Peem Kaew Thai in the Pearl
April 17, 2008
- PKThai website
- Location: Pearl district (Park and Everett)
- Cost to fill up two people: $30-$40
Despite a toxic mood, unassuaged even by an hour-long bubble bath up to my chin (long story), I headed down to the Pearl tonight to meet Robyn for dinner at Peem Kaew Thai. The folks at Bullseye Gallery had recommended it the day before, as a gallery favorite. I figured that excessively hot chow, sweetly served, might quench my curmudgeonliness. (Plus, I really wanted to see if there’s anything in town that beats Typhoon’s Beef with Grapes, currently on my top-ten list.)
Usual parking woes, but inside it was calm, nice art on the walls, and good conversation with Robyn that started my mental detox. And while it’s not quite beef with grapes, the food at PKT is very tasty and a bit less expensive than Typhoon. [Read more]
Mio Sushi
April 17, 2008
- Mio Sushi website
- Location: Pearl district (Hoyt/13th)
- Cost to fill up two people: $30 to $40
Gary and I hit up the Bullseye Gallery yesterday, some neat glass there right now. I got a kick out of Gary’s trick of asking gallery (and museum) personnel which piece they’d personally remove from their burning building. The answers were intriguing and not at all what I’d thought. (And as a bonus that question sent the guard at the Museum of Contemporary Craft all over the exhibit seeking unique PoVs for us…but that’s another story.) [Read more]
Wong’s King Seafood Restaurant
March 6, 2008
Our dinner came with a whole squab, split between the two of us, and they scrupulously made sure that we each got half..of the head.
- Website
- Area: Far east-side, I84 and Division
- Price for two to fill up: $98 this time, but more usually about $50
A great Chinese seafood restaurant in Portland? That’s something I thought I left behind in the Bay area (or DC), but I gotta say Wong’s changed my mind.
Don’t go there if your Chinese food appetites extend only as far as kung pao chicken or broccoli beef. But if you’re looking for, say, sliced abalone in oyster sauce (or goose intestines with bitter melon), this is the place to go, maybe the only place in Portland.
Yuki Japanese Restaurant
February 15, 2008
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Area: West-side downtown, 23rd street
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Price to fill up two people: About $40
I’m not sure anything is going to top Sushi Takahashi for price, but in terms of taste, this little Japanese restaurant on 23rd between Lovejoy and Johnson definitely meets it. They served some of the best toro (fatty tuna) sashimi I’ve had in a long time, but where they really shine is in sushi rolls.
I think these guys must stay up nights figuring out what else to stuff in a roll, and they had some really nice combinations. Robyn and I ate our way through a tray of sushi rolls, sashimi and misc. for about $36 for the two of us, with green tea. We were stuffed, and probably shouldn’t have started with appetizers–Robyn had steamed edamame pods, which were tasty, and I had the traditional cucumber salad, which should have been marinated longer.
Tip: The tiger sushi roll is very good.
India Grill
January 25, 2008
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Location: NE Portland (Laurelhurst)
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Price to fill up two people: $50
India Grill is so far the best Indian food I’ve had in glassland (and I still haven’t had any as wondrous as that I encountered in DC, Manhattan and London). But this one’s pretty good, and it’s over in Laurelhurst, one of the funky, Craftsman-and-Tudor neighborhoods on the northeast side of town (which, BTW, hosts an incredible number of nifty little bistros).
Food’s good, prices are reasonable, service is swift and painless (once you’re actually seated in this little place, which takes some time).We had vegetable samosas, papadums, my favorite mint chutney, raita, and then classic chicken tikka, naan, and chicken korma. All good, if a bit skimpy on meat products.The waiter apparently assumed we were full at the end (probably from our bloated, glassy-eyed expressions), because he didn’t ask about dessert.
Tip: Allow some extra time to find parking, especially on a Saturday night, then go inside the house and walk up the stairs to the restaurant. If they seat you at the Christmas-light-festooned sunporch, you’ll command a nice view of Burnside and the Wild Oats across the street.