Chocoholics, we have found nirvana. Cacao is a lovely cafe tucked behind the American Apparel store on SW 13th and Burnside. The cafe has a few tiny tables near the front for chocolate lovers to savor their drinks while the rest of the shop has neatly arranged tables of chocolate. The counter was constantly crowded by people looking at their chocolate display case. That backs up the line considerably but the servers are adept at maneuvering around to take orders. As much as I was tempted by the beautiful chocolates in the display, my goal for the trip was to try the wonderful drinking chocolate that everyone raves about.

Cacao offers two types of chocolate–one is a lighter hot chocolate that I grew up drinking and the other is a rich, velvety, liquid ganache-type drink. I chose the latter of course and was presented with a choice of cinnamon, dark chocolate, or spiced chocolate. I couldn’t decide so I tried all three!

The cinnamon chocolate was my favorite. It is light and smooth with just a subtle hint of cinnamon. I ordered the standard cup ($4) and savored the delightful taste and texture of it.

The next chocolate we tried was the dark chocolate. Just look at the beautiful color! This drink was like liquid ganache–very rich and indulgent. We ordered the standard cup but it was probably better suited as a shot ($2). As rich as it was, the drink was well balanced and was not too sweet.

The last one we tried was the spicy chocolate. It tasted like the dark chocolate with a subtle cayenne kick that hits the back of your throat. It’s not too spicy but I prefer the cinnamon drink best.

I can’t think of a better way to enjoy a Saturday evening than to order a cup of hot chocolate from Cacao and nestle down at Powell’s with a good book to read. I read on Cacao’s website that they now have a second location inside the Heathman hotel too. Next time I go back, I will have to pay more attention to the rest of their chocolate offerings! Come to think of it, the chocolate covered cacao beans are calling my name. Cheers!

Between dinners for two with my sweetheart to a company party of 60, I’ve probably eaten at Oba more than any other restaurant in Portland.  Each time, I tell myself that I must take pictures and review it and I am happy to say that I like it even better now than I did when I first tried it years ago.   This warm and sensual hotspot is still a very popular place, and for good reason.  They have an amazing happy hour from 4:30pm-6:30pm daily with drinks as low as $3 and a good selection of tapas.  It’s beautiful and sophisticated but has all the comfort of a loud and busy bar without the drunk frat boys.

For this night, my sweetie and I decided to try the new 3-course meal at Oba.   The meals come with soup of the day or caesar salad, a choice between two main entrees, and a choice between two desserts.  These dinners start at $28/person for roasted chicken up to $45/person for swordfish or prime rib.   Since we were feeling festive that night, we opted for the $45/person meal and ordered the suggested wine pairings.

For our first course, I chose the salad while the fiance chose the sopa del dia (potato & cheddar soup). The soup had a lovely drizzle of chili oil that gave the soup a pleasant kick.

I like more lemon & anchovy in my Caesar dressing but the pickled red onions gave it a nice contrasting tartness.

For our entree, I had the macademia nut crusted swordfish with coconut rice.  The accompanying brown sauce was really sour. It kind of reminded me of A-1 sauce and I didn’t really like it with the fish.  I scraped off the sauce and ate the fish with the lovely sun-dried tomatoes & pesto sauce instead.

The fiance chose the Prime Rib, cooked to a perfect medium.  It was so tender and juicy–seriously among the best prime rib I have ever had.  It came with spicy horseradish and au jus along with fresh corn salsa and mashed potatoes.  This was so good!

Dessert was kind of superfluous at this point, but I ordered the chocolate chimichanga while the fiance opted for the spiced apple cake.  Each dessert arrived beautifully plated with a small accompanying scoop of ice cream.  I didn’t really like my chimichanga because I could taste the deep fried oil.  I did like the bittersweet ganache middle and the mocha ice cream though.

The spiced apple cake was good but too heavy to serve at the end of such a big meal.  That didn’t stop the fiance from devouring it haha.

All in all, we had a lovely time at Oba.  You have to ask for bread but make sure you do because you get slices of yummy chewy, dense, yet soft bread along with a trio of spreads.  The red pepper sauce and the black bean hummus were my favorite.  We liked our meal so much that we inquired about their special event rooms.  The food & beverage minimum for the Havana room is only $500 for non-holidays and it seats up to 80 people.  3-course dinners start at $28 with 21% gratuity.

I have been on less frequently because we are in the middle of planning our wedding! One of the biggest mistakes I made during our wedding planning process was looking at all the wedding websites and magazines out there. Good thing I don’t watch TV anymore because I heard shows like Platinum Wedding were ridiculously addictive as well. My previous obsession with the Food Network (especially their cake challenges) didn’t help either now that we have progressed onwards to the CAKE selection process! For our first tasting, I set up an appointment with La Jaconde Cakes.

Call me a glutton for punishment but I had to try her out since her designs are worthy of Food Network! Her European style cakes are filled with light, creamy, and often surprising ingredients such as black currents flown in from France and German chocolate. The cake itself was pretty dense but that’s probably because she makes her samples each month and freezes them for tastings. The majority of her cakes are almond cakes and that probably explains why her cost is so high since the cakes are made with mostly nut and very little flour. The natural almond taste and aroma is so nice that I quickly got used to the texture. We met at a gelateria on NW 23rd for our tasting. This is what was inside the lovely box of goodies she came bearing!

Oh sweet heavenly goodness, I have never seen such beautiful and bright colors! The best part–it was all natural. The deep violet of this beauty? Black currant baby. It’s a very tart and strong berry flavor that holds up well against the creamy filling.

This one here is a mixed berry & mascarpone cream with a sponge cake (I believe.) It could also be almond. I think only 2 of her cakes were not some type of nut cake. Look how sweetly pink it is! Again, all fresh berries. This one was a strong contender.

However, after we tasted this raspberry mousse filling, we immediately jumped ship. This cake is near perfection (I say near because there will be one later on that rules them all). Jutta, the owner of the bakery, said she could even use more or less berry or even a mix of berries to suit our tastes and the look we want.

Lets move on to something tropical. It doesn’t look as snazzy as its berry colored compatriots but the taste is a wonderful blend of coconut and pineapple. Not oily or greasy at all, which is very unusual for coconut. I forgot how much I liked it because I tried it relatively early on during the tasting but when I ate the leftovers today, this one stayed in my mind.

Ok…moving on. Whenever I think of the ideal summertime dessert, I think of fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Here is La Jacoconde’s version. It is a white chocolate & fresh strawberry filling with almond cake. This combination is a universal favorite so if we go with her, it would be one of the main tiers.

After the light berry cakes, we moved onto nut cakes. This nut cake has cream cheese frosting. It is either made of walnut flour or hazelnut (at this point, my memory eludes me). The Fiance loves cream cheese frosting and wanted to know if we could use it to frost the cake. Here’s where Jutta said kindly that not all cakes go well with cream cheese haha. At least she takes her work seriously. That’s very important when trusting someone with your wedding cake.

Moving on. Ooh! This jolly cake is perfect for the holidays. It’s hazelnut or walnut cake with rum soaked raisins. Rum + cake + heavenly cream cheese frosting = pure, unadulterated JOY. Great for fall but not so much for a summer wedding.

From there, we were eased into chocolate territory. This is a hazelnut cake with milk chocolate butter cream frosting and chocolate ganache. This tastes like nutella in cake form! This one would be my choice for the chocolate cake layer. It’s not as mature as some of the other offerings but I proudly say that I prefer milk chocolate over dark.

This next one is the only cake that didn’t make FI squeal like a school girl. He loves passion fruit. He prefers dark chocolate. But somehow the mixing of the two didn’t quite work for us. (I liked it better the next day though).

This dark chocolate cake was everything FI wanted in a chocolate cake. It was rich without being too sweet and the black current/raspberry mousse complimented it perfectly. Look how seductive the color is!

Ok…but I am saving the absolute best for last. Remember the cake I talked about earlier that ruled them all? That would be this sweet and simple almond cake (of course) filled with pear and lavender cream. See that tiny speck of mauve? That is lavender! It smells so wonderful and tastes amazing. So unusual and sophisticated!

The aftermath

All in all, I kind of wish we didn’t meet with her first because it set the bar really high for the other places. My palate is more similar to European palettes I guess. I don’t like super sweet or super buttery cakes. My favorite cakes are light and airy, like chiffon cakes and I prefer light mousse over buttercream filling. I do wish I got to taste her almond cake fresh but they do taste remarkably good for a previously frozen cake. I do wonder what my guests would think about almond cake. It is quite dense even when fresh and doesn’t have the soft, springy, moistness that most Americans equate with good cake. Still, it really grows on a person and I liked her cake even better the next day.

Jutta doesn’t have her own store front but after meeting her, I know that she would care about the perfection of the cake even more than I would. I would rest easy with her if only my budget would allow it. Cakes start out at $5/pp for buttercream and go up to $8/pp for fondant. She spent 2 hours with us and we went through the whole process from tasting to preliminary design. Her service was great and I liked that she wasn’t afraid to tell me what wouldn’t work and gave suggestions to what would work. If we don’t end up going with her for our wedding, I may be tempted to order a 1 layer round of the lavender one for our rehearsal dinner.

The 2st Annual Taste of the Nation is coming up just around the corner on Monday, April 28th! You’ll be able to taste, sample, and drink you way through over 70 different restaurants and wineries showcased at the Oregon Convention Center. Tickets start at $75. 100% of the proceeds go towards fighting hunger so this is both a benevolent and a tasty cause!

Audrey’s Kitchen was lucky enough to be invited to attend the “Taste of the Taste”, a small showcase held at the Oregon Culinary Institute highlighting a couple of the venues that will be present next week.

It was an intimate event with just five local favorites on-site. We got to go around and meet all the chefs. I felt a little starstruck but they were all very kind.

On site were the following:

Left Coast Cellar (featuring really good wine)

The ever popular Simpatica:

Who featured two types of pate and various snacks. YUM.

Next we had Lovely Hula Hands. I made the mistake of asking if they served Hawaiian food. Oops! They actually have a pretty nice story for naming their restaurant the way they did. You should ask the owners some time.

They brought in a chilled sliced fritatta style appetizer.

Right next to them was Lauro Meditteranean Kitchen.

The proprietress was really friendly and knowledgeable and GENEROUS! Check out the feast they brought with them! Bacon wrapped dates:

Creamy beet salad:

Homemade Pita:

and accompanying dip.

After tasting the savory offerings, we made our way to Portland’s own claim to cupcake fame, Saint Cupcakes. I saw MSN’s article a few weeks back on the top Cupcakes around the country and our very own Saint Cupcakes came in with the #1 spot for their Fat Elvis creation! Good Job!

Featuring my favorite Toasted Coconut cupcakes and their fudgey Hot Fudge cupcakes.

All in all, it was a lovely event. The volunteers really put their hearts into hosting the Taste of the Nation each year, and this year is no different. I really encourage all foodies to head out there this coming Monday to check out the rest of the offerings! To learn out more, check this out:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UrvgEojgH8w

Thanks for inviting us to this event!

I discovered Korean food relatively late in the game–it wasn’t until college that I tasted my first soon du bo (korean tofu soup) or tried grilling bulgogi (thinly shredded beef marinated in a sweet garlicky sauce). Since then, I have been very bold in trying pretty much every Korean dish I can find, from raw pepper marinated blue crab to iced cucumber soba noodle soup. Along the way, I’ve tried pretty much every type of soju (Korean’s spirit of choice) available at k-town bars in SoCal as well too. Although there are some good Korean restaurants in town such as Nakwon in Beaverton, or even gussied up places like Bewon on 23rd, none of them had the comforting bar atmosphere with hushed music, cool lighting, and snack foods.

None that is, until I accidentally stumbled into Sorabol Fusion Restaurant, hidden in the gaudy strip mall on the corner of 82nd and Powell. This plaza, home to Food4Less and KFC, is not exactly the type of place I’d be tempted to go into but thankfully, my dining partner insisted that I give it a try. Apparently, this is one of his co-worker’s favorite lunch spots, and often brings the group there for their excellent $6 bento boxes. We went in on a Friday night, and was asked immediately if we wanted the BBQ side or the restaurant side. Their menu is quite impressive–with great Korean alcohol selections such as Bekseju (medicinal liquor) and Hite, the unofficial “water” of Koreans. They have two pages of different BBQ options, but you must order a minimum of 2 BBQ dishes before you may take one of the grilling tables. Since I wasn’t that hungry, we opted for the restaurant side where Korean music videos pulsed along on three flat screen tv’s spaced through out the bar.

My dining partner ordered a bottle of Hite beer and the dol-sot bibimbhap, which is rice cooked in a hot stone pot topped with 7 or 8 goodies including grilled beef, julienned veggies, and a sunny side up egg along with a side of sweet and spicy red pepper paste.

This rice dish came with 5 sides of banchan, various pickled vegetables and accompaniments. My favorite is the sweet sesame flavored sliced lotus root.

I ordered a some sushi off the menu–nothing too extraordinary. I ordered a bulgogi roll, which was described as sliced bulgogi, cucumber, and avocado, but I was disappointed to discover to see it arrive with just bulgogi.

Other than that, it was a good, solid place. The restaurant is large enough to be able to accomadate large group gatherings, and the grill-your-own meal is interactive and fun. They had a special for 2 that costs under $30 where you get to try a tasting of several menu items. I may give that a try the next time we return. With such an expansive menu, there is truly something for everyone.

With all the wonderful restaurants in Portland, it was really difficult choosing just one for Valentine’s Day. I had my eye set on some of the newer restaurants in town but thankfully, I didn’t have to make that decision. Instead, E followed his friend’s advice and booked our date at the delightful 3 Doors Down Cafe on Hawthorne. I’ve passed by this little brick restaurant more often than I can remember, and while it delicious aromas have always emanated from it, this was the first time I actually went inside. I vaguely remember reading some really good reviews for it years ago and have always meant to try it, but it took a back burner to the shiny and new places in the Pearl.

I guess one really shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover because I have found a new favorite in 3 Doors Down. Once we stepped inside the restaurant, we were greeted by an energetic hostess who immediately led us to our table. Since it was Valentines Day, red puckered lips were stamped all over white paper across the table. To our right was a canoodling couple posing with a giant picture frame for a server to take a polaroid picture. The servers did it for every table that night and the effect was cute and kitschy. There’s a certain nostalgic quality about polaroids and it was nice to have a picture as a momento from the evening. The waitstaff was excellent, although probably not that knowledgable on wines as other places, but their enthusiasm made up for it. E asked our server to recommend a wine, and while she seemed unsure of what to recommend, she did bring out tastings for him to try. A for effort, if not knowledge.

As soon as we ordered, the server brought out a huge hunk of bread with a pureed bean spread. Let me just say, the bread was delicious, and I loved that they provided a healthy alternative to butter. Rustic, with a wonderfully chewy texture, it was a great way to start out meal.

We planned on ordering their cheese plate with tomato jam, since it came with high praise from E’s friend, but they did not have it on the menu that day. Instead, we ordered seared sea scallops. It was very well done! Naturally sweet, it was well seared, with a crispy golden savoriness that paired well with the silky texture of the scallops. It sat atop a bed of pureed chickpeas and surrounded by a pool of a buttery, lightly sweetened sauce.

For our entrees, I selected the sole stuffed with crab. It was amazing. The sole was buttery smooth, and the stuffing was full of sweet, fresh crab meat and little bits of zuchini and onion. It was served with a heavenly burre blanc, each drop of which was thoroughly mopped up by the roasted fingerling potatos. The potatos were delicious on their own, but add on some of the sauce, and it was truly sublime. Even the spinach that came on the side was delicious! Piping hot, it was simply flavored with garlic and a sprinkling of salt.

E ordered the Veal Cheeks with Polenta. It came stewed in what looked and tasted like a mushroomy ragout that had a slight smokey bacon flavor. The polenta was thicker than what I’m used to, and had a cheesy texture and taste to it. They were very generous with the veal and it was truly like nothing I have ever had before. The veal was unbelievably tender-so soft that it seemed to melt, but I think the sauce may have overpowered the delicate taste of the meat.

By now, we were stuffed but we had to try one of their desserts. I had wanted to try their famous banana cream pie, and judging by the number of patrons who ordered it around us, we really should have done it. Instead, we opted for the cannoli because it was supposed to be one of the lightest desserts that night. I’ve never had cannoli before, so I can’t say if I do or do not like it for sure, but I probably would not order it from 3 Doors Down again. It had a nice citrusy flavored ricotta filling, but I was hoping for more of a pistachio flavor. Note to self, when in Rome, do as the Roman’s do. Next time, I will definitely leave room for their banana cream pie.

Overall, I had really nice time. The interior was painted in warm and cheerful hues of red, and was very inviting. The service was excellent, the food is truly outstanding, and the restaurant, housed in a humble brick building 3 doors down from Hawthorne, is truly deserving of favorite status. I will be back and look forward to it.

I know…I’ve gone and done it. I ate at a chain restaurant! Normally, I steer clear of these restaurants in favor of restaurants unique to Portland, hole-in-the-walls, or regional cuisine, but since today was E’s special day, he got to pick the place. I wasn’t expecting to be blown away–we’ve both eaten at other CJ’s in various locations. Still, I am glad to see that Clackamas Town Center is currently revamping it’s style and going for a blend of outdoor/indoor stores and restaurants. We arrived at 6:20pm today, and found the parkinglot completely packed with cars and people coming in and out of the restaurant. Just getting to the hostess booth was a struggle, and we were told that there would be a wait of almost 2 hours for a table. Good thing we’ve done this sort of thing before, because we moseyed on in to the patio area for a few minutes, then slid right up into the bar when a space vacated. I love first come first serve seating! Even though the house was packed, these servers were beaming, introduced themselves, and were so pleasant to be around! Their happy hour menu is solid: $1 off most drinks, $2 off well drinks, and appetizers ranged from $4-$8. A little pricey for a town with ginormous $1.95 happy hour cheeseburgers, but the portions here are quite big. We did not order off the menu, mainly because it consisted mostly of battered and fried foods, but people around us were thoroughly enjoying meal sized plates of hot wings and fish & chips.

Off the menu, we chose the Ore Cart, which consists of 3 huge beef back ribs, half a slab of pork baby back ribs, and half a rotissiere chicken. It was so huge that the sides (grilled asparagus) came on a different plate, as well as the signature cheesebread. I thoroghly enjoyed the pork ribs–the flavor was smokey and highly flavorful, and the accompanying sauce is my favorite kind: tomato based but not sour. I’m sure somewhere in Texas, a diehard BBQ fanatic is groaning right now, but darn it, this is tasty! The beef ribs were meaty, but also had a thick layer of fat on one side that wasn’t pleasant when all the melted oil runs out. Be careful to eat around it! The chicken was good–not memorable, but not disappointing. The skin wasn’t as crisp as I like, and the white meat was very flavorable, but the sauce helped it out a lot.

(better rib shot)

The accompanying bread option, garlic cheese toast, was not as good as I’ve had before. It was lukewarm, chewy, and lacked the hot crispy bite that a good Texas toast should have. It tastes like it was mass baked in advance, which it probably was.

The grilled asparagus was fine. Not stellar, but not disappointing. It was lightly oiled, sprinkled with garlic and salt, then grilled. Simple, but it worked.

Between the two of us, we licked the platter clean. At $27.95, it was well worth it for the taste, comfortable/sports bar atmosphere (except with cattle prods instead of team emblems), and the excellent service. I do feel my arteries clogging and I will definitely need to eat lightly and work out for the next few days to compensate for this splurge, but I just may come back here if I’m in the Clackamas area, especially after a hard day of shopping.

What can I say? I passed by a sketchy industrial street on the way to OMSI late one night and was startled to see soft lights emanating from what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. I did a double take and turned around to pass it again, and was immediately charmed. On what looks like glass garage doors are rows and rows of softly lit candles placed stragetically on each beam. I realized then that it was clarklewis, a restaurant that has had a lot of buzz in the past year or two, but I have yet to try.

It was stored away in my “must-try” files until I found a suitable occassion. This occassion arose when I decided to plan a dinner party for 16 guests. This is quite a feat in Portland, since many of the restaurants here either charge room fees or they just cannot accomodate such large groups. After getting off the phone with the 4th restaurant, I remembered clarklewis and was immediately granted space, providing that I gave them my credit card as a guarantee. I asked about separate checks and was told that they’d split the bill in 6 for us without any problems. We arrived a teeny bit late for our reservation (10 late instead of a few minutes early) but keep in mind that it is very hard to find if you are not used to the east side, and there’s no real sign that tells you the restaurant name. The hostess was very anxious to get us seated and asked to take our drink orders almost immediately. We just got seated and were waiting for the last car of people to arrive, so we weren’t ready yet. When I told her to give us another minute, she said in a worried/vaguely annoyed tone that another party is arriving at 9:45 that evening. That didn’t really start us off on a good start because we then felt rushed as if we were intruding even though it was very early in the evening.

After we ordered out selections, the server brought out 2 breadbaskets and brought out little plates for everyone. Most places in town provide bread and butter. Some super stellar restaurants such as Iorio even provide a delicious chickpea spread so this did not strike us anything extraordinary. Keep this in mind as I review the rest of the meal.

We started out that night doing individual/couple dinners instead of sharing it family style with the entire table. Among the items our group ordered were: butter lettuce salad, ravioli with black truffle oil, tagliatelli with game hen, pork chops, lambchops, and sturgeon.

The salad was very aggressive, topped with salty proscuitto, it was tossed in a salty/sour vinagrette along with olives, salty pickled onions, almonds, and goat cheese. I would have thoroughly enjoyed this salad if it was not so salty and overpowering. Food should be enjoyable to eat, not something you must grimace and swallow. It was so salty that I kept having to pile it onto my bread to eat it. I was hungry though, so I ate the whole thing, wiped the plate clean with bread even, but it was very very salty. I think this would be an excellent dish if they used only half of the flavoring.

I didn’t get to try the pork pictured below, but my friend ordered a half size and they brought out a full size unbeknownst to her until the final bill came. It wasn’t mindblowing, but it was a decent dish.

The lamb was very good-probably their best dish. It did not have a strong gamey lamb taste, and was perfectly seasoned and tender.

Here it is again-the abundant use of salt! The tagliatelli pasta was perfect-eggy, chewy, and cooked to perfection. I liked the thin shavings of cheese on top, and the chicken blended nicely with the dish. The only drawback was how salty this dish was. My dining partner kept scraping the sauce off and eating it with bread to make it lighter in taste. Great dish, ruined again by salt. I did not take a picture of the ravioli because it looked boring sitting there swathed in a thick white sauce. The truffle taste was not discernable at all, and the ricotta filling was salty and grainy.

Although the ambience was nice and the restaurant had a nice crowd, I just did not feel comfortable there. Maybe it’s because she told me that another group was waiting to take the table (although we finished eating around 8:30pm), maybe it’s the fact that she kicked over my COACH purse and didn’t pick it back up but I did not like it. After dinner, we geared up to unveil the cupcakes we brought for the birthday boy. The server was in the process of laying down plates (unsolicited), so I told her that there was no need for plates since we brought cupcakes. She looked surprised but said she’d give it to us anyway.

We were ready to leave by 9, and had our bill brought to us. We were all shocked to see a charge of $29 for the bread. Each loaf of bread was $8 each, and one of them was $5 (although I don’t know how or why). None of us specifically ordered bread–it was brought out to us. The server asked if we wanted bread, and we said sure. We ate it and they kept refilling it, simple as that. We did eat a lot of bread–much more than we’ve ever done when eating out, but that was due to the unbearable saltiness of the food! Now $29 isn’t much on the grand scheme of things, but it was the principle of it. I felt like it was very misleading the way the way the bread was presented. I told the server that I felt it was very misleading and her first response was, “Well, it’s on the menu.”

I should have read citysearch earlier, because another reviewer complained about the same thing happening to them. In fact, their most recent reviews have all been negative. I only read one fellow food blogger’s review, but he reviewed them before Chef Morgan left.

Anyway, I told her that we all felt misled and she apologized for it and went away. We continued divying up the bill when she came back, told me that she spoke with the manager, and said that they’d take 50% of the bread cost off our bill. I thought that was very nice of her and truly did not expect her to do anything about it but then she had to ruin it by saying, “And we normally charge for the cake-cutting plate fees, but we decided to comp that as well too.”

Okay…where does this cake plating fee coming from? I specifically told her that we did not need plates because we were serving cupcakes. Even so…what if we did bring a cake? Isn’t it a tad unscrupulous to bring out the plates, offer to cut it, and then present us with a tab for plating it after the fact? I hate that area restaurants in Portland do that. This is why I only bring cupcakes from now on.

Needless to say, we were all let down by what could have been an amazing dining experience. We went there expecting to love the place. The sleek atmosphere, the idea of homey italian cooking, even the cute play on name was endearing to us. I’m glad I tried it because I would have hankered over it until I had done so, but it’s not worth going back

I first heard about Pok Pok almost a year ago but it has taken me until now before I had the chance to try it out. I was a bit skeptical about it…despite touting the authentic Thai BBQ’s on the premise, how authentic could it really be? Also, how much can I trust the reviews of other people? Still, after reading yet another glowing review for the umpteemth time, I had to make a stop into the Whiskey Soda Lounge that was the little thai bbq shack on Division street.

We went on a midweek night, around 7, thinking that the place would be less crowded. We got in and were seated almost immediatly. WSL is very small but it had a nice cozy feel to it. Right away, we were given a carafe of water and little tin cups. The water had the texture of cooled boiled water and tasted vaguely of rice. If you’ve never had cooled boiled water, it’s a thicker, almost silkier texture. Most Asian people drink boiled water, so I was impressed by this tiny attention to detail.

The menu was chock full of exotically named dishes, but thankfully there were descriptions next to them to explain what each entailed. We had to order their BBQ game hen, their claim to fame, and followed that up with skewered baby octopus, and Pok Pok Papaya salad. Each of us ordered our own rice: I, the sticky rice, and E, the coconut rice.

The order came out quickly enough, but I wonder if it cooled on the way from the kitchen to the lounge. The waitresses kept ducking in and out of the place, each time opening a cold draft into the lounge. This is good, because the cramped quarters could easily make the place stuff, but the chicken wasn’t as hot as I want my food to be. It was very well done though…the dark meat was falling off the bone with that delicious sticky quality that only bbq’d or roast chicken can have. The white meat wasn’t very flavorful, but the skin made up for it. It came with a side of sweet chili sauce–the same kind that can be found bottled at any Chinese store, and it didn’t do anything for the chicken so I ignored it. It was $9.50 for a whole, $5.50 for half. The rice that we ordered was not very good though. It costs $2 for a bowl of coconut rice and $2 for a small piece of sticky rice. The sticky rice was too dry, and the portion was tiny. The coconut rice had a nice aroma and taste, but the quality of the rice was lacking. That worried me because rice is the primary staple of Asian cuisine!

After that, I tried the skewered baby octopus. I was impressed by how tender it was, and the light lime/cilantro vinagrette was an interesting flavor, but gosh, there were only 6 baby octopus in that dish for $8.00. It was not worth it. I felt so ripped off by it because it wasn’t very special to begin with and the portion was tiny! Size does matter when it comes to this. On a recent board, owner Andy explained his reasons for cost claiming that high overhead costs and specialty ingredients were the reason for the price. That may be true for his Carlton pork ribs, but I just don’t buy it in this case.

However, the star of this place would be the Pok Pok Papaya salad. It was everything a good papaya salad should be: intensely flavorful, slow heat that builds fire with each bite, crunchy long strands of papaya, and a sweet, sour, spicy salty kick. At $6, it’s definitely worth ordering one for each person at the table! Sharing was something I never wanted to do less when it came to this salad.

Overall, I had a good time and the food was a welcome kick in the middle of a cold Portland winter. I was just a tiny bit underwhelmed. While the chicken and the salad were good, the place has been so hyped up by local foodies and touted as one of the best Cheap Eats of Portland that I had unreasonably high expectations for the place. With the addition of their more expensive sides, it’s not a true cheap eat either. Still, I would come back when the craving hit, and this time, I’ll know what not to order.

(no website available at this time)

In search for good brunch one day, I stumbled into Petit Provence, a delightful french bistro/bakery in the middle of southeast Portland! It was an elegant storefront on a street that has known better days. Hopefully, a place like Petit Provence will bring other businesses in to liven up Division street. The wait was considerable on a weekend morning, but well worth it. For the most part, the service was excellent. Our host, however, seemed a little sleepy and wasn’t too bright. While we were 2nd in line, we had a party of 3. A couple was vacating a table for 4, and we thought he was going to seat us there. Along the side the entrance where the booths are, 2 couples were leaving at the same time, so it would have made most sense to seat us at the larger table, and then seat the couple ahead of us at a 2-person table. Instead, he placed the couple at the 4 person table, and squeezed 3 people into a tiny 2-person table.

Cramped quarters aside, the attention to detail was excellent. Each table had their own basket of freezer jams and butter for morning pastries. I ordered the Petit Provence Omlette, soft and fluffy with tender bits of sausage, served with delicately seasoned hashbrown. It came with a choice of toast or muffin-I chose the muffin to my immense satisfation. It piping hot, tender, with slightly crispy edges. The intense poppy seed and lemon flavor off-set the sweetness and was the perfect begining to any rainy Portland morning.

My dining companion, (not the little girl, she and I shared the omlette) ordered their version of Eggs Benedict: fresh ham served atop a croissant instead of the usual english muffin. No picture was taken but it was a sight to behold. Their croissants are tender, flaky, and luciously buttery. It alone is the highlight of the meal, but with the strong poached egg and ham presence, it just didn’t seem to hold its own.

We did like the croissant so much that we tried to order one separately but was told that they were out. The server was so cute and anxious to have us try other varieties, but a plain croisssant was what the Kid wanted, so we declined. 5 minutes later, our waitress came out bearing the beloved crossiant on a dish just beaming with happiness because she managed to track down a croissant for us. That was so unexpected and very much appreciated. When the bill came, we were amazed that she didn’t even charge us for it, so we left her a big tip and vowed to come back often.

On our way out, we stopped to examine their extensive pastry display and purchased several baked goods to take home and share with our friends. Brunch is inexpensive. You could eat a hearty meal for less than $10 here and their impressive array of pastries start out at $1 and some change. This was a wonderful find and I can’t wait for another rainy day to warm up with a delightful brunch at Petit Provence.