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Shalom Y'all

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Our Hot Spot of the week is the delicious Shalom Y’all! Shalom Y’all is the Israeli street food focused offering from the wildly successful John Gorham restaurant group. It is located in a cute brick building in inner SE Portland. They serve lunch, dinner, happy hour, and even brunch on the weekends, so you can stop in and check them out any time!

We were pretty impressed immediately upon walking in the door by the beautiful design of the space. The black accented bar was a beautiful contrast to the clean, white subway tile and the hanging plants scattered around the space added a lovely, natural feel.

We started with drinks, as always. There was a lovely Spanish Cava on the happy hour menu that I jumped at. It was crisp and dry with nice, small bubbles. My dining companion opted for the Turkish Delight Slushy, which contained limoncello, ceylon tea, and orange blossom water. It was like summer in a glass!

Spanish Cava and Turkish Delight Slushy

Like most of the Gorham restaurant collective, Shalom Y’all is designed for sharing. As small plates for the table is my favorite way to eat, we happily obliged and ordered several dishes. One of our favorites was the Labneh with fried artichokes. The house made yogurt cheese was properly tangy, and the fried artichokes were crispy and tender simultaneously, and smothered in a hearty pile of garlic.

  • Labneh with fried artichoke
  • Hummus Pitryot with Maitake

We also loved the Hummus ‘Pitryot’, which was topped with sauteed maitake mushrooms (YUMMM) plus dill and paprika. The Chard and Feta Safayech was amazing as well. It was almost like a spinach pie inside of a grilled pita with a wonderful tzatziki on the side. Both the Labneh and the Hummus were served with warm, fluffy pita that our wonderful server was happy to provide more of after we quickly devoured the first few.

Chard and Feta Safayech

While many of the dishes at Shalom Y’all are vegetable focused, the presence of hearty additions like fried artichoke to the dishes will leave even the omnivores satisfied. We can’t wait to come back and try so many more delicious items at Shalom Ya’ll! Check out their menus and hours here.

Have you tried any of the restaurants from John Gorham’s restaurant group? Which was your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

Hat Yai – Belmont

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For our Hot Spot of the Week, we decided to check out the newly opened SE branch of Southern Thai spot Hat Yai. With counter service and checkered plastic tablecloths, this casual eatery is a perfect spot to grab a bite while checking out the great bars along the Belmont strip with friends. If you want to check out the menu, or see more information, you can do that here

As usual, we each got a cocktail to start. While the cocktail list here isn’t extensive (3 options and a seasonal special) we were both able to easily choose something that catered to our preferences. The Turmeric Sweet Tea was a lovely Thai twist on the classic, and was perfect alongside the fried chicken. The Tamarind Whiskey Smash made me seriously wish it were a hot sunny afternoon. If cocktails aren’t your thing, there is also a no-frills wine and beer list to choose from.

For dinner, we decided to share the famous fried chicken. We opted for the half-chicken portion so we could try several different dishes. The dark meat was, of course, the winner. Even the breast was tasty when doused with the Thai chili dipping sauce. We also shared the Goong Tom Gati, a shrimp and clam curry served with sticky rice. The curry was fine, but we wished we had gone with our instincts and ordered the special Jungle Curry. With trout belly and Chanterelles, it sounded outstanding. However, the person at the counter somewhat warned us off of it saying, “It’s a 9/10 on the spicy scale.” Sometimes in Thai restaurants, that would mean inedible, but once we had tasted the other curry, we felt that we certainly could have handled it.

Our surprise winner of favorite dish of the evening was the seasonal special pea tips. Simply sauteed and served in a light curry sauce, pea tips have been an exciting discovery for me in restaurants this year. They were my favorite of this evening, as well as another spent at delicious newcomer Eem a few months ago. After this experience, I know I will be ordering them every time I see them on a menu! Have you been to Hat Yai yet? What should we order next time?

What Hot Spot should we try out next? Let us know in the comments!

Spitz

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This week for our hot spot we tried out this awesome N Portland restaurant. They serve mediterranean street food with a slight german twist. The chainlet is based out of LA, but we are very glad that they decided to come up to Portland. 

Street Cart Doner at Spitz photo by That Portland Life

I tried the Street Cart Doner which is a beef/lamb mix with cabbage, romaine, cucumber, tomato, and garlic aioli. The wrap was delicious and had some great mediterranean flavors. We also tried the Berliner Doner which had most of the same ingredients with a german red sauce and carrots. 

Everyone had mentioned that we had to try the Street Cart Fries, which is what the restaurant is best known for, and they did not disappoint! The perfectly crispy fries were covered in aioli, pepperoncini, tomato, feta, onions and green peppers. I would definitely order these again! 

Street Cart Fries by Spitz Photo by That Portland Life

The restaurant was bright, clean, and had a fun hip atmosphere. The walls have spray painted murals from Portland area artists, and all the ductwork is bright pink. They are definitely making a statement and I really loved it. 

Interior of Spitz Photo by That Portland Life

Have you been yet? Let us know what you think in the comments! Check out the full menu here