Adventures in Eating

As many of you already know, Portland is one of the most vibrant and inventive cities when it comes to food and restaurants. If I had my druthers, this is the place I'd spend all my money eating out. Every time we visit my mom there are at least 5-10 new restaurants that are being lauded as the best of the best. Unlike Boston, the food is both phenomenal and affordable. For $100, you can go out for a very decadent meal that includes all the elements - including a couple of tasty cocktails. One of the ironies of heading to Portland to eat is that my mom is a great cook and food lover, so there is a fine balance of wanting to try new restaurants and going to farmer's markets to buy the local harvest and play with food together (or at least she and Craig cooking together with me as an occasional chopper/wine glass filler). This trip we did a pretty poor job at documenting all the eating - there were several missed opportunities with no camera available. So you will just need to take me on my word that the eating is phenomenal.


A nicoise salad made from the left-over albacore tuna that we grilled the night before.


A Cast Iron Frittata with fava beans, olives, confit green beans, caramelized onions & feta from a new restaurant called Tasty and Sons. $7.


A polenta and sausage ragu with fresh mozzerella with a fried egg from Tasty and Sons. $8.


A grilled albacore tuna line caught from less than 120 miles from my mom's house. For $5.70 per pound. My mom made the marinade, Craig did the grilling. What a super treat.


A decadent lunch at Pok Pok, a Southeast Asian restaurant in Portland known for replicating serious street food. The serve food found at restaurants, pubs, homes and the streets of Southeast Asia with the majority of the food coming from Thailand, and specifically from the North and Northeast of Thailand. The menu changes seasonally, monthly or at whim. They use local products when possible and practical.

Dishes pictured- and consumed by three very happy mouths - include the following. Please note the bill was $40, inclusing 3 fancy tea/soda concoctions.
-Roasted natural game hen rubbed with lemongrass, garlic, pepper and cilantro served with a spicy sweet and sour dipping sauce. Their signature dish.
-Fresh natural chicken wings marinated in fish sauce, garlic and sugar, deep fried, tossed in caramelized Phu Quoc fish sauce and garlic and served with Vietnamese table salad. The daytime grill cook Ich Truong’s recipe from his home in Vietnam.
-Giant prawns, brined and grilled whole over charcoal, served with naam jiim thaleh, a spicy lime/garlic/chile dipping sauce.
-Fresh wide rice noodles with Chinese broccoli, pork, egg, garlic and black soy sauce stir fried in a hot wok.