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Quaintrelle

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This week I went out to Quaintrelle. I had heard great things from friends and was very excited to visit! Dining outside in the winter isn’t always comfortable with the rain that Portland is so well known for, but Quaintrelle makes it feel comfortable and warm. There is a large white tent on the cobblestone patio with multiple tables, bistro lights, and a large heater to keep the space warm. Regardless of weather, at least one side of the tent is left open to allow for proper air flow.

Our Food

Quaintrelle makes Pacific Northwestern food sourced from local farms and purveyors. Seasonality is a huge part of their menu so it changes frequently which allows you to return over and over and always have a new experience. We started with green curry mussels with house made pickles. The mussels were plump and buttery. The broth they were served in was rich, full bodied, and had just a hint of spice. Next was the “Whiteout”. As the name suggests everything on the plate was completely white. Parsnip, egg, celeriac, pear, yuzu, and wasabi snow. The dish was playful and imaginative. This paired perfectly with my sparkling wine. They also have a small cocktail menu with some of the classics.

We moved into our second course by ordering the whole striped bass with miso and nuac cham, brussels sprouts with ginger, hoisin, and puffed rice, and beets with Meyer lemon custard, barley, and Roquefort powder. The bass was perfectly cooked, it was moist and fell away from the bones effortlessly. Quaintrelle took just as much care with their vegetable sides as they did with their main entrees. Each dish had the perfect balance of sweet, sour, and bitter notes.

I would highly recommend Quaintrelle to anyone that hasn’t had the chance to try it. If you’re in the mood for some great local Northwest cuisine, you will not be disappointed.

Have you tried Quaintrelle yet? Let us know in the comments! If you have yet to try it out, you can check out the menu here. To see what else we have featured, you can check out those here!

Oma’s Takeaway

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This week we had the pleasure of trying Oma’s Takeaway! Oma’s started as a pop up when the chef/owner of Gado Gado realized his food wasn’t well situated for the take-out only option of the pandemic. He and his sous chef started putting together a menu based on their childhood memories and grandmother’s cooking. They both called their grandmas Oma, so it was an easy name choice. The two restaurants are now ‘sister’ restaurants with a similar southeast Asian style.

Oma's Takeaway exterior

Oma’s Takeaway now stands where Whiskey Soda Lounge used to be. I was unsure before trying Oma’s if they would be able to fill the shoes of the past owners. I didn’t have a chance to try Oma’s when it was just a pop-up so I had a few doubts. The smell wafting from the restaurant as I approached the door was sweet, spicy, and slightly fishy – all things you want from a southeast Asian restaurant! Oma’s has the options right now of either dining on the patio or taking their food away.

The Food

I really wanted the full experience so I tried almost everything on the menu. The standouts for me were the Cumin Curry-spiced Ribs in Tamarind glaze, the Braised and Fried Chicken, and the Corn Fritters. The corn fritters were fried perfection with a sweet and sticky soy dip. Both the ribs and chicken are part of the Nasi Lemak. Nasi Lemak is the national dish of Malaysia and means rich rice. The rice is served with peanuts, fried anchovies, and house made sambal. For dessert we tried the rice crispy treat. I don’t know about you, but I hadn’t had one in AGES. They add whole marshmallows and fruity pebbles to the recipe to add a bit of flair. It rounded out the meal extremely well and I can’t wait to go back!

Did you have the chance to try the pop-up? Or have you been to the new brick and mortar? Let us know in the comments! If you are looking for something different you can check out the other restaurants we have featured HERE.

Laurelhurst Market

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This past week we braved the weather to head out to one of my favorite restaurants in all of Portland. Laurelhurst Market is hands-down one of the best steakhouses in the city, but did you know that they also have a FABULOUS lunch menu? The butcher shop carves up meat and makes them into artisan sandwiches and charcuterie boards, both excellent.

Laurelhurst Market is currently serving both lunch and dinner on their very impressive parking lot patio. Now that the rain is here to stay, they have upgraded from individual umbrellas to a full-sized tent with lights and heaters. The tables are spaced more than 6′ apart and there are multiple barrels with plants to help separate the space even further.

Laurelhurst Market

We tried 2 different types of sandwiches, the Hot Pastrami and the Special of the day which was a cheesesteak-style sandwich. The Pastrami comes with Swiss, Dijon, zucchini pickles, and red onion and is served on An Xuyen roll bread. The steak sandwich came with provolone, caramelized onions, and sautéed mushrooms. Both sandwiches tasted exactly the way you would expect the sandwich to taste and the meat was very tender.

The menu changes frequently depending on what the butcher shop has that is fresh and there is a new special at least every week. You can always check out the lunch menu here if you are curious to see what they have. If you aren’t quite ready for tent dining, they are still offering takeout for both lunch and dinner.

We would love to hear what you think if you have been! If you have somewhere that you would like us to feature, let us know in the comments.

Someday

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Ahhh, Someday. An apt name for a bar that was originally conceived of years ago by the owners, who wanted to open their own bar ‘someday’. An even more appropriate refrain for all of us who are wishing and hoping to return to some sense of normalcy in our daily lives ‘someday’. Yet, while we are waiting for indoor dining to be a safe option again, we are always looking for a great spot to grab a drink and a bite outdoors, particularly as the long winter months approach.

Someday is doing the patio scene right. They have big, well-spaced picnic tables, strands of draped lights across the space, and last we checked, were installing heaters to keep you warm and cozy while you drink. The wine selection is well-curated, the cocktails are balanced and delicious, and there is a selection of tasty snacks. If you are looking for a heartier meal, the patio also offers a few food carts to choose from.

Another really fun and unique thing that they are doing is an Oyster BBQ pickup on Sundays! You all know how much we love oysters, so I can’t wait to grab some of these one of these days.

See more about their menu and hours here.

We are really excited for more visits this winter to this cute tucked-away alley bar! Have you visited Someday yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments!

Clark Lewis

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This week we tried the farm-to-table restaurant Clark Lewis. They just recently remodeled and reopened for dine-in service so we were thrilled to try it out! The first thing we noticed was how open the restaurant felt. Like many other restaurants in Portland they have taken up some parking spaces to use as a patio, but they also have massive roll up windows that allow the whole restaurant to be an open air dining space.

It isn’t often that we have a lunch this classy so we decided to really treat ourselves and test out many of the items on the menu. We, of course, started with a half dozen oysters while looking over the rest of the offerings and deciding on a cocktail. Because Clark Lewis focuses on fresh and local ingredients I decided to try the marionberry margarita. It was perfectly tart and tasted exactly like you would expect limes and fresh marionberries to taste. There was a slight tequila kick to remind you that you were having a cocktail and it was very refreshing on this hot summer day.

The Food

For lunch we decided to share a couple of different salads and a wood-fired pizza. We tried a watermelon and beet salad with a horseradish vinaigrette, a frisée salad with black plums and a dill vinaigrette and a salmon salad with kale and mama lil’s peppers. All of the salads tasted as though you had just picked the vegetables from the garden and the vinaigrettes were subtle enough to just pull all of the ingredients together. The salmon with the Kale salad was some of the most tender and flavorful salmon I have ever had and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

For the pizza, we decided on the loaded veggie. With a garlic oil base, green olives, mushrooms, artichokes and Parmesan cheese, this pizza was delicious. It was a little salty, but in a way that just made you want to eat more, kind of like a potato chip!

There were also pastas and paninos on the lunch menu and with the food as good as it was, we will definitely have to go back and try it again. The dinner menu also looks to be quite impressive. Let us know if you have been here yet and until next time, Cheers!

Ecliptic Brewing

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This week we are featuring one of our favorite breweries and restaurants. With space themed decor and beer Ecliptic Brewing is just a fun place to visit for the whole family. They are currently only offering patio dining, but they have converted the entire parking lot into space for tables so there is plenty of space (pun intended).

Ecliptic also offers a wide variety of beverages, there is a full bar and some local wines to choose from. The real star, though, is of course, the beer. John Harris has been an important NW brewer since his early days at McMenamins. He then moved to Deschutes and Full Sail before finally opening his own brewery.

He doesn’t play it safe with his beer either, depending on the time of year that you visit, you can get almost every style of beer available. I love a fruity sour, there were multiple choices on the menu so I tried the the Carina Peach Sour. With the hot weather we also wanted to try a crisp and refreshing beer so we opted for the Ecliptic-Ruse Collab Pilsner. Both beers were refreshing, delicious, and exactly what we were expecting of the style.

Ecliptic Beers

Ecliptic has by far the best food menu of all the breweries. They focus on fresh and seasonal ingredients and switch up the menu often. This summer they are offering little gem salad, street corn and seared albacore tuna. You can also order one of their many burgers or sandwiches. They always have a great burger, but they are currently also offering a beet melt with goat cheese and granny smith apples and a salmon burger with avocado and jalapeño aioli. Head over to the website to see the full menu.

If you aren’t quite ready to head out to a restaurant you can order the food to go or have some beer delivered! You can order your beer HERE. Have you tried the beer/food yet? What did you enjoy most?

Want to check out our other hotspots? You can find those HERE

Tamale Boy

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This week we are once again highlighting one of our favorite restaurants, Tamale Boy! After searching for restaurants that were offering both dine-in service and patio tables we were left with very few options. Most dine-in restaurants have very few tables and are only seating with a reservation. We didn’t plan far enough ahead for that, so when we saw Tamale Boy on the list, we knew exactly where to go. They have 2 locations, one small location attached to Labrewatory on N Russell, and a larger location on NE Dekum. Ne Dekum has a huge patio and was just what we were in the mood for.

Tamale Boy Patio tables

While we were deciding on what to order we started with a side of house-made guacamole. I love Tamale Boy’s guacamole because they add a dried chile oil to give it a bit of spice, and roasted sunflower seeds for a nice crunch. For dinner I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and actually order a tamale. I decided on the Norteño tamal frito. A deep fried tamale with chile verde, served with black beans and 2 over-easy eggs. The flavor in the tamale itself was absolutely divine and with the beans and eggs it was a very filling meal. If you want to check out the menu or order ahead, you can do so HERE

We loved Tamale Boy this week, have you been to support this business yet? We definitely recommend you visit, whether you are ready to venture out or wanting to get some take-out for home. What have you been loving? Let us know your favorite local spot in the comments so we can support them (and our tastebuds)!

Farmhouse Kitchen

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This week we are once again highlighting the best local take-out that we had this week, Farmhouse Kitchen Thai! After reading several posts on Eater Restaurant recommendations and seeing a few drool-worthy pics, my household decided to order the Little Lao Table from Farmhouse this past weekend. We were so happy with it! A veritable smorgasbord of delicious Thai flavors, all packed into a single buffet-style aluminum pan for the added bonus of reducing take-out waste. It even came with a couple of Thai iced teas (which we boozed up a bit, obviously) and a kid’s meal of Pad See Ew on the side!

Wooooooaaaahhh

Some of the highlights included the papaya salad which was tart and perfectly spicy, the fried chicken which was so crunchy and tender, and the curry which I gleefully poured over every noodle and grain of rice that I could. I don’t even know what exactly the concoction under the fried egg was, but I do know that I went back for thirds. The meal is advertised as dinner for 2+ a kiddo, but we found that it easily fed 4 hungry adults. For $59, that’s quite the steal! Check them out HERE.

We loved Farmhouse Kitchen this week, but what did you love? Let us know your favorite local takeout in the comments so we can support them (and our tastebuds)!