To follow up: I recently made my second batch following the bratwurst recipe from Charcuterie, first using hog casings from New Seasons. While I believe I was definitely at fault for overstuffing the sausages, I think the New Seasons casings were significantly thinner and weaker than what I'd used from Pastaworks -- I had one blowout while stuffing, and I basically burst almost every link when forming links. I salvaged the mixture and tried again the next day using casings from Laurelhurst Market, paying attention to not overstuff, with much better results. I'll give the New Seasons casings one more try in the future and be a little more careful, because they are the most convenient option.

The bratwurst recipe in Charcuterie is phenomenal, by the way.

I know everyone else is saying it too, but rather than reducing the fat content, since you are making it yourself you can totally control the link size and diameter (use sheep casings for the smallest ones). I think that would be far more satisfying than a low-fat sausage.

Also, my math says the following: the 20 ft of casings I got at Pastaworks for their ridiculous price works out to $0.44/ft. New Seasons' quote would be more like $0.19/ft. Sasquatch350's claim of the price and quantity for salt-packed works out to $0.20/ft.

And if you don't have it already, pick up "Charcuterie" by Ruhlmann and Polcyn. I also took a sausage making class from Portland Meat Collective which (if they still offer it) will give you hands-on experience with stuffing and you'll walk away with 5 to 10 lbs of sausage to boot. The basic recipes they use in the class were all quite good.

I have thoughts on Acadia: it's quite good, and has been consistently good for the 10-or-so years they've been open.

www.creolapdx.com

A follow-up: I made my first batch of homemade sausages this weekend using casings from Pastaworks on Hawthorne. I asked for 10 feet but probably got 20, which at $35/lb cost $8.75. I happened to be at New Seasons the same day, and they sell them for $15/lb. I'll be buying my next batch at New Seasons...

Also, to correct my earlier suggestion: Olympic Provisions does not sell them retail.

syrahgirl, I'm encouraged by your endorsement of Gracie's. We used to enjoy the occasional brunch back when it was the Mallory dining room, as the food was good enough but the atmosphere was unique. Then the transition to Hotel deLuxe and Gracie's and several chef changes sent the food and service quality way down and the prices way up, so we gave up on it. I'd be curious to know if you were ever there during their low years and can say that it's definitely gotten better.

No, more like 90 minutes. Seatings are at 10am and 12pm.

The best steak I have ever had in Portland was at June. The preparation varies, but it seems to usually be a bone-in ribeye with a lot of dry age on it (40+ days, and sometimes 50+ dollars...). I'm not sure I would call the atmosphere "impressive" but the rest of the menu is excellent as well (and going to be far more varied than a steakhouse, if that is important for your side of the meal), they have a great bar and the service is exceptional.

Pastaworks has them for sure, and I'd bet you ought to be able to get them from places like Laurelhurst Market's meat counter, Chop, and Olympic Provisions.

Crap, didn't realize that it's going to be in Brooklyn. Hope I don't get CH-disbarred for that transgression...

Perhaps Pok Pok will satisfy you when it opens:

http://ny.eater.com/archives/2011/10/...

I've never been to Thailand so I can't weigh in on any authenticity-based arguments, but I can guarantee that Pok Pok is unlike every other Thai restaurant in Portland. Search the NYT as well for a recent write-up that they did when they tagged along with Andy Ricker on a trip to Thailand.

You might check with Ken's Artisan Bakery to see if they will sell you some... I took an artisan baking class from Ken a few years ago and maybe remember him saying something to the effect that people interested in sourdough could get starter from the bakery. Then again, my memory could be completely wrong...

I'm a fan of the Escalon 6-in-1 tomatoes, which I used to go downtown to Martinotti's for, but Whole Foods carries them now as well. Not that there's a Whole Foods anywhere near Gresham, but it's slightly more convenient with respect to parking and hours of operation...

Toro Bravo.

We've done Country Cat for Thanksgiving three times now and have always loved it. I've only been to Urban Farmer once (not Thanksgiving) but I would think you would feel more like you are having a family meal at CC than UF -- casual and comfortable it is. There's nothing either particularly awful or charming about the neighborhood that CC is in, but it is close to Mt Tabor Park -- which is nice for a daytime walk but I've never been at night.

Here's how I frame the difference between the two: Le Pigeon is destination dining, and Little Bird isn't. There's nothing wrong with Little Bird, but unless you are dead set on French cuisine, there are at least a dozen other restaurants in Portland that someone visiting from out of town should consider first.

I'll be in Vegas for a couple days soon and Bar Forte sounds like my kind of place. How late do they serve their full menu (the website has them open until 3 AM)?

I had taken a look at Pok Pok's online menu when I replied above, and noticed that the salad/hen/wings make up the "Specialties of the House" section. While they are indeed the dishes that launched the empire (well, the wings came when the first sit-down space opened), I wonder if they are still listed that way because they are the least likely to get sent back for being too challenging on the palate for the casual tourist who saw them mentioned in Sunset Magazine... compared to, for example, Da Chom's Laap Meuang which includes lots of little bits of offal and is served with very unfamiliar herbs on the side.

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Pok Pok
3226 SE Division St, Portland, OR

What's this you say about a 6-course tasting menu at Le Pigeon? I've never heard that they do such a thing...

I have to say that you if you only got the game hen, wings, and papaya salad, then you definitely ordered the least mind-blowing dishes at Pok Pok. The real gems on the menu are things like Hoi Thawt, Khao Soi, Kaeng Hung Leh, and Muu Paa Kham Waan. I also find that the wings pop a bit more if you order them heavy on the fish sauce -- the preparation has seemed to weigh more towards the sweet than it was when the place first opened.

In other words, try it again on your next visit and order more from the right side of the menu. :)

You're welcome. BTW, just outside Hollywood is Gustav's/The Rheinlander, the former of which has been a favorite of ours for years. (The latter is also good but just induces too much of a food coma.) Gustav's does seem to go through quality cycles though, so if you try it and don't have a good experience, try it again 6 months later. They've recently upped their game on the German beer service, perhaps because Prost (on N Mississippi) showed them how it's done, or perhaps a local distributor is doing a better job with pushing authentic glassware and service techniques.

If you want to talk strictly Hollywood (37th to 47th Ave, north of I-84, south of Thompson):

I recommend:

- Shandong is probably the best overall restaurant. It doesn't win points with the authenticity police but is a very good neighborhood Chinese takeout (or sit-down) joint. Recently added pork soup dumplings to the menu that were quite tasty, and their handmade noodles are excellent.

- Moon and Sixpence is a great English pub, and IMHO has far better fish and chips than the oft-mentioned "best F&C in town" Horse Brass.

- At the very edge of Hollywood is Killer Burger, which is renowned for their peanut butter and bacon burger.

- Hama Sushi.

- Fleur de Lis Bakery.

I would not recommend:

- Columbia River Brewing was easily the worst place I've been in Portland in a long time (bad food and worse beer) when I went there in their first few months in business, but some recent chatter on pf.org was far more positive. Go figure.

- Wild Tiger Thai, if it's actually still in business. (I heard rumors of an Indian place going in around 42nd and Sandy, and Wild Tiger's location is the only one that would seem to fit.)

I will also mention:
- Tony Starlight's won some sort of "Best Burger" thing a couple years ago (limited to businesses in the Hollywood/Beaumont/Alameda neighborhood), but I've never been. I will say that it has lasted longer than almost every business to occupy this location in 15 years.

- Too bad Poor Richard's just closed, because it was like eating in a time/space warp that transported you to the Midwest circa 1965.

- My Canh is decent Vietnamese but it's been at least a decade since I've eaten there. There are certainly better options not far from Hollywood.

- Chameleon has been open for-e-ver, but I've only been once. It was fine but just didn't click with me. FWIW, they do get 4.5 stars on Yelp across 30 reviews. Perhaps you could take one for the team and report back!

- Pal's Shanty apparently does good things with fried seafood, but again I've never been. It's been on the list for a while but I guess the urge for fried seafood doesn't strike me that often.

Little Bird is good, but I don't think it's quite in the category of a destination restaurant yet. Either Beaker and Flask or Clyde Common would be a better choice and both can be the creative cocktail type place you are looking for.

Aviary is also incorporating some of the techniques of that realm into their dishes with decent results. I ate at both Aviary and Castagna in June, and would categorize Aviary as the more accessible of the two.

I figure if you take the combined population and wealth of NYC and Chicago, and the half-dozen major experimental/molecular gastronomical restaurants in those cities, and scale that ratio down to Portland, I figure we can support about one-seventeenth of a restaurant in that category. In other words, Aviary and Castagna. :)

BTW, I have no idea what's going in that realm in Seattle...

It's quite good -- probably the best restaurant in town for a late (after 11 pm) dinner. I know nothing about the quail dish you speak of though, other than it is still listed on their online menu which is dated late June.

Since you chose to nitpick my use of the word "spate":

Girasole's blog documents their opening weekend in May 2010.
Depokos' blog has them opening in November 2009.
Pyro's own website is not responding, but a foodcartsportland.com listing as well as the oldest Yelp review also dates to November 2009.

I think three joints in seven months qualifies as a "spate"... :)

Yes, it was certainly Give Pizza a Chance that I was thinking of but couldn't recall.

...or something like that... There was a spate of new, small pizza joints that seemed to spring up all about the same time, mostly carts, that I feel the need to check out soon.

Here's the ones I remember:

- Girasole
- Pizza Depokos
- Pyro Pizza

Any others? I've already hit Wy'East, which falls into the same bucket, and Al Forno Ferruzza, which sort of does. I seem to recall a couple that were located downtown but the names are escaping me...

Since Matt Lightner is leaving Castagna at the end of July, it's a no-brainer to get there before he goes. I just ate there a week ago for the first time and it really is in a class of its own in this city.

DBGB?

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DBGB
299 Bowery, New York, NY 10003

June (junepdx.com) is our favorite of all the numerous places that opened in 2010. Don't know how recent the great things you've heard about DOC are, but the chef at June was the original chef at DOC.