A Slow Return to Normalcy: Travel around the world with the best takeout in PDX

It’s been almost a year since I updated – as COVID-19 quarantine started in March 2020, I stopped dining out as we all went into lockdown. The last post I wrote was about missing the last time I saw my family in Thanksgiving of 2019, and missing travel. Today is a special milestone: it marks the day that I and F get our first Pfizer vaccination shot now that we qualify. It gives me a lot of hope that we will soon be on the road to a slow return to normalcy. I hope all of you out there are doing as well as you can be, and we can eventually return to sharing stories and experiences again over that universal connection of food and drink. I look forward when these quarantine parties of 2 or less (depending on whether F is eating anything) that I’ve had for the past year can expand to include more then my household. In the meantime, maybe it’s time to prepare for travel by traveling around the world with the best takeout in PDX.
Kacha - Latkes Party set with a platter of 12 crispy potato draniki and toppings. You can keep it vegetarian with the included Endive salad with creamy tarragon dressing, Roasted applesauce with toasted coriander, Maitake mushroom gravy (so creamy and a generous portion you can use on biscuits or turn into mushroom stroganoff!), Smoky eggplant ‘caviar’, Truffled farmer’s cheese spread, and Smetana (Russian-style sour cream) or add assorted seafood including Tsar Nicoulai Caviar and Beet Horseradish Cured Salmon. Latke Parties also come with a Dreidel, chocolate Gelt and instructions so you can play Dreidel at home.  I got the vegetarian version but added some deli meats of smoked Salo and Salami and House cured salmon roe. The horseradish vodka is sold at Aria Urdaneta, basque cuisine takeout feast

It has been a devastating year for Portland food and drink industry. Some beloved establishments have closed, and those in the industry who have persevered are still struggling, most having to pivot to fit these new times. I still have continued to try to be a patron by supporting take-out and delivery from local businesses at least once a week. Everyone on this list is local. That said, it is a limited list. Many of you know that we live in SW Portland and that we do not own a car so I definitely had a limited circle of distance, with only a few exceptions where I rented a ZipCar. Even with vaccinations though, I am definitely cautious of the current atmosphere and AAPI hate incidents that I have fortunately not directly experienced yet, but have heard about happening in Portland second-hand. So you will likely see a very slow uptick of more PDX food and drink highlights from me, but it will be slow. It will still mostly center on take-out and delivery.
Ranch PDX - Sicilian style pizza, this one is the The #4 with Red Sauce, Aged Mozzarella, Sausage, Ricotta, Calabrian Chilies, Pecorino Romano, Fresh Basil Grassa PDX Pork Belly  Mac and Cheese with barbecue pork belly, jalapenos, red onion, cornbread crumbs

That said, I thought maybe I would start with a year in review of the best takeout in PDX I have had in the past year and if you have not had the chance yet, I would recommend you give it a try. Travel around the world with me while still eating in your pjs with these delicious local food creators.

Asia

Khao Moo Dang

Order anything here that includes the crispy pork belly. My favorite is the Ba-Mhee Pi-Set, an egg noddle set with five spice pork loin, crispy pork belly, whole soft-boiled egg, pork dumplings, and yu choy, served dry, and then add on chinese sausage. For the vegs they have soy curl on rice or with egg noodle or in a house curry. Theses dishes bring me straight to eating on little plastic stools along the side of the road in Thailand.
Takeout from Khao Moo Dang Takeout from Khao Moo Dang: the Ba-Mhee Pi-Set, an egg noddle set with five spice pork loin, crispy pork belly, whole soft-boiled egg, pork dumplings, and yu choy, served dry, and then add on chinese sausage

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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 PortlandI 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
March is Portland Dining Month 2018
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.

Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month 2015 first course of Roasted cauliflower arancini with radicchio caponata, roasted red pepper aioli and arugula Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month 2015 second course of Ten-hour braised beef shoulder with potato pancake, warm oyster mushroom salad and beef jus Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month 2015 third course of Honey panna cotta with candied fennel and fennel seed brittle
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.

March is Portland Dining Month 2018

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.
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