Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

When it comes to microbrews and wine, Portland’s cup has notoriously runneth over, but in recent years, our plate has also been full with daring dishes and high-quality cuisine. Fortunately for foodies, the trend is only building, with several top-notch dining spots opening recently in downtown, along with a new star on one of the country’s most up-and-coming streets for eats.

First up, Lardo, is no stranger to the Portland’s pork-crazed masses, as it has existed as food cart since September 2010 and has another location on the east side of the river. But their new downtown location on Southwest Washington Street brings the shop’s rotating menu of porcine sandwiches to the city center, where working stiffs and visiting tourists alike can stuff their faces with classic Italian eats like porchetta and mortadella, plus a burger topped with pork belly and even a few veg options.

Nearby on Southwest Broadway Street, Imperial, brings diners Pacific Northwest-styled offerings from legendary local chef Vitaly Paley. Located in the stylish Hotel Lucia, the warm, wood-clad restaurant aims to unite diners with the region through their food, using an open kitchen with a grill meant to invoke the campfire warmth that historically lit the Northwest, along with uncomplicated food steeped in historical significance, like wild king salmon in roasted shallot green sauce, or quail with oyster stuffing. Also in the Hotel Lucia, Paley has opened a smaller, casual diner called the Portland Penny Diner, where the specialities include fry-bread sandwiches.

Up the street in the 130-year-old Ladd Carriage House, one of the few surviving structures from downtown Portland’s days of grand estates, Raven & Rose aims to make history itself, with a wood-fired gastropub downstairs and an upstairs bar (in a former hayloft), which serves drinks that evoke the building’s era. Pairing former Park Kitchen head chef David Padberg with erstwhile Beaker & Flask bartender Dave Shenaut, the venture looks to have all the ingredients for success.

Photo courtesy of Portland Monthly

Out on Southeast Division Street, Ava Gene’s turns what was already a culinary hot zone into a full-fledged gourmet playground. Founded by Stumptown Coffee and Woodsman Tavern owner Duane Sorenson, the New York-style Italian restaurant specializes in hard-to-find pastas (made in-house), and pairs them perfectly with both charcuterie and wine. Add soft lighting and vintage decor, and you’ve instantly got some of the most romantic tables in town—and a prime example of how Portlanders love their food scene.

Oven & Shaker pizza; photo by John Valls

In high school, I would often flee campus and hightail it to Little Caesar’s for what I thought was good pizza. What I lacked in pizza IQ back then, I more than made up for in passion and commitment. Fortunately, those days are long gone and I now think of myself as somewhat of a pizza connoisseur. So, when two of Portland’s best-loved restaurateurs announced they were opening new pizza places, I bubbled with excitement.

Bruce Carey, who is the driving force behind such places as Bluehour, Clark Lewis and 23 Hoyt, and Cathy Whims of Nostrana fame (which, incidentally, has wonderful pizza) have opened Via Tribunali and Oven & Shaker, respectively, and I highly recommend them both. Both spots have amazing and creative traditional Italian pizzas: wood-fired; thin, crisp-but-chewy crust; and a less-is-more approach to toppings. They are also quite different. (more…)

During our first visit to The Woodsman, my friend Googs and I could not resist the siren song of the raw bar. Next time, we'll peruse the full menu.

To celebrate his birthday, my buddy Googs and I checked out one of the latest – and most ballyhooed – additions to the east side’s dining scene: The Woodsman, located a couple of doors down from the original Stumptown Coffee on Southeast Division Street.

Upon entering, we were greeted by a cool wood-paneled interior and an impressive display of bivalves on ice. We bellied up to the bar and promptly ordered/inhaled a dozen Tillamook Bay and Netarts oysters on the half shell.

I’m looking forward to a return trip to check out the full menu – both Willamette Week and my foodie colleague, Lila, say it’s terrific – but won’t wait 12 months to do it. (Next one’s on you, Googs.)

The holiday season just got a little merrier in Downtown Portland with the openings of several new businesses.  Some are local businesses, some are national, but all of them offer tax-free shopping and dining.

Nike Portland: Feel like you’re walking back into your high school gym at the new concept store from Nike, an Oregon-based company.

Via Tribunali: Seattle’s popular wood-fired pizza empire opens its first Portland location on Nov. 15.

Bunk Sandwiches: The third outpost of this beloved Portland sandwich shop is perfect fuel for on-the-go shoppers.

Sephora: Beauty lovers, your time has arrived — Sephora has opened a stand-alone store across from Pioneer Place shopping center.

PDX Pop-Ups: For the third year, temporary stores featuring local designers are swinging open their doors until Dec. 31.

http://downtownportland.org/downtown-events/good-stuff/pdx-pop-up-shops-2011/

In a town where new restaurant openings inspire social media chatter for months before the first meal is even served, Portland Monthly’s annual restaurant issue is a hotly anticipated cheat-sheet to the best newcomers and mainstays. Well, the wait is over, and there’s a twist: you can now add to your up-to-the-minute knowledge of the scene by downloading the new Best Restaurants App (it’s worth the 99 cents for the Editors’ Picks, which curate the list for you, and the ability to identify what’s nearby).  Great for locals and visitors alike.

This year’s cover story highlights 35 of the city’s greatest meals, with picks ranging from breakfast to dinner; meat-centric to vegetarian; and regionally focused to Asian-influenced. Hungry yet?  Pick up a copy or read the article online.

They say chefs are the new rock stars, and while they live and work alongside many musicians here in Portland, I can’t think of another place where the saying is more true. A new calendar (which makes an excellent travel souvenir or holiday gift to savor Portland’s food scene all year long) was created to turn a spotlight on some of the women and men whose creativity enhances the city’s vibrancy.

One of these characters is Gregory Gourdet, chef at Departure restaurant and marathon runner. This fabulous video gives us a peek into his “visual life” in Portland.

Dining Month Portland returns to the Rose City this June. For the entire month, 60+ participating restaurants will offer three-course dinner menus — including an appetizer, entrée and dessert — for just $25. To sweeten the deal even more, diners can win more than $1,250 worth of restaurant gift certificates through the Downtown Portland Facebook page.

Participating restaurants are spread out across the city, with 20 in the downtown core. Old and new favorites are on the list, including James Beard Award winners and nominees like Paley’s Place, the Heathman and Nostrana. Recently opened restaurants that are already getting a buzz include Aviary, Cocotte and Otto.

Dining Month Portland is sponsored by Open Table and American Express. For every reservation booked on Open Table through this link, the Downtown Marketing Initiative will make a donation to the Oregon Food Bank.

Although the opening weekend for the Portland Farmers Market in March is the official start to the fresh food season, I find my tastes align more with berries than with Swiss chard.  As such, I always eagerly anticipate late spring, when the first sweet delicacies appear. May and June are also two of the best foodie months in town.

May kicks off with the Taste of the Nation, a fundraiser for Share Our Strength that brings together tastes from restaurants, breweries and wineries.

In mid-May, the Indie Wine and Food Festival highlights the best of local, small-batch vintners and pairs them with nibbles from great restaurants.

Over Memorial Day Weekend, winemakers open their doors for the 21st annual tasting extravaganza in the Willamette Valley.

Finally, in June, the entire month becomes a feast for foodies with the return of Dining Month Portland, which includes three-course dinners for just $25 at nearly 50 restaurants, every day of the week.  This year’s participants include James Beard Award nominated locales like Lincoln and Nostrana, plus past winners like Paley’s Place.

Can’t visit in May or June?  Don’t worry, there are plenty of other fantastic food events. Check the calendar or book the Portland Perks package and receive a discount-packed coupon book featuring savings at nearly 20 different restaurants.

Photo courtesy of Portland Japanese Garden/Adam Royer

Like those around the world, Portlanders have been shocked and saddened by the recent disaster in Japan. Portland has a sister city relationship with Sapporo, and below are just a few of many ways that our community is supporting our friends in Japan.

• Japan-related organizations in Portland have joined forces to provide financial aid to survivors of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The newly formed Oregon Japan Relief Fund will contribute 100 percent of donations raised through the fund to Portland-based Mercy Corps’ relief efforts. The local humanitarian agency is working with a Japanese partner to provide emergency assistance to earthquake survivors in Japan. The donation website can be found at: http://www.mercycorps.org/fundraising/oregonjapanrelieffund

• The Portland Japanese Garden has set up a “Wish Arbor” as a place to reflect, visit and remember victims of the recent disaster in Japan. Visitors are invited to write wishes and condolences on cards that can be hung on the memorial. The arbor is located just outside of the garden’s admission gate, open during operating hours, and does not require admission to the garden. http://japanesegarden.com/japandisaster

• There will be a candlelight vigil held for Japan on Fri., March 18th from 6-8 p.m. in Portland (venue TBD, please check www.vigil4japanpdx.org for updates). Donations will be accepted to send to Japan via Mercy Corps.

• Hellion Gallery, which presents contemporary art shows in both Portland and Tokyo, will be donating 20% of profits from this month’s art sales in Portland (the current exhibition is of paintings by Ai Ohkawara) to the relief effort in Japan.

• Mt. Hood Meadows ski resort will donate $5 from each night-ski lift ticket purchased ($15 on-site or $10 in advance online) to ski on March 23rd and 24th (Wednesday and Thursday) from 3-9 p.m. to Mercy Corps’ Japan disaster relief fund. Tickets are normally $29, thus offering both a discount and a donation.
http://www.skihood.com/Store/Products/Tickets-and-Equipment-Rentals/Tickets/Japan-Disaster-Relief-Night-Ticket

• Rapha Performance Roadwear is organizing fundraising bike rides (Rapha Rides for Tohoku) in Japan and the U.S., and will match donations of $10 or over on their website. The ride in Portland begins at Albina Press at 9 a.m. on Sat., March 19th. http://www.rapha.cc/rapha-rides-for-tohoku

• Beast restaurant is serving a fundraising dinner on Tues., March 29th. Tickets are $200 per person, and reservations can be made through their website. http://www.beastpdx.com/reservations.htm

• Portland Design Collective will be staging a fashion show on April 1st from 7-9 p.m. Originally a fundraiser to send teenage design students from Mt. Tabor Middle School to Japan, it has evolved into a joint effort to do so, and raise funds to help friends and family in Japan. Ticket sales will benefit the students, but other donation opportunities will be available at the event.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Portland-Design-Collective/157191524322470

• Mercy Corps has a constantly updated list of events held around Greater Portland to benefit the Japan relief cause, which you can check here: http://www.mercycorps.org/events.

There’s plenty of new eats in Portland these days, as detailed by this story in The Oregonian. But the newcomers don’t outshine some of our veteran chefs, many of which continue to draw national attention —  such as this article in Travel & Leisure.