Pet Peeves in Dining Service and Catching Up on News

Lots of things have been going on that I haven’t had time to post about, so I’m just going to bring everyone up to date. The Pix on Hawthorne has closed. After many years on NW Glisan, The Brazen Bean has lost their lease, and will closing on April 5th. Another good date place that I will miss. The porch was a cool place to hang out on a hot summer night. A source... [Read more]

Biwa

Biwa Dining Room It’s hard to be terribly impressed with Japanese restaurants in Portland. Aside from a couple of outstanding examples, Japanese restaurants here are fairly mediocre and formulaic. Sloppy mayo-filled sushi rolls, pasty overcooked udon noodles in packaged broths, and sugary sweet teriyakis are Portland’s curse. This is most apparent in our lack of... [Read more]

City of Portland Food Carts Study and Survey

Food Cartology – City of Portland Studies Local Food Carts What Impact are Food Carts having on our Community? The Portland Bureau of Planning in partnership with a group of Masters of Urban and Regional Planning students from Portland State University are conducting an analysis of food carts in Portland, including a short online survey. As paraphrased from the City’s... [Read more]

How Should You Signal To Your Waiter You Are Finished Eating

After giving it lots of thought (untold nights tossing and turning), I have decided I fall firmly into the “cross knife and fork” camp when it comes to removing empty plates. Here’s my logic: I tend to eat fast, though I have slowed down as I’ve entered my er… waning years. Most of my dining companions eat much more slowly. If the server whooshes... [Read more]

Starbucks Buys Clover

Starbucks Coffee announced today that they had acquired Coffee Equipment Company, maker of the much vaunted Clover coffee brewing machine. You may remember that they were the trendy single cup brewer that all the cool kids were putting in their shops in 2007 (for somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 apiece). Stumptown put four in its Stark Street location; be sure to ask... [Read more]

Pine State Biscuits

Witness the humble American biscuit. It’s not very big, it doesn’t store well, and it’s not particularly attractive. I think it’s safe to say that you won’t see biscuits at your local Boulangerie any time soon. Biscuits just don’t get that kind of respect. Enter Pine State Biscuits, who have come to Portland on a mission. Any discussion... [Read more]

Restaurant of the Year, 2007 – My Candidates

It wasn’t difficult to come up with candidates for Restaurant of the Year. Many terrific new ones have opened, and others have matured. I didn’t have any trouble sitting down and dashing off a list of ten. I started revisiting all the restaurants, and quickly narrowed it down to three. In making my decision, I took into account ambiance, value, service, and food.... [Read more]

Affordable Obscurities

Well folks, it official: the New York Times has proclaimed that the economy is officially screwed. And while that may in fact be true, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time. There’s a ton of wines out there that don’t carry around the financial albatross of a massive marketing department and it’s accompanying bloated prices. A whole world... [Read more]

Spella Caffe

By guest writer Axel Benjamin Andrea Spella Coffee Roaster Andrea Spella tells me over my morning cappuccino that he developed his love for coffee when he was just a kid. Growing up in a second-story apartment above a bakery in Chicago, Spella’s Italian-American family would make stout stove top coffee with a Moka Pot. Today, coffee roaster Spella crafts his proprietary... [Read more]

Esquire Names Portland Sandwich As One of America’s Best

An article in the current Esquire Magazine names what they think are The Best Sandwiches in America. “Unranked, unimpeachable, and incomplete, Esquire’s coast-to-coast list of the finest meals on sliced bread. No burgers allowed.” Two Seattle shops appear on the list, the Porchetta sandwich at Salumi (Batali’s place): The daily fresh-pulled mozzarella runs... [Read more]

Robert Irvin, Food Channel Chef Sacked!

Robert Irvin, the Food Network star of Dinner Impossible has been fired for lying on his resume. In case you haven’t seen the show, here is Food Network’s Summary: If you could combine James Bond with MacGyver, you would get Robert Irvine, a real life chef extraordinaire and the host of Dinner: Impossible. Each week, Robert (with the help of his two sous-chefs,... [Read more]

Tabla – Another Look

[It has been a while since we reviewed Tabla. Since then, it has gone through a few changes. Bruce Bauer over at wineguyworld sent me his impressions from a recent visit. I thought you might find it interesting] Getting value out of any one dish when you eat out isn’t too difficult. Here in Portland a plate of the addictive of Penne alla Vodka at 3 Doors Down or the fabulous... [Read more]