> What's good to eat in Portland? I'm open to just about anything. Well, I have been responding to this question for some years with the following list. It represents my personal biased opinion, and does not ionclude places I have yet to try. The following assumes that one travels to other places where there is good food, so may put down some of what other Portlanders' consider good. I travel a bit, so this is a very biased view. o Nick's is the best Italian, $25/person. But it's way out of town. o Zell's is the best yuppie breakfast in town. It's good to excellent. o Avoid the overrated breakfast at the Bistro downtown. o Papa Hayden's is considered the best general yuppie food. Chocaholics' Anon official meeting place in town. o But actually, the best non-pretentious yuppie food is Marco's in Multnomah. o A number of other normal $20 yuppie food places. Skip them. o Ignore all sunday brunch places, they're mediocre buffets. My daughter liked brunch at Atwater's, but at 18 she's more easily impressed than I. Same goes for the Heathman, Benson, ... o Cajun Cafe can be great, but can also be so so. Worth trying in case you hit a great day. I have hit three bad shots in a row, so will skip it for a few years. o But next door is an ok felafel bar, Garbanzo's. o A number of Continental places, but none really worth it. All over $20/per. Most rely on sugar to appeal to the American palate. o No great Chinese, but Hunan or Chen's, downtown, are acceptable. o Canyon Pearl in Beaverton is the best lunch in the Western metro area and is $5/per. o Dim sum at Fung Chong's is pretty darn good. Not SF, but close. o Thai at the Bangkok Kitchen is great when Mama is cooking. Avoid otherwise. Very informal, downright funky in fact. All other Thai I have tried in town is quite mediocre. Get the chicken soup with coconut milk. o Vietnamese/Thai at a place at 40th and Hawthorne is good and inexpensive. o Sumida is the best Japanese, but the sushi bar at Ming Palace is quite good although the rest of the food there is the pits. o I have yet to find good Indian, Pakistani, Malasian, Mid-Eastern, et al. Plainfield's Mayur Cuisine of India is good but > $30/person and not that great. o Alexis is acceptable Greek cuisine, and middle to low priced. o The Indian food at Plainfield's is good but does not match the prices, but they have the best wine list in town. o I have yet to find a good country-style steak place or an excellent steak in town, period. o Brasserie Montmartre is acceptable yuppie/continental and the best jazz with food in town. o Jake's is the traditional fish place in town, and is pretty good. Generally, for a costal state, the fish here is the pits unless you like deep fried everything. o A lot of great local brew pubs, but avoid the so-called food. o The only non-greaseburger hamburger is the Foothill Broiler. o If we've descended to hamburgers, it's time to stop. But Portland has one thing, albeit not a restaurant, that you do not want to miss; Powell's Bookstore. New and used intermixed, a city block, eclectic, and a place to drink cofee and think/read. As good a computer section as you'll find in town, but not at the same location. It is very surprising to find such an excellent bookstore in a town the size of Portland. There's a fair bit of good food in Seattle (which I will leave to the Seattle folk to describe), but to grab a quick bite, go to the fish market at Pike's Market and have some clams for me.
Portland, OR