Crab Bowl 7958 SW Barbur Blvd (503) 245-9954 Forget Martha Stewart and Wallpaper magazine–if it were up to me, I would decorate my whole house with a nautical theme. I want those big wooden steering wheel things, knobby old ropes, rusty anchors, and a big ol’ shrine to The Goonies. Since it’s not up to […]
Paul Leschen
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Divine Inspiration
Living Long and Eating Right, Chinese Style
Chinese food gives you long life, good luck, and much happiness. Chinese food is the healthy and tasty embodiment of a centuries-old tradition. A delicate balance of meats, fowl, fresh vegetables, and creatures of the sea combine to make delicate flavor, and delightful texture–most notably at the restaurants listed below. Om Seafood Restaurant 7632 SE […]
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Food Reviewer at Large
And Getting Larger
K&S Cafeteria Raleigh, North Carolina For the past two weeks I’ve been hard at work in “the Triangle” area of North Carolina. What am I doing down here? I’m making money; something we’d all agree can be very difficult back home in Portland. Why, even the price of homemade crank has sunk to new lows. […]
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Ancient Greek
Alexis Needs a Modern Makeover
Alexis Burnside and SW 2nd Avenue 224-8577 Sing, O Muse, of the legend of Alexis, great warrior of Hellenic Portland, whom Pithy Dionysus once lavished with wine and song, and with the fragrant essence of garlic and spices from the East. Sing, Muse, of the epic saga of Alexis the warrior, soon to be visited […]
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The Savvy Diner
Paul Spends His Dollar Like a True Expert
Daily Café 902 NW 13th Ave, 242-1916 It’s been six months since the small plate craze hit Portland. You know, the Buckman Bistro, the Noble Rot, et al, where you and a group of smartly dressed friends order rounds of small yummies priced in the six to $10 range. This is supposed to be cool, […]
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Good Bento, Baaad Bento
Join Paul on a Bento Bonanza
Du’s Grill 5365 NE Sandy, 284-1773 Bentorific 826 SW 2nd, no phone Du’s Grill. Bad. Bad like Michael Jackson. Mean, nasty, bad-assed bento. Trolling along Sandy Boulevard like a tarted up woman of the night. Sweet, chewy, and sinful. Grilled so masterfully as to produce crisp carcinogenic corners. Vegetables? Fuck ’em. A sorry little salad […]
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Last Supper
Double Trouble Two Restaurants, One Evening, A Bust
Vat & Tonsure 911 SW Taylor 225-9118 Zeba 1222 SW Salmon 227-1655 Andrea and I went strolling through the South Park Blocks, taking in the cool autumn breeze en route to dinner at the Vat and Tonsure. I’d read how this hallowed restaurant would be a reincarnation of the previous V&T that was killed in […]
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Enchanted Vietnamese Food
Inside a Hidden Place
Thai Binh 6700 NE Broadway 252-7710 I admire Gargamel. Not only did Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony” accompany him around the forest, but here’s a guy who will never give up on his Sisyphusian quest to find and eventually cook and consume the ever-elusive Smurfs. Sounds like a true chowhound to me. Not unlike Gargamel, I tirelessly […]
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Savor the Flavor
Cañita’s Got Cajones
Cañita, an oasis of bright green, pink, and turquoise on an otherwise scary and disgusting stretch of urban blight, is a promising addition to the world of Portland nightlife. Trouble is, there is no nightlife in Portland. The night I ate there, the joint was hopping from about 5:00 to 7:30, and then started to […]
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A Spicy Sparkle
Authentic Korean at Be Won
Be Won 1203 NW 23rd Ave (at Northrup) 464-9222 Korean food is eerie and mysterious, even to many Korean Americans. At the same time, restaurants that serve ethnic food in ethnicity-deprived locales (like Northwest 23rd Avenue) often take such bold steps to demystify their cuisine, that the end result is a cowardly, though friendlier, version. […]
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Beirut Now Portland
Abu Rasheed’s Tasty Lebanese Cuisine
Abu Rasheed 1921 SW 6th Ave (between Hall St and College St) 274-4412 Lucky for us some of the tastiest cuisine of the Arab world, the Lebanese, is now firmly rooted in the Rose City. Supposedly, the Portland area is quite similar in climate and topography to that of Lebanon (they even have a cedar […]
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THE EXPERT’S GUIDE TO AREA GROCERIES
Had enough of Velveeta and Iceberg lettuce? Leave your Safeway Club Card at home, and head out to any of the hundreds of specialty markets in town. Don’t know where to find bible tripe? Ask the expert!
Where to shop if you’re RICH: Many of Portland’s well-heeled have never seen the place, but their maids and personal chefs are well acquainted with the luxury-packed aisles of Strohecker’s, 2855 SW Patton. Typical of the old money folks, who care not for fancy décor and the latest trendy products, Strohecker’s is about as elegantly […]