91 replies to this topic

[KMango]

Just got back from a long food weekend in PDX...a friend from DC is planning on opening a sandwich truck there, and this was an excuse to eat our way through town and scout out the competition....

Outstanding play-by-play, thanks for the intel. Portland is one of my favorite cities in the US. Reading your mini-reviews reminded me of the many reasons why.

(fingers crossed for climate change)
(erase their winter cloud cover)
(a stunning loft in the pearl district is calling me)

[Seanchai]

Outstanding play-by-play, thanks for the intel. Portland is one of my favorite cities in the US. Reading your mini-reviews reminded me of the many reasons why.

(fingers crossed for climate change)
(erase their winter cloud cover)
(a stunning loft in the pearl district is calling me)

I'm going to be there for the first time in March for a whole week. Very much looking forward to the beer, food and vibe.

[Tujague]

There isn't any place in Washington, DC, quite like Beast. The communal tables, the shape of the menu, the overall vibe all seem unique to Portland. Some may not like it as a choice for a birthday meal, since intimacy is at a premium here, and the firm, narrow chairs don't encourage lingering. But as an experience of food and atmosphere, I found it perfect for my own special occasion.

That is not to say that we had a perfect meal here; only about half of the six courses were home runs, the other half decent base hits. For instance, the opener, a curried carrot soup was pleasant but relatively ordinary, except for a chervil salsa verde on top that caused a marvelous explosion of flavor when you hit it. Unfortunately, that only lasted for a few sips, and we were lulled back to earth. The wine pairing, Domaine Collotte Marsannat Rosé 2009, seemed slightly off as well--a bit too dry and unassertive to offset the flavors effectively.

But, with the charcuterie course, Beast lived up to its name and reputation, with a beautifully composed plate of five meat preparations that suggested this trend is a long way from being played out. I am not a big fan of chicken liver mousse, but Naomi Pomeroy's preparation, with pickled shallots, persuaded me to reconsider that stance. Likewise, steak tartare could have been boring, but paired on toast with a quivering quail egg, it found new ways to surprise. A paté of rabbit, rabbit liver, prune, and peppercorns was perfection. The pork shoulder rillettes would have met that mark also, except I thought the accompanying Neville marmalade a bit too bitter a pairing. But any small misgivings from that were offset by the capper--a sublime foie gras bon-bon with sauternes geleé--which was like a miniature savory dessert. (Actually, a palate-cleanser of campari-grapefruit sorbet filled that purpose before the entreé. Becker Landgraf Riesling Kabinett Feinherb 2008 made a good pairing for this decadent course.

Pomeroy needed a wonderful entreé to follow up this performance, and artisan duck breast seemed unlikely to accomplish that. But sliced thin so that it was almost like rare steak, and coated with a rich duck demi-glace and cracklings, she raised the bar close to where she needed it. What finally sold this dish was the perfectly poached egg, whose yolk enriched that sauce perfectly when broken open. A pinot noir (Domaine Cornu Chorrret-les-Beaune 2003) worked nicely with this.

A salad of little gem lettuces with green garlic vinaigrette brought us back to earth. Like the soup, it was pleasant but comparatively unmemorable, except for the bursts of flavor from radish, herbs, ricotta. The accompanying muscadet (Pepiere Granite de Clisson 2007) was unmemorable. But the cheese course--all from Steve's Cheeses, one of Portland's top cheese purveyors--was a surprise hit. Nearly sated at this point, I can't recall exactly what the choices were that night, except for a very firm Gouda. But paired with poached apricots, marcona almonds, Oregon wildflower honey, and tiny black pepper/fleur de sel shortbreads, it was another highlight. The muscadet with this course, Arbuisiere Vouvray Cuvee de Silex 2008, was sweeter than what preceded but displayed more character.

The dessert, a rhubarb hazelnut cake with soft whipped vanilla cream, sounded more flavorful than it proved to be. The rhubarb was sparse, the hazelnut flavor nearly imperceptible, and the vanilla cream bland. This would have made a stronger impression with, say, a rhubarb coulis, or something that had a more assertive flavor. The Quinto Do Infantado Tawny Porto and French-pressed coffee stood out more here, as did the parting gift of Pomeroy's signature chocolate-covered bacon.

At $60 each, this was a steal; the wine pairings, at $35 each, less so. If I were to do this again, I would probably opt for either a bottle from the small but seemingly well-chosen list, or a few wines by the glass (the wine pairings were half-pours). Being at a communal table could be a blessing or a curse, but we were favored by the company of the well-regarded Portland food writer and cookbook author Diane Morgan, who regaled us with stories of the Portland food scene. A clear view of the open kitchen provided an entertaining view of a well-trained professional team at work, without undue noise.

Would a place like Beast work in DC? I don't know--Portland seems to be more devoted to local sourcing and neighborhood restaurants than Washington, and the communal table scene might be a bit off-putting to many. But it's a real gem in a city with so many fine options, and well worth seeking out in its tiny conclave in NE Portland, slightly off the beaten path.

[pancit]

Stopped in at the Laurelhurst Market on East Burnside one afternoon before Thanksgiving after reading Sietsema's Post review. It's a bar and butcher shop with tables. People were lined up to place their orders. We just tried two half sandwiches [$4 each]: rillette on baguette and porchetta on ciabatta. That was fun to write. Excellent.

[Sundae in the Park]

I'm going to be there for the first time in March for a whole week. Very much looking forward to the beer, food and vibe.

I'm going next week and CAN'T WAIT. So little time, so many food carts!!!

[Seanchai]

I'm going next week and CAN'T WAIT. So little time, so many food carts!!!

Here's a little write-up I did on my trip last spring:

Portland is an incredible place and one to which we hope to return often. Because of our over-packed schedule, I didn't get to hit as many of the restaurants as I had wished for full meals but rather hit many different places. Perhaps for that reason, there were no spectacular meals save for the one where we DID go all out (Le Pigeon), so maybe that's a lesson for us. None the less, a lot of very good meals in a variety of dynamic neighborhoods which I think is the real strength of the Portland dining scene (and we never even got out to the burbs).

Places we particularly enjoyed: Davis Street Tavern (happy hour although I agree with Extra MSG about the dryness of the strip loin burger), Le Pigeon (top 5 meal of the last 10 years), Deschutes, Toro Bravo (didn't order enough), Tanuki (didn't order enough), Pok Pok (need to try more of the menu, just got the greatest hits of the green papya salad, fish sauce wings and the shrimp chips), Clyde Common (great ham sandwich at lunch, need to go back for dinner), Tasty and Sons (really friggin good), Kenny and Zuke's (killer pastrami of course although I made the mistake of trying to create a bagel sandwich with the pastrami at breakfast on a second visit; bagel very good, side of pastrami, not good), Spints (great clean and dirty pretzels), Victory (excellent bar food), Apizza Scholls (very, very good but not quite at Pizzeria Mozza level), Double Mountain (great beer and really nice people), Bunk (excellent meatball sandwich), Belmont Station, Hopworks, Green Dragon (very friendly service), Bailey's Taproom (I liked it a lot more than my wife, very beer geeky),Saraveza (a little too hipstery for me but very friendly service) Lincoln (should have ordered more)

OK - Al Forno Ferruza (calzone was neighborhood good but I should have gone to Ned Ludd for lunch in retrospect), Bulgogi BBQ food cart at 5th and Stark, Horse and Brass and Concordia Ale House (average places with huge beer lists, not much vibe), Bridgeport in NW (odd place; souless and beers were meh), Rogue Ale House (bar was funkier than expected and beers were good but not cheap), Hedge House and 5th Quadrant (would kill to have them in VA, not quite at the same level as the other options in Portland)

Pleasant surprises - Hop and Vine - really liked the atmosphere, very pleasant service, Lucky Lab on Hawthorne ( almost skipped this but instead really enjoyed the beers, seemed very Portland), excellent club sandwich at Farm to Fork in Dundee, Portland Farmer's Market at PSU (wow, just wow, and the season has just started), Migration Brewing (hit it on a Saturday afternoon sitting half inside, half outside, NCAA bball on, good beers on tap, a lot of people from the hood dropping by, just a nice vibe).

[darkstar965]

At the risk of overwhelming a thread that already has so many great reccs, I love Portland. One of the very best food cities in the US to be certain.

Will just underscore two much mentioned reccs, another two reccs that could otherwise be lost and, finally, will add a new one we've loved for years.

Much mentioned: Le Pigeon: nothing new to add. A must do on any trip. And, Pok Pok: many locally think PP has been over hyped (it won "best restaurant in America" honors a few years ago from some known source and was featured on NPR nationally) but, as of several months ago, we still really enjoyed it.

Two that could be lost. Laurelhurst and Bunk are charcuterie/artisan sandwich spots. Bunk is the better of the two. I think Bunk may be worth of best sandwich spot in America honors. I"d kill for a sandwich spot 80% as good as bunk in DC. Please, please, get a sandwich here if you go.

http://www.bunksandwiches.com/

A new recc for the thread that's one of my PDX treasures and which I always hit when in Portland: Simpatica Dining Hall.

http://www.simpaticacatering.com/

LOVE this place. It's by the same, artisan meat guys who more recently did Laurelhurst Market. Can reserve for a Friday or Saturday dinner. Our fave has always been to go for the un-reservable Sunday brunch and get there early. Community tables. Local, organic sourcing to the extreme(ly delicious) degree. Ultra creative, always super flavorful, established before all those trends became watchwords. Frickin' wonderful food. Also east side like Pigeon, Pok Pok and Bunk.

Oh, and one last personal view: avoid Higgins on any visit of less than a week. Not deserving of a space on any limited schedule. Was the place years ago but has since faded as so many others have emerged in the past 5 years.

[anhdeluxe]

Ah, my beloved hometown!
I get back twice a year if I'm lucky. An old roommate is an occasional food critic for the alt-weekly out there and always has a great new place to take me to, in addition to the many many many old favorites.
Recent hits were:
Beaker and Flask - an amazing mixologists' bar that also serves great food
Laurelhurst Market - a carnivore's dream: a first-rate restaurant that also sells their own butchered meats and charcuterie
Pok Pok - I love the standbys as well as the grilled quails
Bunk Sandwiches - nothing bad on the menu
The fish at Bamboo Sushi is guilt-free sustainable and the chefs seem to treat their ingredients with a respect not often found in this area.

[Sundae in the Park]

Oh Portland, you had me at first bite.

Of course, it helped that I drove straight to Pok Pok from the airport and was quite hungry by the time I bit into my Vietnamese fish sauce wings. One of the best things I've ever put in my mouth, hunger seasoning aside. They are still very good cold later, but those first few wings, eaten while still hot and crisp, are a revelation. My Khoa Man Som Tam (green papaya salad with coconut rice, sweet shredded pork, and fried shallots) was also fantastic, with bold, bright., and clear flavors. I wish we had dishes like this at home! (Do we? Do tell!)

I also tried Apizza Scholls. Long wait for a spot at the bar, but the pizza was very good. Half amore and half NY white, with Amore edging out the white. The bottom is scarily even - charred, but not too much, everywhere. It's great pizza, but not my absolute favorite - I think I'd rather have Bianco or even Pupatella. Some friends suggested that the pizza at Ken's Artisan's Pizza is even better, but I didn't have the stomach space to tackle it. I did, however, get to Ken's Artisan Bakery to pick up some pastries. Gorgeous, enormous (2-3 bites), inventive (maple, grapefruit, espresso, chocolate spice - liked these best) macaroons, a perfectly lemony tart, and chewy, fun-to-tear-and-eat breads. The croissants are wonderful even late into the day.

Since this was actually a work trip, we ate boring hotel breakfasts at Porto Terra. Nice panckaes with lacy edges if you order them fresh.

Over in Gresham, there's a mallish-looking Thai place called Typhoon! that is apparently part of a local chain. It's got moderately spicy and perfectly fried drunken noodles, terribly sweet and ketchupy pad thai (I didn't order it - it came stealthily on a lunch platter, and we were Not Amused), mild, pretty eggplants in black bean sauce, and very tart, creamy soups. There was a "clam chowder" done Thai style that was surprisingly effective. Not bad at all but I was sad we were so far from the carts downtown.

Finally, we did a large and small plate tasting at Park Kitchen. This is a terrific way to sample the menu, but I wish were had been able to select our courses (it's chef's choice unless you upcharge $10 to state your preferences). Some whimsical and some very, very solid dishes. My favorites were the meatballs over braised asian-y cabbage bathed in a porky stock, the "rest of the duck" salad - duck cracklin', 'nuff said - and a sophisticated sticky toffee date bread pudding with whipped yogurt and apricot sauce. The chick pea fries were fun and hearty, kind of like the most silken felafel imaginable, but the duck main was all over the place - breast slices (that weren't crisped enough) over a corn bread/vegetable loaf thing with orange chunks, candied pecans, and cracker jacks (seriously) scatterd about the plate, over a sweetish fruity brown sauce. Way too may elements not coming together - I saw leftovers of this dish at almost every table. Still, that was pretty much the only low note in a night of hits in a very warm and inviting spot. You can see exactly how hard the folks in the tiny kitchen are working to get your food out, which helps you appreciate it more!

Thanks for the suggestions, all. I planned and planned, but still ended up being full the entire time and I didn't get to a single food cart, sandwich, or bite of Tillamook cheese. Clearly, I need to go back.

[dcdavidm]

Now that I have been transplanted to Portland, we've been able to try a lot of the restaurants others have cited here, and you all are spot on. Among our favorites:

Ken's Artisan Bakery (breads, pastries, and especially their Monday night-only pizza)
Bunk Sandwiches (but also try Bunk Bar, which has most of the Bunk sandwich menu, plus a fine selection of beers)
Simpatico Dining Hall (never been disappointed, and always had interesting table mates, including from DC)
Beaker and Flask (creative drinks; we let the bartender decide what to serve us)
Happy Hours at places that do not skimp on the quality of food and drink (such as 21 Hoyt, Serrato, Clyde Common, Bar Mingo, Elephants)
Red Onion (authentic Thai, especially if you order off the special menu)
Wildwood (still good after many years)
Por Que No Taqueria (funky and friendly)
Olympic Provisions (for house-made charcouterie and anything porky; took an afternoon pork butchering class there and went home with 10 pounds of the most sublime peach-fed pork I have ever tasted)
Andina (a bit too trendy for our tastes, but good Peruvian-style food and drink)
The food cart scene is addicting (we’ve especially become fans of Koi Fusion)
Tabla (ethereal house-made pasta)
Local small-batch roasted coffees (Coava: a bit too ritualistic, but great roasts; Courier Coffee; Ristretto)

Still searching for a good Indian restaurant.

Other local treats are the beers, of course, and a growing distillery scene (an hour spent tasting at Clear Creek, the first to make a name for itself, is an hour well spent)

Most of our outings have been on the West Side where we live, and we need to expand our horizons more to the East Side. So many places; so little time.

[darkstar965]

Just back from a roughly annual trip to Portland. May post more about the trip in a few days but, for now, some cliff notes:

- Le Pigeon is as great as ever. I won't detail everything we ordered since most of the dishes have already been described here quite a bit. But, will say that we had an unusual experience here on this visit that makes me think Gabriel Rucker may be one of the most talented chefs in the country, just as the James Beard Foundation seems to believe. Will post more on the what and why behind that statement soon; I guess on this thread or maybe a new Le Pigeon thread.

- Mothers Bistro and Bijou Cafe (downtown/west side), Country Cat (northern NE) and a place called Cafe du Berry (SW) are the best bets for hot breakfasts. Petite Provence (Alberta) is way overrated and yet another example of why Yelp can't be relied upon. Cafe du Berry not worth a drive if not close by despite what some may tell you about the "unique french toast."

- Coffee! Portland may be the US' best coffee city (or is it SFO? SEA? no matter; it's definitely not on the east coast) and, based on extensive secondary (talking to folks in the know) and primary (many cups) research, here are the two best spots to hit up if you care intensely about coffee:

* Barista with two locations in Alberta and the Pearl really rocks. Espresso beans ground to order--with a dedicated grinder. I know of no place in DC that does that. Vacuum siphon system brewing method better than most others that I don't think yet exists here in DC. All staff who really, really know, live and breathe coffee. Both locations have cool outdoor seating options. The Alberta location closed due to fire the day after we were there--July 5th but, in true PDX fashion, Stumptown loaned them a cart and they're now serving drip again from the patio while the rebuild begins.

* Heart is both roaster and cafe. Barista buys some beans from them and they have the full bore Probat you'd expect them to have.

I'm not sure which of the two I liked better but I am pretty sure these two are top of the heap in a city better than any other in America for great coffee.

- Brunch! I've written here about Simpatica Dining Hall before. It's a super spot for Sunday brunch and also does a Friday and Saturday dinner I've never tried. These are the guys who also own Laurelhurst. Best. FriedChicken. And. Waffles. Ever.

- Laurelhurst Market is a really excellent meat market and sandwich place. So good, it'd probably be the best in most any city, certainly including here in DC. But, in Portland, I assign them the number 2 position for sandwich shops (see below). But, on this trip, we tried them for the first time for a dinner in a large sit-down dining room they have. Really good.

- Bunk is Portland's best sandwich place. Nothing on their menu will jump out at you and they'd win no award for innovative designs. Bunk is all about execution. Their ingredients and technique are just better than everyone elses. Certainly would have to be on any US Top 5 given the challenges inherent in trying to compare a Philly sandwich to a NE lobster roll to a Miami cuban to a west coast Banh Mi, etc, etc.

[MBK]

How was Portland?

My meal at Le Pigeon was one of my top five meals of all time; Beast was nice; and Pok Pok is a place I'd eat at weekly if I lived out there.

I'm already planning a return visit.

[robert40]

Looking forward to your thoughts about Le Pigeon. Certainly a restaurant I'm hoping to visit one day.

[bettyjoan]

Trip to Portland booked for Feb 16-20 - meeting my sis and brother-in-law, who live in San Francisco. Yes, Portland in February, brrrrr, yadda yadda. Gotta plan around those Federal holidays. Beast, Le Pigeon, and Pok Pok have already been mentioned as possibilities. Hubs and I are beer geeks and hopheads - any recommendations in that arena? Also, any thoughts on where to stay?

[anhdeluxe]

If you are a beerhead and need a place to stay, consider on of the McMenamin's hotels. http://www.mcmenamins.com/Hotels you've got your microbrewery, public house and hotel all in the same place! I also like Hopworks for beer. http://hopworksbeer.com/ If you want a more conventional hotel, I have stayed at the Jupiter, the Avalon, Moderna, the Westin, The Paramount and the Governor. All were fabulous in their own ways. One advantage of staying at the Ace Hotel is the deli downstairs, Kenny and Zuke's.

[Seanchai]

Trip to Portland booked for Feb 16-20 - meeting my sis and brother-in-law, who live in San Francisco. Yes, Portland in February, brrrrr, yadda yadda. Gotta plan around those Federal holidays. Beast, Le Pigeon, and Pok Pok have already been mentioned as possibilities. Hubs and I are beer geeks and hopheads - any recommendations in that arena? Also, any thoughts on where to stay?

As far as where to stay, I loved staying at the downtown Mariott Courtyard as it was right on the bus/rail lnes but was in easy walking distance of so much. Plus, it's pretty new and much nicer than the average Courtyard. Unlike say, Philadelphia, Portland doesn't tend to have places that have both really good food and great beer lists. Deschutes has a pub right near Powells downtown that has great beers and OK food. I've heard that the best combination for beer and food is Grain and Gristle. If you guys have time for a little drive out to Hood River, Double Mountain has great pizza and fantastic beer in a VERY casual atmosphere.

[Joe H]

"Grain and Gristle." Some thought went into this name.

[ferment everything]

Trip to Portland booked for Feb 16-20 - meeting my sis and brother-in-law, who live in San Francisco. Yes, Portland in February, brrrrr, yadda yadda. Gotta plan around those Federal holidays. Beast, Le Pigeon, and Pok Pok have already been mentioned as possibilities. Hubs and I are beer geeks and hopheads - any recommendations in that arena? Also, any thoughts on where to stay?

Inn Beervana is worth looking into for accomodations.
And for eating and drinking: My PDX Map

[Seanchai]

I see your map and raise:

http://maps.google.c...&mid=1325292031

[ferment everything]

I see your map and raise:

http://maps.google.c...&mid=1325292031

Did you mean to link to something else? I think that's my map you just linked to.

[Seanchai]

Did you mean to link to something else? I think that's my map you just linked to.

Whoops, thanks for the catch:

http://maps.google.c...UTF&msa=0&msid=
215708338021784773667.00047ab13215d859a1a3b

[darkstar965]

Trip to Portland booked for Feb 16-20 - meeting my sis and brother-in-law, who live in San Francisco. Yes, Portland in February, brrrrr, yadda yadda. Gotta plan around those Federal holidays. Beast, Le Pigeon, and Pok Pok have already been mentioned as possibilities. Hubs and I are beer geeks and hopheads - any recommendations in that arena? Also, any thoughts on where to stay?

Pigeon is the first of the must-dos. Also, while not beer, coffee's popularity there rivals it and Heart or Barista are the two coffee spots for that. Oh, and have to get sandwiches at Bunk. Probably best sandwich shop in the country.

[bettyjoan]

We have Friday night reservations at Le Pigeon and Saturday night reservations at Castagna. The rest of the eating will probably be more impromptu, depending on when/where we get hungry and what we're in the mood for. I think it's a given that we'll wind up at Pok Pok eventually. We are staying at the Benson Hotel, which looks like it's near the intersection of SW Broadway and SW Oak. If there's anything particularly notable within a short walk - coffee, beer, food, whatever - I'd love to know. Let's just say our sleeping habits don't exactly mesh with those of our travel companions, so we may find ourselves exploring very locally in the mid- to late-morning hours.

[DCDuck]

I'm a native Oregonian, and find myself in Portland for work several times per year. Le Pigeon and Pok Pok are both fantastic, and I strongly recommend them both. The Whiskeysoda Lounge, across the street from Pok Pok and owned by the same people works nicely as a waiting area during your inevitable wait for a table there.

I typically stay at one of the two Kimpton hotels, which are very near the Benson. Clyde Common is a very short walk from your hotel, on the corner of 10th and Stark, and they do phenomenal cocktails. Jeffrey Morganthaler, who runs the bar there, is justifiably well known across the country for his work, and they do a wonderful job both with classic cocktails, and with different and unique inventions. The food here, however, is a bit more hit or miss. I wouldn't tell you to definitely not eat here, but I think you can do better, and would recommend just drinking here.

I'm a huge fan of Park Kitchen, located on the park blocks about five blocks north of your hotel (and please note that Porland blocks are absurdly short, something I always forget when budgeting my travel time walking around downtown). I'll typically go there solo when I'm in town, sit at the bar and order several of their small plates. I've never been disappointed there.

Voodoo Donuts is about six blocks away, on the corner of 3rd and Ankeny. It is insanely popular, has been on a number of Food Network shows, and at times attracts big lines of people waiting to get in there. It isn't worth waiting in line for longer than five minutes, but they do have good and interesting donuts, and it is at least somewhat notable. For coffee near your hotel I'm very partial to Stumptown Coffee Roasters, which is on 3rd between Ash and Pine, and is just a couple of blocks from your hotel as well. I always buy some beans from there to take home with me. That said, you can find a ton of good coffee all over Portland, including Stumptown's beans at a number of spots throughout town.

For beer, you have a ridiculous number of good options very close to your hotel. The lists will skew very heavily towards Oregon and American beers, but they will be good lists, and the beer will be shockingly cheap coming from DC. On 12th and Burnside, just west of Powell's Books (which you should visit) is Henry's, which has something like 50 different beers on tap, and a pretty decent happy hour if I'm remembering correctly. Many of the Oregon microbreweries have their brewpubs in the Pearl District, which is just a couple of blocks north of there, and definitely walkable from your hotel. I've been to Deschutes, Rogue and Bridgeport, and have enjoyed drinking at all of them. Deschutes is probably my favorite, but they all have positive things about them. Also in the Pearl, I enjoy Andina, which is a Peruvian restaurant at the corner of 13th and Glisen. Small plates, good food, cocktails and wine.

And finally, in closing, there are approximately 18 million food trucks around Portland, most of them stationed permanently together in pods on parking lots. I'm not there often enough to know which ones are the best, but many of my friends and family love them. Might be worth a gamble.

Hope that's at all helpful.

[bettyjoan]

DCDuck, that is awesome - thank you so much for the feedback!

[bettyjoan]

Oof, what a (long) weekend! Here is, I think, a pretty comprehensive list of what we got into...

Clyde Common - We wanted a beer and a snack after we checked into our hotel. Bartender was attentive but not overly so, as there appeared to be some regulars he was chatting with. I love the happy hour menu - some great values for sure. We got two local beers (both tasty), the pickled vegetables (best thing we ate), the fries with harissa (not a fan), and the seasonal grilled cheese (very good). Nothing mindblowing, but I was glad they had some options for drinks and munchies in the middle of the day.

Tanuki - I can see how this would be a super fun place if you had more time on your hands (for omakase). The food we had was tasty - I remember a grilled eel (great flavor, but VERY chewy and hard to eat), some oysters with kimchee ice, some spicy tantan noodles, miso soup (too much seaweed), edamame (great flavor), and a couple of other dishes that are escaping me. I think the general consensus was that the Tanuki we experienced was good but not great. Gotta love the weirdo movies on the TV, though - and if you're a sake fan, I think you'd be pretty happy.

Voodoo Donuts - Totally worth the hype, in my opinion. I am a donut fanatic, and these were the best I've ever had. We got the best-seller dozen, which had yeast and cake, filled and unfilled, jelly and cream, and everything in between. All of the ones with maple icing were BOSS. I also really liked the cake donuts - they were the perfect texture, and the icings and crazy toppings were right on point for me. Should have brought some on the airplane...would have helped with the delayed flights and 7+ hour layover...

Pok Pok - Delicious food, and - gasp - no wait! I was all prepared to stand in the rain for Pok Pok, but we arrived for a later Friday lunch and there was plenty of room to go around. I loved the cocktail I ordered, the "Hunny" - grapefruit juice, lime, drinking vinegar, and tequila. So acidic and lovely. The wings were amazing, both regular and spicy. I think I am going to try to attempt the recipe at home, since it will probably be a long time till my next trip to PDX. I got the Phat Si Ew - LOVE the wide noodles. Hubby ordered the Sunny's Yam Wun Sen, and it was super flavorful. I wished we weren't staying in a hotel, because our leftovers went to waste.

Le Pigeon - For the most part, the place lived up to its reputation. Service was great to start, but then it seemed to taper off quite a bit when the place filled up. For a starter, I chose the cream of porcini and parsnip soup with BBQ eel toast - a strange combination, to be sure, but incredibly delicious (and the soup had perfect texture). The pigeon appetizer got good reviews as well. For my entree, I went with the butter-poached pork with spaetzle, brussel sprout kraut, and mustard - the latter ingredient was quite heavy, but I like mustard, so it was all good. The agnolotti was good, and the beef duo was a very satisfying take on "steak and potatoes," but my husband's venison meatballs were pretty bad - dry, dense, and just kind of "off" in flavor. The foie profiteroles were lovely, as everyone told me they would be. I think for the price, Le Pigeon is a good bet for a nice evening out.

Kenny & Zuke's Deli - That kitchen is one well-oiled machine - even as it got busier and busier, the cooks never got flustered and cranked out some seriously tasty food. I had a pastrami, egg, and cheese sandwich on rye with hash, and hubby had pastrami and scrambled eggs with latkes and a salt bagel. The eggs were cooked perfectly - sounds so simple, but SO important at breakfast. Service was good, coffee was okay, and prices were good considering how much food was on the plate.

Castagna - The only real dud of the trip. We chose Castagna for our "splurge" dinner in Portland because my brother-in-law (an excellent chef) really loved his previous visit - he said it was amazing and very inspiring. Unfortunately, the restaurant changed chefs AND formats - there was a lot less choice than before, apparently. We did the 5 course menu, and there were a lot of little "snacks," but pretty much everything left me cold. I mean that both literally (there were only two courses served warm, and one snack, I believe) and figuratively (there was nothing wrong execution-wise, but the food just didn't seem to have much soul or pizazz or interest). The best course was a Meyer lemon curd dessert, but I really feel like you shouldn't have to wait till the end of the meal to find something truly positive to day - especially at this price point. Very disappointing.

Bunk - Our last meal in Portland - delicious! We ordered a roasted chicken salad with bacon and avocado (on poppy roll) and a pork belly cubano. We ate them in record time, they were so good. Wish we could have taken a couple more sammies to go, since we ended up sitting at the airport for hours and hours and hours.

We popped into some other places just for drinks and minor munchies (Horse Brass, Metrovino, Saraveza, Brix, Rogue, and Belmont Station), but after that much food and booze, the memory fails. I can't say that Portland is my absolute favorite city, but there were some definite high points.

[darkstar965]

Oof, what a (long) weekend! Here is, I think, a pretty comprehensive list of what we got into...

<snip>

Love the PDX debrief! Bunk and Le Pigeon are among our favorites nationally. Love Pok Pok also. And, we had some friends actually hold their wedding reception at Voodoo several years ago--that was different but also fun. Can't recall if you're a coffee person but did you try either Heart or Barista on the coffee shop front? Those two are pretty grand if you're into great joe.

[bettyjoan]

We really didn't get into the coffee scene. We had Stumptown from Voodoo, but otherwise we pretty much skipped straight to the beer portion of the day.

[melogranato]

I feel guilty for not having been a more active member - I just moved here from PDX and would have recommended St Jack, the perfect PDX mix of well executed French bistro done seasonally with local ingredients, killer cocktails, and a laid back atmosphere. Also EAT for one of the best selection of West coast raw oysters, and Barista or the Red e for your best coffee fixes.

I have found no good bread in DC - but there's Ken's Artisan Bakery, The Pearl Bakery, & Nuvrei in PDX. Be still, my croissant-loving loins.

Little Bird over Le Pige, Laurelhurst Market & Pok Pok definitely, Grain & Gristle & Andina are totally worth skipping. Hopworks' Bike Bar & the Green Dragon for the best beer's in town, Podnah's for BBQ- I think they just got a nod from the NYT but don't hold it against them, they're insanely good.

Too little & too late, but hopefully someone else can benefit!

[melogranato]

Just back from a trip home and would like to recommend smallwares to anyone traveling to PDX in the near future. Went with a friend who, full disclosure, works with ChefStable, though I don't think that altered our service.

The scallop sashimi, den miso, shallot, puffed rice was perfect start to the evening: sweet, buttery, and tangy, and the crunch of puffed rice worked really well instead of distracting as feared. The squid salad was equally beautiful with excellent texture and just enough heat. I was skeptical of ordering the cured steelhead but it melted in the mouth in the best way possible. The kale salad was a touch boring, ultimately, though as satisfying as a big bowl of raw kale can be. I thought the quali missed the mark, pretty underwhelming. The rapini was nicely bitter, and the oxtail curry seemed heavy compared to everything else we had. The kitchen sent out an order of the mushrooms that are now on the menu but weren't at the time, and the poached-egg-as-sauce was one of the better examples I've experienced. The chicken lollipops were pure crack: crispy and fatty in everyway you'd desire, and who doesn't love siracha mayo? There was an additional dish involving heavy amounts of bean paste which is no longer on the menu; good for them as it was overly salty and one dimensional.

Dinner for 3 with, oh- say, 3 glasses of wine and 6-7 cocktails? I can't quite recall- was $175. I personally didn't think their cocktails particularly shined, and given the glass pour options I'd advise sticking with wine or beer.

[pancit]

Read the Post article on living the Portlandia lifestyle, so we went to brunch at "Tasty n Sons" on N. Williams Avenue. Short wait amongst the tatooed, then courteously seated. We split a chocolate potato doughnut with creme anglaise ($1.50), the vegetable frittata ($9) with peas, caramelized onions, mint and feta, and the Morrocan chicken hash with potato, harissa sauce, asparagus, broccolini, cauliflower, red pepper, olives, and over-easy egg ($12). Excellent.

[darkstar965]

WARNING! Bit of an opus to follow. Very Long Post but with lots of content on Portland's evolving food scene as of Summer 2012. Mile-markers and spacing to hopefully make it digestible in part or whole as preferred. I've organized 19 spots into two major categories of 'already-familiar-to-readers-of-this-topic' and, separately, 'newer-to-this-thread' spots. Also, across both categories, each place is tagged as follows to make skimming/reading a bit easier:

* Upscale Restaurants (UR): Le Pigeon, Simpatica, Wildwood, Andina
* Inexpensive (or at least less expensive) Restaurants (IR): Bunk, Laurelhurst, Kurata, Little Bird, Mirakutei
* Specialty Purveyors (SP): Olympic Provisions, St Honore Bakery, Zupans Grocers, Nong's Khao Man Gai, Salt & Straw
* Coffee Shops or Roasters ©: Barista, Peets, SEE SEE Motorcycles & Coffee, Coava, Spella

Of the 18 spots above and below, my smaller best, favorite and most interesting list would include: Le Pigeon, Simpatica, Little Bird, Salt & Straw (!), SEE SEE, Coava and Spella.

UPDATES ON SPOTS ALREADY FAMILIAR TO READERS OF THE THREAD

(UR/Modern French) Le Pigeon : first time dining here of 4 or 5 visits when Gabriel Rucker wasn't in the house. On one hand, it was a bit evident on the plates but, on the other, still excellent on balance. A special halibut cheek dish with english peas was overcooked. A coppa steak with corned pork cheek hash, poached egg and pickled cherry was the best of four dishes tried.* Chicken stuffed with lobster and a morel cream was very good but a bit of a mishmash on the plate. Thinly sliced geoduck, ceviche style with yuzu, shiso white soy and cilantro was excellent. Likewise a pulled and smoked rabbit baked into a wonderfully rich pastry shell and served with "hot mustard" ice cream which was exactly the kind of welcome innovation for which LP is known. Basic green salads (labeled on menu as "arugula and watercress" and served with green strawberries, weren't at all "basic" of course; prepared with multiple kinds of greens and an extreme level of detail in the chopping and assembly. Finally, a bacon waffle with maple ice cream, while nice, wasn't the equal of a similar maple bacon cornbread had a year or two ago but okay. And, a friend with us at LP for the first time raved about the foie gras profiteroles w/ caramel as one of the best desserts ever had in more than 40 countries of travel and dining.

* This dish is one that Rucker recently devised while working on his first book, due out shortly for those interested.

(UR/Farm-to-Table) Simpatica Catering : continue to be a very big fan of these guys and this visit with a couple of friends for Friday dinner makes me think they are still firing on all cylinders after several years. Clams cooked in pale ale were wonderful. A dish of roasted beets on endive with goat cheese and pistachio wasn't especially innovative but exceptionally well executed. 14-hour wagyu beef with mashed white sweet potatoes was outstanding. For dessert, three of us had the donut holes with stumptown coffee and chocolate ice cream; delicious. My +1 asked for something that'd be gluten and dairy free and received one of the best responses we've ever seen. Incredibly fresh, sweet and flavorful local strawberries paired with a very thick, housemade, balsamic type syrup made from grapes. This was ambrosial. At $45/person, this remains one of the best dinner values in the city IMHO.

© Barista Coffee : still a big fan and was a tad stunned to see they had Annapolis-based Ceremony on their shelves (since when do fashionable artisan foods travel from east to west? Answer: since Ceremony won the 2nd annual National Brewers Cup Championship :-)). Their small fleur de sel chocolate chip cookies are wonderful. Barista isn't a roaster but they have the highest of bars for the beans they serve and, despite their name, do excelellent pourovers in addition to the wonderful espresso drinks.

(UR/NW Local) Wildwood Restaurant, founded by a Beard Award winner, was one of the first nationally recognized NW, locally focused when it opened nearly 10 years ago. Six of us went recently. I won't write much about it here other than to say it's still reliably decent but has been passed by other newer spots which continue to flower. We had a perfectly pleasant dinner here but nothing that stood out enough to remember even a week later.

© Peets: There may already be a Peets thread elsewhere on dr.com and it's a bit of a cheat to put a Cali roaster into this post for Portland. But, inasmuch as a) we don't have them in DC, the closest and only location on the east coast is Boston and c) they thrive and survive here in PDX despite the ubiquity of amazingly good independents, I wanted to just make one observation since I visited twice while here.

Peets looks like a Starbucks. Peets is a publicly-traded company like Starbucks. Therein the similarities end. While I wouldn't seek out a Peets over places like Qualia, Chinatown or Dolcezza in DC or over Spella, Heart or Barista in Portland, Peets deserves credit for taking its business in a fundamentally different direction from SBUX. Lots of whole bean choices. Serious focus on quality roasting. French press for any coffee in the house. Pretty damn good. WiFi network but no outlets. Slow but still profitable growth. Some might say if you aspire to go national with coffee houses, you can still keep your soul. You could do it like Peets.

(IR/Sandwich Shop) Bunk Sandwiches . Didn't try the newer Bunk Bar but did make the annual pilgrimage to the sandwich shop on Morrison. Still excellent but not the same as the Bunk that always drove me to proclaim it my favorite in the country. The soft seeded bun on a roastbeef with horseradish, cheese and carmelized onion was fresh and nice but unexceptional. Likewise the beef itself. Fresh enough but too thinly carved and nothing unusual. A friend's pork belly cubano was excellent and most reminiscent of what I remembered from visits past. Another friend got chicken salad which, again though fresh, made from real chicken and tasty, wasn't anything better than what a good sandwich shop anywhere would offer. A newer sandwich spot in Portland, Meat, Cheese & Bread http://www.meatcheesebread.com/, is getting a lot of buzz and deserves investigation I couldn't do on this visit.

(IR/Meat & Charcuterie Focus) Laurelhurst Market and Cafe. I've always loved this place, owned by the Simpatica crew. It may be more accurate to label it "upscale" based only on pricing but since you can have a nice sitdown dinner here for $50-70 for 2, it is somewhat more affordable than the truly high end spots it doesn't so much resemble with venue or menu. A wild Columbia River salmon (either sockeye or king; our waitress wasn't sure) with clams was excellent at $26. My hangar steak on a creamed chard/spinach bed was just good at $24. Sides of mushrooms and sugar snap peas were both excellent, local and very fresh with minimal interference from the kitchen. Mussels just okay but it's a meat place. Oysters on the half shell a mixed bag with 3 from WA excellent and the 3 from OR a bit too briny to one who generally prefers oysters with more salinity.

NEWER SPOTS

(SP/Charcuterie) Olympic Provisions (OP). Locations in SE and NW, we went for Happy Hour at the SE location. OP is hugely hyped and mostly loved on those "other" review sites and that was validated somewhat by some local friends. My view: bigtime disappointing with the important caveat that this is based on just the one HH visit. Salt and seasoning levels, along with slicing thickness and sizing, were mostly off across the board. Venue is cool, clean, industrial and with nice clear sightlines into the prep areas. PIckled eggs, chorizo and sopressata were all underseasoned bordering on bland. Sweet coppa was too peppery, too thinly sliced and thus the inherent flavor of the meat mostly lost. An order of pickled vegetables was so over-salted as to be inedible. Olives good but ordinary relative to, say, Whole Foods. The sopressata was dry for my taste and, sliced on the bias but roughly kennedy half dollar sized, too small. Bread thoroughly ordinary in a spot where it should be unusually good given its importance relative to pickled, salted and seasoned savories. Way too high a hype-to-substance ratio on this place IMHO.

© SEE SEE Motorcycles and Coffee in Northeast. I'm usually near entirely and exclusively about The Coffee at a coffee shop. I tend to even scorn all the reviews on other sites that make a big deal about venue, music, muffins or whatever. SEE SEE had me re-evaluating that philosophy.

Very cool concept mixing excellent coffee and serious motorcycling. Especially so because the owner's interest in both couldn't be more genuine. A real motorcycle shop where can buy all manner of parts, oil, leather riding gear, helmets, etc coupled with a serious coffee bar serving Stumptown but with better-than-average (by PDX standards) pour-over and espresso drink technique. Lots of seating. Really enjoyed discovering this one thanks to a local friend. Lots of fun down to the full wall with cubby holes floor-to-ceiling displaying old 33 rpms with motorcycle themes like this one.

(UR/Peruvian) Andina Restaurant. Andina isn't that new but I'm not sure how much it has been mentioned upthread so including it here. We took a friend to lunch here and liked it. It's a large scale place right in the Pearl. Good Peruvian ceviche isn't that common in most American cities and this is a pretty good example of it. We had a very good platter of different fish in the restaurant's leche de tigre sauce. Also the ahumados del mar y rio (duet of smoked ocean and river fish) and a number of fresh vegetables were very good. A plate of chorizo, served cold, lacked any of the heat one would normally expect. But, on balance, this was a nice change/break from all the NW and meat focused places dominating the PDX scene.

(SP/French Bakery) St Honore Bakery. I think I've posted on this place upthread once before for the NW location. This time visited the newer Lake Oswego location a couple of times. An excellent french bakery from baguettes and the many breads to all the wonderful pastries and savory lunch items. Had a great eclair. Really enjoyed their version of a Salade Nicoise. And, the italian cafe umbria beans they roast locally are a nice change from all the other great coffee in the area. This location also has very nice indoor and outdoor seating. As with most everywhere in the Portland area, dogs welcomed outside.

(IR/Japanese) Kurata in Lake Oswego is pretty universally believed to be Lake O's best Japanese. Some put it top 5 for all Portland which is perhaps debateable but I haven't yet tried Bamboo so can't really say. Nevertheless, Kurata is an excellent if straightforward menu. Fish, whether sashimi, omakase or maki, is very generously sized and ultra fresh. On our omikase, the hamachi and sake were real standouts. LIkewise octopus and scallops were excellent. Nothing too adventurous on the dish for two but, at $48, a very good value given the quality and quantity served. Shumai were fine but nothing special. An eggplant with light sweet/sour/sesame sauce was really good. Decent selection of sakes, beers and wines. Were Kurata in DC, it'd be the best in our small lower-priced sushi segment currently dominated by Kotobuki or Sakana.

(SP/Grocer) Zupans , with four locations in the Portland area is best described as a more focused, more expensive and usually higher quality version of Whole Foods. A whole-paycheck-and-bonus if you will. Imported and unusual products whether jarred, tinned or fresh proteins, produce and prepared foods. As just one example, the stores very rarely will sell any fish other than wild and never frozen. Another example, prepared and ready-to-eat soups have fewer than 10 ingredients as one would use at home rather than the 15 or more ingredients including canola oil found in most of the Whole Foods versions.

(IR) Little Bird, downtown on the west side, is one of Portland's newer and more buzzed about restaurants since it's the sister restaurant to Le Pigeon with more value-priced options and, of course, since Rucker won the James Beard 'Best Rising Chef in America' award last year. It's been open about 18 months and given how much we've enjoyed Le Pigeon over the last five or six years, had to try out Little Bird. I'll post this report separately since it hasn't yet been covered here and I know people who haven't yet been may be interested. There's a fair amount to say and this post is way too long as it is.

(IR/Japanese) MIrakutei is a ramen and sushi outpost on the city's booming east side. We sought this out for a visit because Hiro Ikegaya, the sushi master formerly behind the upscale Hiroshi in the Pearl. The idea was to offer more affordable but excellent ramen and fish. We went with two local friends who'd been before but always for the ramen. Unfortunately, this spot fell way short of expectations on both fish and ramen. The tonkotsu ramen on special was surprisingly ordinary with virtually nothing included in the base price. Extra fatty pork and egg led to our being served a cold half hard boiled egg and one puny slice of cold pork. The fish was fresh but little more can be said about it. Really disappointing. We couldn't help but feel this the work of a chef who, for whatever reasons, was shooting way below both his capability and his previous levels.

(SP/Ice Cream) Salt & Straw. Wow. Wow. And Wow. Salt & Straw is new to Portand, having converted from a stand in the Alberta Arts district in NE to two stores on Alberta and, most recently, in NW. Outstanding ice cream for all the right reasons as the lines out the door every night can attest. The owners of this place put significant effort and time into sourcing the best possible and most interesting local ingredients for their innovative and positively delicious flavors. The ingredient sourcing isn't just local, fresh, farm-to-table or whatever. It is all of those things of course. But, the best part, it's very thoughtful with laser like focus on both quality and community. Ice cream is 17% butterfat with all dairy from Lochmead in Eugene. On our first visit, we tried generous scoops of Honey Balsamic Strawberry with Cracked Pepper (Oregon strawberries and jam, honey balsamic from a local source and Pohnpei black pepper to make the strawberries really pop) and a Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbon made with Mark Bittman's Fleur d Lys salt sold locally and burnt caramel. Wow. If you like ice cream and appreciate great ice cream, this is a must-visit when in Portland. Nothing like it in the greater DC area. Really amazing, memorably delicious and yet still modern. The website does a good job of conveying the experience virtually.

© Coava, one of Portland's newer entrants to the top tier coffee house scene, is impressive. In a city with arguably more emphasis on quality coffee than any other US city, Coava is one of just a few roasters at the top of the mountain. Impressive in how it emphasizes quality with only single origin beans (never blends), often exclusives from small farms whose entire crop they'll buy out and only two coffees available for pour overs each day. The space is very cool and different from most any other coffee shop I've visited. The share it with a high-end bamboo furniture manufacturer so the spartan, natural, and light seating area incorporates lathes, work benches and other wood-working equipment. The emphasis on technique for brewing and espresso drinks is as particular as any I've seen. Most of all, the coffees we tried, a Columbian and a Guatemalan, were delicious. This should be a stop for anyone who loves high quality coffee when in Portland.

(SP/SE Asian Food Cart) Nong's Khao Man Gai is probably Portland's most heralded food cart in a city that has so many they're organized into "pods". Very important, btw, in Portland, all the wheeled food dispensaries are "carts" and not "trucks" as we know here in DC. Now with 2 or 3 locations, Nong's originally did just one thing: chicken and rice. This seemingly simple dish from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia is of course far from simple. Nong's has the best version of it I've had in this country. Wonderfully tender and deeply flavored chicken breast meat with perfectly steamed fragrant rice is complemented by a vinegar dipping sauce and a savory pickled cabbage soup. Maybe $5 or $6 for a very satisfying, tasty and authentic lunch. If you try only one food cart in Portland, try this one. The original location is at the 10th and Alder pod. Mmmmm.

© Spella. If Joel (of Qualia Coffee on Georgia here in DC) were both older and Italian, he might be something like Spella. Spella is a shoebox of a coffee shop in dowtown, west-side Portland. There are no tables. Just a single short counter and even more narrow chest-high shelves along the wall by which customers can stand and rest their cups. The room is dominated by an unusual Italian Rancilio lever-pull espresso machine which needs calibration and adjustment after every pull. Small batch roasting. Much more below the radar than some of the other shops in town as they aren't active in social media or the competitions that other shops use for promotion. Excellent espresso and drip coffee. Other worldly. The only real drawback is parking. No parking on SW 5th where Spella is located. And, if you try to stop just for a minute with a car, there's a good chance a uniformed parking attendant will swoop in from the shadows and thrust an expensive, pre-filled ticket at you. Trust me on both the place and the parking warning, I know about both first hand .

[darkstar965]

Some additional reaction to Little Bird, referenced in the opus just above.

Little Bird (LB) is one of Portland's newer and more buzzed about restaurants since it's the sister restaurant to Le Pigeon with more value-priced options and, of course, since Rucker won the James Beard 'Best New Chef in America' award last year. It's been open about 18 months and it's a wonderful addition to what may well be the country's best city for food and restaurants depending on one's criteria.

VENUE

Very true to French bistro design with high ceilings, mirrored walls, high-backed upholstered bench seating along one wall on the lower and main levels. There's a smaller, more intimate space on the upper level where we sat. The kitchen, while not open, is fairly visible as you enter on the left. Overall, refined, nice, reasonable noise level and somewhat true to the bistro ethic. And, with the actual space, the similarities to Bistro du Coin or the "real thing" in France more or less end.

SERVICE

Traditional roles such as host/hostess, waiter/waitress and busperson all blur at LB in ways very appreciated if you're a customer. Ready to order quickly upon being seated? The one who led you to the table can do that on the fly if needed. Have a question about the provenance of the pork in some fabulous rillettes? The young man just refilling waters can answer fully and interestingly. Service at LB is friendly and casual but also very much anticipatory and professional. In a sense, even more impressive than at Le Pigeon since LB is larger and the seamless, behind-the-scenes collaboration all the more important. This type of service puts LIttle Bird in some kind of upper echelon for me since it goes well beyond the norm in a different-in-kind manner and not just more, better or different in degree.

FOOD

Clearly French inspired and elevated with more dish and sophistication variability across a larger menu than at LePigeon. We loved most everything we had including a wonderful starter of 6 local raw oysters (3 OR, 3 WA, both types with nice salinity and the "kushis" with a nice deep and slightly larger cup than kumamotos), an escolar that had been prepared sous vide before pan searing to order, a fabulous charcouterie plate with compressed apple, curried cauliflower, generously sized pork rillettes, a veal breast and the famed Le Pigeon burger. The escolar, which was very good, was probably the low point relative to the others to put into context.

VALUE/BOTTOM LINE

At just over $100 all in (no tax in OR) without any drinks, would have to call LB a very good value given the quality of food and service.

EXTRA

Gabriel Rucker's rise to preeminence is an interesting and atypical story. Certainly there are some who feel he has been overhyped or whatever but I'm an unqualified fan. This is a short but good video telling from The Oregonian that I found interesting for its authenticity and thoughtfulness from someone so young.

[Choirgirl21]

Just curious if any DR folks live in Portland? I'm ironing out a few more details, but think I will be traveling to the Porland area for as much as a week in mid to late September and wondered if anyone would be interested in a meet up for dinner somewhere.

[Choirgirl21]

Is there a separate thread on wine country that I am missing perchance? Or other areas of Oregon? My tenative plan for my upcoming week vacation is to spend 2 days in Portland (dinners at Pok Pok and Le Pigeon), drive through the Columbia River Gorge and spend a night in Hood River, then drive down through Bend to Crater Lake. Spend a morning exploring Crater Lake, then head to Roseburg to visit Wildlife Safari and crash in Eugene for the night. Finally before heading back to Portland a day of wine tasting in the Willamette Valley (with dinner at the Joel Palmer House), but I would love to find winery recs and suggestions for places to eat on the non-Portland/wine part of the trip.

[Seanchai]

It's a beer place, but I've found the casual pub food at Double Mountain Brewery in Hood River consistently delicious. And the beer fantastic, should you partake.

[Choirgirl21]

It's a beer place, but I've found the casual pub food at Double Mountain Brewery in Hood River consistently delicious. And the beer fantastic, should you partake.

Thanks, they and Full Sail are my 2 planned stops while in Hood River, but I wasn't sure at which place to eat - figured I would wing it depending on how hungry I am (planning to go to Full Sail first as Double Mtn seems to be more of a hangout for the locals and may stay open later).

[jiveturk21]

Is there a separate thread on wine country that I am missing perchance? Or other areas of Oregon? My tenative plan for my upcoming week vacation is to spend 2 days in Portland (dinners at Pok Pok and Le Pigeon), drive through the Columbia River Gorge and spend a night in Hood River, then drive down through Bend to Crater Lake. Spend a morning exploring Crater Lake, then head to Roseburg to visit Wildlife Safari and crash in Eugene for the night. Finally before heading back to Portland a day of wine tasting in the Willamette Valley (with dinner at the Joel Palmer House), but I would love to find winery recs and suggestions for places to eat on the non-Portland/wine part of the trip.

My winery recommendations for the Willamette Valley are Archery Summit, Four Graces, Penner Ash, Domaine Serene, Patricia Green, Sineann and Torii Mor.

[Choirgirl21]

Thanks. I've gone back and forth about Archery Summit and am thinking of nixing it because I have seen a lot of comments about it being very overpriced (and a friend of mine who is a chef in the area told me to skip it). Any thoughts on the cost to quality ratio?

Has anyone been to Soter? I came across it sort of randomly and it sounds like a bit of a hidden gem, but the way they do their tasting it will likely take up a significant amount of time and I only have one day to taste so I need to be choosy.

I am definitely planning to contact Patricia Green to see if she can do a tasting.

[jiveturk21]

Thanks. I've gone back and forth about Archery Summit and am thinking of nixing it because I have seen a lot of comments about it being very overpriced (and a friend of mine who is a chef in the area told me to skip it). Any thoughts on the cost to quality ratio?

When I went (maybe about four years ago), the tasting at Archery Summit was $15 per person (it was waived when we bought some wine from them). I remember the tasting being three wines, so I would agree that $15 is a bit steep for three wines, but each wine that we tasted was being sold for more than $60. At the same time, we were there at 10:15 AM on a Tuesday, so it was just us and the pourer, and he kept filling up our glasses with a wide variety of other wines not on the tasting list.

So, for us, it was a great deal. But, if they truly only pour you three wines for $15 and don't waive the fee and don't pour you extra and don't talk to you for an hour because they are jammed, then it could be considered a bad value.

[jiveturk21]

When I went (maybe about four years ago), the tasting at Archery Summit was $15 per person (it was waived when we bought some wine from them). I remember the tasting being three wines, so I would agree that $15 is a bit steep for three wines, but each wine that we tasted was being sold for more than $60. At the same time, we were there at 10:15 AM on a Tuesday, so it was just us and the pourer, and he kept filling up our glasses with a wide variety of other wines not on the tasting list.

So, for us, it was a great deal. But, if they truly only pour you three wines for $15 and don't waive the fee and don't pour you extra and don't talk to you for an hour because they are jammed, then it could be considered a bad value.

One more thing, I really like the wine from there (quality). So, even if it was only three pours for $15, I would still recommend it, but I don't know what type of budget you are trying to stick to.

[Choirgirl21]

I meant more quality to price ratio for the wines themselves. It seems that it's fairly common to charge tasting fees of as much as $20 for a few pours of wines in that region. I've heard that Archery Summit is $15 for 4 pours, one "lower priced" wine and several of the higher priced. But if I'm not going to be able to afford to buy any of the wines, or feel that they're worth the price I'm not sure I want to prioritize them. The exception would be if it were a chance to taste what are truly some of the best wines in the region, wines I might not otherwise have the opportunity to try simply because of their price. But I get the impression from comments that they aren't truly exceptional wines, or at least aren't priced according to their quality. Not sure if that makes sense?

And then of course with the high price tag often come the comments of snooty service, which is a concern as well, although a lesser one.

ETA: And now I am reading your second comment, which seems to address the quality issue. Sorry.