Gustav's @ Portland Airport

Airplane food! But not on the airplane, rather in the airport. Starved and need food fast! Gustav's was not too shabby. Apparently known for bratwurst, but meh. It did the job for airport food. A little too greasy.

Croissant Breakfast Sandwich

Breakfast Platter

[medium eggs, schnitzel w. bacon, and house potatoes]

Bastas @ Portland

Enough! That's what Bastas means in Italian, and boy did I have enough food. It was one of the better Italian restaurants that I've had in a long time. Everything was really delicious and had bold flavors. I recommend coming here to eat if you want Italian and you're in Portland. It's located in their version of "Nob Hill."

Uncle Vittorio’s Ragu

[Umbrian ragu, braised baby back ribs in tomato sauce tossed with rigatoni]

pasta al dente. braised ribs were nice and tender. the sauce was to die for! fragrant, savory, fresh tomatoes, garlic. noms

Seafood Pasta Baked with a Pizza Dough Baked on Top

Freshly Made Gnocci, Loin Chops and Masala Sauce

no words. but so good! creamy. flavorful. never had gnocci this fresh, it melts in your mouth

Red Onion @ Portland

Real Thai food and not food cart thai. The food at Red Onion was good, but I think too pricey for Thai food. Of course other places are more expensive, but meh. The curry was super spicy, it had the progressive spice that great thai curry had. Panda's Pad See Eww was better than the one off the cart, most definitely!

Pad See Eww

Green Curry w. Chicken

Habibi @ Portland

All over Portland there seems to be Mediterranean cuisine; lots of Greek, Lebanese, Persian, etc. Panda and I walked by Habibi many times, and we wanted something different for lunch one day. We wanted something light, and decided to split a lamb schwarma. We also got the babaganoush. Over all: so-so, definitely had better. Nothing spectacular...I'm sure there's better in the area, so try something else.

Babaganous and Pita

babaganoush was too creamy for me. i like it a little more thicker and with grainy.

Lamb Schwarma Sandwich

mediocre at best. definitely had better in sacramento, and of course in nyc. the pita was hard and chewy, and the lamb wasn't tender at all.

Pine State Biscuits @ Portland

Biscuits!! Biscuits!! If you recall when Panda and I drove across the country and we stopped in Denver Colorado we had the most amazing delicious biscuit ever! And it was a great time, because the waitress was so sweet, and so was the chef with the nice fresh biscuit! When Panda and I were Portland we saw biscuit at Pine State Biscuit, which was supposed to be amazing. While it was tasty, and good, it wasn't THAT good. I think it's cause we fell in love with the Denver Biscuit Company, and nothing can top that.

At Pine State, the biscuit wasn't as hot, it wasn't as big, it wasn't as buttery, it wasn't as flaky, it just wasn't as tasty. Then the fried chicken, wasn't as buttermilky, there wasn't enough flavor to it, it wasn't as most. The egg wasn't runny, so it wasn't that good. The gravy didn't have enough flavor, not enough sausage and whatnot. The bacon wasn't thick enough!

I suppose if you went to Pine State first, you'd be like "omg" but having had Denver first, it wasn't the same. It really wasn't.

Reggie Deluxe
[Fried chicken, bacon & cheese topped with gravy]

Vista Spring Cafe @ Portland

So after about a 3 mile hill walk from the foothills of Portland, starting at PSU, and ending up some where on the hills - about a 400 feet altitude change, it was time for a break before heading downhill back home. Along the route was Vista Spring Cafe. It looked pretty normal, nothing amazing. Starved, tired, sweating, we sit down and eat. After eating Voodoo Doughnut, and hamburgers before, I didn't want anything to heavy. Panda and I shared a pizza and a spinach salad. Surprisingly everything was so good! The pizza was FRESH! The dough was amazing. Probably one of the best that I've had in awhile. There was something about it...hmmm....I crave the pizza in itself.

 Prosciutto Pizza

[fresh fontina cheese, fresh dough, crispy prosciutto]

so good it doesn't even need ranch! oh yea the garlic! it was garlicy! that was why it was good, the garlic!

Spinach Salad

light and refreshing. simple. really good. nothing fancy, but it's not needed.

Voodoo Doughnut @ Portland

The one thing I knew about Portland, before doing any food research is Voodoo Doughnut! I knew I had to go. I heard that the line was insane, but I'm used to waiting for food. I wait 30 minutes or so in line for cupcakes in Sprinkles, so why not a doughnut :P Fortunately, there was a minimal line when I went, only 5 minutes! Score! There's a little window where you can peek into the kitchen when you wait outside, and inside is tiny. The doughnuts are affordable, about a dollar or so, there aren't crazy prices with this gourmet food unlike the other ones. Apparently one doughnut will set you back a few thousand calories or so, eeeeek. Good thing I went on those Hill Walks later, where I burned probably half a doughnut. Ha!

Apple Fritter

HUGE! too sweet for panda me thinks

Arnold Palmer

[cake donut, with lemon frosting and sprinkle some tea]

ok nothing spectacular

Old Dirty Bastard

[Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, Oreo’s and peanut butter]

this was to die for. the doughnut was so light, and the chocolate, oreo and peanut butter was perfect compliment. sweet with a nice saltiness to it. it was really good. highly recommended.

Food Carts - Portland, Oregon

Before I go to any city, I always do research to see what the food scene is. Where should I eat. What is the hottest thing. What is cheap. Well, when I went online, apparently Portland is food cart capital. In the city alone there are over 200 food carts! Oh my! Best part, they are stationary! They stay in one place, and they don't move all over the place. Generally they are on the exterior borders of parking lots. Amazing! Instead of doing a post on individual food carts, I thought I'd do one giant post, and tell you the location of several carts. Panda and I tried to go to many food carts as possible, we traveled far, we traveled wide, and when we arrived if we weren't hungry, we'd make space in our tummies! There were so many options, it was difficult to figure out which one to go eat. So we'd walk up and down the food carts, look at menus and go from there. It was an adventure! Common food carts were Thai, Banh Mi (Vietnamese Sandwiches) and Mexican. It was difficult to find something truly unique, but when I saw it, I was sold immediately.

SW 4th and Hall

carts closed since it was only 9am, only some were open for breakfast, mostly food carts are open for lunch for the lunch rush. unlike food trucks we know in la and sf, it's not open late at night for after-bar-goers

f

found our place for breakfast! waffle wrap!!

Meat and Cheese (see above for ingredients)

o.m.g. probably one of the BEST food carts we had in Portland. the waffle was freshly made, then the guy made an omelet with bacon and cheese. then, he put it in the waffle, but before wrapping it he drizzled it with syrup. it was the perfect balance of savory and sweet. definitely huge portions, and enough to share with two people. 

SW 3rd and Ash

SW Stark and 3rd

Lychee Limeade

homemade from Happy Grillmore. really good and refreshing. i could really taste the lychee flavor

Just Thai

this food cart was highly recommended. each dish is only $5, and it can feed 2-3 people. food is hot and the thai ice tea is only $1! what a deal!

 

Pad See Ew

huge amount. fresh noodles. good flavor. fresh veggies. 

 

SE 12th and Hawthorne

Poutin Fries

[french fries w. gravy and cheese curds]

french fries were good, nothing amazing. had better belgian fries in nyc. there wasn't enough gravy, and i guess i would have liked it more if the cheese curds were more melted. just ok. a little bland.

Pesto Mayo & Rosemarry Truffle Ketchup 

ketchup was so-so, but the pesto mayo was good

 

Whiffie

[fried pie]

BBQ Beef and Mozarella

nothing spectacular. i thought it would be great, something different a fried pie! but i just didn't like it, i think it's cause i don't care for bbq flavors. but that was the best option available that day. oh wells. the crush was flaky. 

 

SW Adler and 11th

DUMPLING TRUCK!!

so sad didn't get to eat here. closed just as we got there! this is different! this is unique! and we were leaving the next day....couldn't try. next time!

t

there's cheese burger dumpling! bahhhh. he hand makes them!