sophiamaria's Profile
Choices: Move to Portland or Stay in Oakland?
mmmerino, I absolutely love Portland so my opinion is probably biased not to mention that I have never lived in Oakland or even spent that much time there so I really can't base my comments on comparing the Oakland dining scene to Portland's. All that I can say is that I faced the same question about 11 years ago when I decided to leave my home and return to school. I eventually based my decision to move here on the fact that where I lived servers were paid $2.15 and hour as opposed to Portland's much higher minimum wage of I think $6.50 an hour (at the time) which was a huge difference for a soon to be student.
The first year after I moved here, I wondered what the heck I was thinking. The restaurant scene at that time in Portland was very lacking but eventually one new place opened and then another and soon we had so many great choices that we didn't have before and now look at us, getting all of this attention.
My point of this rant is, if you want to compare Portland restaurants to Oakland/San Francisco, LA, NY, London, Paris, etc, etc we are little fish. However, you will find your favorite Portland restaurants, you will continue to love your Oakland favorites as well as have your favorites everywhere else you travel on a regular basis. Why does one favorite somewhere else have to be better than the other favorite here? And this I'm not necessarily directing towards you but to the comments that over and over compare the restaurants here to those in other cities. I travel all over the place, I have favorites everywhere I go and I never say, "oh this foie gras is so much better (in x city) than at Sel Gris in Portland." I simply enjoy it while I'm dining on it if it is enjoyable, and then I come home and go have foie gras where I enjoy having it here.
All of that being said, it sounds to me like you have a pretty good comprehension of what Portland is about and really the decision to move here should be based on so much more (or perhaps less)! OK so I'm done trying to be all philosophical, Portland is a wonderful city with many great restaurants and if you choose to move here, I have a feeling you'll grow to love it.
Best Food Cart
Nuevo Mexico. It just moved over to Mississippi Ave. which is a fun place to check out.
12th/Hawthorne
Whiffies-yes!
Potato Champion-not as good as it used to be, too salty.
Creperie-yes!
I haven't tried the Mexican place
Yarp-is good and may have to close, so may be worth stopping by.
Best Brewpub/Casual Dinner Food in Portland
And between Bridgeport and Deschutes you could stop by Rogue Brewery also.
Best places to eat on a Sunday in Portland
Pok Pok is great but I don't think it is open on Sundays (all-correct me if I'm wrong). Portland is big on brunch so check out Simpatica (it is very small, however) or Pine State biscuits which are two of my favorites. Biwa is great for dinner if you like Japanese Izakaya style (especially if it's a cool day). That's just a few off the top of my head.
What regional foods is Seattle known for?
mrnelso-thank you for a great post. I'm down in Portland and want to go to Seattle right now!!
Best Tamales in Portland
oooh, I always wondered where to find the good ones in Woodburn. Thanks for your help.
there are no tamales there, but I finally tried Nuevo Mexico for lunch today. It was really good, I had the ground beef stuffed sopa with green chile. I highly recommend it!
Best Tamales in Portland
I'm not sure if it is the same woman that is over on Hawthorne sometimes but if it is, they are awesome!
Thanks everyone for your help. I've got some tamale eating to do and I'll let you know what I find.
Best Tamales in Portland
thank you. I'll go check them out.
Anyone else out there have any ideas?
Best Tamales in Portland
Where are the best tamales found in Portland? I grew up in the Southwest and spent summers in Mexico so I've had some pretty great tamales in my life (a few bad ones too!).
I'm very open to all styles, however, traditional, gourmet, low-end, high-end. I'm just curious to find what chowhounders think. I'm looking for restaurants or carts.
I apologize if this has already been posted, I tried a search but had no luck so if there are past posts, please let me know. Thank you!
One night in Portland! HELP!
I like to take out of town friends to the Shanghai Tunnel bar but in the summer it can get very warm down there so dress light. I also really like the Driftwood Room in the Hotel Deluxe. For breakfast, I love J & M cafe over in SE, it seems quintessential Portland to me. For dinner, I absolutely love Toro Bravo and Clyde Common.
portland
Nuestra Cocina and Lovely Hula Hands are both very good. Nuestra is upscale Mexican and one of my favorites in town, I have never had a bad experience there. I haven't tried Ned, or Nostrana. Ciaovito is just OK in my opinion, I've eaten there several times and nothing really won me over. I have only had apps at Lincoln and while the atmosphere is gorgeous, I did not love the food. The portions were very small and the menu was just a little off to me, nothing really sounded great (unusual combinations) whereas Clyde Common is a similar concept but the menu and food are really great. So there is my opinion for what it's worth!
Portland this weekend - itinerary critique!
Leonardo, where do you go to upick strawberries?
PDX - Anyplace like PFI in PDX for Cheese
Just walked by on Friday and it is still there.
Portland this weekend - itinerary critique!
If you go to Toro Bravo on Sunday night, don't let the hour long wait they quote scare you off. It rarely takes this long and you can have apps in their little waiting area.
Caffe Allora: a pleasant surprise (Portland)
shhhh... one of my all time favorites! It never disappoints. After studying in Italy, this is where I go to get my fix of true Italian life.
Apizza Scholls (PDX) -- get it to go, I guess
Dr. Chow. I have to agree with you on several issues. I live near Apizza and would rather drive over to Ken's (where I prefer the pizza, anyway) than endure the Apizza "experience". I don't care how great the food is, if the guests are treated poorly, there's just no excuse for that. Yes, there should be someone at the counter helping the guests. I actually think it's kind of funny that people openly support a business that acts as if they really don't care about their patrons. Go ahead and eat there, I won't. I prefer to be treated respectfully as that is the way I treat people both when working in a restaurant and dining out. If that makes me a non-foodie. So be it. I like great food, I enjoy a nice atmosphere and I appreciate being treated respectfully when dining out. For me it is a package deal, I'll try most anything once but a place like Apizza is not where I would find myself going back to. And as far as the East Coast/West Coast debate, I live on the West Coast for a reason, if treating people poorly in a Pizza place is the way its supposed to be because that's they way it is in the East, well, I'm just glad I live on the West Coast. I get enough of the East Coast for work and I'm always so happy to come home!
Best Vegetarian in Portland
Blossoming Lotus in the Pearl is very good for lunch or dinner and The Farm is great for dinner.
Beast - PDX
I personally think it is just in poor taste to refuse. Come on people, it's bacon!
Dining Solo in Portland
Portland is very conducive to dining solo. Great spots are Toro Bravo, Driftwood Room, Higgins, Serrato, Andina, Bay 13, Fratelli, Cafe Allora, Lauro.
All of these places have bars that are comfortable to dine at but there really are so many more.
Inexpensive Produce in PDX
You should definitely try to make it over to Barbur World Foods. I'm curious why this wasn't one of your stops. They also have a smaller store on SE 80th and Stark (or Washington) at the Ya Hala restaurant (which is very good). There is a small European market on Hawthorne and 19th but I haven't shopped there, you may check it out if you're in the neighborhood (across from Castagna).
Affordable Awesome in PDX?
I agree with the suggesstions for Toro Bravo and Clyde Common for newer restaurants that are great. I've been to both several times and never had a less than great experience. Toro Bravo will tell you they have an hour plus wait but don't let it scare you, it never takes that long. Clyde Common's happy hour is one of the best in town, which could save $$.
One older place that I love to visit, especially in the winter is Gino's in Sellwood. The food is great and I like the atmosphere (especially the bar). It does get busy so be prepared to wait but I think it's worth it.
A Cozy Thanksgiving in Portland?
Cozy and Hubers does not go together. While I think Hubers would be good, Higgins is definitely more cozy,(and would probably be my first choice) and the Heathman can be depending on where you dine. Hubers is way too loud for me sometimes. The front dining room is a little more quiet but the ambience is blah. And, although I have not had Thanksgiving here, you may want to check into Gracies in Hotel Deluxe. It has a great atmosphere and good food and just something a little different.
Portland bar or restaurant with Belly Dancing
Al Amir downtown has a belly dancer on Friday and Saturday nights. I think the first performance is at 8:00pm.
Breakfast Portland- DT, Pearl or Nob Hill
Biways cafe and Daily Cafe in the Pearl are great as well.
Been to Trebol?
It's great to see a new restaurant mentioned on Chowhound. It seems the same ones get mentioned over and over and there are so many out there. I'm looking forward to trying Trebol now!
