Portland Part 2: Food Edition
As I said in my Portland Sweets Post, I went to Portland really just to eat. We filled out days with not museums and sightseeing, but with restaurants, snack shops and naps (in between meals). Impossible to get through all of the fantastic places to eat of course, we did our best and the ones that did their part as the best are below.
The Parish- 231 Northwest 11th Avenue / Well, they did it again. Last week, I posted my top 5 favorite desserts in Portland, and The Parish took the spot for number one, but there is no doubting that their food is the tits as well. I noted in the dessert post that I planned on eating so much at The Parish that I would have to unbutton my pants, but alas, 7 days of eating left me in bad shape. Although i didn’t indulge as much as I had hoped, no oysters for me, i decided to stick with a vegetarian option and it was amazing. Black eyed peas, onion, tomato and cheese, cooked so perfectly I tried to duplicate it when I got home, but failed. Oh well, looks like I am going to have to head back to Portland just for the food. (Corn pictured above also from The Parish).
Broder - 2508 Southeast Clinton Street / It is always so exciting when you find something you have never had before, and Broder gave me that. Lefse is a traditional soft, Norwegian flatbread. Lefse is made out of potato, milk or cream (or sometimes lard) and flour, and cooked on a griddle. Special tools are available for lefse baking, including long wooden turning sticks and special rolling pins with deep grooves. (thanks wikipedia). Broder has a Lefse of the day and I wish I could go back everyday of the week to get this. Although sweet (for me) for breakfast, this untraditional (for the US) dish was a perfect start to the morning (read afternoon- c’mon, we were on vacation!) and I urge you all to go and send me pictures of which you had. Note: we also has some Apple fritters that were aces.
Pok Pok - 3226 Southeast Division Street / Cha Ca “La Vong” (say that 10 times fast) holds strong at number 3. Catfish marinated in turmeric and sour rice, fried in turmeric oil with scallions and dill, served on rice vermicelli with peanuts, mint, cilantro and mam nem. Yum, all that in one plate! Although a lot to say, it was a perfect balance of flavors.
Choose carefully at PokPok, I may have loved my dish, but the person I was with would say otherwise. Tears. Tears flowing down his face as he burned his palette one bite at a time.
Riffle NW - 333 Northwest 13th Avenue / Scallops. I. LOVE. SCALLOPS... So when I was doing research on where to go in Portland and I stumbled on a catch-inspired seafood restaurant influenced by coastal regions around the world I knew it would be our first stop, and it did not disappoint. In the about us section of Riffle NW’s site, it explains that the chefs live by the philosophy of “one house” and thats what it felt like. The service was phenomenal, the vibe was relaxed and the food melted in your mouth.
The Screen Door -2337 E Burnside St / I’m not going to pretend to remember what phenomenal fresh veggies were mixed into this heavenly plate, they have offered so many, but it was the best MEAL not just BEST BREAKFAST but the BEST MEAL we had. The menu changes daily at screen door, based on what they have available to them.
The Screen Door is dedicated to connecting the farm directly to the plate, using local fresh and organic produce and meat from the northwest, and wowing you with every plate.
No one says it better than Screen Door themselves so here it is
““Screen Door’s menu is a survey of the south, from South Carolina Lowcountry cuisine to soul food and Cajun one-pot cookery to the refined Creole and French preparations found in New Orleans. We explore all methodologies and preparations from the historical to the modern, from the rudimentary to the refined, from the low-brow to the high-brow, cutting across class distinctions to get at the heart of the matter, the food.””
Get there, and get there now (be sure to check their hours- brunch is not everyday). There will be a wait, but I promise it is worth it, unless that is, you don’t love good food. Get up. Now. Stop reading, put your shoes on and head over.
Honorable Mentions!
Olympic Provisions - 107 SE Washington St. / Best known for their meat (hence the large lit sign when you walk in), I am probably not their number 1 client (I stick to fish and veggies), but the reviews were so great, and my travel partner was eating meat, so we headed in for an afternoon snack. The interior was exactly what I would expect, of both Olympic Provisions and Portland in general. I stuck with a cheese plate, that was served with the most wonderful fruit jam. Go there, and tell me all about it.
Tasty and Sons - 3808 N Williams Ave / Honorably mentioned for both the savory and the sweet side of the meal. The Summer muffin and Chocolate Potato Doughnut (with créme anglaise) were both lovely and should be eaten by many.
Portland Part 1: Sweets Edition
Portland. I've heard many times that Portland is like a spread out Brooklyn, a wanderers play land filled with trees, air and artists, that I'd love it, need it, have to have it, so I went... It was planned, Summer 2012 Portland but I did little research on what to do, where to go and what to expect. I knew one thing, they could eat. I scoured the interwebs for what to fill my belly with, and came up with quite the list, filling all 7 days with spots to hit for breakfast, snacks, desserts, lunch, dinner and cocktails.
If I could always start with dessert, I would, and here I can, so below please enjoy my 5 favorite Portland Sweets and stay tuned for the Food edition coming soon...
St. Jacks Patisserie- 2039 SE Clinton / Greeted by a counter displaying beautiful French sweets under grand bell-shaped glass lids, and the scent of sweet in the air, this quaint space was a perfect spot for a late afternoon sweet tooth. Although I had heard I must have the eclair and the madeline, I walked in at not the greatest time, when the patisserie was beginning to close, but don't fear dear readers, there was still a wonderful selection to choose from. We indulged in Frangipane and Canelé (pictured above). The Frangipane was a perfect little almond treat. The Canelé had a delicious soft custard center and a thick caramelized crust. Perfect. Make sure to go before closing time (4pm) and try the madelines, baked fresh to order, and tell me all about them!
Le Pigon- 738 East Burnside Street / Chef Gabriel Rucker has been bestowed a Food & Wine "
Ruby Jewel Downtown- 3713 North Mississippi Avenue / Ice cream, who doesn't love it? Its creamy, sweet, cold (it was 95 degrees while I was in Portland!) and just delectable. Lisa Herlinger of Ruby Jewel gets ice cream right, filling the gaping hole she saw in Portland in the artisan ice cream section. It is made with Northwest ingredients including Oregon-grown berries, lavender, mint, honey, and vanilla. I decided to go with something more standard as my flavor choice, strawberry, but I sandwiched it between the homemade chocolate chip cookies. If being the perfect ice cream sandwich isn't enough, the reclaimed wood walls, rustic details and candy room alone should send you in to get your scoops.
The Pie Spot- 521 NE 24th Portland / This gem was not something I specifically went looking for, but was overjoyed to find. Somewhere between pasty at St. jacks and dinner at Pok Pok, we found a small food truck "park" called D Street Noshery, with everything from Indian cuisine, to craft beer, to single serving PIES. I have to admit, I have a love for tiny desserts; cupcakes as opposed to cakes, munchkins instead of doughnuts.... so TINY PIES= irresistible. Grab a mouth watering pie (banana cream pictured above), and a cold beer from Captured by Porches and take a seat at the picnic table area. The crust was crumbly and buttery, the filling sweet and fruity and the topping finished it just right. They also have savories, which you should go try and tell me about.
The Parish- 231 Northwest 11th Avenue / Ethan Powell and Tobias Hogan, formerly of EaT: an oyster bar have it right at The Parish. This Creole restaurant and oyster bar is mainly known for, well, the creole cooking and oysters, but having saved The Parish for my last day, as a special goodbye treat, I found myself full and tired, and grouchy and in no need of oysters, although they looked amazing. We kept it simple food-wise (it was of course, AMAZING), but this dessert was a perfect ending to a fantastic trip. Chocolate bouchon with roasted Viridian farm cherries and bourbon caramel sauce, finished with Vanilla ice cream. Take that in for a minute...
ok, now lets talk about it. The warm cake absorbed the ice cream and bourbon caramel sauce. It melted in my mouth, danced on my tongue and warmed up my soul. Go there, get the oysters, but save room for dessert because it is my A#1FAV.