13842 Tue Feb 22 13:56:02 -0800 2005 19 4 Pacific Northwest 0 30397 So I had a 3 day weekend this past weekend but stayed in town. Did some eating around town and thought I'd post on it. Friday night started with a trip to Hot Pot City (SW 1st and Harrison) with my vegetarian friend. I was feeling cold and tired and hungry and went to pick up my friend downtown so since I was near there, I suggested HPC. I go there for lunch regularly, but had never been there for dinner before. It is about twice the price for dinner ($7.50 @ lunch, $13 for dinner) but there is a huge amount of seafood that is available to put in your hot pot. Large frozen head-on shrimp (delish), small clams (tender and yummy), huge oysters, sea snails, cleaned and cut up squid (yum!), surimi, fish balls, fish cakes, and other things were available in addition to seveal kinds of chicken, pork, beef, meat balls, 3 kinds of tofu (soft cubes, frozen cubes, fried cubes), two kinds of noodles, 4 kinds of greens (including pea shoots!), 2 kinds of mushrooms, lots of veggies (including taro). It's a great deal lunch or dinner and the food is really healthy and the place is spotless clean. Saturday night was Ken's Place on Hawthorne (around SE 18th or so). I keep meaning to get back to Ken's. It's such solidly good food and it is fairly close to where I live. Shared a huge and absolutely delicious caesar salad (really, it's enormous...don't even think of going it alone, about $7-8). Gorgeous romaine, perfectly balanced dressing with anchovies in it, enough but not too much cheese and yummy homemade croutons. We both had the pork chop (about $17) which was thick and juicy and perfectly cooked and came with a great homemade apple sauce (I make my own when I want applesauce so I really appreciate it when restaurants make their own) and a square of a scallopped potato casserole. I wasn't thrilled with the potatoes, I'd sub the garlic mashed if I got this again. Had a couple of nice glasses of red wine with the meal a zinfandel and something else (sorry) and passed on dessert (Verdun chocolates awaited us at home!). Early Sunday morning found us in SW and we decided to go to the Capitol Coffeehouse and Bistro (SW Capitol Hwy, a couple of doors down from Alba Osteria). We had a nice lunch there once so we thought we would try brunch. We both ended up having the house-cured gravlox plate (w/cream cheese, capers, choice of toasted bagel, potatoes - I subbed fruit for the spuds, about $8). The lox was good, but there really should have been more of it. It kind of dotted the top of the cream cheese-laden bagel, exposing more cream cheese than an $8 order of gravlox should, ya know? My dining partners' potatoes were cold, which didn't thrill her too much. Good coffee and lots of it, really nice setting in the room upstairs, but just OK for our breakfast food. Not so bad that we wouldn't come back and try an egg breakfast there (or do lunch again), but we probably won't order the gravlox again. We are still searching for a good breakfast place in SW (we hate the Three Square Grill and won't be back there, and can't justify the Original Pancake House more than about 2-3 times a year)...please help. Since breakfast was so early and we had plans for the day, and we were nearby, we decided to check out Dessert Noir (Cedar Hills Crossing, near the movie theaters - ya know, in Mallburbia ;o) for a late lunch. I had a green salad with pears and chicken with a lemon vinaigrette that was good (would have been better with almonds, pecans, pine nuts, or the ever-popular hazelnuts), but small for the price (about $7). Dining partner had a chicken salad sandwich that was deemed OK (about $6-7). Then we decided, since it was billed as a dessert place, we should try dessert. We decided on a frozen citrus concoction (similar to semifreddo) on a ginger crust with a citrus vinaigrette. Tasteless frozen stuff that was like an undefrosted frozen key lime pie from a box with a graham cracker crust that had so much ground ginger in it that our mouths were tingling and on fire from it. Lousy...and over $6 a slice! Some of the desserts were $9!!! (oops, excuse me, $8.95 ;o) Looked at the dinner menu on the way out - same as the lunch menu but with EVEN HIGHER ($2-3 more!) prices. I won't be back. Had a huge day of chores to get through on Monday and so my friend and I decided to give Genie's (corner of SE Division and 11th) a try for breakfast. It's always really crowded, but we were early (get most places before 9:30am, just like before 6pm for dinner, and you will rarely have to wait in this town) and so were seated and served right away. I had a black forest ham, broccoli, mushrooms, cheddar cheese scramble (about $7, not cheap, but the veggies are organic and so is the meat) which came with potatoes and toast. Great scramble, everything cooked right, plenty of veggies and ham. THE BEST BREAKFAST POTATOES I HAVE EVER HAD. Quartered new potatoes cooked well to crispy and tossed with herbs - not greasy, not mushy, not cold, very generous helping - FABULOUS. I think that their marmalade and black raspberry preserves are homemade, but I am not certain - they are very good, though. They pour some tasty Stumptown coffee too. My friend the veg had a side of scrambled tofu ($1) and a side of potatoes ($2.50) for an absurd deal of a breakfast. They are open until 4pm and the lunch specials looked great, and they have a full bar too. Highly recommended, I'll be back. Last night was about introducing my Sweetie to LOW BBQ (SE Hawthorne near 48th) and then we had tickets to the 6pm Dessert Dim Sum Yum Yum at Pix Patisserie (SE Division near 33rd/34th). For a $15 ticket (purchased in advance) you get to choose 6 desserts. You can add on and taste more desserts, and there are dessert wine and beer taste pours for $2 (1 oz. wine, 2 oz. beer). They bring a cart out with 3-4 things on it and do about 4 rounds of that, so that there are about 12 desserts overall to try. They announce and describe each dessert each round and let you know about any drink pairings available that round. At the end, they bring out a selection of everything offered that evening so you can try anything you missed (or go for seconds, I suppose!). Most of the desserts are miniatures of their regular offerings - one or two bites each at the most. There was also tastes of things like a truffle paired with a piece of blue cheese; mango sorbet (great, and I am not especially fond of mangoes); and a mini chocolate stout and mocha ice cream float. The mango sorbet, the amelie, the aphrodite, the Grand Marnier cream puff, and the taste of the Moscato di Asti (La Serra?) and the Calvados/apple cider wine were highlights for me. It's a great way to get acquainted with their offerings if you don't know them, and it's a great way to try things you never get to try if you go there regularly. I highly recommend doing the dim sum yum yum, it was seriously decadent fun!! Now it's back to Pilates twice a week and walking over 20 miles a week (I found I can walk all the way up SW Salmon from 1st to Washington Park! Great walk uphill - the block of the MAC is a killer!)... ;o) Hope y'all had a good weekend! Where'd you eat? Tue Feb 22 13:56:02 -0800 2005 0 Jill-O 1 30401 Thanks for the big report, Jill. You two need to institute a no double-ordering policy, however. Either that, or if you feel like dieting, one person could just order and you could share. ;-) Link: http://www.extramsg.com Tue Feb 22 14:40:49 -0800 2005 30397 0 extramsg 2 30409 Dude, don't I know it... .but as it often happens, both of us really wanted the pork chops - nothing else appealed to either of us quite so strongly... Thank goodness she shared that caesar with me, though...geez it was huge. Tue Feb 22 16:27:30 -0800 2005 30401 0 Jill-O 1 30403 Jill, a few places in SW that you might like for breakfast/brunch: Marco's Cafe O'Conner's Seasons & Regions We don't go out for breakfast very often, but these places have been pretty good in the past, but it's been a while, so things might have changed. There's also a little place called Webber's at the corner of Beaverton-Hillsdale and Scholls Ferry that made really good waffles 5 years ago or so, but we haven't been recently. I hear good things about the dinners at Capitol Coffeehouse, but we've never been, since whenever we eat out in our own neighborhood it's almost always at Alba. The coffee is excellent, though, and is from Caffe Umbria, a roaster in Seattle, owned by the son of Umberto Bizarri, the founder of Torrefazione. Caffe Umbria is also available at Market of Choice on SW Terwilliger. Marshall Tue Feb 22 14:52:43 -0800 2005 30397 0 Marshall Manning 2 30426 Marco's has really gone downhill over time. Zell's just kills that place. I've had hit and miss lunches at Seasons and Regions. Some have been really good and others not at all. Tue Feb 22 21:51:31 -0800 2005 30403 0 Calabrese 2 30453 Marshall, where is O'Conner's? I don't think I've heard of it. The crazy Calabrese and I tried Season's and Regions and were underwhelmed (and she was a bit queasy afterward as well, if I remember correctly). We didn't have breakfast food, though...it was lunch. I've heard negative things about Marco's from others. It has kept me from pushing to try it (the CC, as you can see, is not big on it ;o). We tend to make gastroenterological jokes when we pass by Webber's...is it really safe to try? ;o) Wed Feb 23 13:24:36 -0800 2005 30403 0 Jill-O 3 30456 O'Conner's is also in Multnomah Village, their back deck overlooks Multnomah Blvd., and while not the most picturesque sight, it makes a good breakfast spot on a warm weekend morning. We've only been to Seasons & Regions a few times, and some of the dishes have just been okay, but the best meal was a breakfast with their eggs benedict. Last time we went to Marco's was probably 2 years ago, and it was very good, not great, but it may have slipped since then. When we go out to breakfast, it's generally on our way to something else, so we head to SE (J & M Cafe does a nice, reasonably priced breakfast), the Pearl, or NE. It's been years since I've been to Webber's, so I can't vouch for anything now. They may have even had an ownership change since then? But 5-6 years ago they made a nice, crisp waffle (one of my complaints with waffles at most places is that they aren't done enough, so they get mushy when you put syrup on them), and it might be worth trying to see if it's still good? Marshall Wed Feb 23 14:10:56 -0800 2005 30453 0 Marshall Manning 4 30470 Speaking of waffles, does anybody know where I can find good old-fashioned waffles? I'm looking for the kind with lots of little holes, not the chunky belgian-style kind. The waffle itself can be square or round, but very crispy and golden-brown... A place that serves REAL maple syrup (from trees, not corn!) without charging $$ extra would be ideal. Wed Feb 23 16:50:47 -0800 2005 30456 0 Kate 5 30476 Kate, that's exactly the kind of waffles that Webber's used to serve. I have no idea if they're still any good, but they were. I doubt it was real syrup, though. Marshall Wed Feb 23 17:17:44 -0800 2005 30470 0 Marshall Manning 6 30480 Yeah, from my experience working in restaurants unless they charge more for waffles they have to charge extra for the real syrup (it is expensive after all) Wed Feb 23 18:25:49 -0800 2005 30476 0 LizK 3 30542 The interesting (to me, anyway) thing about O'Connor's is that, for decades, it was a somewhat down-at-the-heels watering hole in downtown Portland (think: Kelly's Olympian). Had great burgers, but otherwise one went there for beverages and lots of 'em. Sometime during my long extra-Portland disaspora it closed and -- unless I am mistaken, which is entirely possible -- was later re-incarnated in its present unlikely MV location. Its cuisine is just the sort that would, I think, lend itself to a decent hearty no-frills breakfast, but I haven't frequented it enough to say. Fri Feb 25 16:16:14 -0800 2005 30453 0 Robert 1 30404 Great report- makes me hungry! As for Breakfast in SW- (and since I know where you live!! I'm thinking places somewhat near you...) Wild Abandon (know you were happily suprised/impressed by your dinner there.) I went there the other weekend for breakfast the first time. The choices seemed good but the food took a long time to get there and was only luke warm when it arrived. I will give it a second shot for breakfast as their dinners & Happy Hours have always been outstanding. (I am hoping my breakfast experience was a fluke.) Utopia! Utopia! Utopia! Go! I've said it before and I will say it again- best pork chop (alright a loin) for breakfast!!! And a very yummy 'Bacavo' scramble. Great mix of bacon, blue cheese and avacado. Lots of great flavors jumpin out. Back ups: Cricket Cafe. Lots of vegetarian options. Wouldn't say the food was mind blowing but it is good and consistant. I tend to go here if is sunny out (some outdoor seating) or if Utopia is to packed. Also, Jam on Hawthorne. Lots of scrambles but nothing to interesting. A 'back-up' to my usual 'back-up' (Cricket). Also, went to Cup and Saucer on Hawthorne the other weekend. Disapointment. Food was luke warm and not very interesting. Although I got some potato scramble thing with sour cream, olives etc... it wasn't very flavorful or memorable. Wouldn't bother going back. All this makes me hungry for breakfast..... Tue Feb 22 14:55:20 -0800 2005 30397 0 Jamesongrrl 2 30408 Dear...um...SW NOT SE... ;o) Tue Feb 22 16:24:10 -0800 2005 30404 0 Jill-O 3 30418 Mother's and Bijou? Tue Feb 22 19:58:12 -0800 2005 30408 0 Hunter 4 30425 SW Portland as in the cusp of Portland near Multnomah Village and Tigard and Beaverton. And this really does seem to be a breakfast wasteland. Tue Feb 22 21:48:37 -0800 2005 30418 0 Calabrese 5 30428 Have you tried Biscuits down Beaverton-Hillsdale towards Beaverton? I haven't, but I've heard some good things. But people are usually wrong. Tue Feb 22 22:03:59 -0800 2005 30425 0 extramsg 6 30472 If you like large portions of mediocre food, then Biscuits is your place. Wed Feb 23 17:00:24 -0800 2005 30428 0 Brian Spangler 7 30474 I thought that was the definition of breakfast. Wed Feb 23 17:12:37 -0800 2005 30472 0 extramsg 1 30424 The second glass of wine at Ken's was a Shiraz. And it was quite tasty. As for Desert Noir.... just don't do it. The filling of my sandwich was good but the bread was too hard and too full of holes (how did they do that). I really did enjoy Low BBQ and high desert (Pix dim sum) on Monday. And the full scoop on the moscato is Marchesi di Gresy 2003 Moscato d'Asti La Serra. It's a lot less sicky sweet than your normal Italian Asti. Tue Feb 22 21:46:18 -0800 2005 30397 0 Calabrese 2 30443 The di Gresy style, even in a ripe, sweet vintage like '03, is generally a little drier than producers like Perrone. Marshall Wed Feb 23 11:11:16 -0800 2005 30424 0 Marshall Manning