Portland Dining Month at Tapalaya PDX

March 14, 2019 by Leave a Comment

For my next Portland Dining Month 2019 recap after my visit to Kachinka, this time I am sharing the goodness of my visit for Portland Dining Month at Tapalaya PDX. Tapalaya is one of my top picks among all the restaurants offering dining deals during this month of March with its unique viewpoint of Cajun Creole Vietnamese food that she grew up with in New Orleans. For my other Portland Dining Month picks see my full list here.

Portland Dining Month at Tapalaya PDX for March 2019 Portland Dining Month at Tapalaya PDX for March 2019

For those of you who prefer the savory over the sweet, you are in luck- the 3 courses for $33 at Tapalaya are all savory, with 2 options for each course.

My first recommendation is to please make a reservation via OpenTable at the Portland Dining Month Travel Portland website. That is because by doing so, OpenTable will support the Oregon Food Bank. That means you will be doing good just by making a reservation!

Another recommendation is if you can, come on Tuesday like I did to enjoy the live music they offer. However, they background music they play even on the other days is lively and classic New Orleans, so understandable if you need to come on what works with your schedule. The Reggie Houston Trio that has been playing on Tuesdays for years will take you back to NOLA even if you have never been!
Live Music at Tapalaya PDX on Tuesday: Reggie Houston Trio

Just FYI, they have live music on Tuesday evenings even if it is not Portland Dining Month. You can also find live music during their brunch service on the weekends.

Not onto the Portland Dining Month menu at Tapalaya. For starters, you have the choice of Creole Caesar with radicchio, parmesan, crispy cornbread crumbs, Caesar dressing or the Crawfish Etouffee Nachos with cheddar, cotija, green onions, cilantro, Anh Luu’s 5-spice wonton chips
Portland Dining Month at Tapalaya PDX, course 1 of Creole Caesar with Radicchio, parmesan, crispy cornbread crumbs, fried capers, Caesar dressing Portland Dining Month at Tapalaya PDX, course 1 of Crawfish Etouffee Nachos with cheddar, cotija, green onions, cilantro, Anh Luu's 5-spice wonton chips

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Kachinka for Portland Dining Month 2019

March 7, 2019 by 14 Comments

In my previous post, I shared my top list based on the menu and $ value what I think are the best picks for Portland Dining Month, Aka the whole month of March, when more then 100 restaurants offer a deal of 3 courses for $33 all month long. On my list was Kachinka for Portland Dining Month 2019. I have already visited, and here’s what I recommend. And to help encourage you, I AM DOING A GIVEAWAY FOR A DINNER FOR TWO!

Kachinka for Portland Dining Month 2019

Ok, first, I should establish that Kachinka is in the old Kachka space – aka located at 720 SE Grand Ave, while the Kachka restaurant with its larger dinner menu has moved to a new location at 960 SE 11th Ave. Kachinka is a bit more like a bar with more small plates, including the all important dumplings. Kachinka opens at 4pm. With the opening of Kachka, it is now much easier to walk into Kachinka too since both restaurants can serve guests.

Kachinka Kachinka

The Portland Dining Month 2019 offerings they have for Portland Dining Month are really a food special that is not usually on the menu – that is one of the reasons it made my list. They are offering (including photos of each dish from my visit on March 1)

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Urdaneta for Portland Dining Month

March 30, 2018 by 1 Comment

Earlier this week, I had a chance to enjoy Urdaneta for Portland Dining Month. I will also be back to Urdaneta shortly for their Basque Supper Club. If you haven’t heard, on Sunday April 8th at 6PM Basque Supper Club will be doing the only Portland screening of the film “The Txoko Experience: The Secret Culinary Space of the Basques”. Basically, Txoko is the Basque version of a supper club. This Basque Supper Clubevent, with tickets already sold out, includes watching the movie, a Q&A with the scriptwriter  and a Txoko inspired 6 course dinner by Urdaneta. Chef Javier was inspired to create Urdaneta and Basque Supper Club based on his own childhood experiences with his grandfather’s txoko so I am super excited to learn more about Txoko and get a personal take story-wise and food-wise from Urdaneta.

I’ll recap that experience and meal later, but for now I can’t emphasize enough that you have 2 meals left to get over there for Portland Dining Month. Fortunately, some of the dishes are also on their regular menu, so even if you can’t make it today and tomorrow you can still enjoy some of these dishes.

This is not part of the Portland Dining Month, menu, but it is impossible to resist ordering some pintxos every time I come here whether I am only coming here for Dumpling Week or for Portland Dining Month. Go ahead and give in and get a few starter bites after browsing the menu with the marinated olives. A sherry flight or sangria or Basque cider (sidra) would also be great choices to wash down your pinxto bites.

The Urdaneta pinxtos you see are the

  • Sobrasada, a soft chorizo in fry bread with grilled halloumi and truffle honey;
  • Albondiga, a lamb meatball with house tater tot, spicy brava sauce, apple, sofrito aioli;
  • Camarón, grilled shrimp al ajillo with tomato conserva, ajo dulce, chili, dill, and toasted bread;
  • Morcilla, a grilled blood sausage with dad’s marinated peppers, piquillo jam, piparra, and toasted bread
    Urdaneta olives Urdaneta flight of sherry Urdaneta pinxtos, skewers of bites to go with your libations Urdaneta pinxtos, skewers of bites to go with your libations

Now onto the Portland Dining Month options…

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Picks for Portland Dining Month 2018 + Giveaway!

February 26, 2018 by 33 Comments

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
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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Portland Dining Month 2017 – Recap

March 30, 2017 by 7 Comments

I wrote about what Portland Dining Month is in a previous post, and gave some highlights of what piqued my interest on the list. Here are a few images from where I was able to dine in March!

Bluehour

Extras: bread service, amuse bouche from chef
Portland Dining Month 2017 Bluehour, bread service Portland Dining Month 2017 Bluehour, amuse bouche
First course: Roasted beet terrine of goat cheese, trout roe, pea tendrils and saba
I found these to be beautiful and the bites are intensely flavored with roasted beet and creamy goat cheese.
Portland Dining Month 2017 Bluehour menu with a First of Roasted Beet Terrine with goat cheese, trout roe, pea tenders, apple balsamic; Second of Braised Muscovy Duck Leg with chestnut dumplings, charred leeks, shallots, red wine jus; Third of Dulce de Leche Bread Pudding with cocoa crunch, sea salt, fernet ice cream Portland Dining Month 2017 Bluehour menu with a First of Roasted Beet Terrine with goat cheese, trout roe, pea tenders, apple balsamic; Second of Braised Muscovy Duck Leg with chestnut dumplings, charred leeks, shallots, red wine jus; Third of Dulce de Leche Bread Pudding with cocoa crunch, sea salt, fernet ice cream
Second course: Braised Muscovy duck leg with chestnut dumplings, charred leeks, shallots and a red wine jus
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