Picks for Portland Dining Month 2018 + Giveaway!

Portland Dining Month 2018 is almost here! Every year since I’ve been going (since 2012!), I do my due diligence reviewing who are the participants. I’m trying to help you out by sharing my work – this year more than 120 local restaurants are participating. This year, not only will I share my picks for Portland Dining Month 2018, but thanks to partnering with Travel Portland, I am doing a Portland Dining Month giveaway that nets you a $70 gift card to a Portland Dining Month participant! Giveaway has completed – but my recommendations are still good for all of March

A full list of participating Portland Dining Month restaurants and their menus can be found at the official Portland Dining Month list and map on the Travel Portland website. As usual, making a reservation though the Portland Dining Month website can also benefit the local community. Travel Portland has partnered with OpenTable for the eighth year. A donation will be made to Oregon Food Bank for every online reservation booked at participating restaurants through PortlandDiningMonth.com – just click on the OpenTable reservation button next to the restaurant listing.

I highly encourage using this, not just for the fact you are doing good to fight hunger by using the OpenTable online reservation systems, but some places can get pretty busy so to avoid an annoying wait, make reservations with whoever takes them to spend less time waiting and more time dining. OpenTable is free, you even earn points that you can redeem for gift certificates, I’ve been using them for years! There have been times my miraculous ability to make a reservation for my dining group within minutes has made me a hero – and it was because of OpenTable’s list of restaurants in an area and who has openings.

Three course dinner from Laurelhurst Market in a previous Portland Dining Month year

How I made the list: I review the menus each participant will offer for Portland Dining Month. Some restaurants make the list because their deal of three course dinners for just $33 is a huge savings from their regular prices. They must also offer intriguing menu options that either show off their strengths or can even be specials just for Portland Dining Month.

Just because it’s not on my list doesn’t mean it’s not a good place for you to go. Sometimes it just may be their Portland Dining Month dishes are regularly on their menu but at not enough of a price difference from regular prices (which I also count if the dishes are available at discounted prices at happy hour, or a special deal on a weekday) to make my list. Other times I may think some of their regular menu options are better then the Portland Dining Month dishes they are serving up. It may still be perfect for you to try and a wonderful experience. This list is just my humble opinion and my taste. Without further ado, here are my picks for Portland Dining Month 2018.

Picks for Portland Dining Month 2018

• New for Portland Dining Month 2018, you can also try a few pop-up dinners because pop-up marketplace Feastly Portland is also participating with more then twenty chefs hosting dinners. Expect these to go quick since these are not regular restaurants. Instead, they are specific dinner events with limited seating only on certain nights that you pre-pay for your seat/includes meal and gratuity so you just show up to eat! You can see the pop up participant list at eatfeastly.com/pdxdiningmonth. The Filipino one, Barkada, I already have tickets to and is already sold out! But, you still have a chance to attend several, such as by Ed Sablan offering a taste of Guam or home-cooked Mexican with Cynthia, Caribbean Cuisine with Robert, or Vegan Nigerian cuisine by Salimatu, among many diverse choices from around the world or vegan, paleo, and even a clean eating menu. If you are not a Feastly member yet, you can get $10 using my referral link here.
  
  Example options at Feastly Portland for Portland Dining Month
• Last year I stopped at Bluehour and had a pretty fantastic meal – pair this with a Portland Center Stage show (the Magic Play opens March 8 and combines theater with magic show!) and make a whole night of it! Usually their entrees alone are already within a $30 price range at this fine dining, white tablecloth restaurant, so the $33 for 3 course is a huge value here. Bluehour is offering 2 options for each of the 3 courses, including main options of Parisian gnocchi with butternut squash, apples, Grana Padano cheese and sage -or-Pan-seared Pacific rockfish with emergo beans, roasted cippolinis, smoked broth, pork belly and saffron aioli. And then for dessert one of the dessert options is a Dark chocolate hazelnut torte with chocolate textures, crème fraîche and salted caramel ice cream. Chocolate textures? I’m so intrigued…
  Update: I’ve already visited and here’s what I enjoyed! L below for my Portland Dining Month 2018 meal at Bluehour, which you see starting off with the amuse bouche. You can see how it was for me last year when I visited at my 2017 recap. 

   

• Aviary is known for its eclectic blend of flavors that leans Asian without being Asian fusion restaurant – they take risks with their flavor combinations that are bold and unique and almost always pay off.  The dishes they are offering for Portland Dining Month are perfect representatives of what kickass chef Sarah Pliner and her kitchen are doing – for instance, the starter options of Shrimp toast with lemon anchovy aioli, mojama, grapes, water chestnuts, mustard seeds and horseradish – or – Oxtail cannelloni with daikon radish, rutabaga, house made xo sauce and mint. I would recommend also on top of the Dining Month menu also ordering their iconic Crispy Pig Ear dish too.
  Update: I’ve already visited and here’s what I enjoyed!
  • Oxtail cannelloni with daikon radish, rutabaga, house made xo sauce and mint
    
  • Hoisin-glazed beef short rib with turnip cake, bacon, mustard greens and fried shallots
    
  • Matcha ice cream with chiffon sponge cake, candied lemon, peppermint
    
• For something casual and very family friendly and also dog friendly with their patio outside, note that Ecliptic Brewing is one of my top places in Portland to go for food and beer pairings. They are offering a beer to go with your choice of any sandwich/burger along with appetizer, dessert, AND a $10 gift card good for a future visit as part of their 3 courses for $33 Portland Dining Month meal.
  
• If you have a group going, Verdigris looks to be a great bet because they are offering seven different options for their entree choice for Portland Dining Month. Just do yourself a favor and make sure to do an OpenTable reservation for this cozy French bistro
  
• I think Alto Bajo is sort of a hidden gem right now, unknown because it’s relatively new and discounted because it’s in a hotel by the edge of downtown and it took a little time to get into its rhythm after opening. They offer Oaxacan influenced cuisine and that’s what you need to eat here – and that’s all their Portland Dining Month menu offers. Their entrees give you a choice of Pollo Carbon with Mole that includes a trio of house made mole (amarillo, tamarindo, rojo) – or – their vegetarian/can be made vegan, gluten-free Chile Relleno that you see below, though the Pollo Carbon (normally $25) is going to be the best bang for your buck here.
  
  Poblano Chile Relleno with spinach, smoked goat cheese, apples, almonds, and cranberries (can be made vegan by leaving out the cheese)
• If you haven’t been to Andina before, or had Peruvian food, here’s your chance. Andina was one of the restaurants as I was first thinking about moving to Portland that I dined at and thought, ok, the food here in PDX is pretty good, I can live here. For their starters for Portland Dining Month, Andina is smartly offering a choice of one of their two causas, which are layered potato puree dish with other ingredients – it’s a beautiful  signature dish. This is one of my favorite 10 restaurants in Portland to recommend, and also my top for their bread service which comes with their trio of house salas (peanut, passionfruit, and jalapeno). When a meal starts with this you know you’re in for an incredible dinner.
  
  Andina bread service, accompanied by a trio of house salas of mani (peanut), maracuya (passionfruit) and verde (jalapeno)
• Similar to Andina, Park Kitchen was also one of those restaurants when I was scoping out Portland, wondering if I could live here, that I just fell in love with and helped cement my decision that I could move and survive here. The $33 deal is another huge savings here, since their small plates already hover around $15 (and you get 2 of them for Portland Dining Month) and their mains are already over $30. Park Kitchen is definitely making my list of must visits this year, so stay tuned to my Instagram to see the photos! They aren’t serving dessert, but instead their well known and loved chickpea fries, a choice of small plate, and then a larger protein plate (their options of Ayer’s Creek barley, smoked beets, pomegranate and chèvre for second course and third course of Carman Ranch grilled ham, collards, potato risotto and pimento cheese is definitely calling my name).
   
  Park Kitchen Chickpea fries with roasted squash ketchup / Example Portland Dining Month entree from a previous Portland Dining Month year
• Every year Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse makes my list because seriously, this is a huge bargain – all you can eat meat and salad bar for $33! As I always describe, at this definitely not very vegetarian/vegan friendly Brazilian churrascaria you basically get a parade of meat to your plate until you cry for mercy and waddle out the door.
   
  Fogo de Chão Market Table, part of their all you can eat buffet boasting more than 40 items /  all you can eat meats as long as your drink coaster is green for go!
• Other Honorable Mentions on my highly recommended list include Clyde’s Prime Rib for a prime rib dinner, Departure which is offering 3 options each for their 3 courses, classic Northwest cuisine at Portland institution Higgins or Paley’s Place, Little Bird for French, all reliably delicious Portland participants that if you haven’t been to yet, now here’s your excuse to go. Most of the participating steakhouses are a good deal. Or check out new places like Bistro Agnes, Farmhouse Thai,  Tavern Creek Tavern, and Urdaneta.

The Portland Dining Month Menu is generally a separate printout from the regular menu – so you may be able to choose from a regular menu while other diners pick the Portland Dining Month menu. If you don’t see the deal marked, don’t be shy about asking! If you are gluten-free, vegan, or vegetarian, definitely check out the filter the official website has which marks which restaurants are offering options for your dietary restriction.

My visit to Laurelhurst Market for Portland Dining month in 2015

Giveaway for Portland Dining Month 2018

Giveaway has completed – but my recommendations are still good for all of March I am going to give away to 4 lucky winners  a gift card! Each winner will get one each a $70 gift card (Portland Dining Month dinner for two) that may be to one of my picks from above – either to Alto Bajo, Bluehour, Higgins, or Urdaneta. To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below and I will also be tracking if you

• Comment on this blog post on which of the four Portland Dining Month destinations you want to win the gift card for!
• Visit my Facebook page for the blog, Pechluck’s Food Adventures. Find the entry on Portland Dining Month, and for every comment you make on which restaurant you want to win, you get an entry. You can comment multiple times and earn additional entries by tagging someone that you want to go to that restaurant with (it must be someone new for each entry).
• Follow me and visit my Instagram post at my handle @pechluck  Find one of my posts on Portland Dining Month, and for every comment you make on which restaurant you want to win, you get an entry there as well! You can comment multiple times and earn additional entries by tagging someone that you want to go to that restaurant with here as well u  (it must be someone new for each entry).
• Follow me on Twitter @pechluck and earn additional entries by tweeting and sharing the link to this blogpost, you can do this multiple times by tweeting each day.
• Visit Travel Portland’s Facebook page
• Visit the Portland Dining Month official page on the Travel Portland site and recommend a new restaurant that isn’t on my list that you want to go to!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can enter more then once with some of the entry methods I support, and you can choose to enter for more then one restaurant – make sure you specify which restaurant you are choosing for each entry. Good luck!

If these restaurants are not of your liking, or for more chances to win gift cards at various participating restaurants, check out the picks and giveaway by Urban Bliss Life, or on Facebook from Ravenous Traveler.

It’s a wonderful month – many other cities only do this prix fixe promotion for a week, but Portland gets to live it up every night of the week for a whole month! So go ahead and make those dinner dates with your friends, coworkers, family.

Where are you planning to go, what are your top picks for Portland Dining Month 2018?