That's only partially true. They have sidewalk tables so it wouldn't be appropriate on a cold or rainy day.

Not in the market but a reasonable couple of blocks away is Dahlia Bakery. They make homemade (to order) donuts, and breakfast sandwiches with homemade english muffins. Very good drip coffee as well.

I tried to go to Caspian for my first visit last Saturday night and it was booked up. You'll want to make a reservation for weekend dinner.

My trip report is posted here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/877302

That makes me deeply sad as I know how good it used to be.

Great tips on the taster trays, the hard cider bar and east side coffee places. Thank you!

This is a summary of my Portland weekend based on the recommendations from this thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/876439. Thanks Portland hounds for your help in making our trip a delicious success!

My boyfriend and I spent a Friday through Sunday in Portland with the objective of eating delicious comfort food and visiting tap houses to sample local IPAs.

BREAKFAST

Coco Donuts
They must cook donuts in small batches as we went mid-morning when the pickings were slim and both of our donuts were still very fresh. We had tried to pick up a latte at Spella on our way to Coco but it's closed on weekends so we had espresso drinks at Coco, which are fine but nothing to write home about.

Screen Door
This Sunday brunch was by far the best meal of the weekend. We had the fried chicken biscuit with gravy and a roasted winter vegetable hash with eggs. Both dishes were so insanely good we proclaimed we'd return during our next Portland trip. There was an hour wait for the table, so we walked one block down to Heart for lattes which was a perfect way to kill the time. We had tried to get coffee at Courier before heading to Screen Door but it seems many downtown coffee shops are closed on weekends.

LUNCH

Kenny & Zukes
Sadly, we hit this Jewish deli on an off day as we ordered a ruben and a pastrami sandwich and the pastrami was dry. I have been here before and know what they are capable of, so I'm convinced this was an unfortunate anomaly.

DINNER

Lovely's Fifty-Fifty
We shared a meat lover's pizza with a side of fiery hot calabrian pepper relish and absolutely loved it. The pizza crust is superb and perfectly charred in the wood fired oven. We enjoyed a scoop of the house made ice cream for dessert. There was a 1.5 hour wait so we enjoyed a beer next door at the Interurban bar which was perfect.

Deschutes Brewery
We hit this place late in the evening and were limited to ordering from the 'late night' menu. The fries were pretty good but the dipping sauce was fantastic. The freshly baked pretzel was fluffy and soft and really good, but it was served with an odd dipping sauce of cream cheese blended with other white cheeses and mustard. The cream cheese flavor didn't really work with the pretzel so we dipped it in the fry sauce instead which was wonderful. I had a nice mixed green salad with a delicious dressing. Overall, very nice pub food with a great, rustic atmosphere. Loved the seasonal Chasin' Freshies fresh hop IPA on tap. This is also on the list for a return visit for more pub grub.

TAP HOUSES

Apex
Large tap selection but limited IPA choices. Fantastic outdoor patio. They play their music fairly loud. No TVs to watch sports.

Green Dragon
A much quieter, mellow atmosphere than Apex and more IPA choices. They also had a TV with a football game on which pleased the BF. It was our favorite tap house of the trip.

Bailey's
This downtown tap house didn't offer much in the way of atmosphere, which I admit I was forewarned by you Portland hounds. But it was close to our hotel and a convenient place for a beer our first night in town. They did have a nice, small selection of a few IPAs.

On our next visit, we'll try Horse Brass, Belmont Station, Roscoe's and Hawthorne Hop House. I'm hoping some of these will offer flights of beer tastings.

Excellent feedback. Thanks for commenting on the atmosphere of some of these places. That can be just as important as the food and beer selection.

Great feedback. Just the details I'm looking for. Thank you!

Any feedback from other Portland hounds? Thank you!

Regarding the Kenny & Zuke question - I meant to type "Are they known for any deli sandwiches besides pastrami/Rubens?"

Doing a 2-night visit with the boyfriend. He's not a hound, so I'm seeking outstanding mainstream/casual dining.

Lodging: Hotel Monaco
Transportation: Will have car but want to take advantage of light rail as much as possible

Coffee/pastries:
Coco Donuts
Spella
Courier

Heavy breakfast/brunch:
Bijou Cafe
Screen Door

Lunch:
Kenny & Zukes (Are they known for any of their other deli sandwiches?)

Pizza dinner:
Lovely's Fifty-Fifty
Oven & Shaker

Ice cream:
Cool Moon Creamery

Brew pub dinner (specifically seeking excellent burger, fish n chips, hand cut fries):
Deschuttes
Hopworks
Pints Urban Taphouse

Tap house with large IPA selection (if I only had to choose one, which is best?):
Belmont Station
Apex
Green Dragon
Horse Brass Pub
Bailey's Taproom

Thanks, and I always do detailed trip reports afterwards!

I enjoy the nachos at Nickerson Street Saloon in Fremont. They use freshly made chips, use lots of grated, melted cheddar, seasoned black beans, jalapenos, salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole and sour cream. It's your basic huge pile of nachos but the high quality of the chips elevates them over others.

I also have to give props to some non-traditional nachos I had at Bitterroot in Ballard. Theirs are topped with smoked, pulled pork, carmelized onions, cheese and BBQ sauce. Trust me, it all works together wonderfully.

Beveridge Place Pub in West Seattle is hosting "Hoptoberfest" through Oct. 7. They'll have multiple local IPAs on tap. It's a great pub and worth the drive to West Seattle.

http://www.beveridgeplacepub.com/events/

Besalu - plain croissants and ginger biscuits
Honore - Kouign Amann

Thanks for the trip report.

I've had the same experience at Coterie Room for brunch. Despite a completely empty dining room, inattentive service with multiple errors on our order.

According to the scooper at the Capitol Hill location, this flavor will be available for "a few more weeks." She said the flavor list on the web site is kept up to date so you can check that before planning a visit.

I'll let you know this weekend. I have plans on Saturday to go again with some friends and I'll ask.

I wanted to give a shout out for this unique ice cream flavor being offered at Molly Moon's right now. The ice cream only has a hint of sweetness, and I can discern some shredded cheese in the texture. I've had it twice in the past week: once with lemon curd topping (a very nice pairing) and once with rhubarb compote topping (an exquisite pairing).

It's a seasonal flavor, so it won't be around for long. Don't miss out!

Revel is a great option for Korean food. They have a few tables on the back deck that are great on a nice evening.

Joule is Revel's sister restaurant, and it's Korean-French fusion. It is closed for relocation to Fremont, and I'm unsure if it will be open in time for your visit. If it is, I highly recommend it.

Spinasse isn't a typical red-sauce Italian joint if that's what you're looking for. They do Northern Italian cuisine, but the fresh hand-cut noodles with sage (tajarin) is second to none. It's worth a visit just for that. When I dine there, I make a meal out of a couple starters and an order of tajarin and always leave very happy.

I'm a lover of Mexican food and the only place I consistently get good Mexican but doesn't get mentioned on the boards is Cactus. It's more Tex-Mex (perhaps hounds prefer pure Mex) and I think it's very respectable. I like the green chicken enchiladas - the shredded chicken is incredibly moist.

And I'll plug your Sitka & Spruce option - it's a great combination of rustic & charming atmosphere and locavore food. Does anybody know if they have their liquor licence yet? Last time I went they just offered beer & wine.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll try them all!

I will be laid up for a few days after knee surgery and want to stock the fridge with an assortment of soup for quick-to-reheat meals. I have an aversion to canned soup, so I'm seeking recommendations for either fresh soup from the deli counter or frozen brands.

In the past I've enjoyed the cioppino from Ballard Market, a blended squash soup from Whole Foods, and a nice tomato basil from Metropolitan Market. I'd like to make one stop to select an assortment to stock up. Are there any grocery stores (or frozen cases) that offer a nice variety of soups that my fellow hounds recommend?

Din Tai Fung - for the juicy pork dumplings
Spinasse - for the sage pasta
Green Leaf - for the Da Nang pork
Market Grill - for the salmon sandwich
The Walrus and the Carpenter - for the oysters, steak tartare and martinis

A very girly food destination in Ballard is Bastille. I say it's girly because of the charming decor, and it's less kid-friendly than other Ballard dining spots. I love eating in their bar around the fire pit. They serve very respectable French food.

For a 100% kid-free dining experience, also consider The Walrus and the Carpenter for cocktails, raw oysters, steak tartare and other delicious small bites.

True! El Pescador has great eye candy behind the counter for the ladies. :-)

I've just returned from a 5-day solo trip to San Diego. I trolled this message board for budget-friendly, casual restaurants and my tummy left San Diego very happy. Here are the restaurants I visited, the dishes I ordered, and my general observations:

Azucar in Ocean Beach - Guava/cheese pastry, meat pie and mojito cookie. This uber-casual cuban bakery in Ocean Beach was delightful. The pastry dough was perfectly flaky. I realized too late I should have asked for hot sauce to go with the meat pie as I overheard someone else order that. But without it, I still enjoyed the yummy seasoned ground beef filling. The cookie was limey and great. Loved this place and would return. It was fun to walk to the beach to watch the surfers after my breakfast.

Prep Kitchen in Little Italy - Spinach salad with beets, avocado and tangerines. Delish! It felt like a very "California" dish and I loved the hip atmosphere of the restaurant. I would definitely return for dinner and drinks with friends. I ate at the bar and even though they were slammed with people (it was during the art festival) the service was outstanding. A pleasant surprise.

In-n-Out Burger - Cheese burger, fries and a chocolate shake. I'd never been to one before and honestly, I don't see what the big deal is. It was good, but I wouldn't seek it out again. Given my screen name (frygirl) I was excited to try the fries since I know they're hand cut and cooked fresh, but I thought they were just 'meh.'

Marisco's Taco Truck - Fish taco. OMG this was tied with Mama Testas as my favorite food of the trip. The generous portion of fish is so perfectly cooked, and the corn tortillas are soft and fresh. My only regret is that I didn't return a second time during my visit. Note they have moved from University to El Cajon, but I didn't jot down the cross street. Luckily there was a truck parked at the old University location advertising the new address. The new location is in the parking lot of a Chevron station. Yum yum yummy yum.

Point Loma Seafood - Scallop sandwich + cole slaw. I'm glad I tried this. It's a hugely generous portion. I thought the sourdough flavor of the sandwich bread clashed slightly with the mild scallops, but not enough to ruin the meal. The cole slaw was a nice complement to the sandwich - it has the standard mayo dressing.

Mama Testas - Mojados de carne + side of refried beans and rice. This dish is beef flautas chopped into a bowl of chili broth. Ignore my lame description and just go eat it. It's heavenly. The beef is pot-roast tender, and the fried flautas very slowly soften as they sit in the broth so the texture gradually changes during the meal. I read on the board that their refried beans are noteable, but I thought they were just average. The salsa bar was fun. I loved the pickled carrots, the tomatillo salsa with parmesean, and the blended tomato/jalapeno salsa. I licked my plate. Seriously.

Tender Greens - Roasted vegetable salad with lemon vinaigrette. I wish they'd open an outpost in Seattle because I could eat these freshly tossed salads every day. The roasted veggies were tossed with crunchy greens and made for a surprisingly filling meal. The grilled artisan bread slice that came with it was finger-lickin' good.

Cafe Chloe in East Village (or is it Gaslamp?) - Pan seared king salmon salad. Being from Seattle, I have high standards for salmon, and this dish met them to a tee. The fish was perfectly medium-rare and served over frisee, beets and asparagus. It was simply perfect. And I snagged a sidewalk table on a beautiful day.

Pomodoro in Point Loma - Spaghetti carbonara + ceasar salad. This meal was disappointing, probably due to my own preferences. The carbonara sauce was extremely creamy, almost like an alfredo sauce, and it just didn't appeal to me although the flavor was good. Most carbonaras aren't quite that saucy or creamy. The salad was served room temperature (ick), was over dressed, and underseasoned. Maybe I just caught them on a bad night.

El Pescador Fish Market in La Jolla - Grilled seabass sandwich with avocado. This is a great sandwich to pick up and take to the waterfront to watch the seals. I can't say I'd recommend it as worth a drive from SD, but it should be on your list if you're already in LJ. It was a nice item to fill my tummy after hitting the Green Flash tasting room in Mira Mesa for IPA samples.

You have a wonderful city and a fantastic food scene. Thanks for maintaining a vibrant discussion on chowhound. It made my trip a pleasure, because my trips are always all about the food.

Cheers!
Frygirl

Phenomenal write-up. Thanks fiorbhlasta!

Try the Dish Cafe in Ballard or the Hi-Spot Cafe in Madrona. They are both very good.

5 Corner Market in Ballard had the weirdest fries I've tasted in recent memory. They tasted as if they were dusted with sugar. I wonder if they were accidentally "sugared" instead of "salted." They were totally gross.

My favorite onion rings are by far at The Counter in Ballard. They are cut very thin with a crunchy panko-style breading. They are a bit on the greasy side, but not disgustingly so. In my mind, they are the perfect ring. I dream of them often...