Neighborhood Gems
When I travel, I plan my meal itineraries like some people write a business plan, doing laborious research to seek out the best restaurants in every city. Sure, I like the ritzy glitzy ones as much as the next rather easily dazzled girl, but my first and foremost goal is to hit the neighborhood restaurants–spots that capture and characterize the feel and personality of a particular ‘hood. It gives me rare insight to dine at these local gems. In this same spirit, I attempted to pinpoint a dozen or so spots in Portland where you don’t just get a good meal, but a little inside peek at Stumptown’s people and culture. Bon appetit, you voyeur, and if you happen to see me, you can thank me for the tip by saying hello and buying me another glass of cava.
Caffe Mingo
This darling little Italian trattoria on NW 21st protects its patrons from the cold cruel outside world and the lurking crowds yearning to get in with flowing curtains that part to reveal a small, colorful dining room with a collection of rustic wood family-size tables and two-tops, delicious melon and prosciutto and caprese salads and heaping bowls of tantalizing pastas, a well-stocked Italian wine list, and service so gracious you’ll want to come back every night, which I suspect some neighborhood residents do. Since everyone and their little Italian grandmother loves a good Italian meal at Caffe Mingo, you might want to arrive early to claim your table in the compact dining room, or just do what the locals do and put your name in and go next door to jovial Bar Mingo for a glass of Verdicchio and perhaps a lamb meatball or two while you wait.
Country Cat
I don’t know what I found more compelling about my last meal at Country Cat Dinnerhouse in Montavilla—my Sweet Briar Farms Hog three ways (rolled belly, brined chop, and dark red perfectly seasoned shards of smoked shoulder on South Carolina Grits with sweet plump Brooks plums) or watching a particularly precocious 4-year-old try to unscrew her little sister’s head, in her own words, “like a ketchup cap.” Being a neighborhood restaurant and all, Country Cat makes a concerted effort to woo Montavilla inhabitants of all tastes and ages, with a comfortably sophisticated big person dinner menu, an unusually savvy children’s menu, and a killer brunch menu. On weeknights you can also get the daily dinner special–which might include a hearty burger, pork sandwich, wings or a fish fry along with a beer or jigger of Jack Daniel’s for a mere $10-$12.
- Location: 7937 SE Stark St. Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.408.1414
- Hours: Sun-Thu 9am-2pm and 5pm-9pm, Fri-Sat 9am-2pm and 5-10pm
Fats
Of all of Micah Camden’s restaurants, and he owns four within a one-block radius of NE 30th & Killingsworth, Fats is the one you’d hang out at every day after work if you lived in the neighborhood. Offering the three B’s–beer, burgers and brunch–Fats is also the place to go if you crave English pub food, and yes, there are people who crave English pub food. Bangers and mash, fish ‘n beer-battered chips, kedgeree, Welsh rarebit, you can have it all, and a Boddingtons or Fullers to wash it down with. The restaurant itself is as intimate as my favorite pub in Notting Hill–all wood, barstools, and wood tables filled with apple-cheeked merrymakers, most of them sadly devoid of a charming British accent to complete the scene.
Fenouil
Location, location, location–Fenouil’s got it in spades. Perched on the rim of the Pearl District’s popular Jamison Park, at the base of the posh Park Place Condominiums, this beautiful, glittering restaurant embodies this trendy neighborhood’s spirit with its dashing good looks, upscale French cuisine, crisply efficient service, and well-stocked wine list that would make even the boldest of expense accounts quiver. Relax in the bar with a before dinner martini or an after dinner glass of Fernet Branca and a trophy wife, er, Tarte au Citron or Beignets à la Pistache.
Firehouse
North Portland’s Firehouse Restaurant is so comfortable it feels almost like you’re eating at a good neighbor’s house–a neighbor who is a really great cook and has an enviable garden patio. Set inside the old Dekum Firehouse, the Firehouse coddles you with its warmly elegant interior, all gleaming wooden booths and rustic brick walls, its friendly service, a mellow atmosphere that makes it perfect for a quiet midweek meal or a lazy Sunday happy hour, and food that’s homey but that you wouldn’t necessarily make at home (unless you have a wood-fired oven for roasting rotisserie chickens and making Neoplitan-style thin crust pizzas)–so you can’t feel guilty for eating there five nights a week. The menu changes daily, according to what’s seasonal and the chef’s whim, and is filled with simple satisfying dishes like fried cauliflower with lemon creme fraiche, wood-fired iron skillet mussels, oak leaf lettuce with Humboldt Fog chevre and hazelnuts. grilled spare ribs with braised greens and grilled corn, and wood oven roasted line-caught rock fish with fennel and salmoriglio. The wine list is easy to afford, all bottles are under $40, and easy to love–it had me at “vinho verde.” Yes, the Firehouse is the kind of neighbor everyone wants to be friends with. Now, if only they had a pool.
Lincoln
If I did not possess the unquenchable compulsion to eat somewhere different nearly every night, and could have a favorite neighborhood restaurant, a right-down-the-street sanctuary of consistently good food and lovingly chosen wines and potent cocktails and really nice people and ambiance to spare, it just might be Lincoln. I would arrive at half past seven each night and my usual server, whom I would of course know by name, would greet me warmly and ask me if I wanted the usual, which would be the baked hens eggs with cream, olives, and herbed breadcrumbs, and the thyme flatbread with chicken and sage terrine, followed by the hangar steak with blue cheese butter and onion rings and a hot butterscotch sundae. I’d sit by the roll up doors and enjoy the warm breeze and sip a glass of Cremant, or maybe a Salty Dog if my day had been particularly trying, and then I’d order another butterscotch sundae. Yup, that’s just what I’d do.
- Location: 3808 N Williams Ave #127, Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.288.6200
- Hours: Tue-Sat 5:30pm-close
Park Kitchen
Because I put Park Kitchen in the Special and Splurgey section, I debated over whether to include it in the more casual Neighborhood Eats section, before realizing that’s one of PK’s unique appeals–it’s the perfect woman. I mean, restaurant. Let me explain using a celebrity gossip metaphor. When US Weekly alleged that supercute actor Bradley Cooper had chosen Renee Zellweger over Jennifer Aniston, a friend of Renee’s explained his choice by extolling Renee’s versatility: “She’ll show up wearing a sexy dress and Louboutins, but will still order a beer and rattle off the dirty jokes.” This is how I feel about Park Kitchen, it’s the sort of place that can show you a good time whether you’re in the mood for one of the city’s finest chef’s tasting menus or just want the $10 soup and salad Power Lunch special and a pint of Olympia.
- Location: 422 NW 8th Ave. Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.223.7275
- Hours: Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30am-2pm; Dinner Mon-Sat 5-9pm
Patanegra
A perfect fit for the bustling little neighborhood at NW Thurman and NW 24th, rustic and refined tapas bar Patanegra feels like a secret hideaway, the front door poked into a dark alcove and the front windows frosted into seclusion. Once you get past the inconspicuous facade, you’ll find a joyful Spanish-style hotspot with lots of warm wood, vibrant colors, and big paella pans that come in very handy if your date gets fresh. Join the multitudes of locals within in enjoying a bottle of refreshing Albariño or a bold Tempranillo to match the housemade chorizo, squid in saffron sauce, braised oxtail, serrano-wrapped dates, and of course, the rich and hearty house specialty–paella.
The Farm Café
I follow The Farm Cafe on Twitter, and when I read this tweet the other night “Special fancy salad tonight– an heirloom melon salad with ficoide glaciale, shaved Parmesan and house made crispy smoked salmon skin,” I was sure the entire neighborhood would be racing there after work. So I propped up my handy paper maiche self effigy in my desk chair at 4:52 pm and raced across town. Good thing too, this popular little cafe has a loyal following, and by the time I’d finished my baked Brie with roasted hazelnuts and a Ken’s baguette, and was admiring my incoming strawberry and arugula salad, the place was packed. A darling little converted Victorian just off East Burnside at SE 7th, The Farm offers straightforward regional pescatarian fare with an emphasis on farm-to-table cuisine, and nice wine and cocktail list, and one of the loveliest patios in town.
- Location: 10 SE 7th Ave. Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.736.3276
- Hours: Daily 5-11:30pm, Happy Hour Mon-Fri 5-6:30pm
Toro Bravo
If you have yet to fulfill that lifelong dream of running with the bulls of Pamplona but you have a low fear threshold and a lean pocketbook, just go to spirited little Toro Bravo on North Russell Street instead — it is as much zesty good fun as its “brave bull” moniker, and a lot less likely to gore you to death. The tapas menu can induce paralysis-by-indecision, because more than likely you’ll want to order each and every Spanish-inspired small plate on it–who can resist dishes like piping hot manchego and paprika fritters, boquerones on toast with piperade, savory Moroccan tuna with dried cherry couscous, tender braised lamb with apricots and coriander, oxtail croquettes dipped in spicy chili mayo, braised green beans tossed with jamon and tangy creme fraiche butter, and the impressive house Paella Toro that teems with chorizo, chicken, shrimp, clams and mussels? The drinks are excellent, as is the wine list, and if you are into people-watching, swarms of interesting Portland folks pack into this cozy neighborhood gem tighter than the safely-elevated onlookers lining the streets of Pamplona.
- Location: 120 NE Russell St. Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.281.4464
- Hours: Sun-Thu 5-10pm, Fri-Sat 5-11pm
