Beets with Blue Cheese Terrine

Apparently I’ve started a tradition. Clarklewis began my Dining Month Portland reports last year. I hadn’t realized it, but I hadn’t been in since. As with Tabla, it tends to be a place I think about when I think about pasta and I don’t think about pasta very often. But I could do a lot worse than returning to Clarklewis which has been a sold restaurant through multiple owners and multiple chefs.

The host didn’t grab the menu from the host stand as he began to seat us, so my wife cleverly grabbed one.

Salad
Gathering Together arugula with Oregon blue cheese terrine, roasted beets, glazed walnuts and sherry vinaigrette

Entree
Housemade tagliatelle with SuDan Farm lamb ragu, rosemary and pecorino toscano

Dessert
Olive oil pound cake with Viridian strawberries and sabayon

$5 Drink Specials
Fabla Calatayud Tempranillo/Garnacha Spain ‘09
Por Tuga Casa Santos Lima Portugal ‘10

Only the pasta was part of the normal menu, $19 for the full portion, or $14 for the smaller portion. The meal comes with the large portion. If we assume that the dessert would be $8 like most of the others and the salad $11 like most of the others, then the Dining Month Portland menu, at a normal cost of $38, is very good value.

The salad (pictured at the beginning of this report) had a foundation of fork-tender roasted beets topped with toasted baguette, young arugula and a slice of blue cheese terrine. The slice of terrine had a more uniform and lighter texture than straight blue cheese, but still all the flavor. Crunchy glazed walnuts added both a sweet and bitter element to the delicious salad, my favorite course of the night.

Tagliatelle with Lamb Ragu

The tagliatelle was perhaps a little thick, but it worked well with the hearty lamb ragu. The tender lamb’s gaminess was offset by the light sweet and tangy flavor of the ragu. It was a hefty portion. We took home half and had it for lunch the next day.

Olive Oil Pound Cake with Strawberries

The meal finished with a moist olive oil pound cake with a soft, caramel-color crust. The strawberries on the side weren’t over-sugared and just tasted naturally sweet and a little tart. A sabayon added some sweetness and richness without overpowering the other delicate parts of the dessert.

All the dishes were enjoyable and it was clearly a generous discount on their normal prices. We also got a few other dishes.

Pork Belly with Braised Fennel

We ordered the pork belly with braised fennel, radish salad, and pink peppercorn jus ($14) to start. To me, the jus had a citrusy flavor more than peppery flavor. Either way, I enjoyed it and it contrasted well with the rich pork belly. The best part, though, was the braised fennel hidden behind the pork belly it props up in the photo above. It was slightly caramelized on top and fork tender, its anise quality mellowed by the braising.

Roast Pork with Polenta

While not bad, the only disappointing dish was the roast pork with polenta, braising greens, wild sorrel, and rhubarb glaze ($26). The pork, still pink in parts, was a little dry and didn’t have much of a crust to it. The polenta was too cold making it a bit clumpy, though it was obviously cooked correctly and still had a creamy mouthfeel. The braised greens, though, between the polenta and meat were good and the rhubarb glaze added a sweet-tart element that went well with the pork.

Chocolate Pound Cake with Salted Caramel Gelato

We were sent out a second dessert, the dark chocolate pound cake with salted caramel gelato and butter toffee walnuts ($8). The pound cake had a nice texture, denser and less moist than the olive oil pound cake, but its flavor was a little harsh. Too often, I think, items become extra chocolatey by use of mediocre chocolate or some harsh Dutch processed cocoa powder. Granted, I’m very picky about chocolate, but to me this tasted harsh and displayed none of the nuance or breadth of flavors dark chocolate can. Luckily the sweetness of the gelato and caramel sauce, along with the toffee walnuts, largely balanced out this harshness and made for an enjoyable dessert.

Another good meal. 2 for 2. Let’s hope this keeps up.

Clarklewis
1001 SE Water Ave
Portland, OR 97214
503.235.2294
clarklewispdx.com

Spanish Octopus with Tails and Trotters Pork

Dining Month Portland is back — now in its second year, a reincarnation of the 25 for $25 from a decade ago. Many of Portland’s best restaurants (and a few, frankly, that I wouldn’t even consider going to for free) offer three course meals for only $25. Last year, I went to five different spots during the first five days and I’ve decided to do that again this year, starting with Tabla.

I’ve always enjoyed Tabla. It’s one of Portland’s best values. I’d probably go more if I ate pasta more, but being on a perpetual low-carb diet — or at least telling myself I am until a delicious dessert gets plopped down in front of me (or until blackberry season) — usually precludes a visit. But I wanted to get back. Since Ten-01, its sister-restaurant closed, there’ve been some changes in staffing.

The $25 three-course option was a prominent part of their menu. Last year, several places would only give you the menu if you asked for it.

Farmer’s Market Lettuces
Organic yogurt dressing, radish, Viridian Farms’ strawberries

Pappardelle
Pork sugo, pecorino romano

Forbidden Rice Risotto
Asparagus, asiago, aged balsamic

The olives come free

Assuming equal portions if ordered ala carte, this would be a $33 meal, essentially making the appetizer free. However, for $3 more, you can order the $28 three course dinner, a regular option at Tabla, which allows for a lot more options, about three more for each course, though the savings are still the same. The one disappointment is that there wasn’t another option for entree. Having to follow a pasta course with risotto makes for a pretty starch-heavy, protein-light meal. And since the pasta course has meat, there’s no option for vegetarians, though I imagine they might be willing to sub for the cheaper vegetarian ravioli on the menu. But with the $28 menu also available, this wasn’t much of an issue.

Farmers Market Lettuces

The Farmer’s Market Lettuces had a tangy yogurt dressing that was well-balanced by peppery radishes and sweet strawberries. Simple, but a good start.

Pappardelle with Pork Sugo

The best of the three dishes was the pasta, a thin and delicate pappardelle still firm enough to hold up to the meaty pork sauce. Shaved pecorino over the top of the pasta added some salt and nuttiness.

Forbidden Rice Risotto with Asparagus

The whole grain flavor of the forbidden rice worked well with the fresh and crisp asparagus. The mild acidity of aged balsamic kept the dish from being too simple, though I would guess they use water or a vegetable stock to cook the risotto resulting in perhaps less depth of flavor and richness than I would prefer for a main course. But the texture of the rice itself was excellent. A little cheese was crumbled over the top.

A good meal and a very good value. However, if I had just walked in off the street and wasn’t there specifically for the $25 meal, I would have chosen the $28 meal without a doubt. However, we did order more.

Sous Vide Egg with Sausage

We also ordered their sous vide egg ($9) with boar sausage, nettle puree, and grilled onion cream. The egg whites were a touch “snotty” for my taste, tough once everything was mixed together, it became more of a sauce. But I think I would have been happier with a lightly poached egg. The onion cream underneath had a really wonderful vegetal sweetness almost like a caramelized root vegetable. The sausage was delicious, well-seasoned, and meaty. While the nettle puree was a little difficult to incorporate into the dish, the greens around the egg were also quite good, especially the red-veined sorrel (I think) which has an almost herbal flavor with the texture of a soft spring green.

Chevre Gnudi with Maitakes

We were sent out a taste of the chevre gnudi. The chevre gave them a tartness you don’t normally see in the ricotta version, but they still had a pillowy texture contrasted by a good butter-crisped exterior. The maitakes and argugula were excellent as well, everything accented with garlic.

The best dish of the night, though, was the “Mar y Montana” ($20, $4 add-on for the $28 menu, pictured at the beginning of this report) — a surf and turf consisting of stewed Spanish octopus and shredded pork terrine seared crisp. A savory tomato jelly joined the octopus and pork along with stewed vegetables and flavorful spring greens. A hummus lay underneath everything. The octopus was tender and infused with flavor. The pork was succulent yet crisp. The tomato “jelly” supplied a tart counterpoint. Very, very good.

Crumb Cake with Preserved Lemon Gelato

We finished by splitting a dessert, the cardamom crumb cake with espresso cream and preserved meyer lemon gelato. The crumb cake had a moist interior, nice crunchy crust, and well-spiced flavor. The lemon gelato was excellent with a very good texture and complex lemon flavor. The espresso cream was light, not overpowering the dessert.

It’s nice to know that even if the best dishes aren’t on the $25 menu, for only $3 more — any time of the year — you can get exactly what you want.

Tabla
200 NE 28th Ave
Portland, OR 97232
503.238.3777
tmbistro.com

Baking pastries at Yesenia’s in Hillsboro. See video below.

There’s something wonderful about the aroma of bread baking. Even Franz with its Wonder-soft loaves smells good when the ovens are on. But Mexican bakeries—panaderias—are a whole other world. They use cinnamon, anise and orange in their fragrant pastries, called pan de dulce or pan dulce, filling them with guava, pineapple, coconut and vanilla cream. Savory breads are often stuffed with ham. Cookies even come in the shape of a pig. While every Mexican market in PDX carries these kind of goods, a smaller number make their own breads and pastries. Of these, two are a step above the rest: Yesenia’s and La Espiga Dorada. Don’t be shy. Just follow the grandmother with toddlers in tow, or the day laborer picking up some quick fuel, or the professional getting a box of sweets for the office. Grab a tray and some tongs and load up from the bakery case or the racks. (Hint: Items from the rack are fresher.)

La Panaderia 101

Savory

Mexican pastries and breads, or panes, can be divided into three main kinds based on the type of dough used: savory, sweet or laminated. Savory doughs, such as the simple white dough for pan de sal, are used to create breads such as the bolillo, a football-shaped roll, and the telera, an elongated, disc-shaped bread often used for tortas (Mexican sandwiches). Bolillos also come sprinkled with sesame seeds and filled with items like cheese, chiles, or ham—the over-sized Mexican version of a Hot Pocket. Pan de anis is made with a simple dough, enriched and scented with anise, giving it the light aroma of black licorice. Pan de muerto uses an egg dough similar to brioche or challah, accented with orange. The round loaves with a mahogany crust have a cross-bones design that clues you in to their name: “bread of the dead.”

Sweet

Pan fino is a sweet dough with a texture somewhere between white bread and a cookie, sometimes laced with spices like cinnamon. It’s used to make pastries, such as elotes, a sugar-coated bread in the shape of an ear of corn, round novia or besos, two cookies that “kiss,” held together by frosting. Made with wheat and corn flour, mantecada is a loaf with the texture of yellow cake. It can be used by itself or is often paired with pan fino for pastries like ojos de buey (“ox eye” or “porthole”), where a crusty ring encircles a cakey center. Sometimes the sweetness doesn’t come from the dough itself, but what is placed on it before baking. The most iconic pan de dulce is the concha, a domed bread, anywhere from a few inches across to over a foot in diameter, that is coated with a sweet paste that hardens in the oven, leaving a crunchy “shell” decoration.

Laminated

Most familiar to Americans are the flaky laminated doughs, such as those used for Mexican croissants, cuernos (“horns”), and tacos, cigar-shaped pastries with fruit fillings, such as pineapple or guava. Orejas (“ears”) are like French palmiers, layers of crisp, delicate puff pastry cut crosswise to reveal hundreds of layers wrapped around each other. The milhojas (“1000 leaves”) consists of several inches of puff pastry with a Bavarian cream or fruit center. Tasty.

Yesenia’s Specialties

At Yesenia’s Hillsboro outpost, where the breads are baked continually throughout the day, you can often watch as the bakers combine doughs of different colors, fill pastries, and pound out shapes. Specialties include the molasses-flavored puerquito, a giant animal cookie shaped like a pig. Their empanada de manzana is a tasty apple turnover and their nuez (“walnut”) has a crusty outer “shell” and cakey interior “nut.” Like their beso, the cacahuate (“peanut”) has two cookies stuck together with frosting, though this one could feed a small family.

La Espiga Dorada’s Specialties

A golden sheaf of wheat adorns La Espiga Dorada’s sign, beckoning the carb fiends inside. They do well with sweet pastries, like the pastelito de piña, a pineapple upside-down cake, or palmas, pan de dulce made of puff pastry similar in shape to orejas, but with “fingers” dipped in chocolate. However, La Espiga excels at savory stuffed breads, such as the sesame-coated bolillos with ham, chipotles and cream cheese or their empanadas filled with spiced pumpkin (“calabaza“). On weekends they offer empanadas filled with mole, spiced ground meat, and even tuna. Make sure to check the baker’s rack in front of the window for items that never make it into the case.

Yesenia’s At Work

La Espiga Dorada Bakery
18350 SW Tualatin Valley Highway
Beaverton, OR 97006
503.591.9859

Yesenia’s Market
1075 SE Baseline St.
Hillsboro, OR 97213
503.681.9299

Yesenia’s Market
6611 SE Powell Blvd.
Portland, OR 97206
503.774.4124

This article originally appeared in Willamette Week.

Bun Rieu at Pho An Sandy

Whether you want to avoid seeing people making googly eyes and kissie faces at each other while you try to eat or whether you just want to avoid paying double for a meal served by a frazzled waiter, here are 10 options to escape the trappings of dining out on Valentine’s Day. They’re un-hip and non-trendy. And most are inexpensive and casual, too. Also, because most of these places are rarely slammed, it’s a good list to keep around for a Friday or Saturday night when waiting 45 minutes for a table sounds especially miserable.

Ceviche de Pescado at El Inka

When pressed, two out of three times I will say El Inka is my favorite restaurant in Portland, even if it is in Gresham. The casual Peruvian restaurant makes wonderful wood-roasted rotisserie chicken and the best fish ceviche in PDX. $20 will stuff two people.

El Inka
48 NE Division St.
Gresham, OR 97030
503.491.0323

Banh Hoi Dac Biet at Pho An Sandy

Possibly the best bowl of pho in Portland can be found at Pho An Sandy. And yet, I rarely order pho there because the rest of the menu is so superb, such as the banh hoi dac biet, a mix of meats served with thin noodle cakes and an abundance of fresh herbs for stuffing into salad rolls. They also make a terrific bowl of bun rieu, the funky orange-colored soup with pork bits, seafood sausage, and vermicelli noodles. It’s hard to spend more than $15 for two.

Pho An Sandy
6236 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213
503.281.2990

Medhu Vadha at Chennai Masala

When most people think of Indian food, they think of creamy curries, tandoor chicken, and naan. Chennai Masala, however, while it serves many of the typical Indian dishes, specializes in Southern Indian food — vada, dosa, uppatham, sambhar, etc. The dishes are lighter, use sourdoughs, and are almost exclusively vegetarian. They’re healthful, flavorful, and extremely cheap. Two people can get plenty of food for $15 to $20. (Note: As pointed out in the comments, Chennai Masala is not open on Mondays. Blrrrgh!)

Chennai Masala
2088 NW Stucki Ave
Hillsboro, OR 97124
503.531.9500

Carnitas Taco at La Bonita

The best Mexican food is in Gresham, Hillsboro, and Woodburn. But La Bonita consistently proves itself to be the best taqueria in central Portland and able to hold its own with the taquerias on the outskirts of PDX. Their tacos combine excellent house-made tortillas with skillfully prepared meats. Their posole, tamales, and guacamole are all quite good. Two people can have a plentiful meal for $10 to $15.

La Bonita Taqueria
2839 NE Alberta St
Portland, OR 97211
503.281.3662

Pork Neck Bone and Potato Soup at JCD

A half dozen or more Korean restaurants in Beaverton are probably the most under-the-radar quality eateries in PDX. JCD, a hidden mom and pop shop with latenight hours barely visible from chain-central Cedar Hills Blvd is among the best. Kimchee and panchan are all solid and delicious. Dishes such as the pork neck bone and potato soup are hearty and soul satisfying. Two can have a meal with leftovers for under $25.

Jang Choong Dong Wang Jok Bal (JCD)
3492 SW Cedar HIlls Blvd
Beaverton, OR 97005
503.644.7378

Asparagus Sandwich at Meat Cheese Bread

While busy at lunch, Meat Cheese Bread barely has more than a trickle of customers for dinner. Yet, they have a more diverse menu than most other sandwich shops with a good selection of salads plus breakfast, including their breakfast burrito, available morning, noon, and night. The ability to have any of their sandwiches as salads, such as the BLB (bacon, lettuce, and beet) or the green bean with egg and tangy bacon relish, was a brilliant creation. Two people can eat for under $15. (And the blue cheese wedge is a steal at $5.)

Meat Cheese Bread
1406 SE Stark St
Portland, OR 97213
503.234.1700

Falafel at Karam Restaurant

Portland has several solid Lebanese restaurants, but Karam is a step above them all. Most of their mezza is as good as anywhere in town, but their falafel are unequaled, with a crunchy exterior and nutty flavor. They excel at stews, with both lamb and goat being among the best. Two people can easily eat for under $25 and the interior is more date-friendly than most in this list.

Karam
316 SW Stark St
Portland, OR 97204
503.223.0830

1000 Year Old Egg at Ocean City

One of the most frequent foodie complaints about Portland is the dearth of good Chinese food. But there are a handful of Cantonese restaurants on the east side, most on or just off 82nd Ave, where a very good meal can be had. Ocean City is probably the best of the bunch. The key is to stay away from dishes like General Tso’s Chicken, sweet & sour pork, or Mongolian beef. Instead, look to simple preparations, such as seafood, often from live tanks, in a simple sauce and vegetables cooked similarly. Dishes are large so if two people order three items at about $30, they’ll have enough food for several meals.

Ocean City
3016 SE 82nd Ave
Portland, OR 97266
503.771.2299

Khao Soi at Chiang Mai

No dish represents the cuisine of the Northern Thai city of Chiang Mai better than the noodle curry khao soi. The tiny restaurant on Hawthorne named for the city serves the best version in town. Most people haven’t realized that yet, meaning one of the best Thai restaurants in town doesn’t have a line out the door like the others. A dinner for two will be less than $25.

Chiang Mai
3145 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97214
503.234.6192

Salmon Aburi at Hiroshi

Hiroshi isn’t cheap. It’s the most expensive sushi in town, though still not expensive compared to high end sushi in most cities. Not even close, actually, just a bit more expensive than Bamboo or Sinju, but with much better quality. Hiroshi serves the best sushi in Portland with Murata its only real competitor. Despite all this, Hiroshi never seems to fill. It may be the best restaurant in Portland with an open reservation on Valentine’s Day.

Hiroshi
926 NW 10th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
503.619.0580

Chocolate Treats from Baker and Spice

Valentine’s Day is all about romance. And by “romance,” I mean sex. Whether you’re trying to get sex or you’re trying to comfort yourself because you’re not getting any, chocolate is your friend. Whatever the mood or reason, the following artisans, shops, restaurants, and chocolatiers will supply your wildest cocoa fantasies:

PLAY TIME

Mojo, the monkeylike Pokémon who lords over Mojo Crepes (8409 SE Division St., 208-3195), is a science experiment gone awry. The monstrous Japanese crêpes they serve must have been invented by the same mad genius. Chocoholics should order the Oreo Obsession ($5.25): a crêpe wrapped around Death by Chocolate ice cream, crushed Oreos, bananas and chocolate syrup. Release your own monster and add Nutella to that bad boy.

Six dollars won’t even buy you a dessert at most upscale restaurants. At Cool Moon (1105 NW Johnson St., 224-2021) you can get a sundae big enough for two ($5-$6). Start with the semisweet Wicked Chocolate, easily the best chocolate ice cream in town, topped with their housemade fudge sauce, nuts, whipped cream and amarena cherries and see if you can eat it all. (Warning: Foreign travelers not raised on supersized portions and 7-Eleven Big Gulps, those prone to brain freeze, and people named “Chauncey” should not attempt to eat this accompanied by fewer than three people.)

Chocolate Sundae at Cool Moon

It’s almost a disservice to put Cocanú (available at Cacao and Barista) in the “fun” category. The local chocolatier creates some of the most deftly devised blended bars in Portland. But then again, it came up with the Moonwalk ($4): Cluizel’s Concepcion single-origin chocolate from Venezuela seeded with chocolate nibs and Pop Rocks. It’s seriously good chocolate, but it’s all fun and shit, too.

COCOA HARDCORE

Oregon Kiss and Luscious Caramels from Sahagun

When Sahagún Chocolates first opened, Elizabeth Montes, the owner, gave me a thin swirl of unmolded chocolate from one of her favorite chocolatiers (DeVries) and included very specific instructions on how to eat it: Warm it up by my car’s heater until just beginning to melt, let it cool in my hand, warm it up again, and then pop it in my mouth. While her shop closed late last year, taking with it some of the best truffles in the country focused more on the quality of the chocolate than overwhelming flavors,  Montes’ chocolate perfectionism lives on in her confections (available online and shops around town). The Oregon Kiss, her gold-dusted chocolate-hazelnut truffle ($16 for five pack, $3 each at Cacao) is a delicious gourmet version of a Ferrero Rocher, those overly sweet, crunchy, gold-wrapped Nutella truffles you get at supermarket checkstands.

There is no better medium for tasting the complex character of chocolate than in liquid form. Cacao’s “shot” ($2)is a drinking chocolate in three varieties: a blend of Venezuelan milk and dark chocolate with cinnamon, a classic 72 percent Ecuadoran dark chocolate, and that same dark chocolate amped up with smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, ginger and coconut milk. The bold beverage is like a chocolate 12-gauge to the palate, coating the entire mouth with such intensity it’s impossible to indulge in more than the daintiest of cups.

Chocolate Terrine at Wildwood

As for more leisurely experiences, Wildwood’s single-origin chocolate terrine with cocoa nib praline ($8, 1221 NW 21st Ave., 248-9663) is one of the simplest desserts at a fine-dining restaurant I’ve had in ages. At first I was bored by it, or at least the presentation of it—not much more than a slab of mousse on a plate. But a week later, I’m still craving it. The simplicity showcases the tart fruitiness of Valrhona’s Tainori chocolate from the Dominican Republic. It was about the chocolate.

“C” IS FOR COOKIE

Two Tarts (2309 NW Kearney St., 312-9522) should be renamed “Two Temptresses.” The siren song of this Nob Hill bakery and farmers market graduate are diminutive cookies that beg to be eaten by the handful. Their best are cream-filled creations, such as the Lil’ Mama (80 cents each), an Oreo knockoff, with two crisp, chocolate wafers sandwiching a vanilla buttercream center.

Another farmers market alum, Hillsdale’s Baker & Spice (6330 SW Capitol Highway, 244-7573), is too often neglected by Portlanders, while in-the-know Southwest residents line up out the door. Pies, cakes, croissants and an excellent loaf of challah all warrant a trip in the car  Be sure to grab a box of chocolate crackle cookies ($1 each), mud-black, coated with a thin sugary crust as white and crisp as a February frost.

WHEN SAVORY MET SWEET

Paleys Vietnamese Chocolate Tart

Chocolate’s oldest use was as an unsweetened drink spiced with chile, an elixir reserved for Mesoamerica’s kings and priests. Out of this savory tradition came the 16th-century colonial Mexico invention of moles, complex sauces with 20 or more ingredients, often subtly flavored with chocolate. Northeast Portland’s Autentica (5507 NE 30th Ave., 287-7555) serves pollo en mole guerrerense ($20), a half a chicken simmered in a housemade sauce consisting of  everything from nuts, chiles, bread, plantain and tortilla to cinnamon, clove, garlic, anise and, of course, chocolate. It’s a dish from Chef Oswaldo Bibiano’s home state of Guerrero and a superbly balanced introduction to moles.

Peanut Butter Cup from Alma Chocolates

Curries are the moles of  Asia. At Alma Chocolates (140 NE 28th Ave., 517-0262) the tropical aromas of Thai curry – coconut, ginger, lime, chiles – are blended with every kid’s favorite better-together-than-alone combination of peanut butter and chocolate, creating one of Portland’s very best bites: the Thai peanut butter cup ($2.25 each).

Nobody does yin and yang better than David Briggs’ Xocolatl de David truffles (available online or at several shops around town). There’s his famous bacon-chocolate truffles, the numbing “salt & pepper” bonbons with Szechuan peppercorns, and, my favorite, the olive oil truffle, with its silken ganache and very un-sweet fruitiness ($2.50).

Truffles from Xocolatl de David

If it’s fromage you crave, then Pix Pâtisserie’s Royale with Cheese ($7.50, 3901 N Williams Ave., 282-6539), a creamy chocolate mousse “bombe” packed with hazelnut praline filling served with a side of pungent French Brillat Savarin cheese, is your ultimate mashup. And then there’s the Vietnamese chocolate tart ($9) at Paley’s Place (1204 NW 21st Ave., 243-2403). Who else would nestle a nuanced custard filling of chocolate, coffee, cinnamon and sweetened condensed milk in a bitter cocoa shell and accompany it with a savory, salted-butter ice cream?

FINISH LINE

Chocolate in Three Textures from Castagna

When I ordered the chocolate-hazelnut sundae with brownies, Frangelico ice cream, chocolate-honey fudge and hazelnut toffee ($7) from The Country Cat (7937 SE Stark St., 408-1414) the other night, the bartender quickly apologized, explaining that the dessert was on the previous week’s menu. “Thank God it’s gone,” the server next to him said. “It tasted so damn good I gained five pounds!” Country Cat is one of the unsung heroes of pastry work in Portland, its desserts echoing the savory kitchen’s comfort food appeal with Michelin-star attention to detail and devotion to top-notch ingredients. I wasn’t a bit disappointed with the sundae’s replacement, a chocolate-almond upside down cake with amaretto whipped cream and honey hot fudge ($7)—a springy cake, black as a pint of Guinness, enameled with a single layer of crunchy, caramelized almonds.

Chocolate Upside Down Cake at Country Cat

Local restaurants often rotate their desserts, so grab these plates if you spy them on the menu: Irving Street Kitchen tempts with an intensely fudgy chocolate blackout cake with salted pistachio brittle and vanilla ice cream ($7.50, 701 NW 13th Ave., 343-9440); the new downtown French bistro Little Bird takes flight with a light and slightly crisp hazelnut-milk chocolate financier with kumquats and praline ice cream ($8, 219 SW 6th Ave., 688-5952) while Castagna’s artwork on a plate, the Chocolate in Three Textures, translates to moist cake, chewy burnt caramel, and crisp meringue with crystallized sunchokes and coconut sorbet, presented like a forest scene with the chocolate as rocks and logs surrounded by the greenery of tarragon, fennel and chervil ($10, 1752 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 231-7373).

Chocolate Tart at Higgins

FINDING MR. GOODBAR

Good chocolate has the complexity and distinction of fine wine. Yet, the same people who turn up their noses at wine from a box, Velveeta or Bud Light often have no problem grabbing a chocolate bar from the supermarket shelf. It’s time to really taste chocolate. Here’s what you do:

Walk into a legit chocolate shop, like Cacao, Cork or The Meadow, that carries a selection of the best brands—true chocolate makers like Italy’s Amedei and Domori, France’s Cluizel, Pralus and Valrhona, or America’s Patric, Rogue, and Amano. If you’ve never been a fan of dark chocolate, start with a quality milk chocolate, like Cluizel’s Mangaro Lait or Patric’s Dark Milk bar. A local chocolatier, John DePaula, sells bars at several chocolate shops around town using milk chocolate from quality Swiss maker Felchlin. These bars will have 40 to 50 percent cocoa, as opposed to the 10 percent found in a typical milk chocolate bar. Yet, the flavor will be buttery-sweet, nutty and nuanced.

For your first dark chocolate—or your first good dark chocolate—something in the range of 65 percent or more cocoa, try Cluizel’s Concepcion, a single-origin chocolate made with beans from Venezuela. It’s nutty, giving it that familiar chocolate flavor, yet floral and fruity. Another good choice is a bar from Madagascar, such as Valrhona’s Manjari. Bars from Madagascar tend to be dominated by a tart fruitiness, bringing to mind dried cherries or fresh raspberries, making them very easy on the tongue.

When you’re ready to challenge your palate, start with a set of 75 percent tasting squares from Pralus; each of the eight will be dramatically different, ranging from fruity, to tart, to citrusy, to leathery.

This article originally appeared in Willamette Week.

Meal at Taco Time, Oregonian's Pick for Non-Elitist Mexican Food

In the Oregonian’s recent anti-foodie invective, Lee Williams highlighted Taco Time as a place where patriotic, American-cheese-loving Portlanders eat Mexican food. Todd Pedersen, owner of two local Taco Time stores, though, laid down the gauntlet:

“A lot of foodies don’t want to go to chains even though they might actually have some good food, just because of the thought….They might go to (fast-food restaurants); they just don’t admit it!”

[Pedersen] challenges his menu against the few and favored Mexican carts, trucks and taquerias of the foodies: “Come on,” he says. “Let’s blind taste-test them.”

He doesn’t just claim that Taco Time can compete against some random mom and pop Mexican joint, taqueria, or taco truck. He says it can compete against the very best. Okay, as El Mariachi would say: “Let’s play.”

Growing up in rural Lane County on the edge of Fern Ridge Resevoir, the only fast food joints close-by were the Veneta Dairy Queen and Taco Time. Every Tuesday was “Taco Tuesday” and my friends and I would head down from Elmira High School at lunch for 49 cent tacos. In college, mexifries and a veggie burrito were a regular reminder of home. I’m quite familiar with Taco Time and its menu. I’ve always considered it a big step up from Taco Bell and most other fast food Mexican joints. Hell, I would say their tots are tops. You’d be lucky to find a tater tot in any bar or tavern that’s as good as the mexifries from Taco Time — and Taco Time’s would be half the price.

But taco trucks and taquerias don’t serve tater tots. They serve tacos. So in taking up Pedersen’s challenge, I focused on one of the few menu items that all taco trucks, taquerias, and Taco Times share: carnitas. I could talk about the mediocre ground beef, so fine that it could be sucked through a straw. Or their cheese, a mediocre cheddar, pre-shredded, and how when it sits out, it becomes plasticky and hard, even getting stuck in your teeth. Or I could mention their crisp bean burrito and how an internal layer of the flour tortilla stays uncooked, getting soggy and pasty as it blends with the meat juice. But I won’t. I’ll focus on the “street tacos”, specifically the pork, ie, the carnitas. And to be honest: they were better than I expected.

Before I move on to the reviews, though, we need a little background on carnitas. If you read the Wikipedia entry, you’ll get some common misinformation:

Carnitas, literally “little meats”, is a type of braised or roasted (often after first being simmered) pork in Mexican cuisine. Pork carnitas is traditionally made using the heavily marbled, rich ‘boston butt’ or ‘picnic ham’ cuts of pork.

Impeccable Carnitas: Golden on the Outside, Succulent on the Inside

In Mexico, everyone knows what is meant by carnitas: pork cooked in the style of the Mexican state of Michoacan. If you want to see the process, there’s no better step-by-step photo journal than My Life in Mexico by Rolly Brook. (A better source than Wikipedia in English, though it’s a a bit of plagiarism based on an out-of-print Spanish source, is the taco article on Mexconnect.) In Mexico, the restaurants and butchers that specialize in carnitas start with a whole pig. But more importantly, the parts aren’t simmered, braised or roasted; they’re fried. The most comparable dish that many Americans are familiar with is duck confit. But I like to think of it more like whole hog BBQ, but instead of smoked, the pig is fried until crisp on the outside, succulent and tender on the inside. While there are many shortcuts for carnitas, some better than others, if this contrast between crispness and succulence doesn’t exist, then the essence of carnitas really hasn’t been captured. It’d be like eating a doughnut that had been boiled instead of fried. Same shape. Might even be good. But just not the same.

For the carnitas showdown with Taco Time, I started by forming a baseline. I’ve eaten at scores of taquerias, taco trucks, carnicerias, and other Mexican food joints in Portland that the Oregonian considers elitist. But I felt it was important to focus on carnitas, take pictures, and carefully note the differences between the various tacos so I could make an honest and objectively-based comparison with the ones at Taco Time. I ended up going to six different spots, ranging in price and location: Por Que No, La Bonita, Lindo Michoacan, Ochoa’s, Ely’s, and La Catrina.

Tacos from Por Que No, Carnitas Right, Grilled Chicken Left

Por Que No: Por Que No is a mid-scale taqueria and hipster hang-out with two locations, one on upper Hawthorne near Apizza Scholl’s and Zach’s Shack, and the original on N. Mississippi. I’ve had my complaints about the place, mostly that they’re slow despite having a ton of people in the kitchen, and that while their meats and house-made tortillas are decent to great, their salsas can ruin a meal. (Ask for them on the side.) Meanwhile, they have the most expensive tacos in Portland, starting at $2.75 each. (And they charge a ridiculous $3.00 for chips and salsa, though the chips are excellent.)

That being said, they’ve consistently improved their tortillas through the years and they’re often among the best in town — thin, light, and moist, though they could use more color. The carnitas have one of the best caramelized exteriors. The meat itself is tender and unctuous. They come standard with cilantro, onion, and queso fresco, plus their green salsa, which is good, since it’s much better than their red salsa. Honestly, it’s probably their best taco and also their cheapest.

Rating: A-

Carnitas Taco from La Bonita

La Bonita: When people ask me for a taqueria recommendation in Portland — unless I think they’re willing to travel to Gresham or Woodburn — I send them to La Bonita. It’s my favorite spot in Portland-proper for a cheap, sit-down Mexican meal. It has a lot of competition, too, even on its own street, NE Alberta, where at least five other taco trucks and taquerias beat it on price. But La Bonita seems to prioritize quality more than its neighbors, earning the modest premiums.

The tacos at La Bonita — including the carnitas — start at $2.00 each. They come on excellent hand-made tortillas dotted with flavorful brown spots, each containing an air-pocket in the center, the result of the tortillas puffing while on the flat-top, a sign of a skilled tortilla-maker. The carnitas could have a better crust, but they’re nicely lubricated with their own fat and well-seasoned. They even have the faint flavor of citrus. Their green salsa has a nice tartness from tomatillos which effectively cuts through the richness.

Rating: A-

Carnitas Closeup from Lindo Michoacan

Lindo Michoacan: Lindo Michoacan, located at the culinary corner of Divsion and 34th, must be one of Portland’s most popular (and best) taco trucks. It’s been around as long as I’ve been searching out tacos in Portland — which is close to a decade. With a heated indoor dining area, it stays busy year-round, too. My only serious complaint about the place is that it’s not open on Sundays, which seems to be the day I most want to go.

Tacos are $1.50 each, but come with unnecessarily doubled-up hand-made tortillas. The tortillas are very good, nicely browned, but could be more delicate. The meat, while not as crisp on the edges as some, is among the most flavorful and rich. I got it with the cilantro and onion on the side so that you can see how it glistens in the picture above. Lindo Michoacan offers three house-made salsas, all of which are quite good.

Rating: A-

Ochoa's Carnitas with a Little Bit of Cueros

Ochoa’s: While quality at Ochoa’s (and its lesser, related location down the street in Hillsboro) has waxed and waned through the years as different members of the family have taken over the reins, it’s currently putting out some of the best food in its history and some of the best Mexican food in all of PDX. Ochoa’s also sells carnitas by the pound, which they slow-fry in-house and put on display in a large glass case on their counter along with house-made pork cracklins. As a result, you can not only get shoulder meat (maciza) and ribs (costillas), but also offal, such as the skin (cueros/cueritos) and, my favorite, buche, the stomach and intestines. (Buche has a wonderful texture, somewhere between meat and fat, without the gamy flavor of beef intestines. In the photo above, you can see the buche to the back right and a little bit of cueros that snuck onto the maciza, or typical carnitas, taco in the front.)

Tacos at Ochoa’s are only a dollar each, yet still come with hand-made tortillas. And most of the time (they have a big staff), they’re terrific tortillas — light, delicate, puffed center, with a nice bit of browning. The carnitas have moderate to heavy caramelization with a subtle citrus flavor to balance the succulent pork. Ochoa’s has four to five house-made salsas every day, each one unique and delicious. One of their best is a pico de gallo that includes diced nopal cactus paddle. (Oh, and there’s free self-serve chips.)

Rating: A

Fully Adorned Tacos from Ely's

Ely’s: With two locations, one at 185th and TV Hwy, and the other roaming Washington County, Ely’s is probably the best set of taco trucks west of the hills. In the days when they still served birria de chivo (braised goat), they were even better, but they still put out some of the best tacos in Portland, easily beating out the two other taco trucks sharing the Aloha Shopping Center parking lot.

Tacos are an inexpensive $1.25 each. They come on hand-made tortillas, charred better than any other in this survey, though they’re a bit too thick, leaving them a little undercooked in the center. The carnitas are well-seasoned and moist, though there’s little caramelization. Salsas are excellent, especially their fiery and creamy taqueria-smooth guacamole.

Rating: B+

Carnitas Front and Right from La Catrina

La Catrina: I can remember when La Catrina had one truck, specializing in giant tortas, on 82nd. Now they have three trucks, plus a restaurant on Killingsworth, and just purchased the Ole Ole on SW Jefferson. And still they make the best tortas in Portland and put out quality tacos into the wee hours.

The trucks often have 99 cent taco specials, but their normal price is $1.25 each, still among the cheapest in town. The meat is luscious and well-seasoned and -crisped. The only thing that holds these tacos back are the tortillas, which come from a local tortilleria. They’re better than what you get at the grocery store, but not a lot better. At least they refresh them well, lightly frying them before stuffing them with your choice of meat. This is a common practice in Mexico, but usually the tortillas are dipped in the drippings of meats that have been simmering in fat for hours, also giving them some flavor. That’s not the case here. La Catrina does offer near-perfect renditions of the three most common American taqueria salsas: smokey, orange-colored chile de arbol, tart and vegetal salsa verde, and creamy smooth guacamole. They also do an excellent job with buche.

Rating: B

Unadorned Carnitas Taco from Taco Time

At Taco Time, you get two street tacos per $3.50 order. (You cannot order the tacos individually.) Each taco should be familiar to anyone who frequents a taco truck or taqueria. They’re merely two white corn tortillas with shredded pork, cilantro, and onion. I had expected the meat to be terrible: dry, stringy, and flavorless. But it wasn’t. It was actually tender and somewhat moist, despite being heated in the microwave. It was over-salted with a strange blend of herbs, more European than Mexican, to my palate. It wasn’t crisp or truly succulent. It appeared to have been braised or roasted, rather than fried. It didn’t have that unctuous quality that the best carnitas have. And it wasn’t crisp or even golden-brown. But still, the meat was tasty enough and the best part of the tacos.

Unfortunately, the tortillas were awful. To me, there are at least five levels of tortillas, commercial tortillas, like you’d get at the supermarket, being the worst. These were a bad version of those. I’ve had drier corn tortillas, but I don’t think I’ve ever had worse tasting corn tortillas. They had a strong sour, or even metallic, aftertaste. I went to a second and third Taco Time location, ordering more of the tacos, just to make sure. They were every bit as bad. I think the most unsophisticated palate would notice the off-flavors, especially if given a quality tortilla for comparison. I couldn’t get over the flavor and ended up finishing the meat while leaving most of the the tortillas.

The Hype

I did have some hope for the salsa. I remembered their salsa as being decent, more like homemade than the cayenne-spiked ketchup packets that Taco Bell offers. And it was better than Taco Bell. But overall, the salsas were flat-tasting. The green salsa lacked the tomatillo tartness that most taqueria salsas have, even when using a commercial jarred version, such as Herdez. And “The Original” salsa had some odd ingredients in it, such as celery, and tasted more of chili powder than fresh ingredients.

Maybe I was a bit taken in by their marketing. They make much ado on their promotionals about how their salsas are made fresh every day. But they didn’t seem especially fresh. So I asked. Two of the three salsas come pre-made in containers from some central commissary or factory somewhere. The third, “The Original,” is indeed made, if not every day, then most every day, in each store, 10 gallons at a time.

But I pressed on. “What does making a batch entail? Do you use fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, what?” The answer was worse than I expected. The cute and bubbly gringo girl at the counter wanted to help, but she didn’t know. The young Mexican guy in the back put it succinctly, rolling his eyes. The “freshly made” salsa consists of three things: tomato paste, water, and seasoning packet. That’s it. They put it all together, simmer it for two hours, and out comes “fresh” salsa.

First of all, the language on their website and signage suggests that more than one salsa is made fresh. Secondly, they’re really dumbing-down the meaning of “fresh”. By Taco Time’s standard, Rice-a-Roni or Kraft Macaroni and Cheese would be “fresh” products. At least a place like Baja Fresh, actually makes their salsas from fresh ingredients. You can watch them roasting tomatoes. Tomato paste? Ewww.

So overall, Taco Time’s tacos were mixed. You can get worse meat if you randomly choose a taqueria or taco truck. However, I’ve visited scores of taco trucks and taquerias in Portland and very few would be worse. All of the carnitas in this survey were much better. None had worse tortillas or salsas. None, not even La Catrina, which uses tortillas from a bag.

Rating: C-

Wrapping it All Up (You Know, Like a Taco)

Todd Pedersen is full of shit. I doubt he’s ever compared his product to a taco truck’s or a taqueria’s. Either that, or at best he’s self-deluded, at worst a lying tub of dreck from his stores’ grease traps. I believe strongly that most people can tell the difference between good and bad food; they just don’t have sufficient experience with what’s good to tell when they’re getting something mediocre or sub-par. (Or they’re just concerned with something besides the quality, such as price or convenience.)

The really frustrating thing, though, as with the steak challenge, is that the Oregonian’s food editor, who should know better and shouldn’t have such delusions or prejudices, validated Pedersen’s bullshit claim. It’s a disservice to their readership, and not only us American-cheese-haters. And how do they justify it? By insinuating that someone who buys a taco at a taco truck or taqueria is an elitist.

First, nearly all the tacos in the survey were cheaper than the ones from Taco Time. Only the tacos from Por Que No, which is a trendy, somewhat upscale restaurant, were meaningfully more expensive. La Bonita’s were only 25 cents more each, yet come on hand-made tortillas (and taste a lot better).

Second, other than La Bonita and Por Que No, the vast majority of customers at these “elitist” taco vendors are working-class Mexicans. When you start asserting that a place filled with the people who wash your dishes, cut your lawns, or pick your fruit is “elitist”, you’re insane in the membrane.

The Oregonian blew an opportunity to do what I’ve tried to do here. They could have reached out to a broad audience, many of whom probably enjoy Taco Time on a regular basis, and showed them how they could get a better taco maybe even at a better price, pretty much anywhere in PDX. But that would have taken thoughtfulness and not given them the opportunity to lash out at “foodies”.

Ironically, the following week the Oregonian came out with an article on Mexican food in Vancouver, claiming that two gringo-oriented places in downtown Vancouver were the best north of the Columbia.

Por Que No
3524 N Mississippi Ave
Portland, OR 97227
503.467.4149

4635 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97215
503.954.3138
porquenotacos.com

La Bonita
2839 NE Alberta St
Portland, OR 97211
503.281.3662

Lindo Michoacan
3360 SE Division St
Portland, OR 97202
503.313.6864

Ochoa’s Taqueria
943 Southeast Oak St
Hillsboro, OR 97123
503.640.4755

Ely’s Taco Truck
185th & Tualatin Valley Hwy
Aloha, OR

La Catrina Tortas Gigantes
5 Locations

Taco Time
Over 300 Locations
Founded in Eugene, OR
Headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ
tacotime.com

24 oz Bone-In Ribeye from Sayler's

Three weeks ago, the Oregonian’s editorial team decided, apparently, that the Portland area restaurants and shops most overlooked and in need of promotion by their paper were Shari’s with nearly 100 locations, Taco Time with over 300 locations, Old Spaghetti Factory with nearly 40 locations, and Dutch Bros Coffee with over 150 locations. They also featured Sayler’s Old Country Kitchen, the only non-chain — an old school steakhouse that’s been around since the end of World War II. The author of the story, Lee Williams, questions why it’s been ignored by foodies. He wonders why a place serving a 72 ounce steak wouldn’t get more notice. The owner offers an idea:

“A lot of the time, just because of our geographical location — we’re not downtown, and trendy, so we’re not on radar screens,” says Dave Sayler, 41, of why foodies tend to ignore Sayler’s. Dave Sayler is part of the third generation of Saylers to run the family steakhouse.

“Foodies don’t like anything big,” Dave’s father Gene, 65, says with a laugh.

You won’t find pommes frites, charcuterie or lobster foam here. Sayler’s is steak. And chicken. Lobster tails. And prime rib.

Enough people have attacked the ridiculousness of Williams’s portrayals of foodies in Portland that I’m not going to repeat that here. (Although, dude, pommes frites is just French for fries and, yes, they have them.) However, Sayler’s and Williams’s comments do show a basic misunderstanding: it’s not that foodies don’t like big food, it’s that we prioritize quality. Given two items of equal quality, we’d be overjoyed at a large portion or low price. Duh. (In fact, my favorite steak in town is the 2 lb porterhouse at Nostrana. Its unusual size doesn’t bother me at all.)

Sayler’s other point, though, does have more than an inkling of truth. Being downtown, in the Pearl, or in one of the trendy neighborhoods in North, Northeast, or Southeast Portland has its advantages. There are clearly foodies, such as myself, that go out of our way to explore the outskirts and promote restaurants off the beaten track. Hell, if anyone asks, I always say my favorite restaurants is El Inka in BFE Gresham.

But I often complain as restaurants I love disappear that Portlander’s aren’t willing to drive 15 minutes out of their way for great food. So maybe Sayler has something here. Maybe he’s a victim of snobbery and geographical distance. Only one good way to test that: eat there. So that’s what I did. In the same day, I ate at both El Gaucho and Sayler’s, then followed those meals the next day with a visit to Laurelhurst Market. I ate a ribeye at each. Following are the results.

El Gaucho, Downtown Portland

I brought a friend with me. He’s never really liked steaks, but also had never been to an upscale steakhouse. The most expensive steak he’d ever purchased was $20 from Outback Steakhouse. I thought he would provide a sufficiently “non-foodie” perspective.

We started with El Gaucho. In Food Dude’s steak roundup, they came out the victor. And in my experience, they offer the best steak in town — but also the most expensive steak in town. It’d set a high bar for Sayler’s to live up to. If Sayler’s steak even got marginally close in quality with its lower prices, it could prove itself to be a good value.

Ribeye Deboned by Server at El Gaucho

We ordered the bone-in ribeye, an 18 oz prime, dry-aged steak. Ribeyes are my favorite cut. They’re a fattier cut with lots of flavor, but still relatively tender. It’s the steak version of a standing rib roast, also known as prime rib. We ordered it medium, although El Gaucho offered a description of their medium as pink but slightly warm as opposed to their medium-rare as pink but cool. We should have taken this into account since it essentially turns their medium into medium-rare and their medium-rare into rare. It didn’t hurt the steak, though.

Ribeye Closeup

They deboned the steak tableside for us. I find the service at El Gaucho very professional, but a little stuffy. Their elegantly dressed, gorgeous hostess looks like she should be on the arm of a celebrity at the Oscars and their serving staff wear tuxedos. I always feel like I’m underdressed, even in the bar. Thankfully, lighting is very dark.

The steak had a great crust. It was crisp, but thin. The pink interior was consistent from one edge of the steak to the next, leaving only tender, juicy meat between the charred surfaces. The steak cut easily and chewed easily. Even the fat pieces were tender, more like fat from BBQ’d brisket or pork belly than what I usually expect from a steak. The fat almost melted in the mouth.

The steak was extremely beefy. Not gamey, just intensely meaty, like quality lamb. Having recently eaten around 80 burgers in a three month period, I was impressed with how beefy the meat was. It really didn’t need a sauce, but it came with an excellent chanterelle mushroom and red wine reduction enriched with butter.

The cost is significant, though, $62 for the ribeye, or about $3.44 per ounce. It comes with no sides. They do give you some excellent crusty cheesebread when you sit down. But that’s it. All sides are extra. Showing up at happy hour and sitting in the bar can save you some money on appetizers, but plan on breaking $70 in a hurry for a full meal.

Menu from Sayler's

We were both still hungry after splitting the ribeye and no sides at El Gaucho, so we eagerly drove across town to Sayler’s. The parking lot is huge, as is the restaurant. We went straight to the bar to watch the University of Oregon football game against USC, but couldn’t get anyone to help us. We went back up to the front and found out we could put our names on a list for the dining room or head back to the bar and put our name on a list there. You’d think someone would have mentioned that to us when we asked about a table in the bar the first time. The next time we specifically asked if we could get put on a list for the dinner tables in the bar. Afterwards, they suggested that if we wanted to we could just sit at a normal bar table and they’d serve us dinner there, which sounded like wasn’t typical. Perhaps it was because we were at these tables, but service was relatively inattentive, but pleasant. It took some effort to get someone’s attention for things like drinks.

Despite the rundown interior, I have to admit that the atmosphere was more my speed than Gaucho. Others watching the game and ordering food struck up friendly conversations, earnestly interested in what we thought of our food, what we thought of Oregon’s bowl chances, and who we thought would win the governor’s race. It was laid-back, casual, down-to-earth, as were the customers. Several were from Vancouver.

Half Order of Onion Rings

Unfortunately the quality of the food didn’t match the quality of the conversation. The portions are definitely large. Each dinner comes with crudites, bread with garlic butter, soup or salad, potato (fries or baker), and dessert. We got the bone-in ribeye at 24 ounces. You can order boneless ribeyes starting at 12 ounces, if you prefer. So you get this 1 1/2 lb steak, plus all these extras, for only $29.95, making it only $1.25/ounce, almost a third the price of El Gaucho’s ribeye. And, of course, you get all the extras.

We also got a half-order of their lauded onion rings for $4.95. That’s them pictured above. A full order could probably solve world hunger. While they weren’t as good as similarly battered onion rings at Noble Rot or Country Cat, but they’re still tasty — probably the best thing we had there along with the fries.

Medium Ribeye

Before we reached Sayler’s, my dining partner scored El Gaucho’s steak a 7 for overall enjoyability. This wasn’t a score relative to other steaks, just compared to all other things he eats. He predicted that while he’d probably enjoy it more than Sayler’s, the difference would be slight, maybe a 6. He wasn’t overly impressed by El Gaucho and steaks just aren’t his thing.

We ordered the ribeye medium, again, and I’ll give this to Sayler’s: that’s exactly how it came out. They did a good job of crusting it and not over-cooking the interior edges of the steak. But the difference in quality was immediately apparent to us both. First of all, it was much chewier. It wasn’t chewy, but it took a lot more effort to cut and chew. There was gristly connective tissue, too, which we hadn’t gotten form El Gaucho’s steak. I had to spit out three bites after they wouldn’t break down in my mouth enough to swallow them.

The biggest contrast, though, was in the flavor. Whereas El Gaucho’s steak had an intense beefiness, the meat at Sayler’s tasted like it was boiled and unseasoned or maybe steamed hamburger from Winco. After eating enough for my notes, we went looking for steak sauces. The steak desperately needed something to cover its insipidness. It didn’t even taste as good as steaks I make at home from supermarket choice Angus. After the meal, my friend admitted it was a lot worse than he expected compared with El Gaucho. I think given the choice between an enjoyable $60 steak and mediocre (to be kind) $30 steak, he’s just sworn off steaks entirely.

So, I have to say that Williams’s accusation that Sayler’s just isn’t trendy enough for us food snobs doesn’t ring true. Sure, maybe the dated interior and location amidst strip malls and strip clubs doesn’t urge Portland foodies to East County, but the quality of the food ensures that no foodie is going to patronize Sayler’s. It’s not too far from my house and I kind of liked the atmosphere, but I don’t see myself going back.

I did wonder, though, if there’s a happy medium, something significantly cheaper than El Gaucho that’s still good. Laurelhurst Market seemed like a good candidate, so I went there by myself the next day to compare their ribeye.

Butcher Counter at Laurelhurst Market

Laurelhurst Market was started by the owners of Simpatica Catering and the now defunct Viande Meats, the previous upscale butcher in City Market NW. They moved their butcher shop along with their charcuterie production to the east Burnside location when they opened. The restaurant specializes in meat, especially steaks, both cheaper cuts and higher-end cuts. They rotate their available cuts, but the ribeye seems to usually be on the menu.

Iceberg Wedge from Laurelhurst Market

Like El Gaucho, the steak doesn’t really come with a side, so I started with their terrific iceberg wedge, possibly the best version of this salad in town. (Foster Burger, Meat Cheese Bread, and Podnah’s also have versions I really enjoy.) It’s very large for $7, topped with thin onion rings, bacon, and pickled celery.

Ribeye and Onion Rings from Laurelhurst Market

The 16 oz ribeye came topped with a blue cheese butter and two excellent, large onion rings. The steak had a nice crust on it with grill marks. As with the other places, I ordered the steak medium.

Ribeye Cross-Section from Laurelhurst Market

Like at Sayler’s, the meat came out cooked more typically medium than at El Gaucho. Unlike Sayler’s, this steak was beefy and tender. It was noticeably less beefy than the steak from El Gaucho, but much closer to it than to the flavorless steak from Sayler’s. It also wasn’t as tender as the steak from El Gaucho but it was close. I did have two bites (on a whole steak, rather than a half steak) that I couldn’t fully chew, however.

Best of all, at $33, the steak is only $2.06 per ounce — about 60% more than Sayler’s, but also over 60% less than El Gaucho’s. And frankly, while you pay significantly less per ounce at Sayler’s, unless you plan to split the steak, the one at Laurelhurst Market is a more reasonable size and costs about the same as the one at Sayler’s. But you might want to buy a side with it whereas the sides are included at Sayler’s.

Most importantly, though, the steaks at El Gaucho and Laurelhurst Market are truly good — even great. The one from Sayler’s was not. It was edible. But if I want that quality of beef, I’d rather go with something with added flavor, like BBQ or a hamburger. The quality of beef really stands out with a steak, so unless you just enjoy boiled beef flavored gum, best to save steak outings for special occasions if budget is an issue.

I’m glad the Oregonian published their anti-foodie screed if only because it got me to support my suspicions with evidence. Hopefully if anyone else reads the article and thinks, hey, maybe Sayler’s is good and I just haven’t given it a fair shake, you can point them here before they waste their money. Now if only the Oregonian would put their money where their mouth is before attacking their readership in an effort to court advertising dollars.

Next up: taco tasting between Taco Time and taquerias. Really.

El Gaucho
319 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97205
503.227.8794
elgaucho.com

Sayler’s Old Country Kitchen
10519 SE Stark St
Portland, OR 97216
503.252.4171
saylers.com

Laurelhurst Market
3155 E Burnside St
Portland, OR 97214
503.206.3099
laurelhurstmarket.com

Cheese Curds at Savoy Tavern

Man cannot live on burgers alone. You need a french fry — or perhaps some pork rinds — now and then, too. Following are my favorite sides that you can order with your burger in Portland.

Salad from Matchbox Lounge

10. Side Salad at Matchbox Lounge: Flavorful mixed greens from Bittersweet Farms with feta and pickled onions. Tastier than many salads from upscale restaurants.

Onion Rings from Ringside

9. Onion Rings with House Sauce at Ringside: It’s the unnaturally orange house sauce, a mix of French and blue cheese dressings, that puts these on the list, though the crisp, greaseless onion rings in huge portions are quite good on their own.

Pork Rinds from Gilt Club

8. Pork Rinds at Gilt Club: Each bite yields a gratifying crunch. The airy chicharrones are highly seasoned, served with a side of spiced creme fraiche.

Black and White Fries from Foster Burger

7. Black & White Fries at Foster Burger: Decent fresh-cut fries augmented with truffle oil and shaved parmesan, served with a squid ink aioli on the side — a total umami bomb.

Fries from Cafe Castagna

6. French Fries at Café Castagna: Cafe Castagna should get an award just for producing excellent fries for such a sustained period. They’re crisp, golden brown, greaseless, and nicely seasoned.

Fried Cheese Curds from Savoy Tavern

5. Fried Cheese Curds at Savoy Tavern: The crisp shell barely contains the gooey center of melted cheddar curds. Sometimes you can even get these as a topping on a burger.

Duck Fat Fries from Allium Bistro

4. Duck Fat & Rosemary Fries at Allium Bistro: Thin shoestring fries lightly accented with rosemary and enriched with meaty duck fat. A garlicky aioli comes on the side.

Truffle Fries from H5O

3. Truffle Fries with Parmesan & Chives at H5O: Ultra-light, thin, crisp, smelling of truffle and dusted with parmesan and chives. Best thing they make.

Onion Rings from Country Cat

2. Onion Rings at Country Cat: Thin shavings of onion with an almost tempura batter, making these much more delicate than steakhouse- or tavern-style onion rings. The huge pile is too easy to devour.

Smashed Potatoes from Gruner

1. Smashed Yellow Fin Potatoes at Gruner: How often does a restaurant re-envision a classic and actually make it better? Here, Gruner has, by taking a French fry and turning it into a pan-fried disc with nearly as much golden brown and delicious surface area as a kettle chip, but with the soft potatoey interior of a fry. Just terrific.

Double Cheeseburger from Metrovino

How many burgers did you eat?

Seventy-two distinct bistro burgers. But I had several of these more than once. I also tried a dozen or so lower-end burgers that I didn’t even bother rating. I even made sure to get a burger from In-N-Out on a quick trip through Las Vegas.

What’s the most burgers you ate in one day?

Four, although on one occasion I shared a couple with fellow Willamette Week contributor Liz Crain and even suckered my wife into finishing a couple.

How much weight did you gain?

I’m not fat—I’m pregnant, about to give birth to a Bob’s Big Boy. Ironically, I gained less weight than when I tried a vegan diet for a month.

Why would you do this to yourself?

About five years ago, I started systematically eating burgers of all types around Portland metro. I quickly learned that bistro burgers were worth the premium price. Even the worst bistro burger is still decent. After trying a couple of great burgers at new places, I wanted to see who had the best burger. I figured after tasting 10 or 15 burgers I’d have a good idea of who had the best. Then people kept sending me recommendations and I kept finding more places with burgers using top-quality ingredients. I felt obligated to try every burger with even a chance of being really good. I’m not sure if I’m a glutton or a glutton for punishment.

What makes a great burger?

Top-quality ingredients and balanced flavors. A well-seasoned patty and good pickle go a long way, as does a bun that doesn’t fall apart with these hefty burgers. If it has American cheese on it, it probably isn’t worth bothering with.

Are you too good for fast food?

Kind of. My favorite burger joint while going to college in Utah was Crown Burgers. They served a flame-broiled quarter-pound cheeseburger smothered in “fry sauce” and topped with a quarter-pound of pastrami. I loved it. It was the inspiration for the pastrami burger at Kenny & Zuke’s. (It’s pretty damn awesome, if I do say so myself).

And now for the top 10….

Carafe's Burger with Melted Camembert

10. Carafe: Mmmm, camembert. Oozing, funky deliciousness, dripping down the meat and out the bun. Only the French could take a perfectly respectable burger and turn it into gastronomic pornography.

Bun: Ciabatta roll from Ken’s Artisan Bakery
Meat: Oregon Country Beef ground shoulder, 8 oz, 20% fat, blended with herbs de provence
Cheese: Camembert (white cheddar, gruyere, or blue also available)
Toppings: Bacon, red leaf lettuce, red onion, pickled carrots, and aioli (fried egg also available).
Price: $15 with optional cheese and bacon, fries or salad included.

Garden State: Best Burger from a Cart

9. Garden State: Portland’s best burger from a cart is also one of Portland’s best burgers—period. Owner Kevin Sandri’s creation is a harmonic blend of assertive Italian notes: sharp provolone, spicy aioli, salty pancetta, tart onions and a sweet brioche bun. It’s worth standing in the rain for; and who knows, if we get a real summer, you might not have to.

Bun: Kaiser-shaped brioche bun from Fleur de Lis
Meat: Dry-aged Highland Oak Beef, 6 oz, 17% fat
Cheese: Provolone piccante
Toppings: Calabrian chile aioli, grilled & marinated red onions, no tomatoes as tasted (roasted tomatoes currently available, fresh tomatoes in season), red leaf lettuce (but varies with availability), pancetta
Price: $9 with the optional pancetta

Wildwood's Burger with Ample Cheddar

8. Wildwood: Like this high end Northwest Portland icon itself, the Wildwood burger has gone through many incarnations over the years. Most have been very good, but this one, highlighted by a soft, yet dense bun, ample aged cheddar, pickled onions, and garlicky aioli, might be their best.

Bun: House-made buttermilk bun
Meat: Cascade Natural, 8 oz, 20% fat
Cheese: Beecher’s aged cheddar (blue and goat cheese also available)
Toppings: Carlton Farms bacon, mustard aioli, pickled red onions, shredded romaine
Price: $15 with optional cheese and bacon, fries included

Note the Melted Foie on Gilt's Burger

7. Gilt Club: Living up to its name, Gilt’s burger is topped with foie gras. It’s no gilded lily, though. An already excellent burger becomes richer and earthier with an application of meat butter, balanced by tangy chiles and extra-sharp cheddar.

Bun: Sesame-seeded brioche bun from Grand Central
Meat: Painted Hills ground chuck, 8 oz, 20% fat
Cheese: Beecher’s aged cheddar
Toppings: Grilled sweet onions, calabrian chile aioli on bottom bun, whole grain mustard aioli on top bun, red leaf lettuce, house-cured bacon, foie gras.
Price: $20 with optional foie gras, fries or pork rinds included.

Le Pigeon's Ultra-Messy Burger

6. Le Pigeon: This is one messy burger. You may need a bib. The juicy patty and creamy slaw would end up more in your lap than your belly if it weren’t for the ciabatta roll that holds together despite the mess. [e1] The sinus-clearing spicy mustard adds some welcome liveliness.

Bun: Ciabatta roll from Ken’s Artisan
Meat: Painted Hills shoulder, ground in-house, 7 oz, 20% fat
Cheese: Aged white Tillamook
Toppings: Grilled red onions, spicy mustard, house-made ketchup, iceberg lettuce slaw
Price: $11, pan-fried potatoes included

The Biwa Burger Topped with Chasiu

5. Biwa: Even if you took one of their thick slabs of chasiu pork with its well-charred ribbons of fat and slapped it between two pieces of bread, it might still be one of the best sandwiches in town. But you add a beef patty and some tart, spicy kimchi mayo, and you have one seriously addictive Japanese-style “ham” burger fit for a sumo in training. Too bad it’s only available late night.

Bun: Sesame-seeded brioche bun from Grand Central
Meat: Mark’s Meats or Painted Hills ground chuck, 7 oz, 20% fat [isn’t it spiced differently than regular burgers?]
Cheese: N/A
Toppings: Lettuce, kimchi mayo, chasiu pork, pickles
Price: $7, potato salad included

Foster Burger's Kiwi Burger

4. Foster Burger (Kiwi Burger): God bless Foster Burger for bringing good food south of Powell and god bless whoever thought to add a pickled beet to a burger. Kitchen sink sandwiches like this are sometimes an unholy disaster of confusing tastes. But the lamb anchors the burger, and the rest complements the gamey patty.

Bun: Sesame-seeded bun from An Xuyen
Meat: Cattail Creek Farms ground lamb, 6 oz, 15%-20% fat
Cheese: Aged Tillamook white cheddar
Toppings: Fried egg, lettuce, pickled beet, onion, house pickles, mayo
Price: $11, fries, salad, or slaw included

Toro Bravo's Manchego and Pancetta Burger

3. Toro Bravo: If Portland’s busiest restaurant didn’t have so many other fantastic dishes, you might just see an endless line of servers delivering this burger to tables. Romesco is almost cheating—the old world’s “special sauce.” The manchego is a brilliant, appropriately Spanish, cheese with the intensity to match the romesco. And Toro Bravo (along with sister restaurant Tasty n Sons) makes the best bread & butter pickles in town.

Bun: Sesame-seeded brioche bun from Grand Central
Meat: Cascade Natural chuck flap, ground in-house, 6 oz, 20-22% fat
Cheese: Manchego
Toppings: Romesco, house-made bacon, Singing Pig Farms greens, house-made zucchini bread & butter pickles (and tomato in season)
Price: $9

Gruner has Portland's Best Burger Bun

2. Gruner: Every element of this burger is near-perfect, starting with the best bun in PDX. The peppery mustard greens, creamy fontina, smoky bacon, two types of wonderful pickles, and spiced ketchup flavor the meat juice that will be running down your arm. That’s okay, just start licking at your elbow and continue to your pinky.

Bun: Kaiser-shaped potato bun made in-house
Meat: Cascade Natural chuck, ground in-house, 8 oz, 25% fat
Cheese: Fontina (white cheddar also available)
Toppings: Nueske’s bacon, pickled onions, mustard greens, bread & butter pickles, aioli, house-made ketchup
Price: $10

Metrovino's Ultra-Juicy Burger

1. Metrovino (Double Cheeseburger): In-n-Out’s double-double animal-style gets an extreme makeover. You’ll wish you had the gaping jaw of a python. Yes, it’s that big. Aside from the size, it seems like a typical burger. That’s what makes this #1. For such a straight-forward approach, the results are spectacular: beefy, ultra-juicy with pungent cheese and a palate-puckering sauce.

Bun: Bridgeport Brewery
Meat: Painted Hills chuck plus ribeye trimmings, ground in-house, 12 oz (two 6 oz patties), 20% fat
Cheese: Swedish-style fontina from Wisconsin
Toppings: Shredded iceberg lettuce, yellow onion, house “fancy” sauce (house-made spicy ketchup, house-made mayo, Dijon mustard, house-made pickle, and sriracha)
Price: $13, salad included

This top 10 originally appeared as a cover story in The Willamette Week, July, 2010.

Saucebox's Teriyaki Glazed Miyako Burger

The first burger I can remember ever truly craving was in college: Royal Burger’s Royal Burger Special. It was a flame-broiled quarter-pound cheeseburger topped with a quarter pound of pastrami. The Pakistanis who ran the Provo, Utah, fast food joint also made an exquisite grilled cheese, club sandwich, and reuben. They cared about good food. Unfortunately, the people of Provo, Utah, didn’t. They closed some time after I graduated.

However, Royal Burger was modeled after the Salt Lake chain, Crown Burger. I’ve been back several times and it is still a very good fast food burger, one of the best I’ve ever had. The burger was the inspiration for the Kenny & Zuke’s pastrami burger. In fact, in a way, the burger was the inspiration for Kenny & Zuke’s. While Ken grew up in Queens, I grew up in Oregon and California. I’d been to some decent delis in LA, but I’d never been to Katz’s or even Langer’s. Prior to making our own for the Hillsdale Farmers Market, the best thing I ever ate with pastrami was the Royal Burger Special. When I mentioned to a college friend and fellow foodie that I was thinking of going into the pastrami business, his first words to me were “pastrami burger”. “I know,” I said. I never convinced Ken to put it on the menu on Hawthorne, but when Kenny & Zuke’s opened downtown, I made sure it was there.

I like to think that all of these wonderful burgers in the top 25 have a similar backstory — that a chef, cook, or restauranteur has a burger from their childhood that they don’t just want to recreate, but want to perfect, and that we’re the lucky beneficiaries.

Remember to pick up a Willamette Week for a first glance at the top 10. Now, on to the rankings….

The Miyako Burger Cross-Section from Saucebox

15. Saucebox, Miyako Burger

I have to go to Saucebox early. As the night wears on, I feel like I’m in a Night at the Roxbury skit. For a guy most comfortable in shorts and t-shirt, chic scenes surrounded by pretty people, a DJ spinning house music, isn’t my thing. But I do enjoy the food. Yet, I had never had any of their burgers until this survey.

Glazed in teriyaki sauce, the miyako burger pushes the palate to the edge of tolerance for sweet and salty. Luckily, the creamy avocado, roasted chiles, and spicy wasabi mayo balance the flavors. If you can, ask for extra wasabi mayo and it will be even better.

Bun: Brioche from Grand Central Bakery
Meat: Cascade Natural, 6 oz, 20% fat
Cheese: N/A
Toppings: Avocado, fire-roasted red jalapenos, house-made teriyaki sauce, wasabi mayo
Price: $8, includes fries

Saucebox
214 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97205
503.241.3393
saucebox.com

The Violetta Burger from Violetta

14. Violetta, Violetta Burger

First there was the truck, Rolling Etta, slinging burgers wherever hungry burger hounds congregated. Now there’s Violetta, the glass cube in the middle of Director’s Park downtown with the same great food as the truck, but with air conditioning and protection from the rain.

Violetta takes the normal fast food burger template replacing each of the low-quality Sysco-truck ingredients for something local and good. They can tell you that the lettuce comes from Blue Sky in Klamath Falls and that the onions come from an organic farm in Brooks, Oregon. When out of season, they use herb-roasted tomatoes that are so delicious you’ll wish summer would never come. The ingredient, though, that makes the burger is the creamy, tart, lightly-spicy house-made spread.

Bun: Sesame-seeded brioche from Grand Central Bakery
Meat: Highland Oak Farm grass-fed dry-aged beef, 8 oz (5.3 oz also available), 20% fat
Cheese: None as tasted (Willamette Valley sharp white cheddar available)
Toppings: Bacon, slow-roasted herb-marinated tomatoes (fresh in season), dill pickles, butter lettuce, red onions, Violetta burger sauce, house-made aioli
Price: $8

Violetta
877 SW Taylor
Portland, OR 97205
503.234.3278
violettapdx.com

The Backyard Burger Cross-Section from Screen Door

13. Screen Door

If Madonna can adopt a shoe full of babies from the 3rd world, then certainly Portland, not known for its ethnic diversity, can adopt soul food as its unofficial cuisine. Among the many popular joints serving up collard greens, fried chicken, and BBQ, none is more popular than Screen Door. My meals have been hit or miss, but the burger was a definite hit.

The combination of crispy onion rings and flavorful bacon might have been enough to put this burger in the top 25. But it’s the pimiento cheese that secured its place. I had the cheese on a few burgers, but this one was easily the best: creamy and spicy, like good chile con queso. Instead of french fries, I need to find out if I can just order some more onion rings with pimiento cheese dip.

Bun: Pub bun from Pearl Bakery
Meat: Painted Hills ground sirloin, 10 oz, 10%
Cheese: House-blended pimiento cheese
Toppings: Bacon, fried egg, crispy fried onions, lettuce, tomato, dill pickle chips
Price: $14, includes fries

Screen Door
2337 E Burnside St
Portland, OR 97214
503.542.0880
screendoorrestaurant.com

Bacon Cheeseburger from Branch Whiskey Bar

12. Branch Whiskey Bar

The Space Needle theory of restaurant management goes something like this: if people are going to come to your restaurant because it’s at the top of the Space Needle, you don’t need to try too hard in the kitchen. Maybe it’s a prejudice because I don’t drink, but I tend to assume that if people are coming to your place because of the booze, you’re probably not going to try to hard in the kitchen.

Quality local beef on a house-made bun with aged cheese and house-made bacon is not what you expect from a burger at a bar. If everyone did, though, we’d all eat a lot better. The classic style bun was one of the best in this survey. It was dense enough to hold all the juices from the fat patty while not falling apart, but not so stiff that it presented a challenge to bite through. Extra-thick layers of pungent cheese and smokey bacon give the sandwich lots of flavor.

I apologize for not having better facts about the burger. Branch Whiskey Bar never answered their phone and failed to return any of my messages on their voice mail over a period of two weeks. Their manager also didn’t answer his cell phone.

Bun: House-made
Meat: Ground in-house
Cheese: Swiss (cheddar also available)
Toppings: House-made bacon, pickles, white onion
Price: $14, includes slaw

Branch Whiskey Bar
2926 NE Alberta Street
Portland, OR 97211
503.206.6266
branchwhiskeybar.com

Bacon Cheeseburger from Tasty n Sons

11. Tasty n Sons

John Gorham is God. Sometimes I think that he only needs to speak, “Let there be food,” and it will be good. Certainly seems to be true of his Toro Bravo sister-restaurant and brunch hot-spot, Tasty n Sons. What surprised me was that my favorite thing there was the burger. And this was towards the end of the survey when I should have been sick of them.

Compared to the version at Toro Bravo, the one at Tasty n Sons is stylistically pedestrian. There are no out of the oridnary ingredients. It’s a classic diner burger made with top-notch ingredients by people who know how to cook. Great sweet and sour pickles, extra-sharp cheese, and smokey bacon form a trio of intense flavors around one of the juiciest burgers in the survey.

Bonus: dip the end of your burger into the fabulous pink fry sauce.

Bun: Potato roll from Fleur de Lis
Meat: Cascade Natural ground in-house, 6 oz, 20% fat
Cheese: Beecher’s aged white cheddar or smoked blue
Toppings: Bacon, bread & butter pickles, shredded lettuce, red onion, house-made mayo
Price: $10, fries included

Tasty n Sons
3808 N Williams, Suite C
Portland, OR 97212
503.621.1400
tastynsons.com