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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)!

Arden

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We are back this week with another local Portland restaurant that we loved! We ordered takeout from Arden in the Pearl District, who typically strive to provide a full dining experience to help you escape from the hustle and bustle of life. While we can’t currently partake in the atmosphere of this beautiful restaurant, we are luckily still able to enjoy the food!

Chef Erik Van Kley creates hyper-local and seasonal food to help you stay connected to the community. They also have a great wine list that favors local winemakers, and you can even order bottles to go with your meal. We were celebrating my birthday this week so we ordered a bottle of Brut Rose by Patrice Colin from the Loire Valley. It was crisp and dry with slight hints of raspberries which paired perfectly with our chicken dinner for 2.

Our meal came with roasted beets served over house Labneh, roasted carrots and rapini, roast chicken with miso brown butter, wild mushroom spaetzle with herb crème fraîche, smashed fried potatoes with lemon peppercorn aioli and some fresh baguette.

Everything tasted phenomenal but the sauces were the real stars of the show. Each one was perfectly seasoned and expertly paired to make all of the flavors of the dish truly sing. I cannot wait to go and support this business again and enjoy the dining room when it is finally safe to do so. In the mean time, you too can support Arden and order online. You can find the takeout menu HERE.

We are always looking for great takeout options to support local! Where should we head next?

If you want to check out the other hot spots we love, you can see them all HERE

*photos courtesy of Ardenpdx

PaaDee

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Hot Spot of the week for pick-up/delivery this week is delicious modern Thai spot Paadee! They are rocking out a great family-style dinner to go for $49. This is a fantastic option when you are sick of the sight of your kitchen, but want a tasty and well-rounded meal. Check out the menu and order here.

PaaDee takeout on Instagram

Their set menu consists of 4 starters/mains plus jasmine and sticky rice on the side. Dungeness Crab fried rice was one, which had wonderfully plump morsels of our fave NW crustacean. The Som Tum Thai papaya salad had the perfect level of spice for our crew, plenty of heat without eradicating our tastebuds! The Ba Me Pitsanulok was a nice brothy offering. Plus, they smartly packaged the noodles and pork belly separately to avoid any potential sogginess. Finally, there was my personal favorite, the Gai Grop Sam Yan. This was a crispy chicken dish with cashew, scallion, and dried chili. Somehow even as a takeout dish, the chicken was so crispy and crunchy and delectable!

As there weren’t any boozy takeout options, I made my own favorite home cocktail which was actually perfect with the meal. 1 1/2 oz gin, 1 oz Aperol, .5 oz blood orange, 2 dashes Angostura bitters all shaken and strained into a rocks glass and then filled to the top with Brut Champagne or Cava. A nice non-alcoholic pairing that is my Thai go-to is one of the Som drinking vinegars with soda water.

If you’re family are heartier eaters, I would recommend ordering a few add-ons from the wonderful PaaDee takeout menu!

What has been your favorite Portland takeout recently? Let us know in the comments!