Dining Out in Portland 

The Pacific Northwest climate is a food grower's paradise.  Lots of  hot weather in the summer and cool/damp springs and falls.  Seafood is fresh since Portland is 60 miles from the Pacific Ocean and Oregon has thousands of acres of ranches devoted to beef and lamb.

Thirsty and hungry?  Visit one of the many brewpubs in Portland.  Make sure you eat Bento (i.e., Japanese box lunch) for one of your lunches. 

This excerpt from a September 2007 story in the New York Times Dining Out section entitled "Portland: Chefs Flock to a City Where Food Stars," says a lot about restaurants in Portland.

They come but they don’t go.

In the way New York drew artists in the ’50s, this city at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers seems to exert a magnetic lure on talented chefs who come from almost anywhere else and decide to stay right here. About the hardest thing to find in Portland these days is a homegrown chef.

Portland may seem an unlikely place for such status, a city destined to play second string on the West Coast to San Francisco and Seattle. But in the last five years or so Portland has grown and evolved. 

At first it was a sort of underground stop for food and wine lovers who had heard word of small, fascinating restaurants run by young, talented chefs serving a bounty of local produce. It’s underground no more. Portland has emerged from its chrysalis as a full-fledged dining destination.

For the first time in the 20-year history of the James Beard Foundation Awards, Portland chefs dominated the competition for Best Chef Northwest honors, taking three of the five finalist slots that were announced in March 2010 in New York City. Naomi Pomeroy of Beast, Cathy Whims of Nostrana, Andy Ricker of Pok Pok are contenders in the category, along with two Seattle chefs, Ethan Stowell of Union and Jason Wilson of Crush. Pomeroy, whose restaurant has a meat-centric menu, was named one of Food & Wine magazine's 2009 Best New Chefs last spring. Ricker, whose Thai restaurant celebrates Southeast Asian street food, got a spread in last June's Food & Wine.  The Best Chef Northwest category traditionally has been dominated by Seattle chefs.

Online Dining Guides

Below you will find the local publications that have online dining guides:

• The Oregonian  The state largest newspaper has extensive coverage of Portland restaurants.
• Willamette Week Food Finder  You select the location, meal, and cuisine and they're bring up a list of matches online.  Here is the link to their 2009 Restaurant Guide.  Their annual Cheap Eats Guide will save you money and give you some enjoyable dining.
• Portland Monthly  The monthly magazine online 'Food and Drink' has a selection guide for restaurants and for bars.  Their annual print edition of The Food Lovers' Guide will keep you full for the entire year.
• Gluten Free Portland   This blog was started because although it seems like there are a lot of places to find information on things to eat when you’re celiac or gluten intolerant, there’s no way to know whether or not any of it is good. The site also lists a number of gluten free restaurants in the Portland area. The site also lists a number of gluten free restaurants in the Portland area.

Eating Downtown

• The Heathman   Fundamentally French, with influences from the Northwest to Asia to Italy. The Heathman in Portland's big-deal, big-celebrity hotel, Chef Philippe Boulot, the French-trained former head chef at New York's Mark Hotel, revels in the fresh fish, game, wild mushrooms, and other ingredients of the Northwest.  Address: 1001 SW Broadway.
• Gruner  In the January 2010 issue of GQ magazine, Gruner  was chosen one of the 10 best new restaurants in the country. Gruner features potato dumplings, pickled beets with horseradish, buckwheat spaetzle − the types of German delicacies that you expect from its name, which means 'greener' in German.
• Higgins  An avid organic gardener, chef Greg Higgins grows his own herbs, vegetables and fruits with an eye for finding the finest heirloom varieties which he passes on to his growers. Higgins is an active proponent of sustainable food practices.  Open more than 20 years, Higgins has a national reputation.  Address:  1239 SW Broadway.
• Huber's Cafe   Portland's oldest restaurant since 1879. Known for its turkey dinners and Spanish coffees, pour right at your table.  Location: 411 SW 3rd Avenue, inside the Historic Oregon Pioneer Building.
• Kenny & Zuke's Deli  They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Their pastrami sandwiches are famous along with Grandma Zukin's goulash.  Kenny Gordon grew up in Queens, graduated from La Varenne cooking school in France and cooked French food for 30 years before he opened the restaurant in 2008. Kenny smokes 2,500 pounds of pastrami a week.
• Portland City Grill  This expensive, lavish restaurant has been made into one of the most romantic spots in Portland. If you arelucky enough to get a table or smart to reserve a table next to a window, you can enjoy your meal overlooking the city of Portland. The menu offers steak and seafood and you get as good as you pay. Lunch is not expensive and offers the same view and good food. Happy Hour is even cheaper (budget range; 4:30pm to 6:30pm) for the same good food, but much more crowded than lunchtime.   Address:  111 SW Fifth Avenue on the 30th floor of the Unico/US Bancorp Tower.

• Tabor  This cart made its name with its schnitzelwich − a breaded cutlet tucked between a ciabatta roll and smeared with horseradish and a red pepper/eggplant spread.  Located at SW Fifth Avenue and Stark Street.

Eating in the Pearl/Old Town

• Andina   A Peruvian restaurant with a good selection of platas (like Spanish tapas) as well as contemporary and traditional Peruvian entrees. Live music is performed most evenings in the lounge, a popular date destination.  Address: 1314 NW Glisan Street.
• Park Kitchen  Chef-owner Scott Dolich is so dedicated to locally grown food that he's on the board of directors for the Portland Farmers' Market. His passion for all things local continues at his restaurant, in the chic Pearl District, where the menu changes daily based on ingredients procured from as few miles away as possible. 
• Ping  The menu draws significantly from Singapore and Malaysia, with some discoveries from China. The Oregonian's"Rising Star of the Year" in 2009.  Address:  102 N.W. Fourth Avenue in Chinatown.  Telephone: 503-229-7464.
• Prasad  This cozy restaurant is located in the same building as Pearl Yoga.  The menu is an offering of sustainable organic cuisine.  Everything on the menu is gluten-free except the wraps.  Address: 925 NW Davis Street in the Pearl. 

Eating in Northwest/Nob Hill

• Papa Haydn  If you like dessert, this is the place to go. Although the entrees aren't all that impressive, sometimes there are four different lemon desserts, not to mention a wide selection of chocolates of every kind. Address: 701 NW 23rd Avenue.
• Paley's Place  This eating establishment helped define early on what Portland’s restaurants would eventually be known for—local, fresh, seasonal food, attentive to each individual ingredient, served in a Continental style adventurously adapted to its surroundings. Address: 1204 NW 21st Avenue.
• Red Onion Thai  The stylish lime-and-brick-colored dining room serves a long list of off-kilter favorites—all served in sharable portions.  The Willamette Week runner up for "Restaurant of the Year." Address: 1123 NW 23rd Avenue.
• Ringside  Portland's original steakhouse. Autographs from famous musicians, athletes and movie stars line the walls. Great steak, dim lighting and excellent service. Address: 2165 W Burnside.
• Wildwood  If you want Pacific Northwest Cuisine, Wildwood is the place to eat. The menu offers the freshest veggies off the trucks of Wildwood’s many farm partners. Address: 1221 NW 21st Avenue.

Eating in Southwest Portland

• Corbett Fish House  Separate gluten-free menu available plus gluten-free beer. Address: 5901 SW Corbett Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97239.
• Seasons and Regions  Specializing in fresh northwest seafood & shellfish.  Their special menu ($2.95) is served from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. and late night 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. and it is a bargain. Entire gluten-free section on dinner menu. Address: 6660 SW Capitol Highway, Portland, Oregon 97219.

Eating in Southeast Portland

• 3 Doors Down Café  Located at 429 SE 37th Street (Hawthorne neighborhood) serving American/Mediterranean cuisine. 
• Beakers and Flash  While the food shines, the drinks do not disappoint. The Willamette Week's "Restaurant of the Year."   Address:  720 SE Sandy Boulevard.
• Bamboo Sushi   Southeast Portland’s Bamboo Sushi, the first Marine Stewardship Council-certified independent sushi restaurant in the United States, is tackling the question of whether sushi can still wow and delight using seasonal and sustainable ingredients. The answer is a resounding yes.   Address: 310 SE 28th Avenue.
• ClarkLewis  The Oregonian's 2004 Restaurant of the year.  Order their three course $30 meal and be surprised.  Located at 1001 SE Water Avenue in the eastside industrial area.  Telephone: (503) 235-2294.
• Delta Cafe and Bar   Southern food (chicken fried steak, jambalaya, grits, etc.) on the cheap. The food is excellent and in large portions.   Address:  46th & SE Woodstock Street.
• The Farm Cafe  What a bargain!  You can get two entrees, share a salad and dessert, and enjoy a decent bottle of French wine for about $50. It's in a gingerbread house just one block off East Burnside Street.  Reservations for parties of six or more. Located at 10 SE 7th Avenue.  Dinner and Saturday/Sunday brunch. Telephone: (503) 736-3276.
• East Bank Saloon   The best place in town to watch the game!  The East Bank's menu includes pub food and full course meals.  Try the fish and chips - made with wild caught halibut.  Address:  727 SE Grand Avenue. Telephone: (503) 231-1659.
• Esparza's Tex Mex Cafe  An upscale Mexican with a festive atmosphere. The tequila list rivals some wine lists. Located at 2725 SE Ankeny Street.
• Lauro Kitchen  Sitting at a bar stool, beneath the chalkboard scrawled with daily specials, splitting a dish of olives and a half-carafe of something red, Spanish and spicy until a table opens up—that’s how one ought to start a meal at Lauro.  Address:  3377 SE Division.
• Le Pigeon   The NY Times called Le Pigeon "an informal slightly manic spot with seasonally changing, nonconformist dishes like braised port belly with creamed corn."  The dining area is small, seating about 40 patrons. Located at 738 East Burnside Street, just across the river from downtown.
• Nostrana     Chef Whims was nominated for Best Chef Northwest last year, and her Italian kitchen Nostrana, known for its wood-fired ovens and pasta dishes, is the most-mainstream of the Portland nominees.   Address: 1401 SE Morrison.
• Pok Pok   Its menu and aesthetic sit a tier above your average travel poster-adorned pad Thai purveyor—as does its price point.  Address: 3226 SE Division.

Eating in North and Northeast Portland

• The Beast  The food at Beast, one of The Oregonian's two Restaurants of the Year 2008, is inspired by France.  Located at 5425 NE 30th − just off the corner of NE 30th and Killingsworth to the South.
• Laurelhurst Market   Willamette Week's runner up for "Restaurant of the Year." During the day − a butcher shop offering the finest fresh, all natural meats, sausages made in house and artisanal charcuterie. At night − the restaurant. Think steakhouse. Address: 3155 E. Burnside.
• Laurelwood Public house & Brewery  1728 NE 40th Street.  Solid pub fare to include burgers, sandwiches, salads, and appetizers.  Plus a play area for kids and large beer tanks behind glass walls to entertain them.
• Mississippi Pizza    The reason we include this restaurant is because they serve gluten-free pizza and gluten-free beer.   Plus they have musical entertainment every night. Address: 3552 N. Mississippi.
• Navarre  Located at 10 NE 28th Avenue.  Phone:  (503) 232-3555.  The Navarre serves farm-fresh, European-style meals.  It wasThe Oregonian's Restaurant of the Year in 2009.

Fun Places to Eat

Lunch with former Portland mayor Bud Clark at the Goose Hollow Inn. As mayor, "Bud" Clark created the nationally recognized 12-Point Homeless Plan, supported the growth of mass transit, including the MAX Light Rail line to Hillsboro, Oregon, aided downtown development, and initiated and led the campaign to build the Oregon Convention Center. Clark also sanctioned The Mayor's Ball, an annual charity event featuring independent musicians from all over the Northwest. It could be argued that The Mayor's Ball was instrumental in building a music scene that helped to fuel the Nineties' grunge movement. The tavern owner served eight years (1985 - 1992) and now has returned to running his tavern.  It has a pleasant deck where you can drink away your frustrations with the rest of the City Hall roustabouts.  The Hollow Reuben sandwich is always a winner. The Goose Hollow is located at 1927 SW Jefferson Street, telephone 503-228-7010.

Dockside Saloon  Located at 2047 NW Front Avenue (industrial area), you can get a good lunch or breakfast (they open at 5 AM).  Try their hash browns! The Dockside gave 63 interviews to various newspapers, magazines, and TV shows in January 1994.  All because of their garbage. On January 30, 1994, Kathy Peterson (waitress, dishwasher, bookkeeper, and owner along with her husband Terry Peterson) was emptying the garbage when she came upon several bags of trash that somebody had left in the dumpster.  Kathy examined the garbage and among the items found was an envelope with information concerning Nancy Kerrigan's practice schedule at her home rink (Tony Kent Arena).  The handwriting was that of Portland's Olympic skater Tonya Harding. She had earlier denied any involvement in the "club" incident when her husband (now former) and a friend did the 'knee-cap' job on Nancy.  The Dockside garbage proved otherwise.  Neither Tonya Harding nor any of her cohorts had ever visited the Dockside − they most likely found the dumpster convenient as they drove by and unloaded the evidence.

To quote from the backside of the menu at the Dockside, "Please remember this... be careful where you dump your trash, you never know who will find it."

Stanich's  This is the place to eat if you dying for a burger. You can repent tomorrow.  Billed as the "The World's Greatest Hamburger," the Special has beef, cheese, egg, ham, bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes.  As you savor every bite, cast your eyes on the walls plastered with old newspaper clippings and the pennants of bygone sporting seasons.  Stanich's is located at 4915 NE Fremont Street and at 5627 SW Kelly Avenue.