As I’ve said before, Portland’s dining scene can be summarized as seasonal local ingredients prepared deliciously without the frills, gimmicks, and pretention as you might experience in LA. It’s just good food that makes you feel really warm and comforted inside. Castagna doesn’t really fit the mold of your typical Portland restaurant. It’s modernist…
Category: Portland
Aviary
Like all the other Jews and Chinese people, we found ourselves looking for any open restaurant to celebrate Christmas Eve. I originally was planning to make dinner, but Verde was orphaned for the holiday so we decided to make a night of it at Aviary. This restaurant had the unfortunate luck of burning down shortly…
Papa Haydn
Papa Haydn is a restaurant that falls on the many different lists of “Top Portland Restaurants.” It’s probably misleading because the food really isn’t all that good. I think the “must-try” eats at this restaurants is the desserts, which unfortunately isn’t all that good either, unless you like cake. I have a sweet tooth, but…
Mee Sen
I can confidently say that as far as Asian food in Portland goes, most of it is pretty average. One large exception to this is the Thai food. Are there a lot of Thai people in Portland? I don’t think so, at least according to Verde, but sometimes his information isn’t always that accurate. Thai…
Joe’s Burger
The argument over the “best burger” seems to be an endless debate for the ages. Some of the more well known contenders nation wide are probably In ‘N Out and Shake Shack. Every city has its own local battle. In LA, there’s Father’s Office, Golden State, Umami Burger, etc. You can find me in the…
Du Kuh Bee
Aside from dumplings, Portland is also lacking good Korean food. I’m sure nothing compares to LA’s Koreatown except Korea itself. It’s amazing how Korean food used to be something so foreign and weird tasting to something I really love. I guess it’s cuz I have a penchant for stinky things and Korean food is full…
Little Big Burger
Since moving to Portland, I’ve had the strangest cravings for an In ‘N Out burger. It’s only strange because I never crave In ‘N Out. I probably eat In ‘N Out on only one occasion, on my way to Las Vegas. I think I’m probably craving it because I know I can’t have it. In…
Little Bird
It’s always nice to already have some friends when you move to a new city. Big Spoon and The Gunner are just a few of my fellow Portlandians. We kicked off my first weekend in the new city at Little Bird, a relatively new French restaurant in Portland. Ordering wine turned out to be a…
Masu Sushi
Ok here is more of the same (Japanese), but at least it’s not in the South Bay. It’s pretty much impossible to find good sushi in Portland. Every place is just “meh” and I think most people would agree. Masu just might make the cut for decent sushi by my standards. Tsukemono Complements of…
Pambiche
After successive, yet delicious, New American meals, I was craving something with just a little bit more oomph and flavor. Perhaps some Asian fare? But of course, Portland isn’t the place to be when you’re craving a salty umami rich bowl of ramen or spicy cold Korean noodles. It was brunch time, and I think…
Paley’s Place
My tour of Portland’s fine dining establishments continues with Paley’s Place. It is owned by executive chef Vitaly Paley, who was awarded the 2005 James Beard Award for Best Chef Northwest. It’s located in a Victorian style house in the Northwest area of Portland. Reviews on Yelp complained about the place being small and cramped. …
Beast
Beast is a unique dining experience. It is a restaurant composed of a staff of 5 (2 chefs, 2 servers, 1 busboy) and 2 communal tables (20-30 seats) with a large open air kitchen. Dinner service is only offered Wednesday through Sunday with two seatings at 6:00pm and 8:45pm. Brunch is offered only on Sundays…
Overworked. Underfed. 