There’s no shortage of great food in the Rose City, but if you’re heading to Seattle, you should stuff your face and quench your thirst like a local. Grab breakfast at the Five Spot, bump and grind at the Baltic Room, and don’t miss the fish and chips at Spud’s on Greenlake. You could sob […]
Phil Amara
Posted inExtras
The Emerald City
Seattle’s Best Old-School Spots
There’s no shortage of great food in the Rose City, but if you’re heading to Seattle, you should stuff your face and quench your thirst like a local. Grab breakfast at the Five Spot, bump and grind at the Baltic Room, and don’t miss the fish and chips at Spud’s on Greenlake. You could sob […]
Posted inOne Day at a Time
Last Week in Japan
The Mercury‘s Phil Amara Explores Exotic Japan–and Almost Avoids McDonald’s
Japan is so much more then anime and manga. My destination is the Kansai region of Japan, which includes the hustle bustle of urban Osaka (Japan’s third-largest city) and the history of traditional Kyoto and Nara (two former capitals). My mission? Sample the food, see the sites, interview the locals, and report my findings to […]
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A Shed Ahead
Alberta Cafe Is Blooming
Tin Shed Garden Cafe 1438 NE Alberta 288-6966 You can almost gauge the growth of Northeast Alberta on a daily basis. Each time you look, it seems like a new restaurant, coffee shop, or art gallery has opened its doors. But unlike some other parts of the city that have suffered from Borg-like gentrification, Alberta […]
Posted inUncategorized
Eat It Like You Mean It
Buckman’s Got Bounty
Buckman Grill 207 SE 12th 230-0945 Immediately upon sitting down at the Buckman, a bowl of bright red steamed crawfish at a neighboring table caught my eye. When I settled in and my focus turned to the menu, I realized there were difficult choices ahead. For appetizers, I mulled over the jambalaya and the chicken […]
Posted inUncategorized
Sugar Shacks
Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
As yummy as DiPrima Dolci’s warm, fried zeppoli are, who can wait for the last Saturday of each month to indulge a sweet tooth? You’ve got a chocolate jones now. A hot fudge monkey on your back. An ice cream itch that needs to be scratched. You can go for Russell Street Barbecue’s ooey-gooey brownie […]
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Pacific Northeast
Aja Puts Down Stakes
Aja Pacific Kitchen 3449 NE 24th St. 287-5400 Portlanders might already know the unfortunate history of the NE 24th and Fremont address. The chef at SE Hawthorne’s superb Compass Cafe valiantly went there to open the Dining Room. It was a classy place that specialized in fish, steaks, and pasta. It seemed like a solid […]
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Cottage Industry
Start the Day at Suzanne’s
Suzanne’s 3517 NE 46th Ave, 282-4233 Around since the summer of 1996, chances are you haven’t heard of the brunch haven Suzanne’s. But heck, that’s the beauty of Portland–even after living here for years, the place is still fresh with discovery. Owner Suzanne Kline jokes, “No one knows where I am!” For restaurateurs, Beaumont has […]
Posted inUncategorized
Let’s Eat Meat
A Carnivore’s City Map
Cartoonist Mark Martin once said, “If animals don’t want to be eaten, they shouldn’t be so darn delicious.” There’s nothing wrong with going vegan, but sometimes sinking your teeth into a seitan steak or hunkering down to a big bowl of quinoa after a hard day doesn’t cut it. You could perform your own feeble […]
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Sushi Chic
Masu Thinks Outside the Box
Masu 406 SW 13th, Suite 202 221-6278 No one can accuse Portlanders of suffering from a lack of good sushi. You would think then that Masu, hidden off West Burnside, might have its work cut out for it. Not long ago, the restaurant’s expansive second floor studio space might’ve served as headquarters for a trendy […]
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The Cure for Winter
Chase the Blues with Food
It’s coming. You don’t want to admit it in these last mad days of holiday mall-hopping bliss, but another rainy Portland winter is already here. And when it doesn’t rain, you can still look forward to the sun going down at three o’clock. Yeah, you could escape to the local watering hole, and not come […]
Posted inUncategorized
Burger King
Skyline is Heaven on a Grill
Skyline Restaurant 1313 NW Skyline 292-6727 Fast food restaurants conveniently sit at nearly every exit on major highways, and on every other city block. So why would someone put a burger joint in the middle of nowhere? If you’ve been to The Skyline, you know that’s a rhetorical question. Tucked at the end of a […]