Bamboo Sushi

Our friend Charlie is on a mission to discover and try as many different restaurants in the shortest amount of time possible - measured by his own personal clock. We use to think he only did this while on vacation (he once tried 13 different establishments in a single day while visiting us in New York) but it's apparently the case here in Portland as well, as made obvious by the happy hour run we made on Wednesday evening.

We started off at Tapalaya... but as I just discussed and agreed with a business owner friend of mine - if I don't have anything nice to say about an establishment, better to not say anything about it at all, so I guess we'll just leave this one at that :)

We then headed a few blocks down to Bamboo Sushi, the first certified, sustainable sushi restaurant in the world (they use 100% renewable resources for power, sustainable chopsticks, biodegradable to-go containers and even energy efficient toilets and hand dryers)! And with the growing demand of fish consumption in restaurants leading to over-fished waters, Bamboo Sushi has committed to serving the best and freshest fish while fostering partnerships with respected organizations to promote marine stewardship and oceanic sustainability. How cool is that?

Charlie and I were already full and intended to just swing by for drinks (their lychee martinis were made with muddled lychees - yum) but we ended up snacking on a spicy scallop handroll and grilled kobe flank with sweet potato,sauteed garlic greens with bacon, pickled mushrooms and herbed momiji sauce.

Both were on the happy hour menu (from 5pm to 6:30pm) and both were very well made buttery goodness. They have these specials called "Flights," which is their signature way of allowing diners to enjoy a specific variety of their in-season seafood. Currently, they have a crab flight consisting of six types of sustainable crabs ranging from king crab, snow crab, dungeness crab, all the way to stone crabs, all from Alaska, Canada, Oregon and Florida respectively. I am definitely heading back to Bamboo Sushi and dragging Michael with me since there were so many other things I wanted to try! Stay tuned for Michael and his experience with their uni flight!

Beaker and Flask

When old friends Tran and Vi decided we were to meet up for long overdue drinks at Beaker and Flask, I half wasn't expecting anything (since I didn't have time to read the reviews beforehand) and half expecting a dusty, old school, wooden paneled bar with cowboys sipping whiskey (based on the name of the place). I know that scene is unlikely in Portland, but with my limited vocabulary, that was the closest I could get. Although I should have known. Not only is that scene unlikely, but it's especially unlikely when it's a recommendation from Tran :) The place oozed chi chi chic and maybe more so due to its inconspicuous location, sitting on an obscure corner lot and appearing out of nowhere on the SE end of (none other than) Sandy Blvd! I wish I got a picture of the building's exterior. It was kind of fearless and very now. I liked it!!!

What meant to be happy hour became dinner with two bottles of wine, which should not surprise you to hear the night flew by, with much of it a distant memory for me. So I couldn't tell you if their drink menu was extensive or not or whether there was any bourbon ( though I'd be really surprised if there wasn't) or even cowboys. But the food! The food was unforeseeingly delicious (I only remember this because it was on my camera - see below) and the wine even better. Did you know 2006 was not a good year (for wine)? Boy, the things we learned from Vi that night! If you can begin to fathom a girl that is more high strung than me, add in a bit of dynamism, sprinkle on some spirit and you've got Vi. Funny thing is, she claims she's anti-social!!!

Ricotta Gnudi, Leeks, Squash, Cream

Grilled Alaskan Spot Prawns, Millas, Fall Vegetables

Maple Braised Pork Belly, Creamed Kale, Delicata Squash, Apple Relish

Panna Cotta, Bruléed Peach, Aged Balsamic

Noble Rot

Voted Best Wine Bar of 2009 in Sunset Magazine (yes, yet another award... I am contemplating on creating a blog label just for "awards"), Noble Rot is quite the little gem on E. Burnside and from its fourth floor locale (plus it already sits on a hill), has magnificent views of downtown Portland - the only place I know of on this side of the river. If you know of any others, please do tell!

I'd never been to its previous location (on Ankeny St.) but this newer location has a rooftop garden which produces all year round (their seasonal food menu changes depending on whatever is ripe at the moment)! Happy hour is literally just an hour (5-6PM M-F), which is kind of lame for Portland standards, but for a wine bar, their menu is very generous. The place has a smooth, urban, cozy feel to it and the u-shaped booths are perfect for a close group of friends... or better yet, a first date! I really like it!

Po-po-po-porno

I should be so lucky to have a boyfriend who enjoys spending hours on the internet looking at porn.

FOOD porn!

Sometimes we'll be hanging out at home and I'll look over at Michael, who's staring at his computer screen and smiling. A few minutes later, I'll hear him moan, "(y) uummm..." So I'll dart over to see if I can catch him in the act!

Looking at...

... a picture of a juicy gourmet burger!!! Or something of the like :)

Michael saves on his favorites, a bunch of food blogs which he reads daily. Too bad a lot of the restaurants we want to try are in New York, but it also seems that we've been lucky enough to move home just in time for a very up-and-coming Portland. Well, we knew Portland was cool for ages :P but now it's getting publicity all over the nation!

But even as Portland grows (at a terrifying rate - I know this because there is always traffic on I-84, even on Sundays), it still embraces the best of both worlds - staying true to its smaller, friendly city roots, while demurely adding big city conveniences - one of which is its amazing spread of restaurants.

When we started this blog earlier this year, our agreement was that Michael would blog on food and restaurants, while I would blog on... well, everything else! But since Michael is so busy reading other people's blogs, I have (grudgingly) begun taking over that duty as well :) I'm not as good as writing about food as he is, but I'm learning, so please be patient! With all the time I have on my hands and regretful that I did not give London the same opportunity, I am making it a point to blog more often about Portland's ever expanding variety of fantastic restaurants.

I thought about reviewing them on Yelp or Citysearch, but rather than get lost in the mix of hundreds of other reviews, I figured it was more important to illustrate to our own friends and family (especially those far away) what Portland has to offer.

But before moving forward!!!... there are a few notable mentions that I've tried within the last few months that I don't want to leave out. My most favorite being Screen Door, for its take on Southern comfort brunch. I loved (and will continue to love) their fried oyster benedict, along with their fried chicken & waffles and basically everything else on their brunch (<--- my most favorite meal of the weekend) menu - especially from their griddle! While we're on the topic of breakfast foods, I also very much enjoyed Cricket Cafe (with my newlywedded friend Uyen) and Helser's on Alberta (with my dear dear friend Anthy). I had no idea until this recent return that NE Alberta has developed into such a cool pocket of Portland!

Fried Chicken & Waffle at Screen Door

Moving on. Happy hour in Portland is like no other. While other cities stick to the traditional theme of offering discounts on alcoholic beverages during the slow hours of a weekday, Portland has famously taken it to a whole other level. Not only are the drinks cheap, but restaurants and bars compete with each other on offering a ridiculous array of foods. So much so, people these days go to happy hour in place of dinner! A combination of food, drinks and the friends that accompanied me make a few of these (off the top of my head) favorites: Pambiche - Cuban! Great atmospheric, outdoor seating and the happy hour starts at 2 PM! Go for a late lunch! Gold Dust Meridian - somewhere on SE Hawthorne. For some reason while here, I felt like I was on a boulevard in L.A! The Observatory - finally, a hip, hot spot in the SE 82nd / Stark area. Biwa - Japanase yakitori. I went with my Dad to drink it up when my mom was out of town :) 23 Hoyt- one of the sleekiest joints on 23rd with equally stylish outdoor seating. Owned by the same guys as Saucebox and Blue Hour, so you can't go wrong! The Original - Mr. Te's regular stop after work (when he use to work at the US Bank tower :) Try their daily hot dog specials! I dig their modern diner decor. Salty's - go for the riverview (and margaritas) like Tram and I did! Urban Farmer - all I can say is, "ooOoooHhhh." Candy - so cheap for the amount of food they give you! Tempura green beans - yum! Too bad it'll probably go out of business soon, judging by the club/lounge trend in the Pearl.

Which lead me to bars! I can't even begin with the bars! So I won't ;P

And then of course there are the staples... the ones that have been around since even before I left, but still persevere amongst the ever-changing competition i.e. Saucebox for swanky, pan-asian fare, Esan for Thai food and Portland City Grill, not only for its happy hour and views of the city, but a summer lunch with Kathy and Elaine revealed they had a pretty decent crab sammy! Oh and the sushi!!! It's so good to be surrounded by fresh yet affordable sushi! There's Suburo's monster sushi. And then there's Sinju in the Pearl; Sinju in Bridgeport; and more recently, Sinju in Clackamas. They're all empty as hell - you can't expect people to pay those prices in this economy (though it's still pretty darn good if you're up to go) when you can get a steal at Mio and Sushiland (talk about fast expansion)! But the spot of the moment is Miyomoto on SE Stark. I love fine dining (who doesn't), but I am a bigger fan of hole-in-the-wall dining and Miyomota is just that (thank you Tram & Yen)! It's so teeny (hence, hole-in-the-wall) that we befriended Wes, the sushi chef who promised to make a "YenYen Roll" if (the other) Yen and I became frequent customers :) I'm tempted to delete this recommendation because I'm unsure I want to spread the word about this place and risk it becoming too crowded :p but hey, if you've taken the time to read this long ass blog entry, maybe you deserve to know!

Enjoy!