Portland Dining Month 2017

I’ve written about Portland Dining month for many years. It is that one of time year where you have a month – a whole month!! some cities only get a week!! – to go out to help support local businesses AND to try lots of restaurants at a discount from what is often on their regular menu or with special limited time dishes. That’s because the Portland Dining Month menu at every participating offers a Prix Fixe $29 for 3 courses – and in some cases some restaurants throw in a little extra. Portland Dining Month 2017 falls March 1 – 31st, so it starts tomorrow.

 
Three course dinner from Accanto in a previous Portland Dining Month year. Make your opentable reservation here

There are 125 Portland Dining Month restaurants participating, and for many you can make reservations online using OpenTable which earns you points you can use towards meals. Plus, Portland Dining Month donates money to the Oregon Food Bank for each reservation made through those OpenTable links. You can see the entire list and sort by cuisine or location here including if you want vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free options.

The $29 is as huge value for multiple restaurants where you would have normally only gotten maybe 2 of the courses, not 3 for the price. Sometimes the entree alone on the regular menu would be close to $29 already!

Three course dinner from Park Kitchen in a previous Portland Dining Month year. Make your opentable reservation here

All over this post are photos from meals I’ve had on Portland Dining Month to demonstrate how well you can eat for $29 as evidenced by my meals over the years (you can see the ones I ate in 2016 all recapped here in this post where I went to Clyde Common, Ataula, and Willow) – and I’m going to give you a list of my personal recommendations for this year below.

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

My main tip is to look and see what the Portland Dining Month courses are – they are set to specific dishes – and pick what interests you. You may have a choice of options for a certain course, but rarely can you just choose from anything on their regular menu so you although the restaurant’s reputation is important, make sure you want to eat what they are offering! That also means when you get seated at the restaurant, make sure you have a Portland Dining Month menu – you may have to ask the server if it is printed separately if they forget to give it to you. It also means one in your party can choose the PDM menu but not everyone has to – they can still order off the regular menu.

Three course dinner from Aviary in a previous Portland Dining Month year. Make your opentable reservation here

My top picks for 2017 out of the 125 restaurants participating (follow me on Instagram to see which ones I go to and photos from those meals!):

• Clyde Common. Chef Carlo Lamagna is giving you a taste of his pop-up Twisted Filipino at his regular restaurant Clyde Common, so I am pretty excited to try this Portland Dining Month special that includes
  1. First course: Pancit Bihon: Filipino stir fry-style noodle dish with an assortment of vegetables and chicken
  2. Second course: Pork Adobo: soy- and vinegar-braised pork shoulder with jasmine rice, fried egg and roasted broccoli
  3. Third course: Mamon: sponge cake with marshmallow fluff, Pandan ice cream and Grana Padano
• If you’re looking for beer for yourself or your dining companion, Ecliptic Brewing‘s menu includes the beer pairing for every course
  • First course: Pickled gold beets, mozzarella, pistachios and parsley oil, paired with Pegasus ESB
  • Second course: Spaghetti with manila clams, house chorizo, garlic and chili, paired with Spectra Hoppy Pilsner
  • Third course: Capella Porter float with caramel ice cream
• How about a Portland Dining month dinner that basically is all you can eat buffet? Then head towards Fogo de Chao where the three courses includes a huge salad bar, multiple side dishes on your table that they refill, and then turn your coaster to green and get meat paraded and sliced onto your plate until you cry for mercy and waddle out the door. Make your opentable reservation here and mention Dining Month when making your reservation.
  
  • First course: Feijoada bar with fresh salads, exotic vegetables and Fogo feijoada black bean stew, served with rice and seasonal soup
  • Second course: sides including Pão de queijo cheese bread, crispy polenta, mashed potatoes and caramelized bananas served throughout the meal
  • Third course: Continuous tableside service of a dozen types of fire-roasted meats
• If you haven’t been to Lechon before, I love it there. If someone in your party is vegetarian, this is an excellent choice because the the empanadas are always a must order anyway, and the corn humita is one of my favorite dishes, as is the pork belly there. They have crazy good cocktails there too. Make your opentable reservation here
  1. First course (choose one): Piquillo pepper empanada with Monterey jack cheese, caramelized onions and salsa verde OR Arugula and radicchio salad with pickled rhubarb, candied hazelnuts and a sweet onion vinaigrette
     
  2. Second course (choose one): Corn humita with salsa criolla and cilantro OR Braised pork belly with sautéed spring vegetables and an aji rocoto sauce OR Chilean tri-tip skewers in a smoky chimichurri and suspiro limeño
     
  3. Third course: Suspiro de limeño
• Little Bird is headed by chef Gabriel Rucker, just nominated for 2017 James Beard Award Outstanding Chef. Previously Rucker was awarded Rising Star Chef in 2011 and Best Chef Northwest in 2013. The priced listed on the menu will be $35 instead of $29, but it already includes gratuity because Little Bird is one of the Portland restaurants that is gratuity free.  Make your opentable reservation here
  1. First course (choose one): Shredded kale salad with toasted sesame seeds, pecan vinaigrette and buttermilk blue -Or- Dijon crêpe with celery root, caramelized onions and a pickled apple salad
  2. Second course (choose one): Crispy-skinned salmon with shaved brussels sprouts, acorn squash, avocado remoulade and a cranberry relish -Or- Maple-brined pork shoulder with hazelnut-celery gremolata, apple butter and crêpes noir -Or- A vegetarian option of espelette fettuccine with truffles, truffle butter and pine nuts
  3. Third course (choose one): Passionfruit panna cotta with a dulce sauce, horchata mousse and cashew crunch -Or- Sorbet duo of guava and citrus with meringue kisses

Also participating in Portland Dining Month are hot restaurants like Chesa, Departure (Opentable rez), Imperial (Opentable rez), Kachka, La Moule, Quaintrelle, Renata, St Jacks (Opentable rez), Superbite (Opentable rez), Tusk, and more. . And don’t forget to also show some love to classic Portland institutions and old favorites such as Higgins (Opentable rez), Ken’s Artisan Pizza, Paley’s Place, and Ringside Steakhouse.

 
Pomodoro from Ken’s Artisan Pizza and dumplings from Kachka are both part of 2017 Portland Dining Month menus

So do you have a friend or co-worker that you want to hang out with? Pick a restaurant a week and make one a date night, a friend catch up night, a family night, a get to know your co-workers better night. It’s good for you, it’s good for the local economy and local businesses, and if you go to the ones that offer a donation to Oregon Food Bank, also for a good cause: it’s ALL good.

  

Three course dinner from Clyde Common in a previous Portland Dining Month year

Where are you thinking of going for Portland Dining Month 2017?