Hash and My Brother’s Crawfish
October 14, 2008
- Hash Restaurant
- Location: Sellwood district
- Price to fill up two for breakfast: $9
- My Brother’s Crawfish
- Location: Sellwood district
- Price to fill up two for dinner: $??
The last time I checked, this blog was up to about 750 regular readers, which is kinda surprising for a private blog that doesn’t advertise. About a dozen are regular commenters but, interestingly, many, many more send private email about stuff I write. Even more interestingly, much of the private stuff is about restaurants–places to try, funky, not-so-great experiences, etc.
In a spirit of generosity (or maybe sheer laziness), figured I oughta let them speak a bit. So when Oregon Glass Guild members Ed and Donna LaPlante sent a little note about two new restaurants, well… take it away, guys:
#1 …. Hash, in Sellwood
I had a 2 egg, 4 item omelet w/smoked tomatoes, bacon, cheddar and chanterelle mushrooms for $9, yumm! Included bread and a fruit bowl, good coffee too.
#2 …. My Brothers Crawfish , SE 82nd.
This was listed in the Oregonian food insert this past Friday.
We ate there a few weeks ago and had gumbo and etoufee. Both very good, filling and spicy. We also had catfish bites appetizer, very good. This place is in a circular strip mall arrangement you can see from 82nd but only enter from the side street.
There are two Vietnamese brothers from Houston running the kitchen and an attentive wait staff. The inside is dark and comfortable with contemporary art on the walls. They do a lot of take out with bags of spicy crawfish flying out the door, that is what we will try next time.
Thanks, Ed. I wanna give both of them a shot.
La Provence Bistro & Bakery
May 2, 2008
- La Provence website
- Location: Lake Oswego, OR
- Cost to break the fast of two people: About $40
“If you do restaurant reviews, you’ve gotta try this place,” said Bonnie Gilchrist, so we had breakfast at La Provence in Lake Oswego this morning, while we talked GAS. (That’s G.A.S., acronym for Glass Art Society, not the lowercase variety that emerges after a less than optimal dining experience.)
Bonnie’s a cool lady with lots of neat stories who’s doing events management for GAS 2008 in Portland. We met to talk about possible PR stuff and things like that.
–QUICK INTERRUPTION FOR AN IMPASSIONED PLEA–
Have YOU signed up for GAS yet?
You DO know you’ve missed the cheapskate deadline and will pay full price, right?
BUT…I can get you in for HALF PRICE.
Just click this link right here…yeah, right here
(and keep it quiet. I can’t do this for everyone, you know)
–END OF IMPASSIONED PLEA– [Read more]
Nancy’s Kitchen
March 27, 2008
- Nancy’s Kitchen website (actually, CitySearch, can’t find restaurant site)
- Location: Pearl district
- Cost to fill up two people: $20 or so
Had some time this morning, so Robyn and I tried doing brunch instead of dinner (and since it was on a Thursday, we didn’t worry about lines). We headed for a place called Nancy’s Kitchen in the Pearl, just off Glisan and 16th, across the street from the Mission Pub & Theatre.
The first thing you notice about this place is that you actually can find parking, normally a near-impossibility. In fact, there’s a spacious parking lot, which is a strong incentive to come here even if the food isn’t good.
But not to worry–the food is very good. [Read more]
Sanborns
September 7, 2007
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Location: Southeast, near Bullseye Glass
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Cost to fill up two people: $20-$25
I hadn’t lived in Portland all that long when I headed out to Bullseye on a Sunday, and realized that I was an hour or so early. I figured I’d grab some brunch while waiting, and found Sanborns, on Milwaukee. It was an unexpected delight. After that I made it a point to shop for glass on Sundays, post-Sanborns.
The owners have turned this refurbed old house into a breakfast specialty spot that really surprised me–I had a wonderful omelette, fresh juice and a basket of home-made breads while chatting with very friendly restaurant patrons. I highly recommend the hash (what is it about hash that delights people so? guests I’ve brought here light up when they see it, and it’s the first thing they order). They do a fresh-from-scratch eggs benedict, no canned hollandaise here and it’s bright with lemon. It’s also incredibly rich and I wasn’t able to finish half of it.
Tip: Order whatever’s on special, especially if the waiter recommends it.
Mother’s Bistro and Bar
June 27, 2007
- Mother’s website
- Location: Downtown near Pioneer Square (sorta)
- Cost to fill up two people: $15-$25
Since I first wrote this, I’ve discovered the Mother’s website (I swear they didn’t have one back then…) and they even have a chef’s blog, so as far as technology they appear to be up on their stuff. They also make a pretty good brunch.
I’m not sure they serve anything for breakfast that doesn’t add to your cholesterol count by just looking at it, but it sure is good. They commit the cardinal sin of popular restaurants as far as I’m concerned, i.e., placing the tables so close together that you must inhale to let the guy behind you sit down.
If you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth a try. I’ve had the Belgian waffle with fruit, and the sausage/cheese scramble. Both were delicious and absolutely not diet food.