PacNW Tour - Part 2 - PDX/Newport help

[ybnormal]

It was two years ago that my family and I made our way through the fantastic foodie city of Portland (documented here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/625251). We had some great Chowhound advice, especially from Leonardo

Well, we enjoyed it so much, we are heading back to Portland and the Central coast of Oregon. We will be in Newport over the weekend of July 30th, and Portland from Monday Aug. 1 to Wednesday Aug. 3.

I'll post a separate thread for Newport and area, but I was just wanting some opinions for any new places since 2009 that I should try.

Unlike last time, I haven't really laid out what we are going to do, except for one night - I managed to snag some tickets for the family to go to Les Mis on Wednesday Aug. 3rd. We are staying at the Heathman that particular night.

My kids (now 12 and 10) are going as well, so I still can't go to Tanuki :-

)

Would love a place to go nearby the Heathman before Les Mis (playing at the Keller Auditorium just by the Heathman). I wasn't particularly enamored with eating at the Heathman.

So - anything chow-worthy by the Heathman?

My kids still rave about the brunch at Screen Door! Well, we won't be in the weekend so we are going to miss brunch, but another good breakfast place would be appreciated.

I'm not really looking for fine dining this time around, although I have to admit I am more then intrigued by the Foie Gras Profiteroles at Le Pigeon.

Some of the possibilities include:

Eat Oyster bar - for the oysters
Pine State Biscuits for breakfast
Tasty n Sons for lunch/breakfast
Little Bird for lunch
Laurelhurst Market for dinner
Ping or Pok Pok for dinner
Kenny & Zuke's for lunch
Ken's Artisan Pizza

Opinions? Although I prefer trying new places, Toro Bravo is still a possibility as well.

I am also monitoring the other Bakery/Dessert thread as well.

This time we will try some of the food carts - Sugar Cube, Ziba's, Nong's Khao Man Gai? Which is the best location to scout out? Ethnic is always good for us.

Anything else new I shouldn't miss? For instance - this drinking vinegar craze is new to me!

Appreciate it!

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Pok Pok
3226 SE Division St, Portland, OR

Le Pigeon
738 E Burnside St, Portland, OR 97214

Tanuki
413 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209

Pine State Biscuits
3640 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97214

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

Laurelhurst Market
3155 East Burnside Street, Portland, OR 97232

The Heathman Restaurant
1001 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205

Ken's Artisan Pizza
304 SE 28th Ave, Portland, OR 97214

Toro Bravo
120 NE Russell St Ste A, Portland, OR 97212

Eat Oyster Bar
3808 N Williams Ave, Portland, OR 97227

Tasty n Sons
3808 N Williams Ave, Portland, OR 97227

[syrahgirl]

The Foie Gras Profiteroles @ Le Pigeon are awesome! I love the Beef Bourginon there, also. Little Bird is really great, also. We recently dined at Pazzo (second time) and Saucebox in downtown Portland and had very enjoyable meals there. Gruner is another one of our favorites in Portland. :)

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Le Pigeon
738 E Burnside St, Portland, OR 97214

Saucebox
214 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205

[Leonardo]

As far as cart pods go my current fave would be the one at 42nd & SE Belmont for both ambiance (really!) and quality (Sugar Cube etc.)

What does "ethnic" mean?

Another vote for Alder for bakery/dessert.

Can't go to Tanuki? Try Biwa.

Pine State now has two locations. Get the mushroom gravy or marionberry jam.

Check out the Portland Farmers Mkt Wed 10am-2pm downtown. Small but high quality, great for gifts, lunch. cookies, and berries.

Great downtown cart with pizza by the slice is Give Pizza a Chance. Handmade sodas too!

Keller Aud. is nearly 1/2 mile from Heathman. To which do you wish to eat closer? Top options would be Veritable Quandary and Higgins.

If lunching at Kenny & Zuke's during peak time, get there early. The line can be daunting (but worth it!).

Welcome back! Have a good time.

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Biwa
215 SE 9th Ave Ste 102, Portland, OR 97214

Tanuki
413 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209

The Heathman Restaurant
1001 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205

Veritable Quandary
1220 SW 1st Ave, Portland, OR 97204

[ybnormal]

Thanks Leonardo!

Ethnic is like Japanese, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Spanish, Mexican, etc... Not that sandwiches or fish & chips aren't good, just that we'll have had our fill of it prior to Portland.

Always looking for good doughnuts though if a cart has some of those - had some spectacular ones at Dahlia Lounge in Seattle. Although I still haven't tried Voodoo...

Thanks for the tip about the Farmer's Mkt - will definitely try to get to that.

Would prefer closer to Heathman than Keller, just to have the option to go back to the hotel for the kids if they need to, but we're game for anything...

Looking forward to it!

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The Heathman Restaurant
1001 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205

[Leonardo]

Go to Higgins before the show. Chef Higgins was the modern pioneer of PacNW cuisine. If you want even closer to the hotel, consider Shigezo.

Don't be such a tourist! Go to Coco Donuts. Get the "Coco". Unlike Voodoo in that they make actually great donuts, not "interesting" ones.

I think Ziba's Pitas are greasy, but many like them...

Pok Pok over Ping.

http://www.portlandfoodanddrink.com/2010/07/chefs-kim-and-thomas-boyce-arrive-on-portlands-baking-scene/

http://www.portlandfoodanddrink.com/2...

For bakery, seek out newcomer from LA Kim Boyce's creations at Ristretto Roasters. She's the winner of a James Beard book award. Check out the above link to see if her own shop has opened yet.

(In my view, all food is "ethnic" including fish & chips, burgers, and pizza.

)

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Pok Pok
3226 SE Division St, Portland, OR

Ristretto Roasters
3520 NE 42nd Ave, Portland, OR 97213

[ybnormal]

Cool - I'll try to arrange & schedule some of these choices!

Point well taken for the ethnic as well!

[Windy]

BTW What's the latest on Tanuki? I gather Janis is doing some sort of lunch popup, but I didn't manage to read all 50 pages on portlandfood.

I'm not in Portland until September.

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Tanuki
413 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209

[JillO]

Janis is using a commercial kitchen space, KitchenCru, with about 10 counter seats, on various dates. There is a limed menu. She is looking for restaurant space, which there is a dearth of in this town.

And, you don't have to read all the pages on the PFG thread, just the last one in the thread...which you should if you'd like to see pics of her food.

[Windy]

Yes, I did see the last page, thanks. But unclear if the arrangement with KitchenCru is for two weeks or the foreseeable future. Guess I'll email Tanuki directly closer to the date.

I have eaten at Tanuki before, and would happily schedule other meals around it.

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Tanuki
413 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209

[chalmers]

I don't think you can really go wrong with any of your list, though if you're looking to eliminate some: you could probably find more interesting lunch options than Little Bird, and while Ken's is good on the scale of Portland pizzas, if you're coming from anywhere with really good pizzas, it's not going to wow you.

For carts, either Good Food Here, as suggested, or the ones around 9th and Alder downtown -- it's by far the biggest pod and most culturally diverse and it's an easy walk from your hotel. For "ethnic" (by which you seem to mean "not from a western country"?), try Nong's, El Cubo De Cuba, Somtum Gai Yang, Noodle House, Emame's, Korean Twist (though seriously, don't overlook some great "non-ethnic" food: People's Pig, Eat This, Savor).

I would generally agree with Pok Pok over Ping, all things being equal, but Ping is also excellent and it's certainly closer and easier to get a table (takes bookings for any number of people). Both are also open for lunch, of course.

Voodoo is definitely not the best donut place in Portland, but I do still think it's a fun thing to do if you're a tourist. I think your kids would probably love it.

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Pok Pok
3226 SE Division St, Portland, OR

The People's Pig
SW Alder St SW 9th Ave, Portland, OR 97205

[JillO]

Ping also does a nice happy hour menu 2pm- 5:30pm.

If you can't make it to EaT for oysters, next best choice is Dan & Louis, which is downtown, and a Portland institution.

[ybnormal]

Thanks for the suggestion chalmers & JillO. When I .have time, I'll peruse the carts.

JillO, I really like the Dan & Louis suggestion - plus my 10 year-old daughter now loves raw oysters...