365 Things To Do In Portland, Oregon

Time to visit the winner of Portland Monthly's Best Bartender Competition @ Clyde Common

Blake Ellis - Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The results are in! The readers of Portland Monthly Magazine have spoken, and this year's Best Bartender is Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Clyde Common. Here he is, in his own words, courtesy of Portland Monthly...

* Photo - Ray Gordon

Here, he riffs on Portland’s drinking scene and shakes up the perfect Valentine’s Day cocktail.
What distinguishes the rose city’s drinking crowd?  The fact that we have a really sophisticated and educated clientele. People take drinking seriously here.

Who’s your favorite local bartender? Mike Robertson at the Driftwood Room. He was one of the first bartenders to welcome me to Portland. He’s a great host and a great bartender.

How can Portland step up its bartending game? There’s a lot of emphasis on people wanting to make up their own drinks these days. It’d be nicer if people paid more attention to learning the classic drinks. Anybody can dream up fancy new cocktails, but they can’t make you a good whiskey sour.

What’s your cocktail of choice? Piña colada. No, that’s a lie! Gin and tonic.

What Valentine’s Day cocktail cliché should be avoided at all costs?  Drinks with sugared rims.

How did you choose your perfect Valentine’s Day cocktail? I was thinking about very traditional romantic drinks, and those always involve sparkling wine. But I wanted something a little different. And I remembered a drink I had in New York at a great tequila bar called Mayahuel, where my friend Phil Ward is a bartender. It’s earthy, complex, and slightly bitter. And it’s pink! But a good pink … it’s a kind of butch pink.

I've been lucky enough to enjoy the food and drink at Clyde Common several times, and I am the first to sing this bartender's praises. Some very creative mixology goes on behind the bar at this place, and every drop is delicious! Also, their happy hour food is pretty tasty. Stop in from 3-6pm every weekday to enjoy it!

Clyde Common is located at:
1014 SW Stark Street
Portland, OR 97205
(adjacent to the Ace Hotel)

503.228.3333
www.clydecommon.com

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Shop for groceries and support a local charity at the same time!

Blake Ellis - Thursday, January 13, 2011

Whole Foods Market Pearl is proud to partner with Isobel's Clubhouse for community support day. Today 5% of the store's sales will go directly to this amazing 501c3 serving families in the Pearl District and downtown Portland, Oregon. Stop by Whole Foods for activities throughout the day including story time in the Mezz at 10:30, Kids Food Craft at 3PM, and at 6:30 the return of our Half Shell Happy Hour.

Whole Foods Market Pearl, 1210 NW Couch St. Portland 97209

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A new east-side pub debuts on Friday - Guild Public House

Blake Ellis - Wednesday, January 12, 2011

And here, physical proof of a politician keeping a promise: BlueOregon founder Jesse Cornett's E. Burnside pub Guild Public House, located on the first floor of theNoble Rot building, is ready for its January 14 grand opening (a few preview events are on-tap this week).

The 125-seat space boasts a 92-inch projector downstairs (for sports fans) and a 50-inch plasma upstairs (so "political geeks know they have a spot they can rely on to watch political debates and election night returns"), while the building's famous green-friendly features include geothermal temperature control. McCormick and Schmick’s veteran Jason Roy mans the kitchen (plans to add an outdoor barbeque will up menu offerings), while Cornett and co-owner Molly Aleshire have pledged to donate five percent of all profits — all the time — to charity.
· The Guild Public House [Official site]

Courtesy of our friends at EaterPDX

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Start the new year off right.. and EAT EAT EAT all over Portland!

Blake Ellis - Thursday, January 06, 2011

Okay. I know that it's just the beginning of January 2011 and that the majority of New Year's resolutions have to do with losing weight, working out, and reducing what you eat, but when you live in Portland, Oregon you cannot turn your back on the fantastic food options that are all over town.

My friends over at PDXeater have complied your must visit restaurants for the month - all 38 of them. Check this out. If you plan carefully maybe you can visit all of them this month. I'll post the top gyms in Portland next month! :) Happy New Year.

-B
___

It's time to update the Eater 38, your answer and ours to any question that begins, “Can you recommend a restaurant…” This highly elite group covers the entire city, spans myriad cuisines, and collectively satisfies all of your restaurant needs, save for those occasions when you absolutely must spend half a paycheck. Every couple of months, we'll be adding pertinent restaurants that were omitted, have newly become eligible (restaurants must be open at least six months), or have stepped up their game.

This time around, after poring over reader emails and comments, we've made some major overhauls, dropping Pine State Biscuits, Meat Cheese Bread, Afrique Bistro, Yakuza, Serratto, Bar Mingo, Navarre, Cafe Castagna, and Patanegra — not because they aren't great spots, but simply because time keeps moving on.

That's the bad news. The great news is that in their place comes Tasty N Sons,Metrovino, Olympic Provisions, Bar Avignon, Castagna, Laurelhurst Market, Kenny & Zuke's, Jade Teahouse, and Bamboo Sushi (phew), all presented in random order here. Welcome to the show.

And, just in case, rather than a stage-4 meltdown over our having excluded your favorite restaurant from the list, wouldn't it be more productive to just nominate it for inclusion?

Clyde Common

1014 SW STARK STPORTLAND, OR 97205

Clyde Common’s uber-hip, dimly lit common room offers a snapshot of Portland, Oregon in all its skinny jeans-wearing, pork belly-eating, pig-loving, slow food …

Pok Pok

3226 SE DIVISION STPORTLAND, OR 97202

Classically trained chef Andy Ricker moves to Thailand, learns to cook Thai food better than the locals, gets a well-deserved 14-page spread in Food & Wine and gets …

Tanuki

413 NW 21ST AVEPORTLAND, OR 97209(503) 241-7667

Chef Janis Martin dishes out Japanese- and Korean-influenced izakaya grub with tons of attitude in this tiny underground bar. Name your price and allow Martin to dish it …

The Country Cat

7937 SE STARK STPORTLAND, OR 97215

The Country Cat is all about American food, prepared by a chef, Adam Sappington, who understands and executes the nuances of old world cuisine. You might be ordering …

Screen Door

2337 E BURNSIDE STPORTLAND, OR 97214

Local-sourced and southern-fried, everything on this menu from the pimento cheese scramble in the AM to the evening’s brined bird keeps the locals lining up for …

Biwa

215 SE 9TH AVEPORTLAND, OR 97214

One part ramen den, one part izakaya, two parts modernista basement bunker, this late-night chefs’ hangout is run by the most improbable Japanese chef in town: a …

Paley's

1204 NW 21ST AVEPORTLAND, OR 97210

This is the Balthazar of Portland: the place that everyone agrees on, and a place that manages to be creative, yet so classic. Whether you’re enjoying mussels…

Bamboo Sushi

310 SE 28TH AVEPORTLAND, OR 97214(503) 232-5255

Portland's "green" ethos is no more obvious than at Bamboo — the world's first certified-sustainable sushi restaurant — where always-fresh catch plays nicely …

Podnah's

1469 NE PRESCOTT STPORTLAND, OR 97211

Podnah’s hits the lowest common denominator of what makes food satisfying: there’s salt, sweetness, fat, and Rodney Muirhead’s sauce has the perfect …

Tasty N Sons

3808 N WILLIAMS AVEPORTLAND, OR 97227

John Gorham's insanely popular second spot reinvents Portland's favorite meal — brunch — taking it to new heights worth the inevitable looooong wait. The …

Toro Bravo

120 NE RUSSELL STPORTLAND, OR 97212

Toro Bravo is about as Spanish as the French revolution (have you ever seen a pulled pork sandwich in a restaurant in Madrid?) but regardless of nationality, this is damn …

Lucky Strike

3862 SE HAWTHORNE BLVDPORTLAND, OR 97214(503) 206-8292

Portland’s best Sichuan spot is enjoying its new Hawthorne digs, but its menu remains the same. The kitchen goes through five to six 20-pound bags of dried Sichuan …

Kenny & Zuke's Delicatessen

1038 SW STARK STPORTLAND, OR 97205(503) 222-3354

Yes, it's packed with tourists from the neighboring Ace Hotel, but Kenny & Zuke's is the closest thing Portland has to a New York-style Jewish deli: No "artisan"…

Ocean City

3016 SE 82ND AVEPORTLAND, OR 97266

This Hong Kong-style dim sum and seafood house is the cheapest ticket to Hong Kong – dim sum is served sum seven days a week and they’ve got classic and …

Lincoln Restaurant

3808 N WILLIAMS AVEPORTLAND, OR 97227(503) 288-6200

As the sole fine-dining spot in the rapidly gentrifying N. Williams 'hood (for now), the menu at Jenn Louis' Lincoln restaurant is an admirable study in simplicity. From …

Park Kitchen

422 NW 8TH AVEPORTLAND, OR 97209(503) 223-7275

One of the first in a class of restaurants that would define an entire city, Park Kitchen, which opened in 2002, is home to Scott Dolish, a chef who likes to pair flavor …

Bunk Sandwiches

621 SE MORRISON STPORTLAND, OR 97214

Tommy Habetz and Nick Wood have turned this little storefront into a local and then national legend. What you’ll get here aren’t just sandwiches – these …

Simpatica (Brunch)

828 SE ASH STPORTLAND, OR 97214

You can either find seven friends and make a coveted reservation, or be willing to stand in a basement hallway line for however long it takes for the people who got up at …

Evoe

3735 SE HAWTHORNE BLVDPORTLAND, OR 97214

At this little counter tucked to the side of specialty grocery Pastaworks, Kevin Gibson is, more so than any chef in town, about the ingredients. A squash salad is just …

Nostrana

1401 SE MORRISON STPORTLAND, OR 97214

Intensely regional Italian food, wood-fired oven pizza, and a totally accessible menu make Cathy Whims (once of Genoa) the most renowned female chef in Portland. A barrel …

Metrovino

1139 NW 11TH AVEPORTLAND, OR 97209

Don't call it a wine bar (though it's a pretty awesome one at that). At Metrovino, chef Greg Denton consistently serves up the most experimental dishes in the Pearl …

Ken's Artisan Bakery

338 NW 21ST AVEPORTLAND, OR 97209

Some saviors wandered the wilderness for thirty days. Others were tech refugees who moved to France and learned perfect bread. Ken opened what has been called the …

Beaker & Flask

720 SE SANDY BLVDPORTLAND, OR 97214(503) 235-8180

Beaker & Flask elevates the idea of "bar food" past burger-and-fries into territory more likely to offer skate wing, chicken livers, and maple-braised pork belly: …

Tabla

200 NE 28TH AVEPORTLAND, OR 97232

Tabla’s three-course prix fixe meal, put together by Anthony Cafiero, is one of the best deals in town, and his northern Italian menu one of Portland's most …

Bar Avignon

2138 SE DIVISION STPORTLAND, OR 97202(503) 517-0808

Bar Avignon knows how to turn on the charm: With its inviting bar wrapped around a miniscule open kitchen, owners Randy Goodman and Nancy Hunt create the perfect setting …

Olympic Provisions

1107 SE WASHINGTON STPORTLAND, OR 97214

It's best known for its meaty goodness — Olympic Provisions famously boasts Oregon’s first USDA certified meat-curing facility — but venture past …

Apizza Scholls

4741 SE SALMON ST-HAWTHORNE BLVD ALLEYPORTLAND, OR 97214

Thin-crust East Coast/New Haven-style pizza (their website’s all about the pizzaiolo), this southeast joint closes when they out of dough, which they stick in …

Broder Cafe

2508 SE CLINTON STPORTLAND, OR 97202

If Alvar aalto and Betty Crocker had a love child, it would be this Southeast Clinton Scandinavian place, and it would arrive on small wooden boards accompanied by …

Castagna

1752 SE HAWTHORNE BLVDPORTLAND, OR 97214

Matt Lightner's molecular experiments have caught the attention of everyone from Food & Wine to the NYTimes, and Castagna has quickly become the poster-child …

Ha & VL

2738 SE 82ND AVEPORTLAND, OR 97266

Tucked into a SE 82nd strip mall, Ha & VL dishes out Vietnamese soup that transcends the more-familiar pho, and you'll eat what they tell you: Just a couple varieties …

Ned Ludd

3925 NE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVDPORTLAND, OR 97212

The gimmick at this one-year-old Northeast restaurant is that everything is cooked in a wood-fired oven, except there’s nothing gimmicky about the meat pies (with …

Genoa Restaurant

2832 SE BELMONT STPORTLAND, OR 97214(503) 238-1464

This storied Italian spot rises from the ashes with the arrival of chef David Anderson, who serves up five-course stunners featuring complex, polished pastas and even …

Beast

5425 NE 30TH AVEPORTLAND, OR 97211(503) 841-6968

It's a splurge, but Portland's most high-profile chef, James Beard finalist Naomi Pomeroy, wo-mans the kitchen at Beast, where each intimate, prix-fixe seating is like a …

Red Onion

1123 NW 23RD AVEPORTLAND, OR 97210

Red Onion aspires to what every neighborhood Thai restaurant could be — if they weren’t dumbed down to American palates. Flavorful curries, appropriately …

Grüner Restaurant

527 SW 12TH AVEPORTLAND, OR 97205(503) 241-7163

The dearth of downtown dining hotspots gets some relief with the debut of Chris Israel's Alpine-influenced Gruner. Though the menu takes inspiration from the Black Forest …

Le Pigeon

738 E BURNSIDE STPORTLAND, OR 97214

Gabe Rucker’s East Burnside hole-in-the-wall has an open kitchen, a short menu, and a firm handle on how to make inventive but mostly accessible food. This is where …

Laurelhurst Market

3155 E BURNSIDE STPORTLAND, OR 97232(503) 206-3099

At the forefront of Portland's now-famous carnivorous culinary scene, Laurelhurst Market's combination butchery counter, steakhouse, and sandwich stop ushered in an …

Jade Teahouse & Patisserie

7912 SE 13TH AVEPORTLAND, OR 97202(503) 477-8985

This casual neighborhood lunch counter successfully borrows from several Asian influences — peeks of Vietnamese with meatball sandwiches and pho, Chinese with pork …

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Prepare for some heat!!! Lucky Strike on Hawthorne serves up some hot food!

Blake Ellis - Friday, November 19, 2010

Last night, I joined some friends and headed to Lucky Strike, a Chinese Sichuan restaurant over on SE Hawthorne Blvd. It's small and quirky place that offers some authentic Sichuan food. The owner brings selections to customers that she grew up in China during her youth.

The restaurant itself only has a few tables, and the interior is really pretty.. Big bold reds and blacks dominate the decor. Funky asian paintings adorn the walls.

The food at Lucky Strike is not your run of the mill, Americanized Chinese food. This is authentic stuff! And the spice factor is through the roof. I tried a couple of their popular dishes - Hot Pepper Chicken Bath (little cubes of chicken in a sea of red peppers. WHOA it's spicy) and Cumin Beef was also really good. My fellow diners were regular hot food eaters, and this put them to the test.

All in all, the food was actually really quite good. I don't eat loads of spicy food, and I lived to tell this tale.

Lucky Strike is located at 3862 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland, OR (across from Fred Meyer).
Telephone number: 503-206-8292
www.luckystrikepdx.com

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Start your wine education in the Pearl District at Vino Paradiso

Blake Ellis - Saturday, June 12, 2010

When I first moved back to Portland, Oregon the first place I landed was a pretty wine bar called Vino Paradiso. It's a low key Pearl District wine bar that is big on experience and not on attitude. One of the owners is member of a wildly popular Portland music group - Pink Martini. When talking about his goals for the wine bar, he told me that he wanted a place where people could learn about the wine in a comfortable environment without the snooty-ness you might expect elsewhere.

Vino Paradiso is great. The space is bright and exhibits artwork of local artists. An impressive glass wine room sits right in the center of the space. Just the other day, I stopped by for one of their selected wine flights and a tray of cheese and meats. It's a great way to test your taste preferences, and for a great deal, too. Most of their current flight selections are $11 or $12 (3 pours).

A full dinner menu is offered, in addition to some great prix fixe menus and a happy hour menu. Their daily happy hour which runs from 4-6pm features great food at $6 and $2 off specialty cocktails and glasses of wine. From time to time, winemakers will stop by for dinners and education events, and you can quickly transform into a well educated wine-o in no time at all!

Vino Paradiso
417 NW 10th Avenue
Portland, OR 97209

Chef - Paul Losch
Sommeliers: Timothy Nishimoto, Thomas Champine

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5 Courses WITH Wine - $25! Enjoy a night at Uptown Billiards

Blake Ellis - Friday, June 11, 2010

Uptown Billiards is a GREAT local restaurant and billiards club that offers one of THE BEST Happy Hour dining options in all of Portland, Oregon. Uptown's chef puts together a constantly changing 5 course happy hour meal between 4pm and 6pm for only $15!! Plus, guests can pair each course with wine for only $10 more. The food is fantastic, and the space is just as good. Uptown Billiards is everything you'd expect of a classy old world space - dark wood, dim lights, velvet drapes, and gilded mirrors. Stop by the club and try it for yourself, you will be glad you did!!

For dinners between 6:30pm and 8:30pm, the 5 course menu runs $25 and can also be paired with wine for an additional $10.

Uptown Billiards Club
120 NW 23rd Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97210

503.226.6909

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365 Things To Do In Portland, Oregon

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