On our first visit, we sampled their fire roasted jalapeno poppers. This appetizer features halved, roasted jalapenos stuffed by hand with chorizo sausage, herbs, spices, and jack, cheddar and cream cheeses. It was obvious that these were fresh jalapenos. They were not breaded fried barely recognizable produce like you’d see at a chain restaurant. They were still crunchy, and full of awesome jalapeno flavor and juice. Obviously spicy, they were a big hit at our table. We highly recommend starting your visit with these guys.

The first entree we sampled was the Carne Asada plate. This asada featured marinated Oregon Country natural flat iron steak cut into strips and grilled. It was served with standard carne asada sidekicks– guacamole, black beans, pico de gallo, and warm corn tortillas. It was a little unusual to see a Mexican restaurant standby, other than nachos, in a pub atmosphere, but it was very good nonetheless. Everything was seasoned well and the steak was flavorful. By the way, they have nachos too.

Our second entree is no longer on their menu, which is a shame. We had halibut fish and chips, served with house made tartar sauce and waffle fries. This was some of the best fish and chips I have ever had. The fish was moist and flavorful and stood up well to the breading. The serving of fish was very generous, and was more than enough for my big appetite. The waffle fries were awesome– soft on the inside, crisped on the outside, and very flavorful. Everyone at the table was stealing them. Normally I’d be stabbing hands with my fork, but there was more than enough food for me to share and still walk away feeling very satisfied. The house made tartar sauce was also very good. It was tangy, delicious and went well with both the fries and the fish.

Breakside is a great place to stop in for dinner or a drink. If you’re in Northeast and want to stop in, you’re in for a treat. When we visited the weather was rainy, and that meant no wait time at all. In summer months, this place gets very busy.

820 NE Dekum St.
Portland, OR 97211
503 719-6475
Website

Upon our visit, the set up needed an explanation. You order whatever burger or sandwich you want and they cook it up for you, and then you dress your sandwich however you like it. Sounds simple. Sounds straightforward. Why does no other burger joint do this? Why at every place else do you ask for no pickles or no mayo and you get an annoyed sigh? Here you pick your toppings so there’s no question. You prefer red onions to white onions? Sweet. They’ve got both. You want barbecue sauce instead of ketchup? Go ahead, buddy.

We sampled two burgers– one just a regular burger with bacon and cheese, and one that had the works: cheese, bacon, a fried egg, grilled mushrooms, grilled onions, and whatever additional toppings you might want. I knew I was going to get this burger as soon as I looked at the menu, because I’m a sucker for piled-high toppings. I’ve always thought a fried egg on a burger was a strange idea, and I’ve come to think if it as a second slice of cheese. It doesn’t taste like cheese, but the yolk adds a creaminess to each bite similar to what you get from cheese. And who wouldn’t want more protein on their protein?

I was very impressed by the array of toppings available at the repurposed salad bar. They had lettuce, red onions, white onions, chopped onion, pickle spears, pickle chips, pickle relish, Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise, jalapenos, big wonderful bright red slices of tomato,ranch dressing,  thousand island dressing, and a lot of other things. I was giddy, excited, shocked. Again, why doesn’t every burger joint already do this?

We sidekicked our burgers with onion rings. I’m guessing these weren’t hand made on the spot, but they were tasty nonetheless as most fried foods tend to be. They were crispy, tasty, and unlike more ‘bready’ onion rings they don’t shred your mouth with charred crumbs. We also scored some milk shakes, rounding out a fairly typical American cardiac abomination. GoGo Burger offers 3 varieties of shakes. You guessed it– chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. The shakes were a good size– not too big, not too small. Creamy, sweet, and ice cold they were a perfect finale to this meal.

This place has a food challenge, something which is a growing phenomenon. Rather than suffering from Great Balls of Fire like at Salvador Molly’s, foodies are challenged to toss aside the seven deadly sins and consume two massive hamburgers and two big baskets of fries in one hour. I like hamburgers as much as the next guy, but I like distending my stomach even less. I’ll wait for Man vs. Food to take on this one.

Two other things really struck me during my visit to GoGo burger. First, the staff was exceedingly friendly, willing to serve, and eager to offer opinions and suggestions. For any restaurant this is a tremendous strength, but in a place that is less governed by waiters and more by service counters, this was a huge welcome. The other thing I noticed is that we were the only patrons there who didn’t know the score. Every other customer knew the drill– order, wait, dress, eat. The people who came immediately after we did were visibly excited to order, clapping happily to themselves like a kid in a candy store. Happy, regular customers are a good signal to any new customer.

20495 SW Baseline Rd.
Beaverton, OR 97006
(503) 531-9988
Website * At time of publication, this website seems to be down.

Lucy’s Table describes itself as a melange of Moroccan, Spanish, Italian, Greek, and Asian cooking. Frankly, it seemed more new American to me. Perhaps that comes from the fact that the chef does blend so many different tastes, scents on what are really more traditional dishes.

Before any of our food came out, the waiter brought us some oysters on the half shell just as an amuse-bouche. They were flavored nicely with olive oil, and were a welcome treat. The second thing we sampled was pomegranate glazed baby back ribs. The ribs were ridiculously tender, sliding neatly off the bone. The pomegranate glaze was definitely a different taste than most people are accustomed to. Rather than a spicy tang from a barbecue sauce, or even a honeyed or caramelized sweetness, the glaze had a more robust, tart sweetness to it that gave the ribs a lingering citrus-like aftertaste. They were really very good.

Next up was the pan-seared stuffed chicken breast. We ordered this as a test. How much more boring can you get than chicken breast? This dish was anything but. The breast itself was cooked magnificently. I have never had chicken breast cooked so wonderfully– perfectly moist, tasty, and juicy on the inside with a very nice crisped outside. The breast was stuffed with sun dried tomato, spinach, and goat cheese. The stuffing was a tasty addition, but it almost didn’t need the help. The chicken was side kicked with a very nice potato au gratin. Again, this was a boring little side dish that was done so well that I was surprised by how much I liked it. The plate was rounded out with Brussels sprouts. I’m not a fan of them, but these were pretty tasty and I didn’t leave any on my plate.

Our second entree was a tender rack of lamb served on a bed of fluffy garlic mashed potatoes. The meat was drizzled with a blueberry reduction, complete with blueberries littering the plate. The reduction had a very sharp flavor, which sat well with the more flat tones of the potato and garlic, and the meatiness of the lamb.

I was really surprised with our entree selections. Rather than the low in volume, high in quality formula we were expecting, we got a meal that was high on all counts. A great and filling portion, beautifully prepared food, and excellent quality.

We decided to round out the evening by trying a few desserts. The first was a lemon tart with berry topping and fresh whipping cream. What better spring desert can you get? The tart was creamy and very wonderfully tart. The berry topping was great because it tasted like raspberries– not sugar.

The second dessert was a french toast bread budding, which was served with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. It was flaky, tasty and very sweet. It was the perfect contrast to the lemon tart, and a great way to end this meal.

UPDATE:

Sadly, Lucy’s Table shuttered this past summer, soon to be replaced by an extension of the Laughing Planet/Dick’s Kitchen family of restaurants. I hope these talented chefs bring us something tasty to eat in the future. See the link below for more information.

704 NW 21st Ave.
Portland, OR 97209
503 226-6126
Website

We sampled two burgers– one classic Violetta burger, with burger sauce, butter lettuce, red onion, super dills, and “10 hour tomatoes.” The tomatoes really make this burger amazing. They are incredibly juicy and fill your mouth with flavor. The rest of the fixings and the high quality beef patty certainly do their parts in making the Violetta burger delicious, but the tomatoes are the star.

The other burger is the Oregon Blue burger. Blue cheese burgers are common sights on menus these days. What attracted me to this particular option, among all the other tasty things on their menu, was how it seemed to be a cobbling together of a bunch of great local ingredients– like some kind of Portland burger Frankenfood. The name of the burger comes from 120-day aged Oregonzola cheese. It also has Carlton Farms applewood-smoked bacon, a half pound of Highland Oak Farm grass-fed black angus beef, carmelized onions, and their house burger sauce made with organically raised eggs on a Grand Central bakery bun. The flavor of the onion and cheese gave the burger a pungent flavor, while the cheese and bacon added a smokiness. Surprisingly, ‘salty’ is not a word I would attribute to this sandwich– the flavor was more than a match for the natural salt in all the ingredients. The half pound version is very filling, but I couldn’t resist cramming down every last bite.

As a side, we sampled their sweet potato fries. They were very tasty, crispy but not crunchy, and slightly sweet. They were a perfect pairing to the burgers we sampled. We accompanied our fries with two of their dipping sauces– an herbed aioli and harissa ketchup. The aioli is just what you expect, mayonnaise with herbs in it so you can tell yourself you aren’t dipping french fries in mayo. The ketchup was pretty good. I’ve never sampled harissa, which is a spice common in North African cuisine, in ketchup. It wasn’t spicy, but it did have more of a kick than one typically gets from ketchup.

Finally, we had the pleasure of indulging in their milkshakes. Their flavor options are limited to classics– vanilla, single-source chocolate, and seasonal fruit. We tried the first two, and they were great. Like all good milkshakes, the presence of a straw is just a tease. You need to wait for those cups of heaven to melt a little before you can manage to get any all the way up. They were great, and you can tell from the sweetness and depth of flavor that these were made with local, fresh ice cream rather than something manufactured far away.

877 SW Taylor St.
Portland, OR 97205
503 233-3663
Website

Mint has an attractive array of cocktails to choose from. The avocado daiquiri and Sweet Love drinks were the most appealing and sophisticated. As for food, like most Portland area gastro-bars, this one has a pretty great menu. We sampled the red pepper hummus plate, which was great for sharing with a group. It comes appropriately topped with feta cheese and olive tapenade. This was pretty darn tasty and evidence of the Mediterranean influences in this American-style restaurant.

The first entree we sampled was a Buffalo hangar steak. That night it was served with bacon Brussels sprouts and garlic mashed potatoes. The steak was cooked quickly so it was charred and crispy on the outside and still tender in the middle– perfect for that cut of beef. This was a great pairing of sides, and the only complaint we had with this particular dish was that the portions were painfully small, especially for the $16 price tag.

The second dish we had was Mark’s Angus burger. This was one of the better hamburgers I have had in town in a while. The beef patty was pretty gigantic. It was a chore to get through, so bring an appetite if you want this guy. It was topped with a “beefy” slice of Beechers Flagship cheese, onion rings, and a very interesting green chili aioli. It made the burger almost taste like it was topped with a chili relleno, which was great. As a side, the burger was surrounded by a big army of sweet potato fries and a spicy, tangy, aioli dipping sauce. In contrast to the first dish, this one was hefty.

Everything we sampled here was delicious. The sweet potato fries were really good, definitely a step above what I’ve had in the past. The service was friendly and casual. Nobody is in any big rush, so that might be an issue if you are in a hurry. If you are ever in this neck of the woods, stop in for a bite and you won’t regret it.

816 N. Russell St.t
Portland, OR 97227
503 284-5518

Website