PDX--One Night in Portland--Only the Best, Please
I'm flying into Portland next Wednesday night. I land at 7:30 and I'm going directly to dinner! I've only got one night before I have to go on to Eugene. I want the best meal and best wines by the glass I can find. I've searched the chats and can't decide: Wildwood, Bluehour, Park Kitchen, Paley's, Castanga, Couvron, something else? I'm dining alone, so the kitchen view at Wildwood and Park Kitchen sounds fun. The side car at Park Kitchen sounds amazing. But it's all about the food. I like exquisite food, and props for local ingredients or an atmosphere I can't replicate in DC. I'm most grateful for any guidance or tips. Thanks!!!
JRinDC
Feb 23, 2005 06:00PM
My favorite restaurant is Lauro. I have been there three times and the food is consistently amazing, the atmosphere and service is warm and inviting and they have a great wine list.
I have tried the other restuarants that you have mentioned, which are good, but none of them impressed me as much as Lauro.
Rodney (LOW BBQ) went there last night, after I kept telling him how great it was and he said it was the best dinner he has had in a long time.
Brian Spangler
Apizza Scholls
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Brian,
I agree with you. I have been to all the restuarants mentioned except for Bluehour and would have to say Lauro was the best of all. I visit PDX on business from NY, regularly and ate there on Valentine's Day and had a great meal.
Hopefully, I will be able to visit your place soon for some great pizza soon.
Chris
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I have been to every one of the restaurants mentioned--multiple times. I'm also a native, so I have at least a vague idea about what makes a Portland place a Portland place. My take:
Lauro--yeah, it's really good Mediterranean/Portuguese (where owner/chef Dave Machado is from)food. No reservations policy sucks. It screws over everyone but the folks from the immediate neighborhood. The place isn't that small. Skip it.
Hurley's--another great food place, but. . .migod the service when I was last there was so serious, I wanted to kick the waiter in the shin to see if I could get a rise out of him. It's a restaurant not a church, fercrisakes. Tom Hurley is extremely talented, and I applaud his stand against the underemployed, goose hugging freaks, but rumor is that he's not exactly Mr. Congeniality. Not a great value either, compared to others of Portland's best. Skip it.
Couvron--as a prior poster noted, it's long gone. Tony Demas was a sweetheart and possibly the best underappreciated chef in town. Big problem was that his spousal unit--aka the front of house aka Maura--had all the charm of a rutting buck. Try it in NYC and let us backwoods bumpkins know what you think.
Bluehour--more super food, hot chef, but so L.A. wannabe. The floor to ceiling drapery, or whatever the hell it is, all over the place is an interesting idea, but more suited to a brothel than a restaurant. Here's an idea: stop in for a drink and a chuckle at the decor and Pearl District trendoids before heading off for dinner elsewhere.
clarklewis--if you can get over the cutesy all lower case, runthewordstogether chic, this is a worthy stop. A bit out of the way in Portland's central eastside district (where a lot of the produce wholesalers still do business), they have a serious kitchen talent in chef/part owner Morgan Brownlow. He is a regular at the Portland Farmers Market, so the place can be trusted on the fresh, local, seasonal side of things. If I was going, I'd opt for the tasting menu, since the multiple sizings on offer of the many dishes can make you dizzy. Go if you don't mind relentlessly high volume levels from all the hard surfaces in this converted industrial space. Value for the buck is not the best in town, but not the worst either.
Castagna--Owned by two of the three principals of the now long-departed and still lamented Zefiro, Kevin Gibson and Monique Siu. Castagna is actually two places, the more formal dining room and the casual (read: more true to Portland) cafe. After many fine meals in the cafe--one must order the fries--my last two visits were to the dining room. Both times the food was very solid--lotsa real Oregon ingredients, well and creatively prepared--and the service was friendly (they deftly handled the four late 60's, early 70's aged persons in the group (my parents and aunt and uncle)who tend to bitch a lot) if not all that knowlegeable about the food they are serving. This is another east of the river choice often forgotten about by us westsiders. We are stupid.
Paley's--Vitaly Paley runs a tight kitchen that consistently puts out excellent grub, much of which involves the bounty of the Oregon fields, streams and nearby ocean. The restaurant is one of two northernmost anchors of the NW 21st Avenue restaurant row. (The other, almost directly across the street, is Wildwood.) The dining room is small and has always felt a bit cramped to me. This isn't the place for a solo diner, unless of course you can get one of the little tables in the bar--do you feel lucky? Best dish--sweetbreads of all things. Fries are to die for too.
Wildwood--Cory Schreiber's place--he a multi-generation Oregonian and one of the pioneers of the fresh, local, seasonal scene here in town (the other: Greg Higgins). I love to sit at the service bar and jabber with the line cooks. Perfect for solo dining and seeing what everyone else is ordering. Pricey, but an excellent value as the portions tend toward the large side. Funny, a lot of the local food enthusiasts were ready to write Wildwood off about 3 or 4 years ago with the emergence of the next gen of seriously talented younger chefs. That and Wildwood had slipped a bit, in part I think because Cory was so busy doing good things in the community. It has definitely made a come back (was pretty damn full on Tuesday of this week) and it is one place that ought to be high on your list.
Higgins--Greg Higgins is a great chef and a great guy to boot. OK, he's originally from Buffalo or some place near there, but he commutes around town on a bicycle--even when the weather is shitty. Now, that's a real Portlander. He not only serves as much food as he can source locally, but is politically passionate about supporting local agriculture and other local food suppliers. And he has been doing it for a damn long time. I love to eat at Higgins. The flavors are generally bold and pleasing and the portions substantial. A meal at Higgins isn't cheap, but it is an excellent value. And Greg makes an effort to satisfy vegetarians and even those peevish vegans among us. The only rap ever leveled at Higgins that has even a grain of merit is that sometimes in the past, there may have been too many flavors fighting with each other on the plate. I think Higgins is long past this gripe, and anyone still passing it on is either (a) relying on out of date information, or (b) a poser trying to impress somebody with their supposed food iq.
Park Kitchen--best for last. PK is tiny, weirdly shaped and in an obscure location on the north park blocks not close to anything in particular (except the main branch of the Portland Post Office). In fact, you could easily not find PK unless you were on a quest specifically for it. Scott Dolich has become a good friend, I have to admit, but you don't need to be his pal to dig in to some seriously delicious chow. His dinner menu is divided into starters and small and large plates--not a lot of each, but enough to map a serious meal with plenty of variety. He swaps out a couple of menu items every week or two to keep things interesting for us regulars. Scott, like so many of those on the top of my list, is serious about sourcing local ingredients from small producers. As if to emphasize the point, he recently joined the board of directors of the Portland Farmers Market. He shares every bit of Morgan Brownlow's creativity in a more down-to-earth atmosphere. In fact, when clarklewis was named restaurant of the year in 2004, many felt the honor should have gone to Park Kitchen. It was a tough call. Thankfully, Scott dumped his no reservations policy a couple months ago, despite the small size of his space, so those who don't have infinite time flexibility can actually eat there. The service counter does not afford great views into the kitchen because it is too low for that. This may be a blessing in disguise since the range top sits directly adjacent to the counter past the counter's backsplash. In any event, this is still a good place to eat alone. If you can only go to one place for dinner in town, this is where you ought to choose.
Enjoy.
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Thanks for your insights. A few comments/queries:
I'm surprised you didn't find any fault with Castagna's decor. Decor seems to have some import for you and I find Castagna rather sterile and cold feeling. For me, the menu items usually sound better than they come out. And I think the food is a little too much like the decor. Very good, but it never leaves a strong impression with me.
I think a lot of people would say that Paley's is more cozy than cramped. But I'm sure one person's cozy is another person's cramped. But I never feel like I'm on top of people.
It's been probably over a year since I ate at Higgins for dinner. Maybe if they've gotten better I'll try them again, but I never had anything there I loved (except a dessert or two and their housemade charcuterie). The flavors were always imbalanced and the executions off. But really, it was always just disappointing, sounding much better on the page than on the plate.
Finally, since you're commenting widely, how about your opinions on Heathman, Caprial's, Genoa, Fife, and any other oft-named mid- to upscale Portland restaurants.
Link: http://www.extramsg.com
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Hmmm. . .I'll try to rise to this challenge, though I refuse to comment in ignorance (plus my 7 y/o and I have some serious plans today). So:
If I were a Michelin guide observer or one of the Zagat team, I might have stronger feelings about decor, but as it is, I kind of like plain (or sterile, if you must). I dine to dine (and maybe listen in on other tables' conversations), not to sit amidst some overhyped decorator's excessively hip 2 a.m. hallucination (See comment on Bluehour). So, yeah, Castagna is pretty plain, but so is Park Kitchen, clarklewis, ripe, and nearly every one of my favorite ethnic choices in town (e.g. Cannon's Rib Express--contemporary outdoor cement). So my prejudices are clear, I don't really care much about the shape of the plates or the quality of the silverware either, though clean is nice. If the food and service are great, I'm a happy guy.
Heathman: don't know much. Years ago, my ex-wife the notoriously picky vegetarian asked for plain steamed vegetables. You know, a la vapeur, nothing else. I had called in advance and the request was blessed. Not once, not twice, but three times, the "plain steamed" stuff was served with a a visibly and tactilely noticeable oily sheen. The second two times the server insisted there was no oil. Now, I'm not a big fan of spontaneous special orders, but this was previously OK'ed--and I hate having a server try to bullshit me. So, despite all the great things Phillipe Boulot does in town, I crossed the Heathman off the list after this unfortunate experience. I suppose I should try it again.
Caprials--another cross off from many years ago. One horrible meal I can forgive. Two, sorry, but there are too many good places in town and new ones to try. The second loser, btw, involved a flank steak and vegetable stir fry. About half the veggies were still in their native state and an equal portion of the flank steak was raw. I guess they forgot about the "stir" part. Ick.
Genoa--only ate there a couple times--both when Kathy Whims was still at the helm. Excellent. Not sure why I didn't go more often--maybe it was the multiple course bloat factor. Anyway, I have heard, but cannot verify, that things have slipped somewhat now that Kathy has been gone for a couple years. (On a related note, is anyone else as excited about me at the prospect of Kathy's new place--pizzeria/rosticceria @ SE 14th and Morrison?)
Fife--only ate there once 2 or 3 years ago and don't remember it. That's either because the meal wasn't particulary memorable or my brain wasn't functioning that night. Either could be true.
Well, that's enough candor for this morning. I'll try to get to some other choices later. One tip, though, before I sign off--Fire On The Mountain Buffalo Wings. But don't tell anybody.
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Thanks. I don't generally care about decor much except as it affects my comfort, thus the many complaints about annoying chairs at clarklewis, eg.
For me the sterility of Castagna's decor is more of a factor because I think PK, Fife, and clarklewis are all trying to be less upscale. But I wouldn't give a damn if I had better experiences with the food.
With Apizza Scholls up and running in town, plus places like Castagna and Wildwood doing decent pizzas, it seems less necessary. There are so many things I'd rather have: good Jewish/Eastern European deli, *Puerto Rican* or *Peruvian* rotisserie chicken, true Chicago deep dish pizza, Southern Indian restaurant, a ****/***** restaurant with tasting menus and a chef's table, a normal, but good, Tex-Mex restaurant with puffy and brisket tacos and classic chili, a good seafood restaurant, etc.
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...and good bagels/bialys, and a nice sit-down ice cream parlor.
(Otherwise, my list is similar to yours but without the Indian and Tex-Mex...) ;o)
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I'm glad you've had good luck at Higgins, but although Greg Higgins may be a great guy and a great chef himself, the times we've eaten there have ranged from decent, but not exciting to absolutely awful. My guess is that he rarely cooks anything himself anymore and apparently doesn't even supervise well based on our last trip there. We went there for our anniversary dinner 18 months ago and had the worst meal I've ever had at a "top quality" restaurant. I ordered the halibut and received a steak instead, which didn't quite go with the Alsatian Riesling we had picked out. Instead of taking my wife's entree back also, she had to eat hers (or let it get cold) while they remade my correct entree. So, after I finally get my halibut (which was okay, but a bit overcooked and bland), and she's on her 2nd clam, it turns out that it was folded over and raw in the center, and most of it was inedible. They ended up comping us everything except for the pate appetizer, which was the only really good thing all night. I've also heard numerous other food/wine lovers say that Higgins is the most overrated place in town, and none of them are "posers trying to impress somebody". If it isn't the most overrated, IMO it's darned close.
Marshall
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WOW -- Thank you! You seem like someone I would very much get along with food wise! And thanks to all the other posters as well for their insights. This has been fun. Too many options for one night, but ...
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I made a reservation at Park Kitchen. The menu spoke to me on the website and the reviews all seem to confirm the choice. Hopefully I can stop by Bluehour or Wildwood if only to see the decor and/or have a drink, but I doubt there'll be time this trip.
I will happily report back next week when I return and share my experience at Park Kitchen.
JRinDc
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Look forward to hearing the results. If you like dessert, Park Kitchen makes good ones. They won't be as impressive looking as desserts in other big cities, but they'll taste top notch.
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I'll be looking for your report! After our visit there in a couple of weeks, we can compare notes! ***kim***
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You're not going to find any places that give you an upscale atmosphere like you can get in DC. That's just not Portland. We're more casual. (Even though I found DC's upscale restaurants surprisingly casual by comparison to Chicago or even SF.)
If you want quality local ingredients with good execution, I would look first to Wildwood, Park Kitchen, and clarklewis. All three now take reservations. People here sometimes complain about Wildwood's wine service, so that's something to pay attention to. It's also a little more expensive than the other two, although the portions are larger.
Other good places that don't have as much local emphasis (but at least some) are Paley's, Bluehour, Lauro, Hurley's, Castagna, Heathman, and Fife. Caprial's and Higgins both have a good emphasis on local, especially Higgins, but I don't think their execution is as consistent. Of these, I think only Lauro doesn't take reservations, which could be a problem for you, especially at prime time 7:30p.
Good luck and report back.
Link: http://www.extramsg.com
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Sorry Jason, If you want to go to Couvron, you have to get on a plane headed in the other direction...
http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_84/...
(They moved to NYC and opened on downtown on Greenwich in December.
)
I'd lean toward Park Kitchen on your list, of the places I have been.
But I would also suggest Noble Rot. The things that make me suggest these two is the emphasis on local NW ingredients and the wine.
Not sure about the wine at clarklewis, but I'd suggest them too for the food.
And hey, if you are willing to pay blue hour prices (haven't been there, but will remedy that soon) and are looking for great food and a great wine list, you should consider Hurley's, it's in the same price range as blue hour. Some of the best service I have ever had in Portland, BTW.
Sorry to further muddy the waters for ya...guess you should cut your Eugene trip short and get back up here for some more meals before you leave, eh? ;o)
Have a great meal wherever you decide to go!
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I think Hurley's is another jump up in pricing above Bluehour. Bluehour is in line with Wildwood, Paley's, and Caprial's. Hurley's seems like it's in that same category except you have to order more food. Not to say the extra cost isn't worth it, considering they consistently use luxurious and expensive ingredients, have very good service, and very good execution.
To be clear, though, this will still keep you under DC prices. Expensive in Portland means that entrees go into the $20s. (Though usually there are still options in the high teens.)
I agree with Jill on eating less in Eugene and more in Portland, though.
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Oh so many good choices. It is funny how people see things. I have never been disappointed with Higgins but was not that impressed with Lauro. The best meal I have had recently is the chef's menu at clarklewis.
The wine list by the glass was pretty but not great.
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My favorites have already been mentioned (Park Kitchen, Castagna, Fife are all excellent choices), but if you want the city's best wine experience, you should visit Vigne wine bar after dinner. Lots of interesting wines by the glass or bottle are available. Fife and Lauro also have counters overlooking the kitchen if you're looking for places that might be good for a single diner.
Marshall
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Here are my favorites in Portland:
Bluehour-tried this place for the first time last summer and just loved everything about it! We had the potato gnocchi with the black truffles for our appetizer and I had a salmon entree that was excellent. We were with a group of five. Loved the comaradarie here, gorgeous dining room, a true Portland experience. I didn't want to leave! :)
Paley's Place- We dined here on the outside patio, just my husband and myself. Very beautiful ambiance, more of a date-romantic type place. The food was excellent. We had the musselss and the pomme frites app and I had a wild salmon entree that was just about the best I've ever had. (Next to the Sierra Mar @ the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, CA.) :)
clarklewis- I have only had lunch here, but was very, very impressed with the flavors of everything we ordered. I highly recommend this place and would love to try it for dinner sometime. I had the best sea scallops ever here and the salads and desserts were also excellent. It kind of reminds me Bluehour on a smaller scale and much less expensive. Can't wait to return! My teenage daughter also loved her egg noodle dish they prepared for her. :)
Hurley's- Oh, so wonderful! A very smallish dining room, we were seated in the bar area which was fine. Very cozy, intimate atmosphere. I had the cucumber heirloom salad which was excellent and the Muscovie Duck Breast with the garlic cottage fries. Excellent! Very nice btg wine list here, go for the Pinot Noir Tori Mor. (About $12/glass, tho.) Creme brulee for dessert was again, the perfect finish to our meal.
Next month I hope to try Wildwood and Park Kitchen and will report on those! Lauro also sounds good if I can give up a lunch at clarklewis! Please report back on where you go and how you liked it. Bon appetit! ***kim***
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I don't know if I would call Bluehour a "true Portland experience". It's one of the more chic places in town. Maybe a "true Pearl District experience". Or a "true transplanted-Californian living in Oregon experience". Of course, this last one may be the definition of Oregonian nowadays: a transplated Californian. (Hell, even I was born in California, though I've lived here since I was 6.)
To me, Park Kitchen and clarklewis capture that true Portland experience: very good on the substantial, ignoring much of the superficial. You know, the opposite of LA.
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I'd agree Nick, and really wouldn't consider Bluehour a Portland-type place.
Although, wait a minute, aren't you a Washingtonian, not an Oregonian (G)?
Marshall
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I don't know. If I pay frickin' Oregon taxes does that count? (No taxation without representation.)
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Oh, come on now Nick, you're not giving Portland enough credit. Bluehour is very chic, Portland is also chic in it's own way. We have a little place that I love to dine here where I live and I call it "my local Bluehour of Portland!" Very upscale, trendy place with EXCELLENT food to go with that decor and ambiance!
Wow, with only one night to dine in Portland, that's a lof of pressure! Let us know what you decide on and what you think, please! ***kim***
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If you end up having to choose between clarklewis and Wildwood, I'd recommend the former. While Wildwood was enjoyable and delicious (their homemade ginger ale is to die for!), clarklewis was just...more interesting, food-wise.
Just my 2 cents. Those are the only ones I've tried from your list. :)
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