Portland Dining Month 2020 at Canard

March 13, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Another home run for Portland Dining Month 2020, this time from Canard, another one of  my top picks from my previous post. Updated March 16: Canard is closed for at least the next 4 weeks in response to COVID-19. They do not take reservations, so I recommend coming in right after happy hour guests are leaving (around 6:15 or so) where I had lots of seats to choose from on my Thursday and evening visit: there was plenty of space of a few chairs between me and others. Canard also has the items from their Portland Dining Month menu listed individually in the menu – you should try calling to see if you can do takeout, as many restaurants are offering that because of the current circumstances. Here’s a look at the options they have for each of the 3 courses for $33 of the Portland Dining Menu.
Portland Dining Month 2020 at Canard

First course starts off with either Duck confit with Meyer lemon-orange marmalade, sweet pickles and green garlic oil or Roasted cabbage salad with ranch, cheddar, rhubarb and breadcrumbs. Both are excellent choices, with the Duck Confit so rich with meaty balanced by bright Citrus and acidic pickle flavors. Meanwhile the Cabbage salad was perfectly dressed so the ranch is not overwhelming and the rhubarb adds an extra punch. 
Portland Dining Month 2020 at Canard Duck confit with Meyer lemon-orange marmalade, sweet pickles and green garlic oil Portland Dining Month 2020 at Canard Roasted cabbage salad with ranch, cheddar, rhubarb and breadcrumbs

 

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Portland Dining Month 2020 at Hairy Lobster

March 11, 2020 by Leave a Comment

As I covered in my previous posts, March is a time when 140+ restaurants offer three course meals for $33 all month long. I shared my top picks in one post, recapped a dinner at Headwaters and today’s post is the another of my dinners: Portland Dining Month 2020 at The Hairy Lobster. Like the dinner at Headwaters, you can make reservations on OpenTable via the PDM site in order to help donate to the Oregon Food Bank. Update: Hairy Lobster has temporarily closed in response to COVID-19.

If haven’t been to this gem in the Pearl District because of the weird name, you are missing out. The chef there has been in the kitchen for 50 years, and his wife (they co-own The Hairy Lobster, also known as THL) has had 3 Michelin Star experience. It is well reflected in the warm friendly service, and made me kick myself for not having been by even though it’s been here for 5 years already.

For the Portland Dining Month 2020 menu there are 2 options each for the 3 courses.
Portland Dining Month 2020 at Hairy Lobster

First course (choose one): Roasted butternut squash bisque with cranberry, orange and shallot confit (vegetarian) (gluten free) –or– Lacinato kale salad with pickled wood ear mushroom and coconut habanero (vegetarian) (gluten free). I am not usually a salad person, so soup it is for me! I loved the addition of the cranberry orange shallot confit to add brightness to the creamy butternut squash.
Portland Dining Month 2020 at Hairy Lobster: Roasted butternut squash bisque with cranberry, orange and shallot confit (vegetarian) (gluten free)

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Portland Dining Month 2020 at Headwaters

March 4, 2020 by Leave a Comment

As I covered in my previous post, March is a time when 140+ restaurants offer three course meals for $33 all month long. I shared my top picks in my last post, and today’s post is the first of my dinners: I kicked off Portland Dining Month 2020 at Headwaters.
Portland Dining Month 2020 at Headwaters menu, 3 courses for $33 all month long, with an optional $17 to get a pairing for all 3 courses of local Oregon wines

Besides the $33 for 3 courses, they also offered another huge value: local Oregon wine pairings for all three courses for $17 more. Here’s a look at the Portland Dining Month menu at Headwaters for 2020.

The 3 courses are set – no options from the PDM menu, but your dining companions may also choose to order a la carte from the regular menu if they wish. The first course was Shrimp-stuffed piquillo peppers with goat cheese, mint, almonds and frisée salad in a sweet onion sous vide sauce. I found this a well balanced dish and I was wiping my finger on the bowl to get the last of the sauce. This is paired with a bright 2018 Cremant de Portland brut urbanique by Division Wine Making Company.
Portland Dining Month 2020 at Headwaters menu, 3 courses for $33 all month long, with an optional $17 to get a pairing for all 3 courses of local Oregon wines. Portland Dining Month at Headwaters for 2020 first course of Shrimp-stuffed piquillo peppers with goat cheese, mint, almonds and frisée salad in a sweet onion sous vide sauce

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Picks for Portland Dining Month 2020

February 24, 2020 by 2 Comments

March is almost here, which also marks the start of Portland Dining Month 2020. With this post I’m sharing with you my personal picks for Portland Dining Month 2020 based on what I think are the best offerings in terms of $ value and food on the menu being offered by the restaurant. I’ve covered Portland Dining Month/PDM for multiple years, and as before, I have done the homework of reviewing the fantastic list of 130+ restaurants in the Portland area and the dining month menus they will be offering from March 1-31 2020 that count for three courses for $33.
Picks for Portland Dining Month 2020, 140 restaurants in Portland offering three courses for $33 from March 1-31 2020

You can pick your dinner destination just based on wanting to visit that particular restaurant on the list of course. This 3 course dinner deal is a great rationalization to go and finally cross a restaurant you’ve wanted to check out off your dining wishlist. Keep in mind that for further justification, you are supporting local businesses and employees, so it’s a win for everyone. And, you are helping people even more so if the restaurant takes online reservations via OpenTable. This is because Travel Portland donates money to the Oregon Food Bank for each reservation made through the OpenTable links from the Portland Dining Month website.

With 141 restaurant options, you also might want to use the Portland Dining Month 2020 website filters by neighborhood, type of cuisine, gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan options. My method is to read the menus to see what each restaurant is offering, and my criteria are that I look for an excellent savings from the restaurant’s regular prices, or they offer intriguing menu items that are special just for this month.

All of these options on my list are also all OpenTable partners, so make the reservation off the Portland Dining Month site to make sure the donation is given to Oregon Food Bank!

As an additional bonus this year, on March 5th & 6th, Seattle-based artist @Dozfy will be making a surprise appearance at an east-side and west-side restaurant where he will give away art he creates on the menus of each. If you haven’t seen his art before, here’s an example:

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Farmhouse Kitchen Thai for Portland Dining Month

March 21, 2019 by 1 Comment

Another week in March, another Portland Dining Month stop for the amazing deal of $33 netting me 3 courses – and sometimes more! For instance, at Farmhouse Kitchen Thai for Portland Dining Month, you get a free starter soup, and the starter gives you a taste of 2 different starters available on their regular menu. Here’s a closer look.

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First, I would highly recommend you make a reservation. It is definitely not a secret that the Portland Dining Month offering from Farmhouse Kitchen Thai offers a lot of variety with its 6 entrees to choose from. It is also a shrewd dollar value since those entrees are usually in the mid $20 range. So expect a packed house during peak times – if you try to walk in, you may have to wait an hour or so.

Second, you should expect that the service is going to be very functional, and forgive them for that. They are trying to serve everyone they can who comes to their door, which necessitates a lot of turnover at the tables. Sitting at a table towards the back of the house is a lot more calm then the boisterous tables at the front.

If you want to avoid the crowds, consider coming at slightly off times. I came at 8:15 pm and was never rushed out – in fact we got so caught up in conversation we were literally the last to leave the now closed restaurant as they prepared for staff meal. I saw another guest smartly order the Portland Dining Month menu but also order additional dishes to take home – I wish I had done that, even though all my meals for the next 2 days are already accounted for…

Ok, let’s get down to business. Although for the first course the official Portland Dining Month Travel Portland site lists that there are 5 options for the starter, when you get to the restaurant you actually have the choice of 3 combos. Each combo gives you tastes of TWO starters available on the menu. Each is plated individually and then put on a tray to make that duo for you, so I wonder if they would customize the duo for you on request. The default duos they offer are

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