Papa Haydn's

On my friend Katie's recommendation, we walked all the way across town to this little cake-and-coffee place near Trendy-Third street. They have a most excellent display of cakes in their front dining area, and soon after we arrived, I ditched my boring, yellow, 2D menu in favor of drooling on the cake case.

^This is Katie and her Turtle Cheesecake! Several hours later After much deliberation, I decided on a Baked Alaska. It sounded the biggest, and weirdest. It was a layered confection of dulce de leche and chocolate ganache, banana ice cream and bruleed meringe on a vanilla sponge cake base.

This thing was ginormous, I tell you! Each layer was like two inches thick, and as wide as a pizza slice. By the time Katie was done, I was still left with a good half pound of sugar on my plate. To gorge, or not to gorge: that is the question. It should be Papa Haydn's motto.

I definitely recommend Papa Haydn's. There are so many more things to try, I'll be back!

Pata Negra

My friend Claire has been wanting to go on a Tapas Tour of Portland for a while, now. Well, we haven't quite made it yet, but our tour starts now, with Pata Negra.

The place is beautifully painted, has good light, and friendly, helpful staff. Though Tapas is traditionally a Spanish, well, tradition, the menus were mercifully translated. (I myself am fluent in Spanish, but I assume that most of you are not).
Tapas are an assortment of appetizers, which you mix and match to create your own unique meal. Tapas are not to be eaten in solitude, so bring friends. Rich friends, preferably. ;) Close your eyes, point to the menu a couple times, get some wine, and tuck in!


At Pata Negra, I had the pleasure to try the weirdest, most delicious appetizer I've ever heard of: datiles con jamon. In normal people words, that means: sauteed dates wrapped in bacon and drizzled with date sauce. It was heavenly, and I aim to re-create it myself one of these days. I got the "recipe" from our waiter.

We also had Boquerones Rebozados -- the only time in my life I've ever had anchovies. They were fried to a light crisp in olive oil.

Calamares Fritos followed, as well as Champinones al Ajillo (Sauteed Mushrooms), Pato ( deliciously tender pieces of duck), and Rollitos de Berenjena, a smoky grilled eggplant rolled around goat cheese.



These tapas ranged in price from about 6.5 (the rollitos) to 10.75 (the pato).

Thanh Thao

Thanh Thao is a great little Thai place on SE Hawthorne st. I baited back and forth, trying to decide whether I wanted to try something new and different, or just go with the delicious-every-time Pad See Ew.

In the end, I chose the Pad See Ew. It was perfect, hit the spot (my stomach, that is). The noodles were huge, though! It was like Pad See Ew with lasagna noodles.

Other than that, it was pretty typical Thai fare.

Chicken Roast w/ Onions

This delicious dinner was made by my host mother, if you will. Humongo chicken breasts pan-roasted with onions, carrots, mushrooms, and all sorts of delectables. The whole thing was flavored with balsamic vinegar and oil.

She paired this with a great green salad: avocados, red bell peppers, and mushrooms! Mmmm!

Tomissan Marinade Pork Chops

Tomissan contacted me on Twitter, asking if I would like to try their Thai Issan Style Marinade. I said, "Psh, duh!"

So, they sent me a whole bottle of the stuff! I went to the nearest Whole Foods Market (Fremont) and got a few boneless pork chops to fry up. I applied a liberal amount (I'm a liberal, that's how I do everything!) of marinade to the chops in a bowl. I used about a half a cup, ultimately.

The instructions on the bottle say to marinate the meat for at least 20 minutes, but I ended up soaking them for about an hour, and my dad says he wouldn't mind if they were marinated overnight. It all depends on the flavor you want!

We sauteed some mushrooms and onions in with the sauce and the chops, and served it with a green salad, and green beans, and french bread. It was delicious. The sauce was super sweet and tangy -- surprisingly sweet, actually, but it worked wonders with our onions and mushrooms!

You guys should definitely check out Tomissan -- you can find them on Twitter (@tomissan) or at their website: http://www.tomissan.com/ (or click on the link I provided up top. They are great people, and they make great Thai marinade. I will probably make some more with chicken or something in the future!

West Cafe

There's nothing to break the strain of apartment hunting like a nice pair of... crab fritters!

West Cafe is located downtown on 12th and... Salmon, or something. But I did not have salmon. I had the corn and dungeness crab fritters served with mango mustard drizzle!

These crab fritters were delectable -- not overly pureed, just fresh crab meat, held together with a light, crispy batter.

I was a little skeptical of the corn part, but it turned out nicely. The corn was fresh, and added a cool texture. The mango mustard was a great idea. I wish they sold it at Safeway... ;)

Dad ordered a roasted bell pepper and potato soup, which was slightly sweet, and creamy.

The cafe itself was sparkling and full of light, and very photogenic. Though it had the air of a fancy, high fa-looting restaurant, it was pretty decently priced. The waiter was also very professional, and friendly!

This is a great little spot for a Portland lunch downtown.
Corn and Dungeness Crab Fritters with Mango Mustard Drizzle: 9
Roasted Bell Pepper and Potato Soup: 3 (cup)

Greek Pasta at the Cousins'

My cousins invited me over for a great dinner:

A Greek pasta salad, with angelhair pasta, spinach, chopped tomatos, olives, onions, avocados, and of course, feta cheese! There was also yummy french bread, and white wine aplenty!

I showed up late enough that it was being served almost immediately. I had just enough willpower to take a photo of mine while it was still pretty before gobbling it up!

I spent the rest of the night taking photos of cousins with spaghetti noodles dripping down their chins, to put on Facebook. How devilish of me. :)

Esparza

Well, it is time for my first not-so-good review. Maybe it was my mood; I'd been at work all day, and I was pretty tired. Maybe it was the music; when you spend a whole Saturday working at Bi-Mart, the LAST thing you want to hear coming from a juke box at a restaurant is "One Is the Loneliest Number," or others of that ilk. Maybe it was the creepy marionettes dangling from the ceiling, heads drooping, arms sagging. Maybe it was because I should have just ordered an enchilada.

It was an... interesting place, to be sure. A classic example of "Keep Portland Weird." The decor was a kind of cross between an old Western cowboy theme, and vintage, "I Spy" book knickknacks.

The waitress, a pixie-haired hipster, gave us chips and salsa and water, and told us which specials they didn't have. Another, darker-haired pixie hipster waitress took our order. I was sorely tempted to just get an enchilada. But, one good thing about this blog is that it makes me step outside my comfort zone for the sake of providing my readers with awesome new edibles, and cool photos (this is why I passed up Pad See Ew for Pineapple Fried Rice!) I decided to order the "Dirty Bird," which was described as roasted chicken breasts with chocolate mole sauce, mashed potatoes, and beans. What showed up was definitely not chocolate anything. It was chicken, slathered in a super spicy red sauce, of which I only ate 1/6th. After that, the mashed potatoes and beans were bland, and a bad mix (I would go at lunch when they serve rice as an option to this meal). When I told my boyfriend about this misadventure on the phone, he said, "You ordered something called "Dirty Bird?"" What did I expect?? Something else, I guess.

Dad's tamales (on the left, there) and the flan I ordered, however, were delicious. The flan was was super soaked with honey, and tasted like heaven.

So, all in all, I will probably go back, to give this place a second chance, but I will definitely NOT get the "Dirty Bird!"