Giant animals sit on Portland restaurants

March 6, 2009 by Leave a Comment

For some reason, on my walk today, I came across these three, and took a photo of all three. Now I feel like playing Rampage.

This one I had seen many times since it is by PSU. One day I will eat here at the South Park Seafood Grill.

This one I have also seen many times, and it is pretty well known. In fact, usually you say the name of the restaurant "Greek Cusina" and "purple octopus" together. I can sort of see why it is associated with this restaurant- they do serve marinated octopus, and he seems to be a mascot, along with the color purple, if you examine their website. But the eyebrows really bother me.

This was a new one for me. His name I guess is Jake, of Jake's Grill and Jake's Famous Crawfish. I'm not quite sure what he is- crawfish or crab?

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Oba

March 3, 2009 by Leave a Comment

This weekend I enjoyed a stroll around the Pearl District, finished off by the Confessions of A Shopaholic movie. I found the movie more fun than the book actually- the book, and the book series in general (admittedly which I gave up after reading 3 of the books), made me annoyed which how she never seemed to grow and learn to handle her problem with consumerism, debt, and being truthful, plus her rationalizations in the book were stupid. The movie focuses much more on rounding her out as a character with showing much more the exhilaration she gets from shopping so the viewer is more forgiving, and she is implied to have learned better at the film's end. Isla Fischer is quite the talented and likable actress as well, balancing intelligence with bad choices in a sympathetic way. It's not the deepest movie, but it's marketed as fluffy fun so I overlooked its numerous leap from reality and some of the caricatures they use for characters.

I also finally made it to Oba! I have heard lots of great reviews on this restaurant, but never gone since it seemed very trendy, and I just didn't feel like waiting for a table when there are so many other places to try which don't require as much of a wait. Besides, Andina is just around the corner… Well, I was only there for happy hour, but I would like to return again for actual dinner. I had three drinks, the favorite being the guava margarita. The prickly pear margarita was a frightening shade of fuschia, and the mojito not muddled enough to give that minty zing that you get from better mojitos at Andina's or W. At $5, the prices of the margaritas during happy hour were just right, but the mojito didn't deserve it's $10 price tag.

I enjoyed two appetizers with my cocktails. One was the ecuadorian griddled potato cakes of yukon gold potatoes, muenster cheese, achiote and green onions topped with peanut sauce- I thought the flavor profile was good, but it needed better texture instead of just being soft mush.

The other was the chilé-corn fritters with pasilla-tomato sauce andlime crema- this had the much needed crunch that the potato cakes should have had a bit of, but to the opposite end because they were pretty greasy and could have used more sauce to balance out the oil. Despite the sauce you see in the picture, it didn't have enough kick to be that counterweight. Looking around though, I saw many other interesting tapas being enjoyed around me, and the dinner menu offering items such as costillas con sofrito (pound of carlton farms babyback pork ribs marinated in tomatoes, onions, cilantro and kahlua. finished on the mesquite grill) and roasted butternut squash enchiladas with creamy toasted walnut sauce and quinoa salad, among other options, seem intriguing.


Oba also is located kitty corner from Giorgio's though, which was highlighted by Gourmet magazine and other publications for their homemade pasta, and Ten 01 known for its farm-to-table approach and Restaurant of the Year 2008, is only a few blocks away. I may visit those two before Oba for a special occasion, but Oba is the perfect atmosphere for a more energizing trendy evening. Whew, it's a good thing this neighborhood is totally unaffordable to live in- I walked past a listing for an apartment/mini-townhouse and the listing on the flyer was… 1.5 million dollars. Granted, it was by the streetcar line, but… it's by the streetcar, and the train whistling through the railyards here I can even hear from my apartment more than 2 miles away.    

 

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Pudding On the Rice!

February 24, 2009 by Leave a Comment

On Sunday, I had the really interesting experience of heading out to Tigard, and for lunch we stopped at a place whose name intrigued us: Pudding On the Rice. See, I don't just eat at places that I read about in magazines, newspapers, and the internet. I'm no snob- I'll try anything.

It turns out this "gourmet dessert bar" is new to the Portland area, and only one other location exists: one in Provo, Utah. You're quite a long way from home, little gourmet dessert bar! The concept is very clean and minimal, sort of what you'd see if you visited a Pinkberry/yogurt venue, but with one differentiator. They serve rice pudding.

How is that appealing? Well, they have come up with more than 40 flavors of the rice pudding, all made from scratch daily, and include flavors like

  • Berry Manilow: mixture of blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries… "um-hum"
  • Bittersweet Symphony: dark rich mixture of bittersweet chocolate infused with vanilla and cream
  • Che's Cake: cheesecake of a revolutionary kind
  • Chupar la Pina Colada: coconut with crushed pineapple with a hint of rum
  • Dream of the Blue Turtle: fine milk, dark chocolate, toasted pecans and caramel
  • The Legend of Sleepy Mallow: marshmallow cream with a hint of vanilla and mini marshmallows
  • The Opiate of the Masses: blend of fresh lemons, zest, and poppyseeds
  • Pavlov's Nog: version of egg nog
  • Peanu Butterfuco: creamy peanut butter and milk chocolate chunks
  • Peter Primate Special: we pay homage to distant cousins with an intelligently designed and naturally selected mix of walnuts, chocolate chunks, and banana cream… evolution never tasted so good
  • Raspberry Rousseau: fresh raspberries, vanilla, and hint of almond…
  • And more…

I liked that the rice pudding was light tasting, similar to what you would find in a gelato but without the fat- these babies are only 70 calories! And, the extra texture of the rice in the pudding (you can add toppings too, but totally unnecessary in my opinion) gives you just enough extra on your tongue to taste so it doesn't melt away like ice cream or gelato would.

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If you are looking for a little bit more before the rice pudding, they also make fresh savory crepes in combinations such as shaved honey ham and swiss cheese; fresh tomatoes, scallions, and parmesan cheese; baby spinach, mushrooms, bacon, and poppy dressing; roasted turkey and cranberry sauce; tomato tepenade, fresh basil, and mozzerella; cheddar cheese and sliced apples. Or, you can choose your own fillings from apple butter, bananas, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, cinnamon/sugar, fresh fruit/berries, jam, nutella, peanut butter, and whipped cream. You even have your choice of enjoying it in a paper cone, a la the Parisian Creperies you find on the street.
 
If you happen to be in the area of Tigard's Bridgeport Village, instead of going to one of the many chain restaurants here, give this place a try. It's a refreshing reprieve from the rest of the monolithic suburbia outposts here to grab a light healthy bite in an obvious little labor of love by an entrepreneur.
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Chinese New Year 2009- cleansing day

February 18, 2009 by Leave a Comment

When Chinese New Year started, I noted that the Chinese Classical Garden here in Portland was going to have a special event on the last day of Chinese New Year celebration. I got there early enough to see the tai chi demostration, and saw little kids making paper lanterns, coloring pictures of dragons, and writing Chinese characters. I opted for Chinese tea and snacks in the teahouse while listening to the Portland Orchids and Bamboo Chinese Ensemble perform traditional Chinese music. – mooncake (which is only edible with tea) and my favorite, turnip cake!

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Unfortunately, as you can see below, shortly before the floating lantern and dragon came out, it got very grey, and it was a bit soggy and sad for the floating lanterns. However, the little boy next to me getting soaked was soooo cute, though shivering by the end. He was looking a little spacey. Reminds me of my brother. Heeee.

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Earlier when Chinese New Year started, I of course ate noodles, and chicken, and potstickers. I still needed some fish though. I wasn't sure what Chinese restaurants in China Block (it's the Chinatown downtown, but I wouldn't call it a town… sure it has the gates, but it's only like 3 blocks!) were good, so I ended up at Typhoon again. At least I had a steamed fish instead of a deep fried one like last time… though that was tastier deep fried. Well, it was a healthy start to the new year at least! And, I had more tea- my favorite tea is the Toasted Rice Flower tea. It smells great, and has a light taste. Another strikeout with the vegetarian dish though- the eggplants were fine, but the tofu salty as if taste was overcompensated for by salt. Well, the three times I've had meaty dishes I've liked them all.

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And look how pretty those are… as opposed to these veggie dishes at Paradox Cafe, which is 90% or more vegetarian/vegan. I didn't even bother to taste the vegan sloppy joe there in that third photo. I had the Solstice Corn Cakes, which are corncakes with apples and toasted walnuts in the mix (I had them with quite a big pat of butter, and the next day with lots of syrup. The parts with the apples were best, the rest needed help with the dryness. Or maybe I was just adding fat. Let's not be picky) and the half portion of "Biscuits and Gravy HOB version" which is herb and onion bread with almond gravy. The gravy was good. The bread was a bit hard, but had some potential in flavor if it hadn't been overdone- and it definitely still needed that gravy. Other offerings here include a sandwich called a Tree Hugger which you can add tofurky to, Tempeh Reubon, Asparagus Sandwich, and Curried Tempeh Tacos, Tempeh Gyro, and 8 kinds of salads, among many other items.

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How was the dentist?

February 6, 2009 by 1 Comment

Well, when I walked in, they were playing Frank Sinatra/Bobby Darin/etc type music, and instead of a clipboard they put the paperwork I needed to fill out into a pleather portfolio on cushy couches and recliners. They had a water tank with mugs and teas, but I don't like to put anything in my mouth until after a dentist appointment- that's why I always always do them before lunch.  Before I went into actual work area from the waiting lounge, the receptionist also used a webcam to take a photo of me for their records.

The x-rays were next- I felt a bit like a little kid as the woman kept saying "good job" and "there you go" as let her put the protective jackets on and then opened and bit down on command. They had a little rack with rainbow colors to hold my purse during this, and a little bowl to put my earrings. The ceiling has fluorescent lights like any other office, but had covers with blue skies and fluffy white clouds on top of them so that each rectangle looked like a skylight instead. The light by me even had dragonflies lined up on a string hanging down from the ceiling to the floor, and the corner where the woman got the protective covering for me during the x-rays was behind one of those curtains you often see in Japanese restaurants that only hang partway down from a doorway… except the pattern of this one was just plain blue, with one rabbit on it.

After the x-rays, she asked whether I wanted relaxing, rejuvenating, or purifying toner (I choose the later) which I rubbed into my hands, and then dipped into a paraffin treatment. It was nice, but at the same time I had my hands in plastic bags that were then covered by silk bags my entire appointment… I felt a bit helpless in the chair, ha ha. Since this wasn't a cleaning, just an initial consultation with the dentist, I didn't sit in the hygenist chairs which are apparently massage chairs. While I waited for my dentist, she put just a drop of arometherapy oils on my temples, and asked what music I wanted to hear from their iShuffle menus- jazz, classical, indie rock… and more, but I don't recall them all. I also got sunglasses so my eyes wouldn't get blinded by the dentist light, how clever! At the end after removing the paraffin and using a warm washcloth on my hands, I also got to choose from a large menu of lipglosses- I ended up with Hershey Chocolate.

The funniest thing for me though was the fact that everyone single person working in the office had an earpiece… when I was done talking to the dentist, I actually heard him walk away and into the microphone say "#4 is ready for checkout".

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