The Dining Report – The Red Onion

What’s With All This Dang Food?  A Menu You Can’t Refuse!

As everyone knows, Portland has been inundated with Thai restaurants over the last 10-15 years, 90% a cookie cutter mold of the one down the street. It’s like people from Thailand come here and say, okay, Americans like Pad Thai, and Pad Kee Mao, and salad rolls, and three or four curries. Let’s build our restaurant around those dishes, throw in a few others, make them like everyone else, work really hard, then we’ll be a success, even if we are the same as every other Thai place. In a “dining town” like Portland, this really is not the way it should go, 50 marginal Thai restaurants, each with their small legion of fans.

Aside from Typhoon, which has always had innovations on their menu next to the standards, it took food visionaries from “these parts” to bring anything interesting and unusual to our local “Thai table”, Andy Richter from Pok Pok and the folks at Siam Society understanding that Portland is a dining destination in the 21st century, and palates around here are more than ready to experience more non-conventional Thai food preparations and embrace them. Pok Pok is really more of S.E. Asian restaurant though, many items have Vietnamese origins, and one of the main reasons to go to Siam Society is that it’s a really cool place to eat, the food is fine, but really not the main draw in my opinion, it’s “the scene”.

So where are those daring Thai people out there, those who understand that Americans are ready to try the unusual and unknown? (after all, how many dumb westerners try those ghastly “Crispy Pig Intestines” at Malay Satay Hut? Even I had a bite of those delicacies, and I can tell you, nasty.) Evidently someone has been twisting Dang Boonyakamol’s arm, because now, with his third Portland restaurant (he sold the other two, Chaba and Dang’s Thai Kitchen) more and more unusual Thai recipes are appearing on his menu, and Dang’s newest restaurant, Red Onion Thai Cuisine, actually has a separate special menu of authentic and daring (for these parts) Thai favorites. So perhaps it’s not too surprising to see that not only has Red Onion already become the best reviewed restaurant in Dang’s Portland repertoire, it looks to be his most popular one as well (although Chaba Thai, the first PDX restaurant he owned, remains very popular to this day). A glowing review in the A&E and being Willamette Weeks co-runner-up for restaurant of the year last month certainly hasn’t hurt Red Onion’s popularity, and besides the pleasant atmosphere and excellent execution of Thai standards, most of the praise has been heaped on Dang’s special “No Refuse” menu of more unfamiliar Northern Thailand cuisine.

 

The Dining Report – MetroVino

Great Food, But Don’t Forget Your Asbestos Oven Mitt

This dinner took place October 24th

It was strange for me to visit MetroVino, as I remembered the place that was in this space before, the unfortunate DF (good margaritas). As far as dinners in the P.District go, I must say I appreciate the ease of parking in these farthest northern reaches, you don’t have to drive around for an hour looking for a space. I also like checking out what’s going on in Tanner Springs Park, that cute little wetland park that I could gaze out at from our window booth at MetroVino.

So far MetroVino has had two claims to fame. Their original claim to fame, their Enomatic Wine System, this allowing MV to keep a multitude of open bottles of wine fresh, and consequently serve 64 varieties by the taste or glass. The Dining Report – MetroVinoTheir second claim to fame? Although no one expected it, once they opened their doors it became clear that their food was every bit as good as their wine selection. No little wine noshes at this place (although they do have small plates of varying sizes) this is full on high-end food coming out of this kitchen.

Five seems to be our lucky number these days, I can’t remember the last dinner where I had more or less than five, but a slightly varying five each time. At MV, our variance was long time member Jody, MIA for 10 months but raring to eat on this evening. Jody seems to prefer fine, rather classy dining, so I was glad that MV came along at the right time for her schedule. It was fun reminiscing with Jody on some of her past RR dinners, especially as her first dinner with the group was perhaps our most ill-fated dinner ever, Menji-En, the sushi place that ran out of rice (although experiences at Assaggio and Elenis (both in the same block, and both now closed – hmmm) were pretty lousy too, but Jody missed out on those, poor woman).

 

The Dining Report, Nuestra Cocina

A Night of Spicy Food and Freaky Infants

This dinner took place October 9th, 2009
Okay, I’ll admit I’m not great with children, especially babies. This baby, though, was straight from a horror flick, and was totally freaking me out. It’s not that this baby was ugly by any means, it was just your basic really infantile humanoid, but that scary look on its face was creepy movie deluxe, those bulging eyeballs, I had to keep turning around to make certain an alien had not entered the room behind us. Actually there were two scary looking infants at that big table at Nuestra Cocina, seemingly twins, but while one looked only mildly alarmed, the second was completely Twilight Zone material, so otherwordly, could any other explanation be in order except that perhaps its diaper was jam packed?

Well, at least I know this infant sending me to my wits end wasn’t just a figment of my imagination, as our well-revered new regular, Heidi (now with 2 RR dinners under her belt) brought this horrifying spectacle to my attention, mentioning how discomforting she found this tiny, creepy little gaze, mostly directed at our table. And once you saw it, it was so hard to avert your eyes, you could just image circular waves radiating out of this baby’s face and boring into your head until your brain exploded, or you went insane, or your food was set on fire right before your eyes. But like I said, I’m not really good with the kiddies anyway.

Scary infant aside, our evening at Nuestra Cocina went relatively smoothly. Although it’s been my favorite Mexican restaurant since it opened five or six years ago, I had not been to NC since I had a RR dinner here three years before. Nuestra Cocina is like many good Portland restaurants, you hear a certain amount of buzz about it for a couple of years after it opens, but then newer places open that garner more immediate buzz, and while you might always look upon it fondly, you don’t return for quite a long stretch of time, so you aren’t sure if it has maintained the quality and popularity it used to have.

 

The Dining Report – Indish Where’s Lassi When You Need Her?

The Dining Report – Indish

Where’s Lassi When You Need Her?

First of all, I hate to disappoint you all, but this will be a rare review, one where I can’t begin by going on and on and on infinitive about the history of the Indish, or its neighborhood, or the space it occupies, because  I really don’t know any of that. I don’t even know how long Indish has been in operation, although I think it’s somewhat new, after all, I’ve never heard of it, and I do try to keep up somewhat well, unless places are in far SW. The first I heard of Indish was a very positive review I read two weeks before in the A & E. I know nothing about the space, except that for years Star’s Antique Mall was on the corner here, and perhaps in this space as well (Cha Cha Cha’s very busy high-end taqueria is in the corner spot now). And except for a few selected areas, I actually know very little about NW 21st in this sector, except that it’s somewhat off the beaten path as far as 21st more famous restaurant row up north a few blocks.

Here’s what I have read about Indish. The owner is an affable Indian fellow from England, formerly in the field of law, who moved here with his wife, a chef, and decided to open an Indian restaurant featuring the more subtle flavors of Northern Indian food, rather than the showy “wedding food Indian” cuisine that most East Indian restaurants in the USA feature. This means lighter foods rubbed in spices for flavor, rather than heavy, hot dishes smothered in curries. Another difference, things like chapati instead of naan (okay, I admit it, this one broke my heart). Also, highly unusual, Indish has recently reconfigured their entire menu to what they call tapas sized plates, which just sounds too weird to me when it comes to Indian food, so I’ll just refer to them as “small plates”. They also have a highly chatty website/blog, which it looks like they update continually, and that comes across as rather endearingly personal (Laura, chef/wife recently sprained her ankle, so restaurant was closed for a few days, things like that).

 

THE DINING REPORT – Laurelhurst Market

First Class Dining At The Convenience Store

Yes, it’s true that Laurelhurst Market has existed for many years now, but boy, has it changed. For eons it existed as a gritty little grocery store across the street from Music Millennium, a place I occasionally parked along the side of when going to MM (I hate parking at MM) but whose doorstop I never darkened, or really ever wanted to. Then it seemed to really start going down hill, and was closed, and finally, I read some interesting people were planning on putting a restaurant in there. That seemed a bit far fetched, since how many people envision turning buildings that began their lives as Plaid Pantry into fine dining establishments? I suppose though if you think about the fact that Sympatica is in the basement of a former church of Scientology and rock music venue, it’s not too far fetched. (Speaking of Sympathica, why can’t I ever remember to have a dinner there?)

Anyway, for those who don’t know, Laurelhurst Market (the restaurant) is from those guys who brought you Sympatica Dining Hall and Viande Meets, and not only is a really nice restaurant at night, but it’s actually a high end butcher shop during the day (which I think also makes sandwiches at lunchtime. Not counting places like delis that both sell meats and have tables when you can eat at, I would think this is a Portland first, Butcher Shop/Fine Dining Combo. I’ve heard it described as a “Steak House”, and there are a few more beef cuts on the menu than average, but Laurelhurst Market certainly doesn’t have the boys club atmosphere, exorbitant prices, or snooty attitude that characterizes many steakhouses, although some of the steaks do come ala carte, with a choice of several reasonably priced side dishes you can select to go with your meat. Besides the beef though, there’s chicken, duck, a couple of pork dishes, three kind of mussels, and at least two fish options to select from, so basically Laurelhurst Market is your typical, cutting edge Portland eatery, just one that really knows steak.

I was very excited to welcome at this dinner two new members, Heidi and Julian (although I appreciate you old, stale folks as well). This food knowledgeable young couple actually asked to join in after Heidi stumbled upon our blog during her internet rambles, although I wonder about her judgement a tad, since my writing didn’t scare her away. Although I was a tad worried about inviting them to Laurelhurst Market, because Heidi doesn’t eat meat and Julian eats little except for pepperoni pizza, they walked over one evening and looked at the menu at LM, saw some fish dishes, and enthusiastically joined in. It was really good having them at the dinner, and learning about some new folks (Heidi’s from Chicago and Julian was born in Holland, although they have been Northwesterners for some time now).

 

THE DINING REPORT – NEL CENTRO

THE DINING REPORT – NEL CENTRO – June 26, 2009

A Mini Review

Yes, another prompt review on my part. But let me tell you, I’m catching up.

I suppose it was a symbol of our harsh economic times (or maybe just an indication of what a boring hostess I am) but the RR dinner at Nel Centro tied for the most lightly attended meal ever, there were two of us. Normally if I only end up with one person to join me, I give them the option of whether they want to still have the dinner or not. You know me, I’m always ready to eat, but since I advertise this dining out experience as a “group affair”, I don’t necessarily assume that people want to come in they are just dining solo with me. After all, you’ve got to have a big honkin’ three people to have a “group”, right. I also know, however, that the food and the restaurant are the major components for Glenda, so the poor woman, I didn’t even give her the option of canceling. I just wove my web or trickery and made her show up for a dinner where there was no one to talk with but me. Torturous perhaps, but the food was good, so hopefully she forgives me.

As I mentioned when I sent out the obviously well-ignored RSVP, Nel Centro is the third restaurant venture for David Machado, that clever and well thought of Portland chef who has two other critically acclaimed neighborhood places, the always lovely Lauro Kitchen, and the interesting and very modern “spice route” joint Vindalho. Nel Centro is his big city, urbane, polished place, and features the high end cuisine of two fancy European metropoli, Genoa, Italy and Nice, France,  both located on the wealth drenched Riviera. Besides the challenge of raising the bar when you already have two critically acclaimed establishments, Machado also faced the challenge of filling the huge, ground floor restaurant space of the new Hotel Moderna, located on the revamped transit mall not far from PSU, a region of town where there are few well regarded restaurants.

 

BITS AND PIECES FROM RESTAURANT ROULETTE

THE DINING REPORT – JUST TRYING TO CATCH-UP AFTER MY MASSIVE ATTACK OF LAZINESS -

BITS AND PIECES FROM RESTAURANT ROULETTE

First of all, let me clarify, I am not of a lazy nature, except when it comes to blogging. I have spent our warmer months doing PLENTY of yard work, housecleaning, exercising, even a mini building project, I just have not had the willpower to sit around plunking on my keyboard. Consequently, I have actually read many of those books I obsessively buy, so much nicer when sitting out on the deck surrounded by flora and fauna than my winter routine of reading huddled in front of a space heater. But heartbreakingly, the summer yard work season is already waning, my crazed trips to the gardening center are over, and in a month and a half, I’m sure to be stationed in front of that space heater once again. So it’s time to gather some discipline and start training myself once again to spend many of my home hours in front of this glowing screen, devoting huge increments of time documenting our latest RR dinner, instead of my summer computer activity, fantasizing about cheap Craig’s List vacation rentals I’m viewing on-line.

First of all, since I’ve been away (in late July) our good friends Tori and Dave managed to produce their offspring, Kellen Nunn Jones. Although we may not see them again for 15 years of so, I know we all applaud their effort and wish the best for Tori, Dave, young Kellen and brother Jimmy (hey, dogs are people too!)

I can’t really tell you what’s going on with too many other people in the group, as I haven’t seen or heard from them (HINT, HINT) but for those of you who remember those glory days when Marnie and Leo were wonderful members, they finally found a really swanky looking abode to their liking our in Aloha, and moved in a couple of weeks ago. So yes, now we Oregonians are stuck with them, until they decide to try to flip their somewhat rural mansion. I’ve also dined privately with a few people from our seemingly fragmented dining group, so have managed a couple of dinners at Toro Bravo, and meals at Tapalaya, Navarre, and the scary but festive food carts on Hawthorne (there’s nothing like a meal consisting of fries and a hand pie). I’ve also had lunches at The Blue Olive, Nel Centro, Meat Cheese and Bread, and Navarre. Really not much eating out over a three month time period, especially from someone who got sick of eating their own cooking over 3 years ago.

Restaurant Roulette did manage a couple of dinners in June, both with only a sprinkling of attendees, so I will include some comments on them to follow, as they featured good meals. I know times are tough out there, but things are supposed to be looking up, so hopefully we will see a few more of your food filled faces over the coming months.

So anyway, let’s begin with the review I started to write, In early June, on our dinner at Park Kitchen ….

THE DINING REPORT – PARK KITCHEN  – June 6th, 2009

A Palace of Ample Parking

Okay, you tell me. When is the last time you went to a dinner at a famous Pearl District eatery, on a Saturday evening at 6:30, and everyone in your group found metered parking either in front of or two doors down from the restaurant? True, we were a small group, but still, three cars worth of parking in the P.D. at a peak entertainment time, miraculous! So just remember, if you want a great meal and plentiful parking, head for Park Kitchen.

 

THE DINING REPORT – IORIO Bimbo Prom Queens, Strip Clubs, and How Not To Pay For Your Meal

This stupid recession is seeming killing our friendly little dining group, and because of general lack of attendance and such a tiny core of current regulars (but I really appreciate you guys!) I fret and mull over every restaurant I put on the itinerary, worried if I can gather enough bodies to have each dinner. A good example of this was the one dinner I tried to have in April, at Navarre, a total washout where I could only wrangle one person into joining me, and that person even changed their mind when they learned their terrible fate, having to dine alone with ME. Believe me, I wouldn’t eat alone with me either given the choice, but that lousy law of physics keeps preventing me from escaping my own company, try though I might.

The reason I’m off on this tangent is to illustrate my trepidation over each restaurant I select for the roster, wondering, is this a bad night for so and so, have too many people already eaten here, what if this or that regular can’t or won’t come because of ?????????? …… blah, blah, blah, on and on. Since last fall I had a general list of places that we were going to try, and while we managed a few, basically I threw the whole lot out, for now at least. I’m always tempted by the new places, and you can bet in the next few months we’ll be visiting David Machado’s gigantic new Italian place downtown and that new Laurelhurst meat joint across from Music Millenium, but obviously, not too many people are confident enough to open new restaurants the way our economy is going.

As a few of you might remember, from RR’s earliest days, I used to hand out a large list of potential restaurants at many of the dinners, and have people vote on which places they most wanted to go. Actually, it’s probably unlikely that anyone remembers these lists, as I never see my original members at dinners these days, although I know one or two still browse the blog on occasion (usually when they run out of Ambien CR, Lunestra, or Sominex). As fate would have it though, I pulled one of these moldy oldie lists from my desk drawer a few weeks ago, and actually decided that a few of these restaurants from this two year old list didn’t look half bad. Thus our latest dinner, at Iorio, a pleasant little place on lower Hawthorne I never really hear of read anything about, even after at least four years in business, but it seems to have built a decent following as time has passed.

 

THE DINING REPORT – NED LUDD

Cruising Up and Down MLK Just Like Those Pimp Mobiles of Olden Days

First of all, let me say that I’m sure people plan things, then miss them all the time, due to either unforeseeable circumstance or just plain lameness. I am not “people” though (no kidding) and have never missed, or been more than 5-10 minutes late for any RR dinner, the one time I was almost 10 minutes late due to Pearl parking (Fenouil). Otherwise though, I’m pretty rigorous about making it to the dinners, and being on time, after all, I am the ridiculous “hostess” at these gatherings.

The dinner at Ned Ludd was certainly the exception, however, not only was I at least 30 minutes late, but I nearly missed the entire dinner in my frustration over not being able to find the restaurant. That’s right, although I drove by at least 5 times, each way, I could not find the restaurant, eventhough I had supplied seemingly decent directions to other participants attending (approximately 2 blocks N. of Fremont on MLK). I had never actually seen Ned Ludd before, but those were the directions I got from their Google map. But those tricky folks at Ned Ludd, on their website they show a photo of what looks like the restaurant with their weird little sign perched in front of it, so I looked for that. And sure enough, two blocks N. of Fremont on MLK there is a big old building painted brick red, just like on their website. But as I approached, and drove around it several times, I could clearly see that the big red building was some sort of foot long sandwich shop, not Ned Ludd.

 

THE DINING REPORT – CLYDE COMMON – Where A Scream Becomes A Whisper

 

THE DINING REPORT – CLYDE COMMON  

Where A Scream Becomes A Whisper

First of all, before I dump all over Clyde Common, let me just mention that I found it a pretty impressive place. Someone sure knew how to fill a niche when they opened this establishment, (supposedly that niche is European Tavern) because the place seems to be a madhouse, or it certainly was on the Friday evening Restaurant Roulette visited there. Top this off with nice people, excellent service, a fascinating, wide reaching menu (with wide-reaching prices) and skillful cooking execution, and you’ve got a restaurant operating on all burners.

That being said, this is not a place to hold any sort of conversation. The acoustics are brutal, especially upstairs, and trying to have any normal dinner conversation, even with only four, was nearly impossible. I would have to say that this has to be the loudest restaurant RR has ever visited, certainly put over the top by the throngs of people jammed in to eat, drink, and be merry. The place struck me as a three ring circus all evening, certainly over the three hours of our visit, and it was quite note-worthy to me that both the service and the quality of the food remained first rate. I’m really glad we scored a table on the upper level though, as there was just too much action at all times on the lower floor, especially anywhere near the bar area.

When I announced this dinner, I really did not know that Clyde Common was THIS popular. I knew it appealed to the younger set, and it was a good place for drinks and happy hour, but I didn’t know it was crazy, insanely popular. As our table was on a balcony overlooking the main floor, it was perfect for people watching, and at one time, around 6:30, I saw about 12 people in a row walk in the already packed restaurant all at once, and they didn’t seem to be a group. I don’t know how many of these people show up from the adjoining Ace Hotel, looking for drinks, and how many people end up flowing to and from the immensely popular Kenny and Zuke’s on the corner, but this stretch of SW Stark is the happening place to be. You would never know there was any such thing as an Economic Downturn strolling these sidewalks. Everywhere you look, the young and beautiful set is lurking, rather like there has been a giant spewage across Burnside from the Pearl.