Dining Month begins!

June is Dining Month Portland! For the month of June more then 60 restaurants will offer a select set of 3-course meals for only $25. You can go to the Downtown Portland website to check out the listing of restaurants which include some of my favorites/on my to do list, such as 50 Plates, Eats India Company, Heathman, Karam, Metrovino, Nel Centro, Nostrana, Paley's Place, Serrato, and more. Going to the website you can see what some of those offerings are for each restaurant.

Also, if you make you reservation through OpenTable (which I love and have been using for years to see availability of restaurants and make reservations. Sometimes when travelling I will use this on my phone to find restaurants nearby and make a reservation right there in the car- pulled over or before I start driving of course), OpenTable will also make a donation to the Oregon Food Bank as long as you use this link.

Go forth and dine out in June!

Particular menus that particularly caught my eye based on specific offerings:

• Bluehour with courses of Cremini mushroom salad, celery, parsley, virgin olive oil, then Duck confit, couscous, asparagus-pomegranate molasses jus, finished with Strawberry shortcake, tarragon ice cream, honey butter biscuits. Update: Aw, they took out the duck confit and the strawberry shortcake, only the salad remains on their $25 menu now 🙁
• Chez Joly with soup or salad with a Pâté de Maison – Chicken Liver Mousse with Mustard, Onion & Cornichon, second course of Fisherman's Stew or Bœuf Bourguignon – Beef Braised in Pinot Noir with Bacon, Onions & Mushrooms Served over Wide Egg Noodles, finished with a dessert of Crème Brûlée
• Gracie's which has 4 options for each course of appetizer, main, and dessert including a starter of Savory Gorgonzola Cheesecake with  grilled country bread & a whole roasted garlic, or Prosciutto Wrapped Dates- stuffed with toasted almond and goat cheese served on a bed of arugula and cider reduction, Second course options of Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Breast- with mashed potatoes & green beans with morel leek cream or Pork Loin Chop- grilled bone in pork chop topped with fried shoe string fennel & drizzled in apple-fennel glaze with fingerling potatoes and mustard greens,  and Dessert options such as Chocolate Guinness Torte with mascarpone cream or Crispy Bread Pudding with warm hard whiskey sauce
• Tabla Mediterranean Bistro (Tabla’s pastas voted Top 101 in the U.S. by New York Magazine’s Grub Street.) with First Course Farmer’s Market Lettuces – organic yogurt dressing, Viridian Farms’ strawberries Second Course Tajarin – truffle butter, parmigiano reggiano — add truffle pearls for an extra $5 Third CourseForbidden Rice Risotto – asparagus, fromage blanc, aged balsamic. Planned for last week of June

Visit the Downtown Portland website now and make a reservation through OpenTable!