By Charley Michaels God, I love and hate eating out in Portland. Would hate to run a restaurant even more. A Yelp review (names withheld): Upon entering the ambience was warm welcoming, and lively, but once we were seated it was evident that the noise level was too loud for comfort. Next set back: service was slow. Finally – Read more…
Best of the Best Portland Coffee
(This article is a bit dated. You’ll find newer, expanded articles here.) By Sonia – Portland has so much going for it food wise, that it becomes hard to keep track. A fantastic new restaurant/bar/cart seems to open every other day, and we’re all scrambling to keep up with which places are good and which – Read more…
Taste of 2007? Nutmeg
[By “Salty Cod”] Note: this article is fictional. A joke. Not serious. We thought it would be obvious, but we were wrong. Thus, this disclaimer. Proceed with caution. Read with care.] I’m not sure how it happened, but 2007 marked the Nutmeg Renaissance. No one knows precisely why, but nutmeg became the hot ingredient last – Read more…
Review: Spella Caffe
By guest writer Axel Benjamin Coffee Roaster Andrea Spella tells me over my morning cappuccino that he developed his love for coffee when he was just a kid. [Updated: Spella Caffe now has a brick and mortar location at 520 SW 5TH Ave. You’ll find a new review of Spella here.] Growing up in a – Read more…
Those Annoying People with Food Allergies: A Guide
Having paid my dues in the trenches of restaurant work, I confess to more than mild irritation when faced with diners with food allergies. “I can’t have soy,” says the old lady. “No peanuts!” yowls the red-haired boy. Now, as karmic retribution would have it, I have my very own resume of food allergies: wheat, – Read more…
Why Are Domestic Wines So Expensive?
[“PDXMan” saw the comment below, and decided to fill me in. I thought his response was so good, it deserved publishing. I appreciate the time he took crafting his response.] “Many times imports are a much better bargain then domestics. It drives me crazy that heavy bottles can be shipped half way across the world – Read more…
Coffee Guide: Coffehouse NW
That Coffeehouse NW has become a destination for coffee fans citywide is a miracle. The pedestrian-hostile, auto-drenched corridor of Burnside Street is anything but cute—not so much resembling the two-lane, café-lined Eastside connectors like Belmont and Mississippi. And while Coffeehouse NW was trying to build its customer base, Gerding Edlen’s was building a condo tower – Read more…
Beast – First Impressions
Note: We now have a full Beast review here. I had dinner at Beast tonight. Truthfully, I had no idea what to expect as I was driving over to the restaurant. What does Beast mean? Will I eat all parts of an ugly animal? Will the portions be huge and bring out the animal in – Read more…