We were able to sample a soup and salad on our visit. We tried the Greek Greens salad, which features green leaf lettuce with kalamata olives, feta cheese, tomato, cucumber and red onion in a herbed balsamic vinaigrette. With that, we tried their homemade minestrone soup. The minestrone was a little less salty than you’d find in a more ‘themed’ Italian restaurant. If you like a rich, hearty minestrone this one might not be for you. That being said, it was tasty and hit the spot.

For dinner we sampled one of Amalfi’s pizzas– their famous combo to be exact. This headliner features pepperoni, sausage, salami, and mushrooms. Their pizza uses the same recipes as the restaurant’s opening in 1959, and we could tell why. The pizza is square cut like a grid rather than like a pie. This allows you to have as little, or as much, pizza as you like. It is perfect for groups at happy hour who want to share a snack with friends during glasses of wine rather than scarf down a whole bunch of food. As for me, I don’t mind scarfing tasty pizza.

4703 Northeast Fremont Street
Portland, OR 97213
503 284-6747
Website

We visited H50 by coming in from a pretty aggravating trek though rush hour and road construction infested Portland, and were very glad we made the effort.

Before we got our food, the waiter treated us to the chef’s amuse-bouche, a salmon ceviche with white wasabi and ginger. It was a very interesting blend of Latin and Japanese cuisines. The salmon was very delicious, and served chilled. It was a refreshing surprise and a real treat. Few Portland restaurants do this, and as someone who enjoys free food, I wish they’d do it more.

Our first entree was the Oregon King Salmon. King is my favorite variety of salmon, and this was a real treat. The chef had no problem, unlike some, to make sure my fish was cooked through. The interior was flakey, juicy, and a beautiful pink. The skin was left on, and was marvelously crisped. The salmon was served with sweet potato ravioli, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes in a light buerre fondue. The fondue was seasoned with rosemary and sage, and had a wonderful creamy flavor that really brought out the sweetness of the ravioli. I have rarely enjoyed pasta this much. It was absolutely delicious.

Our second entree was twenty-four hour pork brisket, which had been brined in soy and coke. The pork brisket was very tasty, and normally I’d like a sauce on any barbecued meat, but it really didn’t need it. This may be that it had been brined in sugar, which gave it more than enough flavor and moisture. This came with a new potato salad which was seasoned with what seemed to be pimento and was a little spicy. It was very nice. The pork also came with pickled ramps and strawberries. It made a good, tart contrast to the meat but it wasn’t really my favorite thing. I wouldn’t eat them without the meat for contrast.

H50 surprised me by the friendly wait staff and easy-going reservations policy (get one). It’s a great restaurant with a wonderful view of the river. They also have a lunch and breakfast menu that I was not lucky enough to sample. We will be back. When you visit, get reservations.

50 Southwest Morrison Street
Portland, OR 97204
503 484-1415
Website

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

You can choose from their selection of appetizers, or pupu’s, such as Kimo’s Sweet Ribs or Hawaiian Style Poke, which is a raw fish salad. As in most Hawaiian restaurants, you can combo up of your choice of meat served in the traditional Hawaiian manner with white rice and macaroni salad. If mac salad is not your style, feel free to substitute a green salad.

Meat selections include teriyaki beef, short ribs, and chicken served half a dozen different ways. The Loco Moco, with two hamburger patties and a fried egg topped with brown gravy. I’ve never had it, but Hawaiians rave about that particular dish. I guess there’s something to be said for comfort food.  Noho’s also offers several vegetable, seafood, and noodle dishes. If you can’t decide on just one meat, there are a couple of combo plates. There are also specials posted on the wall, including Kahlua Pig, which is only available on Fridays.

Meals come in three sizes. If you’re not up to the normal portion, which is quite generous, step down to the Menehune size. Or if you brought your Big Island appetite, go for the Blalah size, but you’d better be hungry or be prepared to take leftovers.

We ordered the Mixed Plate, which includes the teriyaki beef and Kimo’s Sweet Ribs, and the Hot & Spicy Chicken. The chicken comes either char-grilled in large pieces or cut up, pan fried, and swimming in sauce. My favorite way to eat Hawaiian food is to combine the flavors. A bite of meat, a bite of rice, and a bite of mac salad dipped in any residual drippings from the meat.

Past visits gave me a taste of speedy and at times impersonal service, but the last visit was a big change there. The service was personal, very friendly, and very warm. High marks on that. The quality of the food was also up on this last visit. It was good to see this Portland standby delivering such great quality with such a big smile.

Noho’s has two Portland locations, on SE Clinton and NE Fremont, and a location in Medford. We visited the Clinton location, right across from the Clinton Theater. Both times we’ve visited, the tables have been full by the time we left.

2525 SE Clinton St.
Portland, OR 97202
503 233-5301
Website

Pizza Fino has two business models working at once– in the front they are a take out counter and bar, and in the rear a sit down restaurant. The prices at Pizza Fino are pretty middle-tier. You’ll pay about what you would at a chain restaurant, but with far superior quality and the unique flavors and environment of a small restaurant.

The best thing on the menu at Pizza Fino is the pizza, but one of my must-haves on every visit are their famous garlic knots. Bella Faccia serves these too and we’ve written about them before. They deserve another write up. The garlic knots are little twists of their perfect pizza dough which are brushed with some delicious combination of garlic, Parmesan, butter, and olive oil. They are served piled on a plate with a generous ramekin of equally amazing marinara sauce. The knots are moist, chewy, flavorful, and a great way to start your meal. Here’s a tip– save that marinara sauce to dip your pizza crust in. The server won’t even ask questions. It’s understood.

Pizza Fino has an assortment of pies to choose from, or you can build your own. Some of our favorites are the J & R special which has mozzarella, delicious moist pork sausage, roma tomatoes, and mushrooms. Another favorite is the Pocket Aces– which has mozzarella, pancetta, carmelized onions and smoked mozzarella. It is very evident from the first bite that this is some of the best artisan pizza in Portland. If you aren’t sold through eating the center of the pie, the crust will seal the deal. Their crust is crispy, light, moist, delicious and almost worth eating first.

If you’ve got a big appetite, Pizza Fino has a lot of other dishes and sides that can please your pallet. In past visits, we’ve had some awesome soups, which change daily, and their spinach salad. The spinach salad has balsamic dressing with tomatos, ricotta, and candid walnuts. On our last visit, we also sampled an appetizer special that featured warm goat cheese, olive oil, and sundried tomatos on crostini bread.

For the herbivorous out there, they offer vegetarian pizzas such as the classic Marguerite with fresh mozzarella, roma tomatoes, garlic, and basil.  They also have a Vegan pizza, topped with roasted pepper-cashew spread, house marinated tempeh, and your choice of 3 vegetable toppings. There are options for everyone.

8225 N. Denevr Ave.
Portland, OR 97217
503 286-2100
Website

Casa Naranja is small, but inviting, nicely decorated, and has a large outdoor seating area. One of the first things we sampled were the bacon wrapped scallops. This isn’t an unusual appetizer, especially for a restaurant that prides itself on Pacific Northwest cuisine, but these were topped with vanilla oil, giving them an almost candied flavor that accented the smokiness of the bacon.

My personal favorite item on that menu is the Spanish chorizo stuffed puff pastry. They are served with a sherry butter reduction with caramelized onions and manchego cheese. When most people see the word ‘chorizo’ they think of the spicier Mexican variety. These are the more subtle, Spanish chorizos, which while not spicy still have a robust meaty flavor that made an interesting center of a sweet pastry topped with both a tangy cheese and sweet onions and butter.

You really can’t go wrong with anything wrapped in bacon, so we added the bacon wrapped Painted Hills flat iron steak bites. These morsels of very nice cuts of beef are additionally topped with a cranbery coulis which provides a distinct tartness and acidity that breaks up the meat combo.

Next we sampled the crab ravioli. The filling is made of Dungeness crab and is topped with an apple and cilantro pesto with sun-dried tomatoes. This was a more unusual dish. The ravioli were good, having the light texture and flavor of crab, but were topped with the very distinct and potent sweetness and tartness of apple and the punch of cilantro. It seemed odd at the time to side this with toast, but I found it made a great texture and flavor contrast to eat the ravioli with toast rather than alone.

Finally we rounded out their tapas menu with the casa burger. The burger is made with a half pound of Painted Hills beef. It is topped with chevre, or goat’s cheese, and escabeche. Escabeche is a Spanish pickling marinade usually used on fish or poultry. The burger was better than I had expected. The toppings were well chosen and made a great finish to this experience.

Casa Naranja is a great place to stop for some really good food. Spanish food, tapas in particular, are popular but sometimes hard to find. The happy hour menu here is a great way to sample a wide range of excellent tastes beyond the usual french fries, which they also happen to serve. When you stop in, make sure you try their sangrilla. It’s tart, delicious, and has a kick to it.

4205 N. Mississippi Ave.
Portland, OR 97217
503 459-4049

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

The first thing we sampled was chocolate lime cake. Forget what you know about citrus and chocolate. This was a fantastic melding of two very lovely flavors– the rich dark chocolate, and the light fruity lime. Unlike with desserts that meld orange and chocolate, the lime was more of an aftertaste– almost the way mint goes with chocolate. The cake was silky, moist, and beautifully prepared and layered with lime-flavored creme. It was a real pleasure.

We also tried their Mayan chocolate mousse cake. The smooth, creamy mousse was deliciously chocolatey with a delightful spicy bite. I was surprised by the amount of chile in this cake. I very much enjoyed the flavor and the tingle on my tongue. If you enjoy Mexican chocolate with chile in it, you will love this cake.

Another favorite was blueberry cheesecake. I am not a huge fan of blueberry, but with this cake the blueberry flavor was mixed in nicely with the cheesecake. This could be because frankly almost everything tastes great in a cheesecake, but I have to say that when dealing with an ingredient like blueberry, proportion is everything and this was done right. We also tried their chocolate bundt cake which was moist, delicious, and rich. What was great about these last two cakes, is that they were tiny and great for a taste without dedicating yourself to eating a massive cake. As awesome as that would be, it was a great experience to sample a variety of cakes.

Another petite, but flavor-packed selection is the globoid. My favorite thing about the globoid is the name. It not only accurately describes the shape of this round little ball of joy, it is also fun to say. I think it sounds a little like a medical condition, but that didn’t put me off in the least, especially since the featured globoid during this visit was grasshopper. Chocolate and mint is one of my favorite combinations of flavors. The only way I can think to describe this dessert is like a giant truffle. The center was like a very firm, dense mousse, and it was covered with a thick layer of dark chocolate. It was wonderful!

Lastly, during our visit I sampled their housemade hot chocolate. Very thick and very rich, this stuff makes you stop and pause after every sip. If chocolate is one of your weaknesses, you should probably make a point of having this. The cocoa was available with whipping cream or house marshmallows. I’d never had hand-made marshmallow, so that was a treat.

Since we had so many things, we’ve organized the rest of the images from our visit into a gallery! We highly recommend this cake shop for your next party or if you simply want a great dessert while you’re out on the town.

901 NW 21st Ave.
Portland, OR 97209
503 222-0547
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