4 days in Portland = 20 dining options?

[mrschef1]

Portland has so many good choices that I'm a tad overwhelmed. We are foodies with Sunday - Wednesday in Portland, then Thursday - Sunday in the Willamette Valley. In trying to narrow it down, I figure we can try the most places if we have bkfst, lunch, happy hour, dinner and late night happy hour. (sounds like a cruise!). Following is the "narrowed down" list. Are there any places that should be 86'd? Any that you'd recommend specifically for one of the meal options listed above?

H5O bistro and bar
Tasty & Sons
Laurelhurst Market
Heathman (High Tea?)
Departure @ The Nines (Happy hour?)
Food Cart - Nong's Khao Man Gai (lunch)
Wilfs Restaurant (Late night happy hour for Jazz)
Beaker & Flask
Aviary
Metrovino
Ping
Catangna
Nostrana
Aquariva
Bluehour
Cafe Nell
Clarklewis
Yakuza Lounge
Meriwether's Restaurant & Skyline Farm
Saucebox
The Daily Cafe in the Pearl
Toast
Wildwood
Ned Ludd

-----
Nostrana
1401 SE Morrison St, Portland, OR 97214

Bluehour
250 NW 13th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209

Clarklewis
1001 SE Water Avenue, Portland, OR 97214

Nong's Khao Man Gai
SW 10th and Alder, Portland, OR

Laurelhurst Market
3155 East Burnside Street, Portland, OR 97232

Aquariva
0470 SW Hamilton Ct, Portland, OR 97239

Meriwether's
2601 NW Vaughn Street, Portland, OR 97210

Saucebox
214 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205

The Heathman Restaurant
1001 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205

Cafe Nell
1987 NW Kearney St, Portland, OR 97209

Ned Ludd
3925 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97212

[brassica2012]

I'd pass on Wildwood, Blue Hour, H50 & Saucebox. The food is good at these places but they have lost their steam....

I would recommend trying Pok Pok as they focus on SE Asian street food & have great cocktails. I also really like Cafe Nell (breakfast), Higgins (dinner) & Paley's Place (dinner). For a place slightly off the beaten path, you might also try Chez Joly (lunch or dinner), the service can be slow if they are busy but the food & price points are great!

-----
Pok Pok
3226 SE Division St, Portland, OR

Saucebox
214 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205

Paley's Place
1204 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209

Cafe Nell
1987 NW Kearney St, Portland, OR 97209

Chez Joly
135 NW Broadway, Portland, OR 97209

[pleen]

If you are planning on going to the food carts on Alder to try Nong's, I suggest sampling a few things from different carts. Nong's is great first choice...also try Ziba's Pitas...their spinach pies rock.

If you haven't been to any of Andy Ricker's restaurants, I suggest Pok Pok over Ping. I love them both, but Pok Pok is his signature restaurant.

Also, Beast is a fantastic experience, if you are willing to leave the city center.

If you are staying on the West side (downtown), there are some great bakeries for breakfast, such as:

- Lovejoy Bakers (try the Lovejoy Deluxe)
- Nuvrei (take out only, not a sit down restaurant)
- Pearl Bakery

Enjoy!

-----
Pok Pok
3226 SE Division St, Portland, OR

[mrschef1]

Thanks for all the great advice. We were lucky enough to get tickets to the special foraging dinner at Castagna Sunday night, so we'll begin with a bang!

Following is the culled list. I'm open to any last minute suggestions. We have one lunch with two iffy choices Wildwood vs. H5O (we're staying at Hotel Fifty so it seemed logical).

We're also hoping for a rec for one food cart breakfast.

Wildwood? / H5O? / ? Lunch
Beaker & Flask Happy Hour
Castangna Dinner
Tasty & Sons Breakfast
Laurelhurst Market Lunch
Heathman High Tea Happy Hour
Metrovino Dinner
Food Cart? Breakfast
Nong's Khao Man Gai Lunch
Departure Happy Hour
Aviary Dinner
Toast Breakfast
Ping Lunch
Yakuza Lounge Happy Hour
Aquariva Dinner
Wilfs Restaurant Entertainment/Music
Lovejoy Bakers Breakfast

-----
Nong's Khao Man Gai
SW 10th and Alder, Portland, OR

Laurelhurst Market
3155 East Burnside Street, Portland, OR 97232

Aquariva
0470 SW Hamilton Ct, Portland, OR 97239

The Heathman Restaurant
1001 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205

Castagna
1752 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214

[jpc8015]

Lunch at Laurelhurst Market is just a sandwhich counter. The sandwiches are very good but don't expect a burger or steak with table service.

That being said, the sandwiches really are fantastic.

-----
Laurelhurst Market
3155 East Burnside Street, Portland, OR 97232

[JillO]

Wildwood, definitely, over H5O. If you are staying in the hotel, have a drink at the bar (which is a lovely space), maybe do happy hour if you are feeling peckish.

Toast is pretty outside of downtown for breakfast, that said, their pork belly slab is great. I like, don't love it, overall, but midweek, it is probably a decent choice. Just know that it is a good 15-20 minutes from downtown without traffic by car. I go because it is near my GF's house and there aren't that many great choices on that side of town.

Another place that does breakfast/brunch (and is also way the heck out of downtown) all week is The Country Cat: http://www.thecountrycat.net/menus/brunch

I had an unexpectedly good breakfast recently at Isabel in the Pearl: http://www.isabelscantina.com/menu/isabel-pearl-lunch-menu.pdf

Best cart breakfast I have ever had is the bacon waffle with a side of foie gras at Eurotrash at the Good Food Here pod on SE Belmont (and their fishy chips, fried anchovies, rock!!), here's a pic: http://portlandfood.org/topic/11596-e...

Or, you could use breakfast at H5O to have a mellow start to your day without leaving your hotel...sometimes a good choice after a day/night of overindulging in Portland's awesomeness. ;o)

[mrschef1]

Any foie is good foie! But the Gaufre Gourmet looks pretty special too...

[mrschef1]

Read your blog. How do we make Charles recreate the foie-bacon waffle thingie?

[JillO]

Ask for the Trashy Breakfast with a side of foie! ;o)

Good Food Here is a great pod. Also worth trying there:

-Fifty Licks Ice cream
-Lardo sandwiches
-chili fries at Violetta
-sweets at Sugar Cube
-vegan stuff at Kitchen Dances
-salad (Greek-style) with either grilled chicken or lamb at Aybla's

enjoy!

[mrschef1]

We do know that about Laurelhurst. If it were a choice between Laurelhurst and Olympic Provisions....?

-----
Olympic Provisions
107 SE Washington St, Portland, OR 97214

[JillO]

Both are great, but I'd opt for Laurelhurst Market...

-----
Laurelhurst Market
3155 East Burnside Street, Portland, OR 97232

[chalmers]

Everyone is going to give you different opinions, I'm afraid.

Personally, I woud nix:

H50
Heathman (unless you just really want to try High Tea and don't live in a place where it exists)
Wilfs (or at least I wouldn't go for the food specifically; I understand going for the jazz)
Aquariva
Bluehour
Cafe Nell
Saucebox
Daily Cafe (unless you just want somewhere for breakfast, but its definitely no 'must do')

But that's just me.

-----
Bluehour
250 NW 13th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209

Aquariva
0470 SW Hamilton Ct, Portland, OR 97239

Saucebox
214 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205

The Heathman Restaurant
1001 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205

Cafe Nell
1987 NW Kearney St, Portland, OR 97209

[JillO]

Agreed, those are easy cuts...

[mrschef1]

Thanks for the helpful advise. Though I have to admit that I'm a little surprised. Many posts here sing the praises of most of those places.

[chalmers]

None of them are bad, they're just unlikely to blow you away and/or are not as memorable as others on the list. Saucebox and Bluehour did used to be worth the effort, but aren't so good now.

-----
Bluehour
250 NW 13th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209

Saucebox
214 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205

[Leonardo]

Totally agree with the rule-outs...