Food

Who doesn't love brunch? It's the perfect meal that satisfies both the breakfast crowd and the lunch crowd, that can be enjoyed all morning and into the afternoon. In most cities, brunch is the meal that is saved for weekend days - the days in which we can casually start our days a little later than normal and don't have to rush off to work or appointments. But, in Portland, brunch is so popular that many restaurants offer it every day of the week. In fact, brunch is such a part of life in Portland that the hit TV show Portlandia even titled an episode “Brunch Village” and filmed on location at various local brunch spots. There is also a website and book that serves as more of a fan page for the early morning delight. Breakfast in Bridgetown: The Definitive Guide to Portland’s Favorite Meal, showcases brunch and breakfast reviews, news and everything in between. One of our favorite spots for brunch in Portland is Tasty and Sons, where the menu changes regularly and is designed to feature seasonal, local ingredients.  
01 January, 2014
'Tis the season for holiday shopping, over-eating and making resolutions for the new year. As much as we look forward to change, there are some things that should remain unchanged, such as a great all-American hamburger. So, we celebrate National Hamburger Day with a local joint that continues to serve up an American classic with style and ease.
22 December, 2013
Chef CJ Jacobson has worked in the kitchens at Axe, Campanile, Mercantile and restaurant Noma in Copenhagen but is best known for his appearances on Top Chef Season 3 and Top Chef All Stars....until now! This past summer, Chef Jacobson has been putting his professional melting pot of experiences in his own restaurant in Studio City, Girasol. Girasol, meaning sunflower in Spanish, is the inspiration behind the design of the restaurant's aesthetics (which, from the tables to the ceiling, looks like a giant sunflower) and is consistent with the influence of environmentally sustainable dishes.   The chef's mission was to create something organic that allowed the restaurant and farmer to come together in showcasing the freshness of seasons and local ingredients. In fact, Chef Jacobson has a forager, Pascal Baudar, on his team who regularly combs through nearby Angeles National Forest for seasonal ingredients. The result is a colorful menu full of flavor. 
10 December, 2013
Dark and sexy, Expatriate, owned by bartender Kyle Linden Webster and his wife/partner Chef Naomi Pomeroy, is one of the hot new restaurants of 2013 in Portland. Offering a menu of South Asian-fusion snacks, the flavors are not for the timid. The food is bold, spicy, sweet and full of flavor. We were 4 people, foodies who like to try as much as possible.  So, the small plate menu was perfect. Ore Dungeness Crab Rangoon (Wontons Filled With Crab Meat & Cream Cheese, Curried Corn Cream, Crispy Maitakes & Thai Chili Slaw) - This was one of my favorite dishes. The fresh crab meat and cream cheese were well balanced with the spice from the curried corn cream.
06 December, 2013
Owner and Chef John Gorham, spent time in Spain exploring the cuisine, before opening Toro Bravo (the Brave Bull). The result is a menu that is influenced by the many regional cuisines of Spain, ranging from the northern Basque area to Catalonia. The menu is divided into Pinchos, Tapas, Paellas, and Desserts. We stuck with the Pinchos and Tapas selections and, along with a glass of wine, were transported to Spain where is food is meant to be enjoyed and shared with friends. Radicchio Salad with green olive toast & manchego vinaigrette
04 December, 2013
Perhaps you know Zengo Restaurant because of award-winning Chef Richard Sandoval. And perhaps you have visiting one of the locations around the country, in Santa Monica, New York, Washington DC and Denver, to taste the Latin-Asian menu.  But, did you know that in addition to the regular Latin-Asian menu, Zengo, which means "give and take" in Japanese, also offers items from their test kitchen. Every few months the chefs of Zengo come together in researching and developing seasonal menus that feature dishes from one Latin and one Asian country. The items are integrated onto the main menu, but you can locate them by spotting the "TK" next to the specialty items. Now thru December, the Zengo is offering Peruvian and Malaysian dishes as part of the "Test Kitchen" menu. The dishes includes cocktails, appetizers, entrees and even a dessert.
02 December, 2013
Finding good food in Italy isn't hard to do. But, occasionally a special place is visited that is different from the rest.  And we found that very one on our recent trip to Pavia....at Erbaluce. Next to the Duomo in Pavia, we happened upon Erbaluce, a modern and warm restaurant owned by chef Antonia Plati. A self-taught chef, Plati was a lawyer in Milan when she gave it up to open her first restaurant in 2006. Her husband acts as wine buyer and server when not working as a doctor. The style of the food is a modern Italian interpretation with a French twist, and the dishes are inspired by her family home in Basilicata, near the sea.
25 November, 2013
Located 40 minutes south of Milan, the capital of the Lombardy region, is the town of Pavia, home to one of the oldest universities in Europe (1361). And, just across the river from Pavia sits the region of Oltrepò Pavese, which means just that. It is “on the other side of the Po River from Pavia”. Because of its rolling hills, it is frequently called the “Tuscany of the North” but although the Oltrepò Pavese is one of the largest wine producing regions in all of Italy, it is still fairly unknown, which makes it a great "off-the-beaten" path place to visit.
22 November, 2013
The team behind one of my favorite Valley spots, Black Market Liquor Bar, has come to the Westside with Scopa Italian Roots. Located in a former Szechwan Chinese restaurant space on Washington Blvd near Abbott Kinney, and next door to Sunny Spot, Scopa Italian Roots offers traditional home-cooked Italian food, inspired by Chef Antonia Lafaso’s upbringing.   Steve Livigni, Pablo Moix and Antonia Lafaso have been busily working on this new project for months. At an event this summer, they were serving drinks under the name Old Lightening which is the name of the bar that is opening adjacent to Scopa in the coming weeks.
14 November, 2013
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