Restaurants for Raphael House 2019

In a few days – this Wednesday, May 15th –  it will be the annual Restaurants for Raphael House day. This is the 10th year for this worthwhile dine for a good cause event. For any meal or snack or drink all day at nearly 60+ participating restaurants all over Portland, you are helping support families and programs to prevent domestic violence.
 

By spending your money in any way you like at these businesses on this day, a portion of proceeds will go towards this non-profit. Founded in 1977, Raphael House of Portland is the largest domestic violence shelter in Multnomah County.

Raphael House offers emergency shelter in a confidential location as well as transitional housing and advocacy programs to men, women, and children. They also have a 24-hour in-house crisis line, and work to bring an end to violence through community outreach and education.

You don’t have to purchase any particular dish or drink – they all count. You don’t even have to dine out actually – many of the participants also offer delivery (some via delivery services like Caviar, Postmates, etc.)  and those orders count too towards the calculation of percentage of proceeds for the day.

You can find the complete list on their website along with a map, but here’s my list that includes a few of my personal picks for a Portland quadrant. Where do you think you’ll go?

Southeast

• Aviv | Whether or not you are vegan, this Portland meets Tel Aviv eatery open for lunch and dinner is also home to Gonzo hummus, offering almost a dozen hummus versions to try and a tasty cashew labneh
  
• Baby Doll Pizza | This is one of my favorite pizza places in Portland, featuring housemade dough, sauce, and cheese and locally-sourced toppings. Honestly this is the likely candidate of how I’ll support Restaursn for Raphael House this week – ordering my usual, a White Pizza, aka Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, Fresh Mozzarella, House Made Ricotta, Parm, Garlic, Caramelized Onion, Sesame Seed Crust, for delivery.
• Farm Spirit | The best vegan dining experience in Portland with a tasting menu that I highly recommend even for those who aren’t vegan. You will need to make reservations on their website beforehand for their seatings, but when I checked there were still some seatings left. You can see examples of what their tasting menu experience is like by seeing my recaps from January 2019
  
• Fifty Licks Ice Cream | One of my favorite ice cream parlors in Portland with traditional as well as nontraditional flavors, including sorbets for the dairy free and the best sffrogato in town. Flavors I’ve enjoyed include Water Ave Coffee, Butter SCOTCH Whiskey, Thai Jasmine Rice with Pandan, and more. They are available via delivery too. This location is the one with the super instagrammable Tintin wallpaper.
• Ruby Jewel – Hawthorne | The best ice cream sandwiches with choose your own homemade ice cream and cookies combo in Portland, also available via delivery.
• The Country Cat Dinner House & Bar | Southern food serving daily brunch (including classic cast iron fried chicken, or chicken fried steak or smoked bbq brisket sandwich) and dinner (from that fried chicken again to a fish fry, duck leg, lamb meatloaf or a dish of whole hog) every day. Also available via delivery so make it a Southern dinner feast for home!
  
• Zoiglhaus Brewing Company | German food and beer from lunch through dinner, also available via delivery.

Northeast

• Altabira City Tavern | Restaurant at the Hotel Eastlund with a fabulous city view rooftop patio offering food and drink right across from the Oregon Convention Center and Moda Center in Lloyd Center district. During their happy hour I’m a big fan of their Forest Mushroom Pizza with Rogue Smokey Blue Cheese
  
• Dove Vivi Pizza | Famous cornmeal-crust pizzas. Some options on my regular rotation are Pesto Pizza with spinach pesto, mozzarella, fontina, ricotta, tomatoes, basil, Blue Thyme pizza with blue cheese, mozzarella, caramelized yellow onions and thyme, or their Corn pizza with smoked mozzarella, balsamic marinated then roasted onions, fresh sweet corn. Also available via delivery.
• Fifty Licks Ice Cream |One of my favorite ice cream parlors in Portland has now opened this new location with traditional as well as nontraditional flavors, including sorbets for the dairy free and the best sffrogato in town. Flavors I’ve enjoyed include Water Ave Coffee, Butter SCOTCH Whiskey, Thai Jasmine Rice with Pandan, and more. They are available via delivery too.
• Grand Army Tavern | Most known for their pork platter that includes options (or get one of everything) like beerwurst, schnitzel, cuban leg roast, fried baloney, spiced butt roast, or maple glazed ham, but I really like a lot of their seasonal vegetable plates more
  
• Hale Pele | 2733 NE Broadway All you need to know is that this is a tiki bar.
• Kargi Go Go | Georgian food in the form of dumplings  (khinkali) or cheese stuffed bread (khachipuri) for here or delivery
  

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• Pip’s Original Doughnuts & Chai | Fried to order mini doughnuts with chai and coffee beverages open 8 AM – 4 PM – order some for your office in the morning and be loved by all your coworkers.
  
• Urdaneta | One of my top recommended restaurants I refer people to when they ask me where to go eat – the Basque tapas here always impress. Besides eating all the pinxtos, don’t miss their dessert of Tarta de Queso, a burnt Basque cheesecake as shown below
  

North or Northwest

• Tilt Pearl | Most known for their gigantic biscuit sandwiches and burgers in a casual industrial loft space (there is a also a Tilt Burnside and a Tilt Swan Island that are participating, but I have only been to this location in the Pearl)
  
• Quaintrelle | Pacific Northwest cuisine with gorgeous cocktails and 80-85% of their food sourced locally that especially loves to show off the natural flavors when ingredients are so direct farm to table. I specially I love their cocktails and their sheep cheese dumplings
  
• Ruby Jewel – Mississippi | The best ice cream sandwiches with choose your own homemade ice cream and cookies combo in Portland, also available via delivery.

Southwest / Downtown

• Bijou Cafe | 132 SW 3rd Ave Breakfast classic in Portland for more then 35 years, they also offer lunch but their french style omelettes are what you should order.
• GiGi’s Cafe | 6320 SW Capitol Hwy Breakfast and lunch spot offering hashes, scrambles, waffles and sandwiches for here or via delivery services.
• Mother’s Bistro & Bar | Pretty restaurant and bar with homey decor made a bit more fancy with beautiful chandeliers specializes in hearty comfort-food by moms (traditional, comforting, made from scratch), serving breakfast lunch and dinner. They just moved to a larger location with more seating within the Embassy Suites building. They serve great cocktails at the bar, and fabulous French pressed coffee.
  
• Nel Centro | Located as part of the Hotel Modera, I am in love with the Nel Centro patio with the multiple firepits and really fun people watching with many guests (including myself) pre gaming before the shows at the nearby theaters.
  
• Ruby Jewel – Downtown |The best ice cream sandwiches with choose your own homemade ice cream and cookies combo in Portland

West Side

• MiNGo West | Italian restaurant right at the Beaverton Central Max stop offering lunch, really excellent happy hour, and dinner. In good weather the seats outside facing The Round are lovely.
  

So how about making plans on Wednesday for some delicious food and drink, and helping out an important cause?