't comprehend. All of this is usually played at too high a volume. Sometimes there will be a beautiful piece played, but that seems all too rare.

After poring over the menu, my dining companion and I decided to try the "7 Course Beef" in order to try a broad range of dishes at a reasonable price. The menu says it serves two, and it does, but these are not the sort of dish you can take home if you don't finish it all. I elected to get chrysanthemum tea in order to avoid caffeine that late in the day. It was aromatic and delicious, with a strong flavor of sticks.

Our seven course meal started with a salad. Oh, what a salad. Shredded Daikon, baby celery (I think?), onions, fried scallions, and succulent strips of beef. It had a slightly spicy vinegary dressing and the whole dish had tremendous depth of flavor. I could have eaten just a mountain of that salad for dinner and been extremely satisfied. There were puffed rice-crackers on the side, which added some different texture. I am so glad that I came back here, because they are only about 5 minutes from my work! Whoooooo!

Once we had killed the salad, the waitress started bringing out dish after dish of odd things:

• One plate of cooked cold vermicelli noodles, with some chopped green onion on top
  
• One plate of rice paper triangles
  
• A slotted ceramic tank of hot water to soften the rice paper
  
• A portable stove, with a bowl containing broth with scallions & other tasty things floating in it
  
• A plate of thinly sliced raw beef with onions and scallions sliced on top
  
• Little bowls of a bizarre and wonderful sauce
  
• A giant tray of fruits & vegetables & greens:
  
  
  • Spearmint
    
  • Cilantro
    
  • Lettuce
    
  • Small chilis
    
  • Lemon Balm (or a close asian relative...)
    
  • Bean Sprouts
    
  • Daikon
    
  • Carrot
    
  • Green apple
    
  • Pineapple
    
  • Cucumber

Our server referred to the whole shebang as the "Hot Pot" and once she had them all set up, we were walked through making our own rolls. Obviously a pro, she lit the stove and grabbed a rice paper triangle. Dunked it in the slotted ceramic hot-water holder and dropped it on a plate. She promptly grabbed some fruits and veggies from the plate, topped them with an assortment of greens, and threw some noodles on top. The water was boiling by this point, so she dumped the onions and scallions from on top of the beef into the pot. She gave it a minute or so to cook, and then grabbed a slice of the beef. I think these are the same little slices of beef that you get in your Pho. She cooked it to medium, about 10 seconds. Once the beef was cooked, she put it on top of the pile of veggies etc. and within seconds had a marvelously shaped roll. Unfortunately, it didn't end up on my plate but now I could a similar roll for my own. Which I did. Again, and again. After the beef was gone, we experimented with combinations of veggies and also grabbed the cooked scallions from the broth on the stove to add to the flavor.

The waitress showed up again, this time with a plate full of (suprise!) more beef.
Three different kinds of rolls, two of each style. Also, a mound of something resembling hamburger. They also included four more puffed rice crackers.
Two of the rolls were basically rolled up strips of beef, fried with different sauces or seasonings. The whole set were delicious and amazing to my mouth. I ate part of each as an ingredient in a roll to break up the meatiness of it. The third roll was basically the same components as the hamburger mound, but shaped and fried.

The water in the vase began to cool, so the rice papers weren't rolling as well. I finished this course by eating some of the remaining fruit.

Towards the end I was slowing down a bit, because all of the flavors (and all the meat) overload your brain. Fruit in a roll is brilliant and it was very novel for me. I also enjoyed the wide variety of greens. The variety of flavors I got to encounter in this dinner was astonishing and exciting for me.

I also ate here for lunch today. Pho #3. Fatty brisket, round steak, and flank.
Good, deep, savory broth. Not too broad a flavor profile, but it was still very tasty. My opinion of the meats wandered a bit, with the fatty brisket being more cow flavored bubblegum and the other two ranking right up there with the other meats I had on Saturday. Their vegetable plate for this soup isn't terribly generous. You get a handful of bean sprouts, a lime wedge, one medium branch of basil, and a couple slivers of jalapeno. I would have liked more chili to spice up the ocean of broth, but it all worked well together. $7.00 for a bowl of soup bigger than your head, plus $1.50 for a pot of chrysanthemum tea? Wow, now THAT'S a lunch!

Doug Fir Breakfast

Nommed at the Doug Fir for the second time Saturday morning. This will go down as one of my better recent breakfasts.

Decor: Think upscale vintage Denny's. Comfortable brown vinyl covered booths make for pleasant seating. The whole bank of windows allows a lot of natural light in, but there are some darker nooks towards the doors. The logs used in the construction make the whole arrangement seem rather homey without giving up any of their hipster cred.

The wait staff were pleasant and attentive, although I think the girls ought to be just a wee bit more conservative with their miniskirts. When you bend over to bus a table and I can tell what color underwear you have on (I hope they were flesh-colored...) that might be too short. Our waiter was a burly ex-skater with a surprisingly cultured demeanor who was really on top of things. Our coffee never got low, and we never felt pestered. The concept of leaving a wine bottle of water for the table to top up their glasses is interesting. Although, I think some of the clientèle might be too limp-wristed to lift a magnum safely...

The Doug Fir is known as an excellent venue for music shows, and it doesn't surprise me that they put on a decent mix for the morning crowd. No screamers, no drum'n'bass, no top-40 pop. Just a pleasant blend: some classic rock seasoned with both new and old indie rock.

I tried their bloody Mary, per my usual M.O., and was pleasantly surprised. My expectations for the restaurant bloody Mary were RUINED by a delicious fireball I was served at Genie's once upon a time. Since that pleasantly painful event I've been disappointed by every bloody Mary I've been served, even my return visits to the Genie's. Francis put up a good one for a bit, but has since returned to a mediocrity that is comparable to everywhere else. The Doug Fir Bloody is a horseradish spicy, with a seasoned-salt rim, and very very good olives. They put a lime on it, but I don't think it adds anything. It woke up my appetite something fierce.

Food was traditional breakfast fare. I had the Logger's Breakfast, with a chicken-fried steak and two eggs over medium. The eggs were just right. Their oven-roasted rosemary potatoes are excellent and well seasoned, but I don't really go for the breakfast spud these days for some reason. The chicken-fried steak was monumentally good. I was pleased that it was relatively small, versus the ones I've had previously that drooped off the side of the plate all the way around. It was perfectly fried, tender and moist on the inside. Not a hint of toughness anywhere. I also really liked their gravy. Very rich and deep flavor.

I got to try a couple bites of the Satyricon Scramble, and it was fantastic! It really smacks you around in the mouth, with some kalamata olives, feta cheese, and whole cloves of roasted garlic. Wow! I'll be going for this on the next visit, for sure. On the same topic, I guess Satyricon is back open again? Bizarre!

My first visit to the Doug Fir wasn't as memorable. I got the smoked salmon Benedict, and it was just okay. After this visit, I'm sure I'll be coming back more frequently. It's strange to me how few really good breakfast places Portland has. You'd think we could do better than Elmer's, right?

Francis Restaurant

I've been eating at Francis for a couple of years now. This morning was the first time it hasn't been spectacular, but I'm sure it was a fluke. I see from the City Search reviews that some people may have had bad experiences here, but I call bullshit on them - it looks like someone is trying to run this place down anonymously.

This restaurant is run by one Christopher Pierce, who is a very grand fellow both in size and nature. I have no idea if he is a kitchen nazi, but he does have the skills of a gracious host. The dishes here are all relatively high-calorie, including some that will leave a coating of delicious fat on the inside of your mouth. I would recommend a bloody mary to help strip your palate clean and dissolve some of the clogs in your arteries. Fat is where the flavor is, people!

The menu includes a moderately long list of breakfast staples. There is also a menu board posted that lists the daily offerings. These are almost always the worthy way to go, but are usually more expensive due to the finer and more interesting ingredients.

Today, the outside tables were all full, so Mr. Pierce offered a sun-lit table in the east window. He didn't really seem himself, and I worried a little about him. I had coffee and a bloody mary mason, to try and shake off the funk. My selection from the daily specials was the Rock Shrimp Benedict. The shrimp were very good, but my eggs were slightly overcooked with no runny yolk goodness at all. The hollandaise was excellent, but they quantity was meager to sparing, and their mint compote was skinny over the fruit. They always have good coffee, and this was no exception. I will say that their bloody mary is always drinkable but rather variable. This time it didn't have much kick.

All told, this morning's breakfast was one of my least memorable. The food here is generally so delicious that it may have just been a beat-down mental state that caused the food to be just...food. This is a far cry from my usual concern, that Francis will become another Genie's and have 10 gazillion hipsters lined up on the sidewalks. I think that Genie's food is starting to slide in terms of taste and quality because of their popularity.

If you go to Francis, the overnight oatmeal pancakes with bourbon butter are fantastic. Don's Benedict and the Smoked Salmon Benedict are excellent. Lastly, their scratch cinnamon rolls and biscuits are phenomenal. I also recommend anything from the special board, as I feel today's meal was an anomaly. Here's to the Francis Restaurant, I trust we will both be better when next we meet.

Roots Brewing

After Table Mountain, Loni and I wanted to refuel. I suggested Roots, because they had just tapped some of their Calypso ale. This beer is brewed with Scotch Bonnet (habaneros) peppers and was a fantastic find at a recent brewers festival.

There was a century bicycle ride/race ending just as we grabbed a seat outside. Three teams of sweaty cyclists and their families were milling around on the sidewalk. I understand the biking gear, but jesus, people! Tuck that package to the back, my lumpy friend...

They apparently don't really offer table service outside, but the lady was nice enough to do it anyway. She might have been sympathetic to how badly we were limping from the hike, though.

The beer was all over the place. The taster tray didn't provide enough information on the selections, neither did the waitress introduce the seasonals. Oh well. The Calypso was fairly good, but somehow not nearly as spicy as the last time. The "Youngers Nightmare" was a 9% ABV monster that reminded me of Jaegermeister. I liked their red so much I got another pint of it.

I had a BBQ chicken burrito that was quite tasty. It had lots of delicious chicken flesh with a nicely toasted tortilla wrapped around it. The best part was the sauce itself. Spicy and interesting, and it went very well with my beer. This came with two sides: some decent black beans, and some very good coleslaw. Neither were fantastic, but I ate every last bite with no complaint.

Loni elected to go for a smoked pork wrap. Her meal arrived looking very similar to mine except her side was just a bag of chips. Really tasty chips, but still... Oh, and she got a peppercini, which made me a little jealous. Hers had the same BBQ sauce, but also got some horseradish, which added a little bit more zing to the meal.

Overall, this place was very good. I think I will probably go back to try more of their beer as well as alternate menu selections. I don't feel that starving and exhausted provides the proper mindset for evaluating a venue, so it's all subjective this time...

Hopworks Urban Brewery

After we got down from the Munra Point hike on Saturday, we descended on Hopworks Urban Brewery for eats and beer.
This restaurant had a very nice decor going for it, with bike frames forming an interesting "awning" over one of the bars and a very industrial setting. They were fairly crowded, with lots of families, which isn't really a great thing but we'll let that go. We passed up what would probably have been a decent booth indoors for the chance to catch the evening sun on their patio. The people who run this place decided to go for powerful if slightly hard to read fonts and color schemes that really grab your retinas and shake 'em.
5 out of 5 for decor.

Oh, and we also got to share the various stupid, rude, and obnoxious conversation points from the group of ex-frat-boys and their girlfriends (wanna-be wives, I'm sure) parked at the table next to ours. I think if you can positively identify an ex-frat-boy you are allowed to shoot on sight. The season on vermin is always open, right? Obviously this particular cup of vitriol doesn't apply to the academic frats, but then they probably only drink top-shelf liquor and wine now anyway. I really liked that they played some decent music on their slightly worn-out outdoor speakers. It really brings new life to music to increase the distortion levels. Seriously, this is one of my favorite sounds, and believe it or not it's even better when the speakers are almost completely blown or operating at the very limits of their power and are just starting to come apart - just amazing sound! Because of the frat people, I still have to say 0 out of 5 for ambiance (on this visit, anyway).

So the beer at this place was all organic. Good for them. It wasn't really all that distinctive in any direction. Their double alt (secret seasonal special) was toasty. Their hefeweizen had a nose of unripe oranges gone slightly moldy, but finished nice and crisp despite all the cloudy body. The remainder of the beers were fairly tasty and drinkable, but you can pull that just about anywhere in Portland. Seriously, pick up a rock and throw it. Odds are good you just hit either a brewpub or someone who's going to open one tomorrow. I went back for a pint of their Deluxe Organic Ale, Loni had their Organic Survival "Seven-Grain" Stout. Their sampler is a good deal if you want to try out what they have to offer. 9 three ounce pours for $6.50 sounds about right for an appetizer... I'd give them 3 out of five for the beer, which is harsher than you might think. They need to do more to stand out than just be "organic". Really, to make merely drinkable beer and advertise it as "organic" doesn't help an already diluted term - you must create EXCELLENT beer, which should make people think that it tastes better BECAUSE it's organic.

The food was excellent. I had a cup of minestrone for starters, and it was slightly spicy with large (LARGE) chunks of vegetables. It was not overcooked, and bore no relations that I could detect to anything that previously had a home in a can.
We had the "Gatherer" pizza, and it was EXCELLENT! I had to restrain myself, else I'd have gorged my way through the whole pie. Thin, crispy, slightly buttery crust. Sweetish mixed with savory for the sauce. The cheese was fresh, mostly mozzarella and something else with a little more character. The toppings were plentiful and blended well with the rest of the pie. None of this, however, blended well with the beer. Overall, I give them 5 out of 5 for brewpub food. For the pizza alone, it was up there with A Pizza Scholls. Except without the fucking hordes of people.

Service was good, helpful, friendly, but we missed our waiter for a while in the middle. The frat pack kept him running, so I don't blame him for taking a break. I'd give them a 4 out of 5 for service, and I left some props for him on their comment card. Kick down, HUB - he's a good server and you should give him a raise! Maybe only a nickle an hour or something, we don't want it to go to his head, right?

I think this place would be better for groups. For a regular two person dinner it seemed a little busy and maybe just slightly rushed. Also somewhat noisy. Difficult to appreciate a beer when there are so many distractions. Prices were fair. No great values (except maybe the sampler) but nothing was too expensive, either. Lots of vegetarian options, which is always good. Overall, by all the brewpub standards held dear in my stone heart, I give them 4 out of a possible 5. I expect I'd like to go again, after I've tried all of the other brewpubs here in Portland.

Bombay Cricket Club

In anticipation of a party Loni and I were attending later in the evening, it was decided to buffer our stomachs with some food.

After carefully considering the merits of the various anthrax wagons and "Careful, hot plate" Mexican food dining establishments, we decided on a different route for our spicy fix. Neither of us have eaten at an Indian restaurant for a while because all of the ones we previously enjoyed were getting...stale. Lucky for us, I had a new one to visit: Bombay Cricket Club. This place is next door to one of my favorites: Vincente's Pizza. Across the street is another fantastic food place, Riyadh's. I spied with my little eye another place I'll be visiting soon next to Riyadh's called Sel Gris. For that last one, better bring a fat wallet...

The website for the B.C.C. suggests reservations, so I made them. However, when we arrived, we had 4 people fighting to seat us in a nearly empty establishment. Maybe 5:30 is too early for the dinner people on a Friday night? We ate outside because it was a hot day and we are masochists. Actually, more so we could watch the parade of weirdos down Hawthorn and drink in the lovely cigarette smoke drifting over from Vincente's outside tables.

Our waitress was attentive, knowledgeable, funny, and clever. We took her suggestion and had a couple of "Mango Rita's" to start. We ought to have asked, because these are monstrously alcoholic, with a huge pour of Montezuma tequila topped with mango puree. Hint: this is not a top shelf alcohol. Apparently you can get 1800 instead, for a buck or two more. I recommend that you exercise this option if you value your brain cells. Regardless, we drank them, probably for the last time.

We chose some vegetable samosas to start, which were EXCELLENT. The pastry was perfectly crisp on the outside, hot on the inside, no excess oil or grease at all. The vegetables and the spice blend used in the filling worked very well together, and provided intriguing flavor. This has my vote for best samosa in Portland that I've eaten so far. The mango chutney served with this was also excellent. Our waitress brought us some "extra spicy" chutney along the lines of the usual green kind. Supposedly had habañero peppers in with the mint. It was kind of hot, but not really.

On the heat aspect, this is a delicate matter. We elected medium heat on our entrées, having previously overdone it dining elsewhere. This proved to be an error on our part. The heat was not present to any degree in either of our entrees. The green chutney brought a little fire to the palate, but overall not nearly enough.

Another caution regarding the breads. Their nan is HUGE. Like 16"x12". We ordered the garlic nan with our dinner, and it was very well prepared with just a hint of char along the edges. The garlic was on top of the nan, so it got a little bit burnt, but it was still delicious.

We selected two entrées, the Prawns Coconut Curry and the Vegetable Biryani.
The prawns were tender and delicious, but prawns are really hard to screw up. You get six relatively large prawns for $19, which isn't really a very good deal. Whatever. The sauce was rich, creamy, and not spicy at all. Medium, really? What, does mild come with a negative spicy level? I somehow sprayed the sauce all over my shirt while eating a prawn. I think I subconsciously wanted to save some for later.

The vegetable biryani had more spice, and more flavor. The vegetables were relatively large slices and chunks. They didn't cook the life out of the veggies, either, which I really appreciate. They also left in all of the cardamom pods and spice leaves, which makes it a bit of a minefield when eating. Yum! The spice level on this would be closer to a 3 out of 10 for an average diner, which puts it just above zero for my re-calibrated scale. The yogurt sauce was unremarkable.

The tab was $55 for two people, not including tip. Somewhat on the spendy side, but I've got another meal's worth of biryani in my fridge. Knowing what I do now, I'd knock off $15 by skipping the booze. Stick to water, it's better for you. Also, go ahead and order hot if you like spicy food.

Overall I am very pleased with this dining experience, and very much want to try it again. I'm looking forward to sampling the lamb shanks and the stuffed nan selections next time.

Gluttony

This has been a weekend of wild excess in the field of food, and I need to spit this out before I forget my experiences. My friend Loni and I ate through a swath of Portland restaurants the past few days, and had some pretty good times doing it.

Breakfast before our hike Friday was the Francis Xavier's out off 181st and 84. I've had breakfast there before and it was...fairly good. This wasn't any better, neither was it any worse. They did an almost-spicy bloody Mary that we had to wait way too long for, and a salmon benedict that was decent. The last time I ate there, they broke the hollendaise sauce. I'm glad I gave them another chance. Now, all they need to do is figure out how to serve good food in a REASONABLE amount of time. I don't have two hours to kill over breakfast when there are mountains to be climbed!

As an aside, I just want to know why Gresham can't step up with good breakfast? It'd be so much more convenient to hike the gorge if I could get some really tasty food in me first!

After the stroll (can't call it a hike, 'cuz it wasn't!) came Edgefield. Oh, wait, that was just a ton of beer and a superb BBQ Brisket sandwich. It hardly even counts. Never mind. I just warn everybody that the Ruby Ale is delicious, but kicks you in the head the next day.

Later Friday evening we headed over to N. Mississippi to dine at the ¿Por Qué No? but it was PACKED! Same with Amnesia Brewing.  We REALLY wanted to eat outside, so  we finally ended up at a random place: Mississippi Station. I had a Portobella sandwich with pesto which was tasty, if slightly heavy on the pesto. I elected to get a cup of the cream of broccoli soup with my entree. The soup was almost well executed - smooth and delicious and oversalted.
The sweet potato fries were good as well. The provided bottle of Heinz 57 really brought out their best characteristics. Aren't sweet potato fries supposed to come with a dip that is essentially frosting? Maybe that's just wishful thinking. All told, this place was about as generic as you can get. Rather trendy, overpriced, somewhat pretentious. I get the feeling they would LOVE to make a franchise out of it. Pray this never happens, because it'll be another Ram, or Rock Bottom, or *shudder* Applebee's. Their fatal flaw is a heavy hand with the salt.
I give it only 2.5 out of 5 stars total if you are into food. It may have other redeeming qualities, but I'm not coming back to explore them.

Moving on, breakfast today was a new place over near the excellent Yahala on Stark, called the The Country Cat. It was FANTASTIC! I'd say they are making a bid to beat out Genie's Cafe for best breakfast in Portland.
Except, Genie's whups their ASS on drinks. Their bloody Mary was weak, weak, WEAK! Not even a hint of fire.
On the other hand, their food was phe-fucking-nomminal! (You see what I did there?) It was the salmon benedict again for me, and a HUGE step up from yesterday. They had a buttery biscuit for the base, perfectly cooked salmon for the meat, slightly wilted red chard to accent. I felt the eggs were slightly overcooked, because I like the yolks runny in a poached egg and these were starting to set, but that's a tiny issue. The hollandaise sauce was unique in my eating experience. It was made with a lemon curd base, and it rounded out the whole dish magnificently. The dishes have potatoes on the side with a heap of seasonings. They are well-roasted, and come with a home-made ketchup that really suits the herbs they are roasted in. I'll be coming back as long as they keep making dishes like this. They really need to kick up their bloody mix, though. Prices here are somewhat steep, maybe a smidge above Genies. $4.00 for bacon? Even really good bacon? Better stick to the entrees.

Dinner tonight was Salvador Molly's over off Sunset Blvd. They used to have a clone off Belmont, but it died. I had a mojito to start and it was good. My dish was the chili rellano plate, and I was very happy with my selection. The chili's were not your usual weak-ass run-o'-the mill chili - they actually had a little heat. A very nice change from the usual "Careful, hot plate!" cheese smothered, orange rice, refried bean serving Mexican restaurant that spreads like dandelions in this city. The coleslaw, if that's what you call it, didn't have a vinegar or mayonnaise base, rather a pineapple juice dressing. Brilliant, I thought. Our second round of drinks was the "Fire Rita" and it was indeed VERY spicy. Spicier than both of the bloody Mary's mentioned above put together, and then some. As a special treat, I ordered two "Great Ball of Fire", one each for Loni and myself. Heh, that was highly entertaining. She quartered hers, and popped one piece into her mouth without any sauce. She started chewing nonchalantly, got about two chews in and her eyes got really wide. I started laughing, and so did she. That meant she had to keep chewing because she couldn't swallow. Wow, those things are just a BITCH to try and eat. I ate my whole one with some sauce, and spent about 15 uncomfortable minutes trying to get off the pain train. She wouldn't touch another bit of hers, but gave me props for choking it down. I also learned that a fiery cocktail, it doesn't help a bit when you are trying to cool down a 4 alarm blaze in your mouth. Actually, it makes it worse a little bit. Overall, this is probably the best value in food entertainment in Portland.

It's very exciting for me to actually be able to FEEL my arteries hardening, and my cardiovascular system trying to pump globs of cholesterol through my body. Thankfully all the alcohol has diluted the sludge in my blood down to the approximate thickness of gravy, so I can put off my stroke for another day. I'll go for another stroll tomorrow to work off some of this overindulgence. Here's to good company, and good eats!

Milo's City Cafe

Tonight I went to dinner again with the foodies from work. The original plan was for two groups at two restaurants, but we all ended up at one location: Milo's City Cafe.

The decor is fairly airy, with both front doors wide open on a very nice evening. Otherwise, the interior is unremarkable, little bit o' stainless along the kitchen area. Our waitress seemed nice. She was earnest, and kept her composure rather well despite being rather harried. She knew how to get the attention of a noisy group. She couldn't get anything I ordered right, but everyone else did fine...

My food was decent. I started with the Milo's Stout, which is brewed by the Raccoon Lodge Brewpub over on the west side. I've eaten there too, and been pleased with their product. My beer and I got along great! I had another with dinner, and it also made friends with my meal. The waitress brought bread and butter, which we all found delicious.

Two appetizers - Corn & zucchini fritters with Cajun rémoulade was meh, fritters were okay but the spicy sauce straight squashed 'em. I spread some more of the rémoulade on my bread as I rather liked it. Second appetizer - Saganaki! - Greek cheese on fire. I was really looking forward to this, as it basically combines my two favorite things in life. Cheese & fire, together at last! I didn't really get anything out of it than toasty mozzarella. Not that it was bad, mind... It did make for a nice show, though they left off the shout of "Opa!".

I ordered a cup of their Hungarian mushroom soup - very nice presentation with the sour cream cut into artwork on the top. They didn't spare the dill or the mushrooms, and I really enjoyed it. Compared to the dish by the same name at the Truffle Hunter, this was a masterpiece!

Entrée for me was the vegetarian selection, essentially a fancy stack of portobella mushrooms with sautéed roma tomatoes and almost-caramelized onions between. There was a small pile of zucchini and asparagus on one side, and another one of the corn and zucchini fritters on the other side. It came with a lukewarm Santa Fe chili beurre blanc in a ramekin to dress the vegetables. I chose mushroom couscous as the filler for the rest of the plate. It was all slightly over salted, but at least they used good salt. The vegetables weren't overcooked, and while the beurre blanc didn't thrill, it didn't kill either. Overall the dish was tasty, but not outstanding. I heard wonderful things about the salmon...

Overall, it would probably have been a better meal for a twosome rather than an octet. However, sometimes the entertainment and discussion among a larger group is worth the extra hassle. I feel that was the case with this outing. Our dinner tonight was supposed to be less than $20 per person and our tab without tip was about $190. A fun and delicious evening well spent in all respects.

Saucebox

This evening, I got to enjoy a very nice dinner with some strangers from work at a restaurant I've never been to before - saucebox.

My overall summary: amazing cocktails of various flavors, good to superb pan-asian dishes, somewhat pricey, excellent service.

My first cocktail had a giant wedge of cucumber in it, and was gone in a couple of sips. I know it was absolutely delicious although I don't remember it very distinctly, but what can I say? It was a hard day at work!

The second cocktail I had was the Samauri Mary, basically a Bloody Mary with slightly different spices. It was spicy enough to make me actually sip it, and lasted through dinner - complementing the food very well, actually.

Tasted a third cocktail: Love You Long Time. Oh, what a lip-smacking treat! I'll get this one again for sure.

The meal, pulling straight from their online menu -
Appetizer:
saucebox chilled organic soft tofu with ginger, soy sauce, scallions and bonito flakes 7

I think if you name a dish after your restaurant (or vice versa) it oughtta blow my mind. This was tasty, no doubt... but what isn't when you add those ingredients?

Entree:
rare grilled hawaiian ahi stir-fry of asparagus, snow peas, shiitake mushrooms and water chestnuts, yuzu-sesame vinaigrette, lotus chips 26

So nice, so nice. I could have eaten myself sick with this dish several times over, given sufficient funds to buy more. Very rare sesame seed covered tuna, thinly sliced, with minimal dressing. Contrasted nicely by perfectly cooked interesting vegetables and a little bit of sauce to dredge the fish in. Oh, I think I need a moment alone.

Also tasted their grilled squid skewers - nice. Always fond of tentacles, and these were so fresh I'm surprised they weren't writhing in my mouth. The actual skewered squid flesh was merely okay until the sauce was added (some kind of mint dressing), and then disappeared under the sauce flavor.

Another taste was the green curry - rich, coconut milk broth. Not terribly spicy in any direction, but with some good flavors.

One final sample was the Grilled Pork Satay. Very nice, especially with the seasoned pineapple bits. Their noodles were interesting, and I'd totally consider eating this dish again.

Very attentive service throughout. This was somewhat expensive ($57) for a very nice dinner, and all around an excellent place to eat. I feel that I would REALLY like to go hit their cocktail menu for happy hour again and again and again...mainly because I think it is much less expensive than eating off the regular dinner menu.

Truffle Hunter Restaurant Gresham

I'd heard good things about this place, and since my first choice was closed today I crossed my fingers and pulled in.

Why was my first choice closed? Because Memorial Day is tomorrow. Right.

Silly me, thinking that a restaurant with truffles in the title would be a delicious and exciting source for tasty fungus dishes. The only item on their menu even remotely related to the name of the place was Hungarian mushroom soup. This was a pink cream with mushroom slices, no dill, no paprika, no flavor.

The decor was ick. It's a Victorian/farmhouse cross converted to a restaurant, and not much to look at. All the furniture was mis-matched - it looked like a collection of "Table and 6" lots from an auction house. The upholstery on my chair looked like somebody had been practicing their Psycho knife skills on it. Paper napkins on the table, white linen tablecloths under glass, you know the type. No lipstick on my water glass, which was unexpected... I had a Black Butte Porter, she had a selection from the comprehensive collection of Stash teas they stock.

My supper was a penne pasta with Gorgonzola sauce. Presentation was good, some chopped walnuts on top, a few sprigs of fresh rosemary tossed on it. Also cubed chicken tossed in, which was completely blah. The Gorgonzola didn't smack my mouth around, and actually was only barely present in the flavor profile. I barely even ate half, and that was after a semi-brutal hike.
It came with a side of "garlic toast" which was over an inch thick, had no garlic on it, wasn't toasted, and had some kind of bizarre cheese grated on it that wasn't melted in the slightest. I just vomited a little in the back of my mouth thinking about it.

The high point was my companion's entrée - a prime rib French dip. Meaty, to be sure. The au jus was actually well prepared and probably didn't come entirely from a packet or can. I ate half the sandwich. It also came with a handful of Kettle chips. Nothing but the best in Gresham... Bill was about $30 for two people for dinner/late lunch, not including tip. I'd rather eat $5.00 worth of beans and use the methane produced to torch the other $25 than eat here again. I guess it's my fault - other food bloggers would have warned me off...

It's still food, so it'll cushion the handful of ibuprofen I'm about to swallow. Didn't summit Nesmith point for the second time today. Damn, that means I've got to hike it AGAIN!

¡Oba!

This was originally meant to be a review of D.F. which is now closed, as I found out the hard way. Taqueria Nueve is also closed! Taqueria Nueve was the same folks as D.F., very similar menu, different location. When we arrived at D.F., it was unlit, and there was a note on the door stating the locks had been changed by the landlord. Funny, they didn't call me to tell me the reservation was canceled! I wish I had been able to eat there, because it looked far more inviting and polished than Taqueria Nueve.

Instead, we went to ¡Oba! a few blocks away and a few bucks more expensive. I had planned on spending $40 on myself for dinner, but it actually cost closer to $60 (although it could easily have been a lot more!)

Opened with a cocktail called a Fiery Orange - orange vodka, some citrus juices, and some sliced serrano pepper in a sugar-rimmed martini glass. Delicious, even after I chewed on the pepper. I could drink these all night long, if there weren't so many other delicious-sounding options on their martini list.

For a starter the rock fish ceviche was fantastic, with an avocado base, but the tortilla chips seemed like straight from a bag. Very nice presentation in a martini glass with a couple of romaine leaves sticking out the top. It was a decent sized serving of fish, and I could have added a couple other appetizers and done a tapas dinner rather than gorging myself. However, since the soup I requested never arrived, I plunged on into gluttony.

My entrée was a swordfish steak crusted with macadamia nuts and nicely seared, topped with a cilantro pesto, all over coconut rice and sliced roasted red peppers. Very well prepared, and some of the best swordfish I've ever had. I was especially pleased with the way all of the flavors in the dish accented and complemented each other. The portion size was just right, although I would have eaten more given the chance (my problem, not ¡Oba!'s). I liked it so much, I was sorely tempted to lick the plate. Instead, I used my fork to scrape the top layer of glaze off to ensure I got every delicious molecule of the pesto and red pepper.

Dessert was baked Argentina, which was bananas over a chocolate cookie, with vanilla bean ice cream over that, and the whole thing was covered in a marshmallow-ish meringue and caramelized. It had some mango slices on the side, drizzled with a caramel sauce they didn't really need. It made the mango seem excessively tart by comparison. Last, it had a pineapple wedge and a flower (non-edible: I tried.) sticking out from the side of the mountain of toasted meringue - why? I was not terribly impressed by this dish, although I did manage to finish it. All probably 900 odd calories of it. Next time I'll go to Papa Haydn's for dessert and eat my way through their pastry case like last time.

I guess I would eat there again, although the service was iffy. Very nice waiter, just didn't provide us with service. I had ordered soup - it never showed up. I ordered another appetizer, because of the wait for the meal - it never came.
Then, he brought me a drink - that I hadn't ordered... Bizarre. My companions didn't encounter these difficulties, so maybe he had a grudge against me?