Completely updated/rewritten 11/2012 Welcome to cold season in Portland. Hot Pot City is a constant for many of us, especially in the chilly, gray winter months in Portland. It's warm, it's soothing, it's steamy – perfect medicine for the colds and stuffed sinuses that our climate seems to … [Read more...] about Review: Hot Pot City
Lunch
Review: Ringside Fish House
In 2011, the Ringside Fish House opened downtown, on the second floor of the Fox Tower. The space had previously housed Ringside Steakhouse during their extensive remodel. It overlooks Director’s Park, and in the evening when the shades go up, it’s fun to watch the lights dance through the glass canopy, occasionally … [Read more...] about Review: Ringside Fish House
Review: Podnah’s Pit Barbecue
Updated 7/17 I'm indulging myself in the beginning of this review by taking a walk down memory lane. Click here if you'd like to jump to review section. When I was growing up, I spent many summers on a big cattle ranch just down the road from the booming metropolis of Maypearl Texas, population less than 300. We had … [Read more...] about Review: Podnah’s Pit Barbecue
Review: Bunk Sandwiches
<Completely updated 6/12 - hours, photos, notes, locations, etc.> What I like most about Bunk is, though it has only been open for a short time, it’s already a dive - in a good way. Sit in the back next to the stacks of bread, and you’ll know what I mean. It’s like being transported to the East Coast, where … [Read more...] about Review: Bunk Sandwiches
Review: Olympic Provisions – Westside
Like impatient readers who sneak a look at the last page of a novel, I have a tendency to scan the dessert selections on a menu before checking out anything else. It’s probably because I want to gage my appetitive capacity to decide if I’ll save room for a sweet, or simply wish to plan my dinner with the tastes lined … [Read more...] about Review: Olympic Provisions – Westside
Review: Gilda’s
You hear all the time that one of the lamentable gaps in Portland’s culinary scene is the absence of great Chinese restaurants. Understandably there is little here to compare with the Chinese food palaces of San Francisco or Vancouver, B.C., but sadly we fall down in that department relative to Seattle as well. But a … [Read more...] about Review: Gilda’s
Review: Ate-Oh-Ate
Nostalgia can do odd things to people. It can turn strong men weepy, and make normally sensible folks act with puzzlingly sentimental yearnings. The word “nostalgia” literally means a sickness for home, and when Ben Dyer set out to re-create the food (no one ever accused it of being a “cuisine”) of his native … [Read more...] about Review: Ate-Oh-Ate
Review: Andina – Restaurant of the Year 2009
(minor updates 3/2013) With the myriad of restaurants opening in Portland every year, it is easy to forget some of the older ones, which often are better than the latest gastronomic trend-setters. In my opinion, Andina is one of these, a restaurant that rarely disappoints, always intrigues and provides a great … [Read more...] about Review: Andina – Restaurant of the Year 2009