Bar Lolo - Portland

Bar Lolo is a small tapas style bar located at 2940 NE Alberta St, Portland OR, 97211

Roasted forest mushrooms, miticrema, crostini

The mushrooms were good.  A simple combination that will not go wrong.  The crema on the crostini added an nice layer of flavor with its slight tartness to cut the oil in the dish.

Braised wild boar, red wine, roasted vegetable sauce

This boar was well made. A little gamey but overall a well prepared dish.  Rich an perfect with the beer that we ordered.

Chickpea stew, spinach, saffron, sweet paprika

 An unexpected combination that turned out pretty good.  A slightly sour broth gives this soup a good balance. A seemingly simple dish that is full of flavor.

Seafood Paella – prawns, scallops, calamari-half order

The half order was a very generous portion, unfortunately the seafood paella was undercooked.  The rice was still raw on in inside even after we let it sit for awhile.  There was not enough liquid so the rice was too chewy. On the plus side the shrimp was done just right,  so I guess it was the chef's misstep not timing the cooking properly.

Overall food was simple and easy to cook, with the exception of the paella.  In general a good bar catering to the locals,  nothing too fancy,  but comfortable and welcoming.  The chickpea soup was a pleasant surprise. I was dissapointed with the paella, and probably will not return to this place again given that there are so many other places on the same street offering other styles of food. 

Toro Bravo - Portland

 Toro Bravo Portland -120 NE Russell Street Portland, OR 97212

 Toro Bravo is located on a quiet street corner. Behind the unassuming entrance is a medium sized restaurant with a lively atmosphere.  We arrived on a Saturday night and the restaurant was 90% full.  After a few minutes we were seated at the bar and offered the menu. After some debate, we decided to go for the $30 tasting menu in order to cover all areas of the tasting menu.

Duck Liver Mousse Terrine with bread and mustard  

 The terrine is a generous portion, and the sides of cucumber and mustard helps to give some texture and kick to the dish. 

Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with almond paste

 The dates stuffed with almond paste was too sweet for my taste, despite the bacon helping to offset the sweetness.  The bacon was a little burnt on one side.

Salt Cod Fritters with aioli

 Unexpectedly pleasing.  I never knew what to expect with regards to salt cod.  The fritters were light and fluffy with a hint of fish flavor. This reminds me of Asian fish balls.

Radicchio Salad with green olive toast & manchego vinaigrette

I love the bitterness of the radicchio and the balance that you get from the cheese vinaigrette.  Less vinaigrette gives you a more bitter salad which I like.  Adding the vinaigrette tones down the bitterness for others.

 

Bacon wrapped chicken on bed of mixed beans.

I believe it was chicken paste within the bacon.  Most of the bacon grease helped to flavor the bed of mixed beans, which was half fried with a crispy texture.  The bacon roll itself was not very interesting though,  imo the texture was too smooth and needed something to breakup the texture.

Stir fried onions topped with mustard. Root vegetable sauteed in bacon bits

I am not a fan of onion,  but this was cooked through enough that I did like the flavors that the onion absorbed.  My favourite was the root vegetable.  I did not hear what it was although the waitress did tell us when she set it down.  Tasted like a parsnip consistency with a firmer bite to it, topped with bacon bits.

beef and peppers on baked polenta, topped with greens

By the time this dis can around,  we were not stuffed and could not eat much of it.  The green sauteed vegetable on top had a slight bitter texture and was a refreshing palate cleanser.

Roast beef on fingerling tomatoes topped with mustard

Thee roast beef was a generous portion and medium done. Tender and well seasoned.

My favourite was the salt cod fritters and the bacon topped root vegetable. Overall I loved the good food and friendly service,  the bartender was attentive eventhough she was very busy during the whole night.  Food was on the heavy side and included lots of bacon which was not what I am used to, so I did like the vegetable dishes more than some of the meat dishes.  Now that I have experienced it,  I will definitely choose smaller portions the next time around,  fewer plates, and maybe more wine to go with the food.  I would love to come back next time.  Thank you for  a wonerful dinner. 

Portland food carts

Portland is a city full of food carts. We were hungry and decided to try as many as we can. At Mississippi marketplace (4233 N Mississippi Avenue ) where a group of food carts make up an outdoor food court, it seems many locals come to enjoy the outdoors and the good food that is offered.


Garden State: Offering burgers and other fried foods we tried the fried baby squid and fish balls. The fish balls seems burnt, but the squid was just tender, although on the oily side.




Native Bowl : This is a vegan cart


Alberta Bowl : Grilled tofu, house-made fire breathing dragon sauce (with sesame and sriracha!),
jasmine rice, shredded cabbage, carrots and scallions.

I found the vegan food cart to be the best in the batch. Having a new twist on healthy food, it was both flavorful and refreshing.




Big top waffles offers breakfast choices.




The amazing fun guy waffle. The waffle was made from a cornmeal mixture. The heaping serving of mushrooms eggs and sausage was just what we needed to complete our meal.

I love the idea of an area for food carts to gather, although given the wet weather here in Vancouver, it would be hard to find a permanent place for these venders to setup through the winter.

Hana by hana sushi

2236 NE Alberta st, Portland, OR 97211. We came here today thanks to a good group coupon deal. We arrive here on a Friday night at 9:30 and the restaurant was about 1/4 full. The restaurant closes at 10.

We selected a seafood ramen, sashimi A combo and J special 1 and 2.

This is a Japanese restaurant opened by Koreans. Located on a street with an assortment of different restaurants, it seemwas not noticeable from the street.

Selection was clean, a large rolls selection and a short selection of sushi, sashimi and other small plates.

The ramen was a failure as it looked, and tasted like instant noodle. The small scallops and the 1 shrimp and mussel makes this an expensive an unappealing dish.

The sashimi set had a good presentation, but we realized the sushi rice was a little undercook and the sashimi was fresh, but lacking in flavor. It seemed the fish flavor was masked by a lemon scent.

The last item we ordered was the J special 1 and 2, which is grilled cod, and salmon with some spicy sauce and topped with a spicy fish paste. This was the most original of all the dishes and the combination of spicy and savory was balanced.

What I liked:

• Large restaurant, short menu.
• Beautiful presentation for the sashimi
• Nice decor, with a bar area and flat screen TV.
  

What I did not like:

• Instant noodle served as ramen.
• Sushi rice undercooked
• Sashimi was treated so there was no freshness to the fish.

As I am used to the high quality sushi of Vancouver, IMO I find that this restaurant, although may be well positioned to cater to a more westernized palette, is not up to our standards when comparing freshness and price, I would not want to come back to this restaurant given the many choices along the same street.