Portland on a Sunday....
Hi. I know there are a lot of threads about great restaurants in Portland, but unfortunately many of those mentioned are closed on Sundays which is when we will be there. Caiola, Bresca, Emilitsa, Back Bay Grill, Hugo's....all closed. So I'm asking about my limited choices. What would be the difference between 555 and Fore? Is one more expensive? Smaller portions? Inconsistent? Or are they both pretty much the same quality? If you can suggest anywhere else that is the same degree of excellence....that would be helpful as well. Thank you.
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I'm not really a big fan of 555 or Fore Street in general--I'd much rather be at Bresca, BBG or Emilitsa! So take advantage of your limited Sunday choices and try something new--
For Sunday choices Miyake is the only (at least price point wise) restaurant in the category you're looking for that I believe is open. It is pretty fantastic, and I bet he's serving a lot of farm to table items from his own farm at the moment so its probably one of the best times of the year to eat there!
You have many other excellent choices with more of a neighborhood favorite feel tho:
Miyake's diffusion noodle bar Pai Men Miyake is open-- (I have trouble not eating here every week--)Boda Thai is great--one of my favorite Portland restaurants.
Sonny's is another great farm to table choice, and great for people watching.
Zapoteca has amazing carnitas (another thing I want to eat every day!)
I'm not sure where you're coming from and what hours you're accustomed to, but Portland rolls up its carpets very early on Sunday, with the magic hour being sometime between 9 and 10 pm. So plan on a seating at 8:30ish at the latest--
Portland is a huge brunch town and Caiola's has one of the better brunches in town if you happen to be around. (again, caveat; if you're used to city hours, brunch in Portland ends between 1:30 and 2:30).
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re: bobbert
I eat at Sonny's probably once a month--and they have some of the best bartenders in town working there! I've found that skipping the big boring entrees and sticking with the small stuff and the seasonal specials makes for the best meal.
If I'm with another person/people we'll order tamales, emanadas, ceviche/oysters/garlic shrimp/whatever other bits of seafood they're featuring, along with some yam fries and a big salad and a bunch of drinks, and call it good. They seem to shine with the featured seasonal stuff.
My husband does love their cheeseburger with poblanos and manchego cheese, tho.
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I just had one of the best dinners ever in Portland at the Green Elephant. The best Roti Canai ever. I had their special noodle dish which was ever so aromatic, with very delicate flavoring unlike I've ever had before. Thin, fresh, rice noodles. My husband had the Guay Teow which was very very good as well. The flavors in each of the three dishes were distinctly different and flavorful and yummy. I find it so irritating when I go to an Asian or Asian inspired restaurant and every dish uses the same ingredients. Not so at this incredible vegetarian restaurant. My new favorite and open on Sundays.
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re: nyawira
Shhh. Don't tell people about the Green Elephant. I like being able to get in the place. It's one of my favorites as well. I love my meat but if all vegetarian was this good I might consider changing. It's also a pretty trendy place - not your stereotypical vegetarian hippy dippy tied dyed wearing hemp necklaced crowd.
Back to the OP, as stated, Fore Street will garner more votes than 555. I haven't been to 555 for quite awhile but based on other write ups it's not as consistent as Fore Street which is consistently excellent though, as kimfair says it's not going to blow you away with creativity.
Other options include Street and Company for a pure seafood experience, Petite Jacqueline (same people as 555) for good french bistro fare, maybe Vignola Cinque Terre for italian (also mixed reviews) or Miyake for creative sushi (not everyone loves it as much as me).
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Between 555 and Fore St, I'd pick the latter. 555 has it's fans on the board, but my one meal was so insipid and generally awful that I haven't been back, and don't recommend it. Fore St has generous portions of well cooked meats and fish. Nothing earth-shattering, but generally solid the 4 or 5 times I've eaten there. Is Street and Co open on Sunday? I haven't been, but it gets good reviews here.
