updated 6.17When I was growing up, on hot summer days dad used to get everyone into the car and head out to Lancaster California to pick fat juicy cherries and sweet peaches from the old orchards. We'd make a day of it, hiking in "The Devil's Punchbowl", stopping for a burger at A&W Rootbeer, and driving home tired and happy, the smell of ripe fruit playing harmony with … [Read more...] about Review: Salt & Straw
NW-Portland
Review: Ringside Steakhouse Portland
[updated 2017] Ringside Steakhouse was been closed, extensively remodeled and has reopened. I thought it was time to go back and take another look.In the early 90's, I had my first dinner at Ringside, yet I remember the night like it was yesterday. It was a cool, crisp winter evening. I wanted to impress a date, and knowing nothing about the Portland food scene, was told it … [Read more...] about Review: Ringside Steakhouse Portland
Review: Olympia Provisions – Westside
A review of Olympia Provisions, By Roger Porter 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 up in a … [Read more...] about Review: Olympia Provisions – Westside
Review: Gilda’s Italian Restaurant
A review of Gilda's Italian Restaurant in Portland Oregon by Roger PorterYou 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 … [Read more...] about Review: Gilda’s Italian Restaurant
Review: Andina Restaurant in Portland
2017: this restaurant has tobogganed downhill since my original review was written. The food lacks the polish it used to have, and the prices have risen. The restaurant has been expanded over the years to use every square inch of space for seating - basement, upstairs and mid-level. At the same time, the kitchen doesn't seem to have been enlarged to handle the additional … [Read more...] about Review: Andina Restaurant in Portland