Andina

To celebrate my 29th birthday, our friends Paul and Sylvia joined Andy and I for lunch at Andina. Billed as "novo Peruvian cuisine", Andina has been an oft mentioned restaurant among friends and has long been pegged as a place that we have to try... as soon as we have a suitable occasion (translation, as soon as we have the cash to give it a go!). Located right in the middle of the Pearl district (and only a few blocks away from our reception site), the restaurant maintains an atmosphere of relaxed chic with exposed wood furnishings and brightly colored linens. Your dining experience can be enjoyed one of two ways: tapas-style with shareable plates of varying sizes or with traditional entree selections of upscale South American dishes. The tapas dishes are sized small ($7), medium ($12) and large(22) regardless of what items you choose. This is odd in that you'd pay as much for a salad as you would for river-caught smoked fish or rack of lamb with new potatoes. Any of the proffered ceviche dishes are particularly tasty. In addition to some unusual corn-based drinks (looked dark purple and apparently taste not like corn at all) and other South American classics like margaritas, Andina carries a well rounded wine selection. In fact, there is an associated wine shop below the restaurant. All of the dishes we had were excellent, from the mixta nikkei (spicy tuna, crab and shrimp on fresh potatoes with lime) to the anticucho de pollo (marinated chicken kebobs with a hucatay-peanut sauce). For the four of us, we ordered five dishes and it worked out well, leaving us full and not too terribly broke (for lunch, roughly $15 per person. Dinners are more, but if you order off of the tapas menu, the prices are the same). Surprisingly, one of the highlights of the meal was the beginning bread and dipping sauce. A trio of sauces is served in a white porcelain dish which off-sets the vibrant colors. There is a vivid orange mango habenera sauce, a deep green lime jalipeno concoction and a creamy peanut/cheese sauce. I'm a sucker for bread and dipping sauce, and the vibrant and bright flavors were a pleasant kick off to the meal.

If you are looking for an upscale place to enjoy a fresh meal, Andina would be a great choice for a special occasion. Its steep pricing puts it out of everyday dining, but if you are looking for a good meal and have reason to celebrate, Andina makes a great choice.

For full menus and more information, head over to www.andinaresturaunt.com

Typhoon!

I don't know how I made it through the first 13 years of my life without eating any Thai food. I don't recall feeling deprived of such deliciousness, but then again you never miss what you never had, right? Actually, I did eat a lot of noodles as a kid. Spaghetti noodles. I must be part Italian, which would explain my thick and curly chest hair! OK, maybe I didn't eat THAT many spaghetti noodles, but I can say that eating multiple bowls of the stuff helped prepare me for the goodness that is Phad Thai. Of course, the famous peanut-noodle dish has a reputation as being something that only foreigners would eat. Well hell, I can't use chopsticks well so I must qualify as a gastronomical tourist.

Typhoon is a small restaurant chain in the Portland area that specializes in Thai cuisine. The downtown location is associated with the Hotel Lucia, so if you stay there you can order up some Tom Yum soup at a moments notice. The original location on Portland's trendy Northwest 23rd avenue has doubled in size due to its popularity. Always a good sign... Actually, the "hipness" of Typhoon is probably its biggest downfall - as the restaurants get trendier, the prices have been slowly creeping up. Although much of the food is just as good as any other Thai dinner, there are a few standout options that really make Typhoon a place to dine.

Firstly, Typhoon has an extensive tea menu. Yes, tea. They have a selection that covers almost every imaginable type of tea as well as an exotic menu that offers some rare white tea varieties that are quite spectacular. If you don't like tea, then you can order off of the wine/cocktail/beer list which is pretty straightforward.

Secondly, Typhoon serves up the best drunken noodles I have had the fine pleasure to eat. They are spicy and not overly stir-fried, and are so delicious that I am drooling slightly as I type. They come in veggie form, too, so our vegetarian friends may still enjoy this simple yet highly recommended dish.

Lastly, Typhoon offers "pine cone fish", which is a large fillet of fish that has been cubed with the skin on and deep fried. It comes out looking like a round pine cone, and chunks of the fish can be torn off and dipped in a refreshing lime cilantro sauce. It is the best fish and chips without chips that you will ever have.

Typhoon is not without its problems, however. The price is a sticking point that gets increasingly difficult to justify when you are on a graduate student stipend. And the restaurant is less "authentic" than other, smaller and local Thai restaurants. However, for an occasional treat, a dish of Drunken Noodles and a Thai iced tea from Typhoon can really hit the spot.

Check out their webpage at www.typhoonresturaunts.com

(Tom Yum Soup from Typhoon)

Why we love Portland... Laurelwood

Ah, Portland, thy endless supply of local breweries never ends! If you are ever in the Hollywood district in Portland (NE, close in to 84), please take some time to swing by the Laurelwood Pizza Company. We always order the same thing: a thin beer crust topped with garlic infused oil, three cheese blend and roasted garlic. This pizza is so good, even the chef complimented our choice of ingredients! The crust is light and tasty, and who can really go wrong with garlic and cheese? Laurelwood is especially generous with their roasted garlic (we, as die hard garlic fans have no problem with this, but others with whom we have shared this pizza have elected to take off 50% of the roasted goodness), so you may not wish to have romantic plans for the rest of the evening. As a perfect compliment to the pizza, you can also enjoy a Spaceman Stout or a Tree hugger porter. We both favor darker beers, but we've been told that the free range red is also quite delish. I support the free range red mostly because the logo features a big chicken, which as many of you know is a major part of my research. Associating work with beer is always helpful...

Despite the fact that we always order 1 stout, 1 porter and 1 pizza, we've occasionally had some of the food ordered by others and it is all equally yummy. The 'garden' pizza (a smörgåsbord of vegetables) is especially nice as they use local produce in all of their cooking. We've also been told that their burgers and sandwiches are lovely, but pretty much everybody comments on the beer. When in doubt, order their generous sampler platter which consists of 11 different types of beer including a seasonal. For me, the epitome of light weight, this is more than enough to put me down for the rest of the evening, but for more libatious folk, it is just the perfect prelude to a good meal. Oh, and as an added benefit, the prices are extremely reasonable, so having a pizza and a beer won't put you out. Check out their website for more information. www.laurelwoodbrewpub.com

Pho Van

Pho Van is hands down one of our favorite restaurants. We dined thee yesterday and enjoyed our favorites Vietnamese dishes (#50 Bun Ga Lemongrass chicken with vermichelli noodles and salad for me, #31 Bo La Lot make-it-yourself beef and la lot leaves spring rolls with fresh herbs and vegetables), which were delicious as usual. The motto of the resturaunt is "An Ngon", which means "Eat Well", and while dining here you feel that you are truly eating food that is both incredibly tasty and somehow healthier for you than the heavier dishes that populate many restaurants. The flavors at Pho Van are amazing, ranging from richly marinated meats to very light herb salads. And if all of the culinary goodness wasn't enough, Pho Van is one of the best Cheap Eats in Portland. Our meal for two plus beverages was under twenty dollars, which left just enough leftover to walk next door for some chocolate from Moonstruck Chocolates (more on that later).

Pho Van has three locations, one each located in the eastern and western suburbs of Portland, and one in a more central location off of Hawthorne on the eastern side of the city. If you have time, I'd encourage you to check one of their locations out!

BridgePort Brewpub

And now for something completely different... BridgePort Brewpub has the distinct advantage of being a local establishment that has a lot of Portland in its veins. Our fabled streetcar (which I can apparently rent out for a wedding party, but seeing as I don't like you all THAT much...) runs right next to Oregon's oldest brewpub. The brewery was once located in what was a less than desirable neighborhood, but over the years has maintained its physical location while the surrounding real estate has transformed into the sleekest section of town. The Pearl District is home to some of the most expensive property in the city of Portland, and there is always new development occurring just in case you would like to purchase a condo while you are in town. Amidst the boutiques and the high-end restaurants, BridgePort Brewpub decided to undergo a serious makeover a year or two ago. This is a shame, since Andy and I enjoyed their original building, with its exposed rafters and very well used hardwood floors. The brewpub still maintains its original brick exterior, but the interior is now crowded with black tables and chrome accents. Luckily, the room where the reception would be still has its original high beams and even features wooden paneled walls with local art (and note, this is not Art the dog from Hotel Monaco, although he would be a welcome addition). But don't worry - even though the face lift has taken away from the well-worn charm, the place is still primarily a bar. With flat screen TVs, so if we have our reception here, everybody will be able to watch the Huskies take on Oregon State in High Definition. After all, there are priorities!

Red Star Tavern

The quest for a reception site has moved away from the Willamette river and into downtown Portland. The Red Star Tavern is the restaurant associated with the Hotel Monaco which is a boutique hotel fashioned loosely on an "art for everybody" theme. Apparently local art is featured in the rooms, as well as significant pieces on each floor and in the lobby (but, as always, what defines "significant" varies significantly from person to person...). Personally, my favorite piece of art was the lobby dog, an actual live golden retriever named "Art". As Art does live within the hotel, this should satisfy the hotel requirements, but I guess Portland wanted to go above and beyond and feature some, shall we say, "unique" art elsewhere.

Whereas the lobby of the hotel is almost obnoxiously bright, the restaurant is more traditionally covered in dark red and gold colors with mahogany wood. We had an enjoyable dinner there with our friends Sylvia and Paul, allowing us to sample a wider variety of food. The house walnut bread is a welcome and unique item that is deliciously salty and a welcome change from traditional baguettes or focaccia. Paul ordered some jalepeno cornbread with honey butter that came out in a little cast iron skillet. Very cute. Our main meals were all good and distinct from each other -- we enjoyed rabbit, sea scallops with relish, kobe beef and ahi tuna and oxtail barbecue. All of the food was excellent, but at nearly twice the price of a dish at Aquariva for similar sized portions. Too full for dessert, we took a look around the hotel and the reception space.

The reception space at the Red Star Tavern is well appointed, and features one smaller area elevated two or three steps above the larger dining area. There is a handsome bar on the upper area which I am sure would be lovely for our purposes. Looking at the space, squeezing 60 people in may be a bit tight, but the room can apparently hold 90 so I shouldn't worry. Pictures can be found at http://www.monaco-portland.com/monpmn_photo.html#.

Ah, but the downside!! Portland is in the midst of a huge transit mall remodeling. Additionally, there are other construction projects that litter the downtown area, making driving and parking an especially annoying task during the best of times. Sadly, the construction nearest to the Red Star Tavern may be continuing past October 2008. Even if the transit mall is completed by our wedding, parking will be limited and expensive - street meters run at $1.25 per hour until 7PM, and garages are $8 - 12 dollars per day. *sigh* If only they'd spend some more time building parking garages and fewer unnecessary condos!

Let's Eat! Aquariva

As the quest for a reception venue marches on, we have been absolutely forced to consume two rather large and lavish meals. Thereby immediately bypassing all of the working out that we have been doing, but don't tell our trainers... Anyway, thus far we have stopped at Aquariva which is beautifully situated on the Willamette river. At Aquariva the food is served tapas style, which means smaller sized plates. Good for portion control, bad for wallet as the average diner apparently consumes 2-6 plates. There was an extensive wine list; in fact, the menu was divided into dishes that went well with white wines and dishes that went well with red wines. However, my ability to consume and appreciate wine being what it is (namely not so good), I can't report on the quality of their cellar. The food was decent, although Andy's steak came out covered in olive oil and basalmic vinegar. I had a nice butternut squash and Gorgonzola cheese ravioli, but the beet salad was by far the best portion of the main meal (weird, eh?). We enjoyed a chocolate mousse dessert that filled the requisite requirements for fat and chocolate, and then we had the unique experience of enjoying watermelon cotton candy. It is delicious! Strange looking to see a waiter bringing out a cloud of cotton candy in a restaurant that features low lighting, sleek leather and velvet furniture and uber-stylized light fixtures. But, hey, it worked!

But will we have a reception there? Stay tuned...