Davis Street Tavern - great happy hour

New to the China Town neighborhood is the Davis Street Tavern, http://www.davisstreettavern.com/index.html right on the new Green Line Max rail -- 5th Ave. Can you guess what the cross street is? In an area of many new architectural and consulting firms, this new restaurant is a welcome addition to the neighborhood where good eateries aren't on every street corner. In fact with the exception of Ford's, there just isn't much in the immediate area. The architecture is typical of the neighborhood -- brick walls, high ceilings, wood floors and arched wood windows. Lots of light and a big restaurant space that is not visible in the front bar. We met friends there and went wild on the $5 each happy hour menu. We ordered the mussels steamed in coconut lemon grass sauce, a Caesar salad, the mini strip loin burger (to die for!) with its side of pickled vegetable salad, Cheese crostini trio, and the "Velvety Mac&Cheese (melt-in-your-mouth!) While the trio was really tasty, one of the cheeses was blended with beets and therefore -- pink. The brain says "stay away from pink cheesy stuff on toasted bread" while the mouth says "yum". That was a bit of a balancing act.

While there were no cocktails on the happy hour menu, there were a couple beers and wines -- all good. I gotta tell you, the cocktail menu seemed a bit too over done -- full of brands, drinks liquors, etc that I didn't understand. It was like reading a menu in Russian. Am I just showing my age? Curious what others think. The Syrah blend was nice.

For a someone who is not easily impressed by desserts in restaurants (cuz mine are always so much better), I flipped for the dark chocolate bread pudding with warm rum sauce. I've been thinking about that ever since... :)-

I'll be back, and would love to try dinner.

MISS DELTA!

*urp* I need to loosen my "belta" after eating at Miss Delta! Wow! First time to this great "joint" on Mississippi. Tucked into the main strip, this skinny little brick-walled restaurant vibrates with people who love and truly appreciate authentic creole/Cajun grub. The reviews I read were all about the "best Cajun food... the best Caesar salad... the fantastic catfish...". All true. Four of us ordered what felt like everything on the menu; in fact George ordered two entrees! Great cocktail menu - we had the martinis with orange blossum water -- good. Mojito; good as well. And the "Farmer's Daughter" -- great! Its definitely worth a try -- cucumber infused vodka and other fresh ingredients make for a light and refreshing drink (remember this for summer!) but way potent; they don't skim on the alcohol! Then came the hushpuppies. I haven't had a lot in my life, but these ranked up there. Then came the shrimp creole, jambalaya, blackened catfish, Caesar salad (which was very good), a special house-made meatloaf with peppers, onions and jalapenos; grits and shrimp, and as sides: Mac and cheese, collard greens and beans and rice. The plates are not small. It was a complete carb-o-rama!! If only we had "fries with that"! They must be used to people like us ordering the world and having to pack it up at the end when we are about to burst! Oh, we didn't stop at tolerable discomfort; we ordered the only desserts they had -- rum-pecan bread pudding. Enough for four. Wow, that sent even the best of us over the edge to near misery. Why do we do this to ourselves?!! For the LOVE of food! For the LOVE of great, local thoughtful food. For the infectious buzz you get walking into a packed, gem of a local "joint", and don't forget... contributing to the local economy! Keep on eating out! ;)

Nostrana

A friend from Boise had read a review that Nostrana makes one of the more authentic Pizza Margheritas around. It is. It reminded me of ole' Roma! Here's your menu -- you'll be a happy camper:

Glass of Montepulciano
Radicchio Salad
Pizza Margherita
Rum-raisin gelatto (I turned my nose up at this, but tried it anyway -- SO good and loaded with rum!)

That's it! Bon apetit!
http://www.nostrana.com/

Euphoric at Autentica -- again

Another night at Autentica --so good, it was one of those rare euphoric food moments! New to the menu are Carnitas and are they fantasic! The pile-o-roasted pork is tender and perfectly seasoned -- it comes with a side of amazing, silky-smooth refried black beans which were the best refried beans I think I've ever had. Again, fresh green aromatic cilantro, house-made tortillas and all the fixin's to go with this "they nailed it" plate of goodness! :)-

My new favorite breakfast spot

I love breakfast. We usually end up going out for breakfast once over a normal non-traveling weekend. Some friends invited us to go to the Veritable Quandry (VQ) for breakfast -- actually, brunch. I'd been there for lunch and dinner -- both wonderful, but now I'm a breakfast fan. VQ is the quintessential downtown Portland restaurant with truly NW cuisine and has been in business for nearly 40 years. Not your typical buffet style brunch, the breakfasts are ordered on the menu and are very reasonably priced. I finally hit the jackpot with the "Kings Choice"; it has everything I want in a breakfast, but must order ala carte, since they rarely make a group appearance as one menu item. King’s Choice: Two Eggs Any Style, French Toast, Crisp Potato Cake & Bacon 12. I will refer to it as "Queen's choice, since I can also get those two eggs poached! The potato cakes are crispy and flavorful and the bacon lean, thick and crispy and they use local eggs. Phil had fabulous Eggs Benedict with a twist: porkloin Eggs Benedict on Alonso’s House Made English MuffinHouse Smoked Porkloin, Hollandaise & Crisp Potato Cake 13. Try the Dungeness Crab Benedict too. Don't expect your best cup of coffee there though -- head over to Stumptown on 3rd and Pine for that.

Beautiful, interesting building and decor. Go there with friends or family who are in town or for a better-than-your-average weekend breakfast. Dress casual and make reservations.
http://www.veritablequandary.com/

Autentica Mexican Restaurant Review

I am constantly on the lookout for master margarita mixers! Autentica has one of the best fresh from scratch (no icky sweet and sour mixes) margarita. It is a healthy-sized drink which makes it also very reasonably priced at $8. I would come back for the house margarita alone, by why when I can come back for the spectacular food too? This was our second time there and this time I was even more impressed. My husband and I are both suckers for good ceviche and we found, again, some of the best at Autentica http://autenticaportland.com/. Apparently they just added this particular version to the menu and I made sure to tell them it was a hit. The dish: Three large very fresh and tender scallops marinated in lime juice just enough to keep the very inside slightly pink. It was topped with well-hydrated, green and fragrant cilantro; a perfectly ripened half an avocado; finely chopped red peppers, and red onions -- a hearty appetizer for two. On to dinner: Phil had a fabulous flank steak on a bed of juicy pinto beans. I had the fresh fish of the night -- rock fish -- that was so tender and moist, next to a bed of another kind of moist beans and fluffy white rice and cilantro. The meals were perfectly cooked; hot at the table; well-presented, and filling. We were pleasantly full...until dessert! I ordered a slice of cake that I saw go by to another table. It looked better than it tasted - not bad; but not memorable. We then walked out uncomfortably full!

A few things worth mentioning
They have many great standard dishes, some of which are specialities -- experiment!
The service can be very slow on a busy night, but when they arrive at the table they are very gracious and attentive.
It can be very busy on the weekends so reservations are recommended.
It is also very open and loud so you and your party will be competing for radio waves!
Not strong in the dessert department, but that's okay - spend your calories on the good stuff!
Highly Recommended! Que' rico!