Visiting Portland

[dfecteau]

I'll be flying to Portland in a couple of weeks for business. I'll be staying in Hillsboro and most days will be too busy to get into downtown Portland. However I will go in for dinner a couple of evenings. I've read about restaurants on the board and definitely want to eat at Toro Bravo and Pok Pok. I also want to get to Sahagun. But does anyone have any suggestions for Hillsboro, Beaverton, etc? Also, I'm going to take the Friday off that week and was thinking about going to the Willamette Valley for the day since the last time I was in Oregon I went to the coast for a day. But I may just capitulate and spend the day in Portland at the Japanese or Chinese Garden and Powells since they're all favorites of mine. Any thoughts for lunch in either case? Finally, I've gotten interested in raw food. Are there any raw food or vegan restaurants you'd recommend in the area for days when I'm not going to indulge? Thanks in advance.

[Leonardo]

In central Beaverton (if there is such a thing, being suburbia) I'd suggest Yuzu & Hakatamon in the outskirts. Both are Japanese places.
Also there's a Korean that escapes my memory. Really good.

Very near the Chinese Garden is Ping. One of the owners is the chef/owner of Pok Pok. They serve lunch.

Downtown Hillsboro has Syun Izakaya, a wonderful Japanese place.

Pok Pok and many others have vegan options or you can request some dishes be vegan. Even Sahagun has an iced chocolate that can be vegan. We have nearly no strictly vegan places.

What do you mean by Willamette Valley? It is a vast place. Do you mean wine country? If so, for lunch I'd suggest Horseradish in Carlton or Dundee Bistro in Dundee. There are many threads both here and under Wine regarding that area, both for wineries and dining.

Have fun and don't work too hard. Please report back!

[dfecteau]

Thank you for your suggestions, Leonardo. I'm not a vegetarian but I do try to go veggie at least two or three days a week. I was in Key West last week and found a raw food restaurant and I'm just intrigued by the concept so I was hoping to find one out there since my husband is less than enthused by it and he won't be around. Yes, I meant wine country. Silly me for not looking at a map before posting that question. I will report back.

[porky pine]

Chennai Masala has really good south Indian food in Hillsboro.

[JillO]

Davis Street Tavern is really close to the Chinese Garden and does great lunch, dinner, and happy hour.