Category Archives: Reviews

These are restaurant reviews for the Portland area

Review: Genoa Restaurant

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Food Dude
15 Comments

I’m going to assume that you know the history of Genoa, and its status as a Portland institution slowly sliding over the years as the restaurant began to be seen as a staid, old-fashioned relic of a time gone by. It closed in November 2008, changed owners, was completely remodeled, and reopened exactly a year later. Anyone familiar with the … Continue reading →

Review: Back to Ringside Steakhouse

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Food Dude
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In the early 90′s, I had my first dinner at Ringside, yet I remember the night like it was yesterday. It was a cool, crisp winter evening. I wanted to impress a date, and knowing nothing about the Portland food scene, was told it would be a safe bet. Going inside was like stepping into a steakhouse circa 1960. It … Continue reading →

Olympic Provisions – Westside

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Roger Porter
4 Comments

Like impatient readers who sneak a look at the last page of a novel, I have a tendency to scan the dessert selections on a menu before checking out anything else. It’s probably because I want to gage my appetitive capacity to decide if I’ll save room for a sweet, or simply wish to plan my dinner with the tastes … Continue reading →

Review: Aviary

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Food Dude
8 Comments

Redolent of the sea, oysters at Aviary come five to a plate on a sparkling bed of ice. They hit the tongue like silk, sliding back, the tiny summer tang of tomato granite, building to the barest hint of horseradish, and then as they go down, a whisper of salty ocean air, like you are standing on a beach in … Continue reading →

Review: Bar Avignon

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Food Dude
12 Comments

From the moment you walk into Bar Avignon the atmosphere wraps its arms around you. A long bar stretches the length of the restaurant, an easy place to feel comfortable if you are dining alone.  In the front, a small group of tables holds about 20, and a few raised booths make up the back. If you are in a … Continue reading →

Survey 2011: Best Vietnamese Restaurant

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Food Dude
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I used to eat a lot of Vietnamese, but not so much anymore, so I’m a bit out of the loop. The top two are owned by the same family. Here are the results:

Out of 638 votes: Continue reading →

Review: St. Jack

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Roger Porter
18 Comments

Liberté, Egalité, Gastromie! The French Revolution has come to town, and the only guillotine in sight is a chef’s cleaver hacking at a pig. Within a month of each other two French bistros have opened in Portland—Little Bird downtown and St. Jack, in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood, across the street from Vindaloo. Gabe Rucker’s not so petit prince, the scion of … Continue reading →