Just as I was working on my Top Fifteen Restaurant list, Portland Monthly has published their Best Restaurants 2008 version.
Beast
Carlyle
Clyde Common
Pok Pok
Le Pigeon
Castagna
Screen Door
Toro Bravo
Paley’s Place
Lovely Hula Hands
Chef of the year: Naomi Pomeroy of Beast
Waiter of the year: Courtney Wilson-Gorham of Toro Bravo
Some surprising omissions: Ten 01, Sel Gris, and Lucier (which is still feeling a massive media backlash for their terrible media lunch*). A less surprising omission: Park Kitchen, which is the talk of the town for seemingly losing it’s way.
I’m surprised to see Screen Door, which I think is nothing more than average southern cooking. It is strange to me, that out of all the restaurants in Portland, they consider it in the top ten.
The article is slick and well written. You can see it here.
*I refer to WW’s refusal to include Lucier in their Top 100 Restaurant’s list, and the snarky follow up by Ben Waterhouse:
We visited around 115 restaurants in the course of putting the guide together this fall (no, I won’t name the ones that didn’t make the cut), and we noticed a few running themes. It seems like just about everyone in town is doing house charcuterie —good news for the meat eaters among us. Not so great is the odd proliferation of vanilla in places it doesn’t really belong. The worst example of this is the insipid vanilla leek fondue that marred a halibut dish at Lucier (okay, I lied before—Lucier didn’t make the top 100).
Wow!
***A less surprising omission: Park Kitchen, which is the talk of the town for seemingly losing it’s way.***
Hmmm. . .seemed well compassed when I was there a couple weeks ago. . .and a few weeks before that. Crowded too. I’d be careful following the “talk of the town”. You can get lost yourself.
–mcz
We’ll have to agree to disagree about Screen Door, Dude. It’s one of my faves, but more for their weekly rotation of organics, which I combine with their sides to create a Screen Door Plate almost every time I’m there.
Service is great, the place is packed shortly after they open – yet you don’t feel rushed or like you’re being run through a mill. Add in decent, well-made drinks and some killer desserts, and it’s not hard to figure out why they’re packed.
Only drawbacks? It gets noisy. And while they clearly cater to a neighborhood, family crowd, well – sometimes toddlers just shouldn’t be allowed to roam freely around the restaurant on a busy night despite what their parents might think.
But this is supposed to be a Top Ten list. Are you saying that Screen Door is better than Ten 01, Lucier, Park Kitchen, or Sel Gris?
I think Camas Davis did an excellent job with this article and it is perhaps the best top anything list published in Portland in recent years and a piece of quality food writing. It’s nice to see someone doing something a little out of the box rather than following the herd.
You’re having to “work” on your top fifteen list? Looks like it ought to take you all of about three minutes to type it and upload it, so why don’t you do that so we can have at it? Are you including Park Kitchen in yours, or excluding it post-street talk? Have you visited as many places as she has recently? Is 50 plates on your 2008 list? After all, it’s still only October.
You should google top fifteen list – the closest food reference you will find is the top fifteen uses for aluminum foil.
Are you just having decision issues here and can’t quite nail down a top ten from the fifteen or so restaurants you have written about this year?
Lovely Hula Hands makes the top ten?
Not that they’re horrible; the drinks were good, the food was only so-so, the service spotty. And being made to wait on a cold, rainy porch; eh, not so lovely. (This was before they moved. I haven’t been to the restaurant since, given our first experience.) Perhaps they’ve improved on all fronts?
Honestly, I think they’re trying to mix the list up a bit and make it not completely about destination, big-ticket dining. Or maybe that’s just my own personal dream.
Confession: I haven’t been to PK in years. Have only done Ten 01 for happy hour. And Lucier or Sel Gris? While they both *seem* like intriguing places to try (Lucier more for the added extra bonus of potential spectacle), neither come to mind when I’m at the end of a long workweek and just want someplace to take care of me without having to put out any extra effort to be sparkling and/or appreciative myself! Also, I’m just not up for the cost for an unknown (to me.) Maybe for special occasions – but shouldn’t a top ten list have room for a place you’d visit often without having to break the bank each time?
DinahD: If you haven’t been to LHH since it moved, you are about 2 years and one top-notch chef out of date. Still, the waiting area problem persists at the not-so-new-any-more venue with their continuing refusal to accept reservations.
BetsyR: Not going to criticize Screen Door’s selection out right b/c it is nice, but if you wanted to choose that mellow vibe, after a long work week place for a top 10 list, I’d plug in either Biwa or K&Z, both of which do what they do extraordinarily well. (Note: I have an ownership interest in K&Z, so feel free to discount my views on it).
–mcz
I may not have agreed with all the restaurants listed, but they were not too far off. That’s why everyone has an opinon. Also readers must understand although probably not as harsh/realistic Portland Monthly probab,y is not so UNLIKE publications like Wine Spectator. Meaning advertising $$$ equate to selections or lack of. Now that is just my opinion. Besides I am sure between th O, WW, Trib, and Portland Monthly the top ten will be different. What should be noted that Lucier has yet to make anyone’s list despite the hype.
On that note, I wonder how Lucier, Urban Farmer, and the high priced Steak Houses are doing in this economy. I am sure week-ends are good. But how are the week nights? WIth less corporate spending, and the obvious economic turmoil, how do they survive.
Back to the topic on hand I like the choice of Screen Door. It would not have made my top ten, but would have made my top twenty. I think they ( Portland Monthly, try to choose a diverse selection ) . Biwa would have made my list. K&Z would make a top Ten lunch list. Although not listed as “dinner” I think the List is for dinner places, and let’s face it. On the East coast deli is a popular dinner choice, but let’s face it you can shoot a gun in the K&Z dining room during dinner some nights. It surprises me that they are even open as much as they are ( for dinner ). Ten 01 is solid but not top ten worthy. The wine list is, but the menu does not change enough, not enough nightly specials, and has the feel of a W Hotel dining room. The food tastes good, just not a place you can go to 6 times a month. But I am sure with these controls, the food cost is stable.
May I add Giorgio to the list of underappreciated restaurants?
I am also surprised that not one Italian place was mentioned on the list. I guess the question is, which if any Italian joint warrants top ten?
I agree with the dude that Ten 01 should have made the list. In my opinion, it’s the best upscale restaurant in Portland right now.
I also don’t understand why Screen Door was included. Yes, it’s good for what it is. But it’s nowhere near the top ten.
What, no Biwa?
One of my favorite places in town, but somehow they never make the top ten.
Most of the places on the top ten I agree with. Although I agree that Sel Gris should have been in there, too.
On a stylistic note, it’s curious to see writers still complaining about bad hipster attitude/ service.
Maybe a quarter of the bar/restaurant reviews mentioned some snotty hipster waitstaff. Jeez writers, find a new topic. They’re young. They’re supposed to be goofballs.
Being a hipster: 2004-05
Complaining about hipsters: 2006-07
Realizing you are a hipster and accepting yourself: 2008-09
Being an Italian from the east coast, I don’t think there are any great Italian places in town. I have been to them all, with the exception of Genoa, and am constantly disappointed. That is not to say that I haven’t enjoyed my meals, they just weren’t the authentic meals I crave.
What a boring, tepid and predictable list.
Not one true neighborhood joint. Not one true ethnic restaurant.
I’m about as yuppie as it gets (except for the “Y” part – anymore), but even for me this list seems almost embarrassingly tilted towards “destination, big ticket dining”, and not at all representative of Portland as a whole.
Say you ate at Beast last night, would you really want to go to Castagna tonight and Le Pigeon tomorrow? As much as I like that sort of food, if it came down to a “desert island” choice, I think I’d take Apizza Scholls over any of them.
And I just don’t get the Clyde Common love. I’ve been there three times and have been significantly underwhelmed each time. Certainly no match for the experience I had at Sel Gris (or Lincoln or Belly Timber or even good ol’ Wildwood).
Agreed on some points:
A P S is great. Best Caesar in town and pizza is excellent. Their ability to manage waiting customers and clean and turn tables is terrible.
I have been to CC once – poured over the menu and couldn’t find anything I wanted to eat so I left.
Went next door for a burger at K&Z which was average and overpriced. The place was basically empty.
I’ve been to SD a number of times, like the owners and the food was fine – best of Portland – not at all.
Pok Pok – had a few really good dishes there but I can’t stomach the local hype, hipster attitude and the dark firetrap space.
1001 is tacky and pricey – no thanks.
Castagna is excellent – who can afford to go there on a regular basis? – I go maybe once a year and more frequently to the Cafe.
Sel Gris – I went once and regretted it – everything was so rich it put me over the top.
Lincoln – side of town I am almost never in, price points are too high and I continue to hear that most dishes are too salty.
Lucier – that is an expensive joke.
I’m dining at home these days.
“Waiter of the year: Courtney Wilson-Gorham of Toro Bravo”
Really? A waiter of the year? How did they come up with that one?
There should be two lists….top 10 best restaurants and top 10 local favorites. They are two different philosphies that overlap when a restaurant is at the top of there game.
Food Gems, do you like food at all?
Don’t get me wrong, I love the food at Toro Bravo and I don’t know Ms. Courtney, but I’ve always felt the service there to be a bit perfunctory. It’s efficient and friendly, but I often feel over served. Last time I went, the server greeted our table and then explained the ritual of tapas and small plate dining. Do they really have to explain that to the majority of their diners. The majority of Spanish restaurants in the US are, after all, tapas restaurants. That said, the food is killer.
i think it’s a good list, but i agree – i would have loved to see BIWA on it.
I am also surprised at Ten 01 being left off the list. When I think of “Top10″ restaurants, I think of places that serve food I could not replicate at home. Two friends and I ate at Lovely Hula Hands this week — we had the burger, pork chop and chicken w/risotto. All were good, but nothing “special” and certainly nothing that I couldn’t have made at home. Compare that with the ribs, corn bisque, duck at Ten 01 and it’s no contest. Clyde Common is another one that underwhelmed me when I visited a few months back. Good food, just not spectacular.
BTW, if you don’t consider Pok Pok and Toro Bravo to be “ethnic”, then what do you place in that category?
While I don’t know what I’d take off (We’ve never eaten at Screen Door, can’t eat at Beast because of their refusal to substitute and Carolyn can’t do gluten, and my one experience at Clyde Common was marred by an overcooked pork chop), I’d surely add Ten-01, Lincoln, and Alba Osteria.
And NYC-PDX, Hula Hands really does deserve to be on the list. If you want something that you make for yourself, I’d suggest staying away from a hamburger anywhere ;-).
I don’t believe any Top lists that Portland Magazine prints. The lists always curiously coincide with the same folks who are paying for advertising in the issue.
Jen is right on. Portland Monthly ‘s food writing is all about hype. Can’t agree with your comment on Park Kitchen. I had a great meal there last week which featured some innovative specials that were spot on and can’t be found in any other dining establishments in Portland. Try the figged pork belly for a culinary delight.
Marshall, I ordered the chicken w/pumpkin, chestnut and pancetta risotto, – -had a girlfriend with us who is extremely picky and she ordered the burger! I believe there were only 6 entrees available on the menu – we didn’t get the short ribs, linguini or frittata. Did we order the wrong items there?
As I said, the food was good, just not special and to my mind if you are going to determine a Top 10 list, they should have food/ambiance/service that really shines above the rest.
Jen, I can understand your inherent distrust, but everything I’ve read from Camas Davis, (Portland Monthly’s food editor) has led me to believe she’s a competent writer who would not be driven to modulate her editorial bent by the folks in the Sales department. Unless I’ve heard anything specific to the contrary, I would give her — like any writer for a reputable publication that also accepts advertising — the journalistic benefit of the doubt.
plloelastico, you are correct. As a matter of fact, I sell ads for Portland Monthly. Jen and Amoureuse, you could not be farther from the truth. As the rep that handles most of the restaurants in town, I can ASSURE you that Camas (and crew) are absolutely not influenced by who is/is not running ads in the magazine. If you look at the Nov issue, you will find ONE restaurant that Camas featured that has an ad (Yakuza/Beast/DOC) and 9 that have never spent a penny with us. The editorial team compiles their information for months and months before the issue goes to press whereas an ad can be sold up to the last minute. Please don’t insult us. Our writers work hard and their picks are THEIR PICKS.
Wow… what an UN-original list… could it be any more standard?
Can three people form a bandwagon? If so, let me jump on as one who doesn’t get the excitement over Sel Gris. I’ve had three meals there, each spaced a few months apart, and I would describe the first as as objectively very flawed, the second as quite good, and the last one as rather forgettable. For that cost point, I expect food that makes me want to return the next night and order the exact same meal, and every visit I’ve had to Toro Bravo, Pok Pok, or Paley’s (and I’m talking a dozen-plus to each) has been that way for me.
This is starting to sound like a Portlandfood.org thread. Tee hee…
PDX Foodfreak get thee to Alba Osteria! Mr. Manning, you took the words right out of my mouth. Alba hits the magical combination of food, service and atmosphere -rivaling only Castagna in my opinion. (Disclosure, I’m a former Castagna employee)
I’m also with you regarding Biwa. The food is honest, delicious, and affordable. Gabe definitely deserves more recognition.
JDG- make that four, my mom used to say, “If you can’t say anything nice…”.
I guess by “ethnic”, what I was attempting to mean was something other than the upscaled, up-priced presentation (of what would otherwise be street food) that a place like Pok Pok does.
But perhaps that’s just my own, personal distinction.
As for Sel Gris, I was just there once and the dinner was fabulous. But agreed, nothing turns me off to a place faster than inconsistency.
Isn’t all food “ethnic” in the final analysis?
I’ve grown to detest that label. It’s racist. The intent is to marginalize those who are not “white” or WASP as “the other”.
We’re all ethnic. It’s not racist. I usually agree with your comments yogi, but the last one is sorta ridiculous. To label a restaurant “ethnic” is rather passe, but certainly not racist.
So what is the non-passe, non-racist term for a restaurant that serves a cuisine that was not developed, generated, synthesized or “fusioned” here in Portland Oregon, but is instead serves a presentation of a distinct and identifiable cuisine as it was developed in a specific locale by a specific population group?
LOL at the politcal correctness rearing its head in thread. Seriously, get over yourself.
So what is the non-passe, non-racist term for a restaurant that serves a cuisine that was not developed, generated, synthesized or “fusioned” here in Portland Oregon, but is instead serves a presentation of a distinct and identifiable cuisine as it was developed in a specific locale by a specific population group?
I like to call it food.
I couldn’t agree more with pdx_yogi. It’s not a matter of being politically correct but rather of mere inclusivity. A forum like this one shouldn’t reflexively assume a eurocentric point of view, and that’s almost exclusively how the term is used.
Besides, we have a profusion of words at our disposal. With some imagination we can be more precise and less alienating.
Alternatively, I’ve found turnaround to be fun: describing Sel Gris as “a great little ethnic joint” almost always perplexes people.
As somebody who is “ethnic”, it’s a-ok. Just don’t call us “oriental”.
This reminds me of the Dead Milkmen…”Dear, I think our new neighbors might be… ETHNIC!!”
Polloelastico: As my well educated and very proper Southern lady Mama said to me deadpan, “What’s wrong with saying Oriental? They are from the Orient aren’t they?” Me: Smacking my head against the table.
Political correctness aside or whatever, my minor irritation with the “ethnic” stamp in dining guides is that they are terribly inconsistent in their categorizations and of course never include elasticities from European countries. I mean, is Basque food ethnic? How about Jewish food, as some Jews consider being Jewish an ethnicity. How about Scandinavian? Why isn’t Broder listed in the ethnic sections? I do believe Willamette Week and the O have been most egregious in this manner. For example, putting higher priced ethnic restaurants in the top 100 or in neighborhood dining (i.e. Pok Pok, Autentica or Broder), then having “lesser priced” restaurants (such as Hot Pot City or La Sirenita) in the ethnic categories. I just don’t understand why they can’t just label them by type of food (Korean, Pan-Asian, Lebanese, Mexican etc.) and then cross reference them in fine dining, cheap eats, or whatever else. Or ugh, I was just in a city where the local yellow pages simply listed, “Asian” all grouped together. If anything, it’s simply bad and lazy taxonomy.
Ethnic just seems so passe and irrelevant at this point given our heterogeneous dining scene and demographic makeup in this city and country. Remember, Italian and Pizza, up until the 1970s in many places in the U.S. were considered ethnic too.
“describing Sel Gris as “a great little ethnic joint” almost always perplexes people.”
Exactly.
Because I’ve never been to a restaurant remotely like Sel Gris in France. They may serve some food that is strongly influenced by the French culinary tradition, but that’s absolutely it as far as its “Frenchness”.
Every other aspect of the restaurant is clearly of what I would call the “post-millennial west coast fusion” genre (sub category; “pricey”).
But in any case, I would suggest everybody prepare themselves. If the “E” word is so bad now that it provokes detestation from a yogi (even when someone is clearly using it in positive connotation), I’m guessing “authentic” is probably next on the chopping block.
(And just for the record, with 2/3rds of the letters comprising my last name being vowels, I too am rather “ethnic”. Just don’t call me a “towhead”)
Great discussion.
One observation I made of the “best” list is the relative newness of most of the restaurants listed – I’ve lived in Portland for 4-years now and most of them have opened in the few years that I’ve been here.
How much of what is “best” is influenced by what is seemingly “new” when it comes to food in Portland (or in general)? And then there is the closing of Genoa (which I never ate at) but, as CBF commented seemed to be stuck in a 1989 paradigm. What does it take for a longtime stalwart to maintain their standing as “the best”?
And yet, as evidenced by disparaging remarks that foodies generally make about the “americanization” of an “ethnic” cuisine, when it comes to a good “ethnic” restaurant, authenticity (or adhering to the stuck paradigm) is prized above all else. For an “ethnic” restaurant, change usually is seen as a loss of quality/authenticity. For “non-ethnic” places, it seems that sticking to a formula makes them less “relevant.” An interesting paradox.
Do I have a point? No not really. In the end, I just want tasty food.
CBF, I agree with you.
Perhaps the sense of what I was going for was more captured by the “A” word than the “E” word – a sense that you’re getting a dining experience that is reasonably representative of what you would encounter were you to travel to a certain place in the world and eat there.
To express this, you do have to acknowledge that there is an element of “foriegn-ness” (unique to the culture and place from which the food originated) in that experience, no?
Clearly (from how this thread has evolved), the mere act of even recognizing this “foriegn-ness” is a potential minefield, no matter what one’s intentions may be.
But there has to be some way to talk about the difference between P.F. Chang’s and Wong’s King Seafood.
–”Clearly (from how this thread has evolved), the mere act of even recognizing this “foriegn-ness” is a potential minefield, no matter what one’s intentions may be.”
There’s nothing at all wrong with recognizing something that’s foreign to you. We all live in a world full of shit we’re not familiar with. My stumbling block here is the frequent assumption that ethnicity is the providence of others, while Anglos are non-ethnic or something. For example, McDonald’s isn’t foreign in America, but the fact remains that it’s every bit as ethnic as Wong’s King.
I suppose that seems like so much horsecrap. The reason I’m into it is I’m a sucker for participation across boundaries. I figure the less the discussion starts off assuming a particular point of view the more people may want to join in.
From a writing perspective, words like “ethnic”, “foreign” and “authentic” are uninformative at best and at worst, a lazy short hand to critique food and a way to claim familiarity/expertise without having to explain what you like, what you know (from past experiences) and how a restaurant did or did not prepare food to an explicit personal expectation.
How I differentiate PF Changs and Wong’s King Seafood:
The menu. PF Changs is dominated by chicken chicken chicken. There’s only a few beef dishes and almost no pork on the menu. Some shrimp. Some fish. The dominance of dry white meat chicken on menus of mass consumption is IMHO a concession to unadventurous palates and restaurant economics.
The flavor. It’s been years since I ate at PF Changs, but the last time I had hot/sour soup…there was no hot and there was no sour.
One mark of a good Chinese restaurant, is a balance of ingredients (meat and veg) between the dishes on the menu. The preparations aren’t all wok/stirfry with soy /hoisin/oyster sauce. There’s some hot pot/clay pot on offer. There are vegetables other than broccoli, peppers, bok choy. There’s some whole steamed fish – cooked perfectly and delivered to the table quickly. Duck done three different ways (four, if you include the feet). And then you hope to god the cook(s) know what they are doing to get the meat to be tender, juicy, and not dry and tough. The veg to be crispy – but not raw or overcooked and mushy.
PF Changs seems to satisfy a lot of customers and seems to do what it does well. But I know that it won’t satisfy what I’m looking for in a Chinese restaurant.
Going back to the concept of “the best”…money isn’t a guarantee…but from my experience, money is rarely a liability if “the best” is what one wants to experience…
foodgems, it’s probably a good thing you don’t go out. Cooks and service industry folks can’t stand picky, non-pleasable types such as yourself.