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Review: Hot Pot City

[Updated 10/10/09 - Hot Pot City continues to give the same level of quality and service as we discussed in the original review we did here in 2007. However, the restaurant seems to have been "discovered". There are often long waits, especially for counter seating and during prime lunch hours (12-1:30pm). Weekends often fare a bit better. Service can be brisk or completely overwhelmed.]

Biwa

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 good noodle shops and absence of the wonderful
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Review: Wong’s King Seafood

Here is another in my endless string of confessions to you, my 90,000 closest friends: I used to hate Portland Chinese. I have a lot of Asian friends. When it comes to food, they know I’m always up for Thai or Japanese, but when they’d suggest Chinese, I always seemed to be busy that night. The problem was I’d had
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Review: Saucebox

Note: if a recent happy hour visit is any indication of what is going on in the restaurant, my rating would drop to 1 star. We tried five dishes and were served what can only be described as some of the worst food I’ve had in a Portland restaurant. Pad thai with the texture of baby food. Spring rolls that
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Review: Bamboo Grove Hawaiian Grille

Down in blue Hawaii. So far away from blue Hawaii. Aloha nui means goodbye. “In Blue Hawaii” Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks On yet another daylight-challenged, Oregon grey winter day, we puzzle over where to eat. It is a frequent noon time ritual at my office. My business partner–a social worker masquerading as a divorce lawyer–disdains a “project lunch.” The term
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