The Country Cat Dinnerhouse Bar, Portland, OR

On my last evening in Portland, OR, I had a memorable meal at The Country Cat Dinnerhouse Bar, located on the southeast part of town. They serve farm-to-table food that is unpretentious and just plain good.
I ordered a good cocktail for starters, the Summer in the City, Russel's Reserve 6 yr Rye, Punt e Mes and fresh muddled strawberries.
Our table got several starters to share. We had the this sliced Country Cat's onion rings and a wedge of butter lettuce topped with Green Goddess dressing and a poached egg.

They gave us an additional complimentary appetizer that was awesome: braised pig face with croutons and a duck egg.
For my entree, I ordered the cast iron skillet fried chicken. It came with a sweet cream biscuit and bacon braised greens. The fried chicken was great, seasoned beautifully and not heavily battered. I was only able to eat two of my pieces, but the third was still good eaten cold the next morning.
We had two sides, the baked beans and the mashed potatoes with gravy. The gravy was loaded with meat.

I tried nibbles of my friends' dishes. Beth got the wonderful red wine braised beef with an asparagus and spring onion bread salad. Matt got the Country Cat's Whole Hog plate which included rolled pork belly, a brined pork loin chop, and smoked shoulder with grits and cider soaked cherries.


We tried a couple desserts. First was a rhubarb upside down cake with salted caramel and whipped cream. We also had the trio of puddings: chocolate, butterscotch, & creme brulee. This came with homemade cookies.
I'm happy that my last dinner in Portland on this trip was the best meal of the whole trip. Can't wait to head back.

7937 Southeast Stark Street
Portland, OR
(503)408-1414

Beast, Portland, OR

Because of the recent series of Top Chef Masters, I was looking forward to dinner at chef Naomi Pomeroy's Beast in Portland. The restaurant is set up to serve customers all together in two seatings, and the menu is a set six course prix fixe with no substitutions. Despite being called Beast, the dinner we had was veggie heavy, and I was disappointed that we did not get to have pork for our main course. I've also included the wine pairings.
We started with a chilled cream of spinach soup with a fried artichoke. The soup was really good, capturing the taste of spring.
Schloss Gobelsburg Gruner Veltliner Steinsetz 2009 (Austria)

The second course was a charcuterie plate. It included five items: Olympic Provisons' salami, pork pate with fennel & chili flake, chicken liver mousse on leaf lard cracker, steak tartare with quail egg & toast, and a foie-gras bon-bon topped with sauternes gelee.
The chicken liver was awesome, particularly with the cracker. I also enjoyed the tartare. The foie-gras bon-bon got mixed reviews in my party, but I like a sweet foie sometimes.
O.S. Winer Riesling Champoux Vineyard 2010 (WA)

We followed with a small palate cleanser, a citrus rhubarb thyme sorbet. It was a little sour and tart mixed with sweet.

Our main was originally listed as duck, but instead we had a Rainshadow El Rancho game hen served with caramelized turnips, lovage, white wine braised fennel, and demi-glace. I found the hen a bit disappointing as it was dry especially with my anticipation for a fatty duck. The veggies were excellent though.
Benoit Courault Anjou Rouge Tabeneaux 2008 (France)

The fourth course was a salad of arugula, shaved zucchini, and lemon oil with sheep's ricotta and a green garlic toast. The rose wine that was paired with this was really sour, and while it went well with the salad, it was not pleasant to drink on it's own.
Chateau Mourges du Gres Fleur D'Eglantine 2009 (France)

The next course was a cheese plate. We had three cheeses: a Washington state ladysmith cow's milk, a French cow's milk cheese, and a goat's milk cheese. Sorry, I can't read my handwriting in my notes.
They arrived with a yummy anise & fleur de sel shortbread, honey, Angelico plums, and fried Marcona almonds.
Domaine Richou Anjou Blance Chauvigne 2009 (France)
Dessert was a chocolate souffle topped with a smoked salt ice cream with balsamic macerated strawberries.
All in all it was just an ok meal, definitely the least memorable of my trip.
Clos Serre Romani Maury NV Roussilon (France)

5425 Northeast 30th Ave.
Portland, OR
(503)841-6968

Nong's Khao Man Gai, Portland, OR

My favorite food cart meal when I was in Portland, was at Nong's Khao Man Gai located in Downtown. The cart was started by a young lady, Nong, from Thailand in order to bring the spirit of Thai street food to Portland. She only makes one dish, which is common with food carts in her native country. That dish is Khao Man Gai, a simple staple dish in Thai cuisine. It is simply a boiled chicken with rice topped with a sauce made of ginger, chilies, garlic and spices.
Nong's is served wrapped in butcher paper with a small cabbage soup side. I ordered mine with additional chicken livers. The dish is incredible and so satisfying. The texture of the chicken was light and moist, the rice was sticky, and the sauce had many nuanced flavors that showered the chicken and rice. The livers were simply poached as well, and they were very good with the gingery sauce. I understand this dish is basically comfort food for Thai folk, and I can see why- it's unforgettable.

SW 10th & Alder St.
Portland, OR
(971)255-3480

Fuller's Coffee Shop, Portland, OR

For breakfast, one morning, my friends took me to Fuller's Coffee Shop located in the Pearl district of Portland, OR. It's an old school diner making great straightforward breakfast and lunch food. Inside, the diner has two long U-shaped countertops for customers to nestle into. The service was attentive as well. The waitress made sure our coffee and water was always topped off.
I could not resist ordering a strawberry milkshake as strawberries are just coming into season. Made to order, it was thick, passing my "straw test", and was delicious.

For breakfast, I ordered their "pigs in a blanket". The pancake was light and fluffy topped with powdered sugar, and the sausages were great. It even came with heated maple syrup.
My friends took home a loaf of their house made bread as well.

136 Northwest 9th Avenue
Portland, OR
(503)222-5608

The Slingshot Lounge, Portland, OR

My Portland friends' Matt & Beth took me to one of their favorite late night spots for food, the Slingshot Lounge, after their First Thursday opening. They serve bar food until 2 am, but because it's in Portland, the level of the food was definitely a notch above the norm.
I started with a hoppy strong glass of local Ninkasi Tricerahops double I.P.A.
Beth recommended the fava bean hummus with some honey. It was sweet, light and really delicious.
I ordered starters for my meal. First was the fried polenta topped with fried egg. The polenta outside was crispy and the inside was creamy, pairing well with the runny egg yolk.
I also order the yummy tomato toast with anchovies.
Matt told me that the chef at Slingshot used to work at one of the fine dining Italian places in town, and was now using his skills to make less fussy food. I wish we had a late night place like this in Baltimore.

5532 Southeast Center Street
Portland, OR
(503)445-6649

Grüner Restaurant, Portland, OR

I stopped into Portland restaurant, Grüner, for lunch. They describe themselves as 'alpine' European cuisine.
I had heard a lot about their burger, but trying to pace myself, I opted for the spätzle with pieces of riesling braised chicken, Crimini mushrooms, crème fraîche, tarragon & thyme, sprinkled with crispy shallots. It was a beautiful, simple, and delicious dish. I had an elderflower soda as my refreshing beverage.
For dessert, the Bavarian cream trifle with rhubarb sauce was rich and wonderful.

My check came in a book by Nietzsche.

527 Southwest 12th Avenue
Portland, OR
(503)241-7163

Portland Food Carts: The Gaufre Gourmet & Koi Fusion

Portland had the most food carts I've seen in any city. They are everywhere in town, and they offer a wide diversity of foods. While I was in town, I managed to squeeze a few in during the days I was there.
In Old Town, I dropped by the Gaufre Gourmet, which made Belgian liége style waffles. The waffle uses brioche style dough not batter, and ends up denser and more rich than regular waffles.
I ordered their ABC Waffle, which is topped with fig jam, camembert cheese, bacon, and arugula. It was really good, particularly the fig jam with the waffle.




Kitty corner to the waffle cart, Korean taco truck, Koi Fusion was parked, so I popped across to give them a try as well.
I ordered their kalbi, short rib, taco and the spicy pork taco. Both were really delicious. The tacos reminded me of the ones from the Kogi trucks in LA, but they were cheaper, and the corn tortillas were more fresh, so they did not have to cook them like they do on the LA truck. Portland win.

Miho Izakaya, Portland, Oregon

I went to Miho Izakaya for dinner my first night in Portland, OR. Even though it's called an izakaya, they admit freely that they are not a strictly Japanese restaurant. Chef Michael Miho hails from Hawaii so there are some items on the fun menu inspired from his home. We were lucky to share some drinks with bar manager Michael Carothers this evening, sampling some shochu as well as several beers from the local Bridgeport Brewing. I quite liked the Hop Czar Imperial I.P.A.
We started with a tasty salad made with warm kimchee and a generous amount of gochuchang. We ordered the 'Ika' calamari salad, a wonderful and tangy salad made with tender squid, and an order of the kabocha squash.

On the menu, my eyes were right away drawn to the beef 'loko-moko' burger. I'm a fan of the original Hawaiian grinds version, so I ordered the iteration at Miho. In place of gravy, they used a Bull Dog sauce, used in "katsu" dishes in Japan. The result is a sweeter and smokier taste that was perfect with the rice, burger, and egg.

Next up was an order of crab and potato croquettes. They arrived with three sauces: hot mustard, horseradish, and a tomato sauce.
The dish of pork belly with sweet egg followed. The pork belly was wonderfully braised and very tender and fatty. The sweet egg was a split hard boiled egg that was topped with sugar and flamed like a creme brulee. It was really good, but I imagine how it would have been had it been a deviled egg.
Our last item was the sesame pork meatballs, a simple but satisfying dish.
By the end of the evening, the great food combined with great local drinks really hit the spot.




4057 N Interstate Ave
Portland, OR
(503)719-6152

Happy Hour at PING, Portland, Oregon

On my first day in Portland, Matt and I went to happy hour at PING, a restaurant featuring a blend of Asian snacks and bar food.
I started with a glass of yuzu beer, a drink consisting of Sapporo draft beer with yuzu extract & sugar. It reminded me of a shandy- very light and refreshing.
At Ping, they also have drinking vinegars made from their sister restaurant Pok Pok. I tried a the tart tamarind vinegar with soda. It was also excellent.








We ordered some snacks to tide us over until dinner time.
First up was a Chinese tea egg, a hard boiled egg made in black tea, soy sauce, ginger, star anise and cinnamon. It was a straightforward and faithful version of this snack.

My favorite item was the baby octopus skewer. They were marinated in lime, chilies, garlic, fish sauce, and cilantro. The flavor was a fantastic mix of sour, spicy, and savory.

On special that day, they offered duck liver skewers. They came with a spicy dipping sauce.

I finished off with ju pa bao, a dish from Macau, that was simply a fried pork chop seasoned with salt, pepper & garlic served in a bun that's similar to a torta. It was simple and tasty.





102 Northwest 4th Avenue
Portland, OR
(503)229-7464

Arleta Library Bakery Cafe, Portland, OR

I visited friends in Portland, Oregon last week to attend the First Thursday opening of their Hellion Gallery. Lucky for me, they also love good eating.
My friend Matt took me to the Arleta Library Bakery Cafe for my first meal after touching down in town. Even though it was lunchtime, I took a page from Redneckhunter's must-orders and got the Arleta Library's Portland’s Best Biscuits-n-Gravy.

The dish has house made biscuits topped with a wonderful creamy pepper & rosemary sausage gravy. It is then topped with some thin sliced roasted pork loin. It was surprisingly a lighter dish than I expected. Matt recommended I have the house made ketchup with the potatoes.
He ordered a beautiful Cuban sandwich, and we also shared the house made coffeecake. The cake was warm and had a great crust of sugar on top.
Oh, and here's the second post in a row of a place that's been featured on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives.



5513 Southeast 72nd Avenue
Portland, OR
(503)774-4470