My picks for Portland Dining Month 2016

It’s almost March (tomorrow! Where did February go, it flew by, even with the extra day!), which means it’s time for Portland Dining Month 2016 to begin! This is PDX Dining month’s 7th year. I’m glad to see they continue to make it a whole month long – did you know other cities that hold this type of special dinner menu special for a city last just a week? But we have all month – every day of the week for a whole 31 days! So I’m not sure I can accept your excuse on why you couldn’t make it to a single one all month long.
Portland Dining Month in March 2016

This year, a record-setting 122 restaurants will offer three-course dinners for $29 during Portland Dining Month 2016. Some restaurants are very specific on what your 3 courses will be – others provide options for each course, including sometimes vegetarian options. Still more may offer extra courses, or even a beer pairing or some restaurants awarded for their Oregon wine list may offer $15 wine pairings for each course. Pretty much all restaurants will always have their regular menu as well, so not everyone at the table has to eat the $29 prix fixe, so make it a date night, or family night, or catch up with friends.

When you visit, don’t be shy about asking for the Portland Dining Month 2016 menu if you don’t get it when you are seated as it may be a separate menu in addition to the regular menu.

Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month 2015 Laurelhurst Market menu and suggested beverages Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month 2015 second course of Ten-hour braised beef shoulder with potato pancake, warm oyster mushroom salad and beef jus

My visit to Laurelhurst Market for Portland Dining month in 2015

You dining out is also doing good for the world, not just for your tastebuds and as a reason to get together with others. Portland Dining Month is partnering with Oregon Food Bank to make a donation for every reservation booked through OpenTable links from the Portland Dining Month official website. You can see a list of OpenTable restaurants participating here for which you can make reservations online. For this blogpost, I used the same links if OpenTable was available for my top PDM picks for your convenience.

I usually will pick restaurants based on food options in their 3 courses that sound good, and then look at their regular menu to see if it is a good deal. It never ends up being less than $29 to order them a la carte if available, and some dishes are special for Dining Month, or you are getting an extra tremendous value on the price. Try upscale restaurants that have always been in your wishlist now like Imperial (OpenTable rez avail), Paley’s Place (OpenTable rez avail), Higgins (OpenTable rez avail),  Laurelhurst Market, Little Bird (OpenTable rez avail), the classic Ringside Steakhouse on Burnside (OpenTable rez avail)- whether it be the and such where usually again the entrees alone are in the mid 20 dollar range already.

Fogo de Chão grand opening - Linguica - cured pork sausage Little Bird Bistro's Chicken-Fried Trout, gribiche, fines herbes, radishes, pickled carrots Park Kitchen Milk braised pork with Your Kitchen Gardens leeks, curds and whey

Above, Portland Dining month options from Fogo de Chao (OpenTable rez avail), Little Bird (OpenTable rez avail), and Park Kitchen (OpenTable rez avail) – food shown is from previous years

Also on the list are hot spot restaurants like relatively new on the scene South American cuisine at LeChon (OpenTable rez avail), and already raved about Russian darling Kachka, smart Asian fusion smallwares (OpenTable rez avail), French fun at St Jack which is offering a vegetarian option too (OpenTable rez avail), and more!

Now is the time to visit that restaurant you’ve wanted to go to but haven’t been yet!  You should definitely check out the 3 course menu specials each one is offering to help narrow down from the bounty of choices.

I’ve mentioned already some of my top picks for Portland Dining Month 2016 above for you to check out. Here below are specifically the ones for consideration on my own personal To Eat in March list that stood out to me based on their menu options particular calling to me. Check back as I plan to go to at least one PDM dinner a week and recap them as I go.

  • You have no reason to keep saying you haven’t been to Ataula for Catalan (Spanish) cuisine by James Beard 2016 nominee for Best Chef Northwest Jose Chesa yet with this deal. The first two tapas together are usually worth $19 and a full version by itself of the third course dish is usually $34
    1. First course: Pulpo octopus carpaccio with sun-dried tomato, Parmigiano-Reggiano, pine nuts and pickled cipollini onions
    2. Second course: Tortilla de patatas con bellota with farm eggs, confit potatoes, onions and 4-year cured ibérico ham
    3. Third course: Mini rossejat negre with toasted noodles, calamari, squid ink, sofrito and harissa aioli
    4. Fourth!! : Doughnut, brioche, spiced sugar
  • Pono Farm Soul Kitchen with its mix of Japanese influence and sustainable Northwest meats from Pono Farm have been on my wish list for a while, and I finally am going to visit them in March. Their options for the Portland Dining Month 2016 menu include three options for first course or second course which sound really original in concept. (OpenTable rez avail)
    1. First course (choose one): Roasted golden and red Chiogga beet salad with wild greens, cherry-beet dressing and horseradish cream or Tempura soft-shell crab with hibiscus glaze, persimmon and pear salad with orange vinaigrette or Kakuni: 10-hour braised pork belly with sweet soy glaze, soft-boiled egg, apple and miner’s lettuce salad
    2. Second course (choose one): Market carrots, carrot purée, carrot vinaigrette, chrysanthemum, basil and walnut pesto or Mary’s free-range grilled chicken with chanterelles, frisée, black truffle sauce and red wine demi-glace or Sweet chili pork chop with roasted apples and mizuna salad
    3. Third course: Sake gelée of exotic fruits, yuzu froth and passion fruit cream
  • Willow is just opening in March right now, but they are participating in Portland Dining Month! Pretty brave to open to that guys. They won’t have a regular menu available though – this is their only menu for the month before shifting to their 6 course tasting menu in April, so here’s your chance to try them out on a smaller scale. Their food choices are
    1. First course: Cream of celery root soup with charred roots and thyme
    2. Second course (choose one): Short rib steak with glazed vegetables, potato and sauce bordelaise or Cauliflower steak with glazed vegetables, potato and sauce bordelaise
    3. Third course: Chocolate cake s’more with meringue and graham cracker
  • What I really like about Clyde Common‘s options is how it’s a mashup of Northwest goodness with a little bit of a hint of Filipino influence, which is a unique perspective. And those lumpia, which I’ve had before, keep bringing me back, along with the cocktails. I’ve been visiting the Clyde Common bar for years, but since Chef Carlos Lamagna took over the kitchen I’ve been going more often for lunch and dinner because the food options are now just as compelling as their award winning cocktail program at the bar. (OpenTable rez avail)
    1. First course:Pork and shiitake lumpia with house sweet and sour sauce and spicy greens (shown below is a multiple order plate of lumpia)
    2. Second course: Preserved ramp butter risotto with grana padano, chili oil and chicken chicharrónes
    3. Third course: Local bee honey panna cotta with chèvre whipped cream, mixed berry jam and candied pine nuts
      Clyde Common interior, taken from the 2nd floor Clyde Common dinner and happy hour dish pork and shitake lumpia
  • I really like how classic Northwest cuisine Park Kitchen gives you their famous chickpea fries and three options each for the other two savory courses that sounds really fascinating in its flavor combinations.  (OpenTable rez avail)
    1. First course: Chickpea fries with roasted squash ketchup
      Park Kitchen's Chickpea fries with pumpkin ketchup
    2. Second course (choose one): Ayer’s Creek barley with smoked beets and pomegranate or Blood orange with radish, pumpernickel and crème fraîche or Charred carrot with black olive, pecans and carrot tops
    3. Third course (choose one): Ayer’s Creek adzuki bean cake with braised collard greens and popcorn sauce or Blackened steelhead with cauliflower grits and watercress or Grilled Maupin Farm’s ham with Anthony’s garbanzo beans and green olives
  • Go visit Biwa if my Tuesday Japan travel posts have given you a Japanese craving, as they are offering
    1. First course of Sashimi moriawase, a selection of today’s sashimi dishes, including ocean trout with Deschutes Black Butte Porter shoyu (usually this option alone is $26 on their regular menu!)
    2. Second course of Otsumami and kushiyaki, many small dishes of varied and delightful snacks and grilled skewers
    3. Third course of Smoky miso vegetable soup
  • I love Aviary during dining month (ok, maybe every month. Chef Sarah Pliner is also a James Beard 2015 and 2016 nominee for Best Chef Northwest). Particularly for March though theiir dining month menu is always are a good deal (their entree usually is $23) and they always offer a special one off dish as part of their menu. And don’t forget their bread with bagna cauda is complimentary starter. I think pretty much every PDM every year I stop at Aviary! (OpenTable rez avail)
    complimentary bread service at Aviary is wonderful as instead of just bread with butter, they offered a bagna cauda (butter, garlic, anchovies) for dipping the bread. Obviously because this has anchovies it's not vegetarian so if that's important to you, you'll have to pass on the dip. One of the two breads on the plate was an olive bread.

    1. First course (choose one): Braised beef cheek dumpling of egg yolk, jicama, cucumber and peanuts or
      Prawn salad with snap peas, coconut, Cara Cara oranges, jalapeño and taro root crisp
    2. Second course (choose one): Red cooked kurobuta pork short rib with rutabaga, enoki mushrooms, fish sauce and pickled Thai chiles or Pineapple curry with glazed skate wing, Manila clams, cranberry beans, maitake mushrooms and sea beans
    3. Third course (choose one): Pistachio dacquoise yogurt mousse and grapefruit sorbet or Chocolate cremeux cake with passion fruit and crispy rice
  • Acadia, a New Orleans Bistro, is offering  (photos are from a previous visit of the shrimp and sheepshead – which is a fish btw. I remember with that shrimp I went back to the bowl and spooned the sauce right onto my bread. If you haven’t been here yet, get yourself here as I am putting this on my list even though I’ve had these dishes before because they are just that good.) Treat yourself to some different flavors then the norm with the bright Creole cuisine here.
    1. First course of Louisiana barbecue shrimp with lemon, black pepper, white wine and butter
    2. Second course of Bronzed wild-caught Louisiana sheepshead with buttermilk cornbread puree, pickled beet relish and sauce meunière
    3. Third course of Creole bread pudding with salted whiskey caramel, whipped cream and pecans
      Acadia Restaurant Portland, Louisiana Barbeque Shrimp with lemon, black pepper, white wine and butter. I went back to the bowl and spooned the sauce right onto my bread. Acadia Restaurant Portland, Bronzed, Wild-Caught Louisiana Sheepshead with Spinach Madeline pie and blue crab meuniére.
  • You can get a hint of one of the best restaurants in Portland Castagna and its genius chef Justin Woodward (he was a finalist for the James Beard Awards last year, also a James Beard 2016 nominee for Best Chef Northwest this year and previous 2 years and nominated for Rising Star Chef of the Year in 2013) by visiting the more casual Cafe Castagna next door. Their entree of milk braised pork shoulder alone is usually $24. (OpenTable rez avail)
    1. First course (choose one): Classic salad with a butter lettuce rosette and royale dressing or duck fat fried potatoes
    2. Second course: Milk-braised pork shoulder with shaved Tokyo turnips
    3. Third course (choose one): Butterscotch pot de crème  or Blackberry sorbet
  • Accanto is the casual enoteca experience if you want Italian, and they are raising the bar by offering four courses for your $29- and two options for three of the courses. (OpenTable rez avail)
    1. First course (choose one): Paté di Campagna: pork terrine with whole grain mustard, charred bread and parsley or Tortino di riso con carciofi: risotto pancake stuffed with artichokes, pecorino and tomato jam.
    2. Second course (choose one): Zuppa di pasta e fagioli with cannellini beans, macaroni, tomatoes and vegetable broth  or Insalata di Caesar with chicories, crispy ciabatta, parmigiano and boquerones.
    3. Third course (choose one): Strozzapreti con funghi e: ricotta, house pasta, soffrito with mushrooms, spinach, ricotta and soft boiled egg or Lombata di maiale balsamico: roasted pork loin, portabello and sundried tomatoes, escarole and balsamic demi-glace.
    4. Fourth course: Tiramisu

You can check out the official Portland Dining Month website  to see those restaurants and filter by location, cuisine, or view the details of the courses that will be offered and options for courses if applicable.

What are you eyeing to enjoy for March and Portland Dining Month 2016?

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Portland Dining Month 2015

Starting Sunday March 1 2015 Portland will be kicking off Portland Dining Month 2015. During this month, more than 100 participating restaurants all over Portland will be offering a special menu of 3 courses for $29 in order to entice you to visit and see what that restaurant is all about.

Almost all the restaurants will also have their regular menu available, so your dining party doesn’t all have to eat the Dining Month menu, though several of the Dining Month menus offer multiple choices for each of the courses as well so you can all dine at that price.

Portland Dining Month 2015

In terms of the Portland Dining Month menu items, make sure you do ask for it because sometimes the restaurant lists it on a separate menu from the regular menu. Other times, it is part of the regular menu because it’s an item usually on their list but in many cases is priced special only for that month, thus lets you have one of the signature dishes of that restaurant for cheaper than normal.

On the other hand, some restaurants create new items especially for Portland Dining Month and so the special is only for this month!

Furthermore, about 1/3 of those restaurants will additionally have curated a beer pairing or incorporated beer into their dish in some way to highlight a local brewer.

If you are an OpenTable user where you can make reservations for your dining party with just a few clicks of a button, about 60+ of the restaurants on the Portland Dining Month list are also available on OpenTable to make your online reservations.

I wanted to highlight my personal picks for some restaurants that are participating in Portland Dining Month and what their dining month menu offers. There are many, many, many wonderful picks on the list, I’m just pointing out a few based on value or what the menu choice item is to my taste.

Aviary

Aviary had me at their first course option… Their food is consistently good and surprising with their twists on Asian inspiration mixed with unusual flavor combinations. And, they take reservations on Opentable. Update! I went and posted a photo recap here

  • First course (choose one): Dungeness crab chawanmushi with bone marrow, sea urchin, Asian pear, snap peas and truffle vinaigrette -OR- Warm vegetable salad with romanesco, pumpkin, Brussels sprouts, lime-pickle vinaigrette and black garlic
  • Second course (choose one): Miso-braised beef short rib with taro root, Asian pear, yuzu kosho slaw -OR- Pan-seared salmon with cauliflower, saffron, green apple, trout roe and American caviar
  • Third course (choose one): Chocolate tart with banana ice cream and cocoa nibs -OR- Baked meringue with huckleberries and Meyer lemon sorbet

Laurelhurst Market

Usually that second course item alone at Laurelhurst Market is $26 on their regular menu. Update! I went and posted a photo recap here

  • First course: Roasted cauliflower arancini with radicchio caponata, roasted red pepper aioli and arugula
  • Second course: Ten-hour braised beef shoulder with potato pancake, warm oyster mushroom salad and beef jus
  • Third course: Honey panna cotta with candied fennel and fennel seed brittle

Nedd Ludd

Nedd Ludd not only is a fantastic restaurant in terms of food and charming atmosphere, but with participating in Portland Dining Month are offering you a huge value because their dinner plate mains are already usually already in the 20 dollar range, so you are getting a bonus that you’ll be getting 3 courses! And, you even get a choice with your first or second courses, and the option is vegetarian friendly so I can take my vegetarian F.

  • First course (choose one): Escarole salad with lemon, egg, olives and crouton -OR- Charred broccoli raab with sumac, za’atar, pomegranate and yogurt
  • Second course (choose one): Chicken breast with leek and mushroom ragout, preserved lemon and green olive -OR- Vegetable gratin with walnut-parsley sauce and spring greens
  • Third course: Bourbon-buttermilk panna cotta with cocoa nib crumb

Park Kitchen

Based on last year when I went to a Portland Dining Month dinner at Park Kitchen, I would recommend Park Kitchen as an option for you. Besides just casually dining near the table of Gabe Rucker, the dinner was one of my favorite of all the Portland Dining Month dinners I went to last year. Make sure you get those chickpea fries! And, they take reservations on Opentable.

  • First course (choose one): Chickpea fries with squash ketchup -OR- Salad of escarole, radishes, red onion and buttermilk dressing
    Park Kitchen's Chickpea fries with pumpkin ketchup
  • Second course (choose one): Ayer’s Creek corn grits, mushroom gravy and Hoppin’ John -OR- Payne Family Farms pork roast with collards, red-eye gravy and cornbread dressing. Last year they offered the grits as a vegetarian option as well, but I went with the pork, which last year was this Milk braised pork with Your Kitchen Gardens leeks, curds and whey so I think this year’s Pork Roast will be just as good.
    Park Kitchen Milk braised pork with Your Kitchen Gardens leeks, curds and whey
  • Third course: Double-chocolate tart with salted caramel and hazelnuts

Lincoln or Sunshine Tavern

While Dumpling Week was going on, I had an amazing dumpling dinner (in which the dumpling was Malloreddus tossed in sea urchin butter with mint and preserved lemon) at Lincoln Restaurant. That it was phenomenal shouldn’t be a surprise, especially given that chef Jenn Louis has just released her book Pasta by Hand: A Collection of Italy’s Regional Hand-Shaped Pasta. Based on the fantastic experience I had at that small dinner, I would highly recommend Lincoln for Portland Dining Month, especially since she is showcasing another pasta, and this pasta by itself is usually $18 on their menu. And, they take reservations on Opentable. For a more casual option, consider Sunshine Tavern with it’s list of 8 different sandwiches as your second course.

Lincoln

  • First course: Baked hen eggs with cream, Castelvetrano olives and herbed breadcrumbs
  • Second course: Spaccatelli pasta with smoked tallow, speck and sherry
  • Third course: Brutti ma buoni cookies

Sunshine Tavern

  • First course (choose one): Salad of romaine with fried capers, Parmesan, croutons and garlic vinaigrette  -OR- Iceberg wedge salad with buttermilk blue cheese, roasted tesa pork and sieved egg  -OR- Chopped salad of lettuces, pepperoncini, provolone, French fries and salami
  • Second course (choose one): Chicken burger with provolone, radicchio and arugula  -OR- Crispy oyster sandwich with fennel, cabbage and tartar sauce  -OR- Monte Cristo sandwich with fried egg and Marionberry preserves  -OR- Fried chicken sandwich with blue cheese dressing, celery, red onion and chili mayonnaise with spicy chicken lacquer  -OR- Duck-egg sandwich with pimento cheese, spicy pickles and arugula  -OR- Pork burger with Swiss cheese, preserved cabbage and brown mustard  -OR- Jambon beurre royale with butter, fleur de sel, radishes and fennel  -OR -Pork belly medianoche with ham and spicy pickle
  • Third course:Soft-serve ice cream

Little Bird

Little Bird is giving you a deal as well for Portland Dining Month, since their entrees are usually in the $20s and the appetizers in the $15s so you are making out for a mere $29. That choice of chicken fried trout is enough for two people. And, they take reservations on Opentable.

  • First course (choose one): Soup du jour -OR- Salad of frisée, citrus, pistachios, olives and sheep’s cheese vinaigrette -OR- Goat cheese gnocchi, celeriac, mushrooms and Le Chevrot
  • Second course (choose one):Chicken-fried trout, pickled carrots, fine herbs, radish, Dijon and gribiche -OR- Cider-braised pork shoulder with cabbage, carrot and apple slaw, toasted walnuts and bacon vinaigrette
    Little Bird Bistro's Chicken-Fried Trout, gribiche, fines herbes, radishes, pickled carrots
  • Third course: Chocolate mousse cake with pistachio, Meyer lemon and nougat -OR- Ice cream -OR- Sorbet

Fogo de Chao

Another example of a huge value, the dinners at Fogo de Chao are usually $49 for the salad bar, sides, and meats. The Portland Dining Month menu gives you a more limited selection of the meats, but it’s 8 of them and most importantly includes what I think is their best meat cut, the Picanha. The Portland Dining Month menu excludes the Costela (beef ribs), Beef Ancho (ribeye), Filet Mignons and Lamb Chops. The price you are paying with Portland Dining Month is usually the cost of the salad bar alone during dinner! And, they take reservations on Opentable.

  • First course (choose one): Fresh seasonal salads, rare and exotic vegetables, imported cheeses and cured meats
    Fogo de Chão grand opening in Portland- some examples of what is at the salad bar Fogo de Chão grand opening in Portland- some examples of what is at the salad bar
  • Second course (choose one): Brazilian cheese bread (pão de queijo), caramelized bananas, garlic mashed potatoes and crispy polenta
    Fogo de Chão grand opening -  that chewy Brazilian take on gougeres of pão de queijo Fogo de Chão grand opening - sides for the table of caramelized bananas Fogo de Chão grand opening - sides for the table of polenta
  • Third course: Fire-roasted meats carved and served tableside, including Picanha, Alcatra, Fraldinha, Cordeiro, Linguica, Costela de Porco, Lombo and Frango. Check out what these meat cuts really are here, and I covered the restaurant opening so have some photos and descriptions also here at “Grand Opening: Fogo de Chão Portland Churrascaria
    Fogo de Chão grand opening - Picanha (2 versions)-  prime cut of top sirloin, either traditional light seasoning or garlic version Fogo de Chão grand opening - Linguica - cured pork sausage

Paley’s Place

An excuse to visit classy Paley’s Place for an intimate, romantic dinner!

  • First course: Salad of kale and roasted acorn squash with chèvre and balsamic vinegar
  • Second course: Red wine-braised elk, soft polenta and orange gremolata
  • Third course: Warm gingerbread with roasted rhubarb and crème fraîche
  • Rogue Ales beer pairings for an additional $15 or house wine pairings for an additional $20

Acadia

Take a mini-vacation to New Orleans by visiting Acadia and enjoying Creole cuisine.

  • First course: Deviled egg with blue crab meat
  • Second course: Louisiana barbeque shrimp with lemon, black pepper, white wine and butter. I’ve had this dish before and you will want to spoon the sauce onto your bread
    Acadia Restaurant Portland, Louisiana Barbeque Shrimp with lemon, black pepper, white wine and butter. I went back to the bowl and spooned the sauce right onto my bread.
  • Third course: Bronzed wild-caught Louisiana sheepshead with buttermilk cornbread purée, green tomato relish and brown butter. If you haven’t head sheepshead before, it has a texture that is almost creamy but not fatty, and some describe it as “crab-like” which is interesting because the fish’s diet is comprised heavily of shellfish and bivalves. When I had it came with different sides but was still bronzed
    Acadia Restaurant Portland, Bronzed, Wild-Caught Louisiana Sheepshead with Spinach Madeline pie and blue crab meuniére.

Accanto

I love the Northwest freshness at Accanto, which I had blogged about previously for a Portland Dining Month visit in a previous year and also when I went for an amazing brunch (they take reservations for brunch! No waiting in line!). And, they take reservations on Opentable.

  • Antipasto:House marinated olives and fried almonds with rosemary
    Accanto, Portland, restaurant: first course of marinated olives and spiced almonds
  • First course (choose one): Soup of the day -OR- Escarole salad, goat’s-milk feta and oven-dried olives with burnt orange vinaigrette
    Accanto: second course of a chilled potato leek soup
  • Second course: Rigatoncini, water buffalo ragù, broccoli raab and ricotta salata
  • Third course: Tiramisu

Besaw’s


Above photo taken by my brother and his Canon EOS 60D camera

Everyone thinks of Besaw’s for brunch, but they still utilize the bounty of their garden and local fresh Northwest ingredients at dinner as well. For their Portland Dining Month 2015 menu, they are offering an entree that also celebrates local Oregon brewer Deschutes Brewery.

  • First course: Grilled prawns with cornbread croutons, arugula and chili aioli
  • Second course: Fontina- and chard-stuffed pork roulade with soft polenta and Deschutes Cinder Cone Red jalapeño chutney (YUM)
  • Third course: Rhubarb crisp with vanilla whipped cream

Meriwether’s

exterior of Meriwether's restaurant in Portland

Meriwether’s suffers from a similar fate as Besaw in that people think of them too often for brunch and not for all the other goodness they get from their own Skyline Farm. As a plus, I love pointing out Meriwethers has their own parking lot, so is great not only to meet with others (including out of towners) but also if you have a family. Their menu offering includes an amazing entree (note that it utilizes local Reverend Nat’s hard cider) and dessert. And, they take reservations on Opentable.

  • First course: Salad of arugula with shaved fennel, olive oil-fried almonds, feta and preserved huckleberry vinaigrette
  • Second course: Braised pork cheeks glazed with Reverend Nat’s Hallelujah Hopricot hard cider, Roy’s Calais flint corn polenta and braised early spring greens
  • Third course: Butterscotch pot de crème

Which of the Portland Dining Month 2015 restaurants is calling to you? Check out the list at Portland Monthly or the Eater PDX PDM List for their picks, as well as picks from fellow blogger friend Erin at Bakery Bingo and from Annie of Serious Crust and Kristi from Kristi Does PDX (who overall has lots of fun guides of things to do in PDX – not just eating). Blogger friend Meredith at Martha Chartreuse also had put together a great way to break down as you’re reading the list, how to make your own picks!

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