November 4, 2003
"Portland on a Plate"
Favorite Portland Restaurants
to try

October 21, 2003
"Where's The Beef?"
Dining in North Willamette Valley Wine Country

Portland on a Plate

Whether you live in Portland or simply visit from time to time, you can rest assured that dining will not be a horrifying experience. Portland is very fortunate to have one of the best restaurant scenes in the United States.

You can travel the cuisine without standing in those long lines at PDX. You can enjoy International delight without the need for a passport. Right alongside the world-class food are those wonderful world-class wines!

Restaurants in Portland are very savvy when it comes to wine. After all, they live in the shadow of one of the world's best wine growing regions. Oregon and Washington are on the map with wines that the rest of the wine buying public wants.

They are also savvy when it comes to the glassware they use. Many are now using Riedel or Spieglau. Others are using higher grade glasses from other manufacturers. Rarely will you see those clunky, way too small glasses that just don't do justice to the wines.

So, you may be asking, "Where should we dine?" Well, let's find out!

At right above, Serranno's wine selection is outstanding

Laslow's Northwest
2327 NW 23rd Avenue
Portland, OR
(503) 241-8092

One of my absolute favorites! Owned by Chef Eric Laslow and his wife Connie, this is one hot spot to check out. Eric gained local acclaim while he served as head chef at Eola Hills Winery. At that same time, Connie was honing her skills at Sokol Blosser Winery. There is something comforting in the fact that these two have spent time in the Oregon wine industry. You just know that when either of them recommend a particular wine to you, they know what they are talking about.

The restaurant originally opened on N.E. Broadway in Portland and moved to their current location a couple of years ago. The move was a good one, putting the Laslows in one of the highest traffic areas, restaurant wise, in Portland.

Menu choices at Laslow's Northwest change frequently to allow the use of the freshest local ingredients and to keep the menu shiny and new. One staple is always there, though, the Pumpkin Crab Cakes. Eric has perfected these babies and trust me, you simply MUST try them!

The wine selection at Laslow's is local, national and international.

Caprial's Bistro
7015 SE Milwaukie Avenue
Portland, OR
(503) 236-6457

John and Caprial Pence have a gem on their hands. Caprial has taken her cooking show/cookbook writing from the media to the storefront.

The Bistro is a friendly, warm, unpretentious place. A combination of wood chairs and upholstered banquettes. When you enter through the front door, you see an array of Caprial's cookbooks. Yes, you can take a look through them as you wait for your meal. Now take a look at the open kitchen. Ah! Fabulous! You can see the staff at work.

Your eyes then move to the back of the room where a wall of wine awaits. Caprial's has a fabulous wine policy. All wines are sold at retail cost plus a small corkage fee. This saves diners a lot of money. Many restaurants double or triple wine prices, so it is refreshing to see a restaurant mark the wines up 25-30%. This actually allows you to buy a wine to enjoy with dinner at about the same price you would pay the winery itself.

The menu is wonderful and changes seasonally. The ingredients are fresh, well thought out and delicious!

Tabla
200 NE 28th Avenue
Portland, OR
(503) 238-3777

This is a new find. Located in one of the new hotspots, it has taken off quicker than the SST!

Tabla serves small plates rather than the traditional meal. You can select one or two items….or keep going. It's all up to you.

On a recent visit, my birthday with my mother, I started with a glass of J. Christopher Sauvignon Blanc and a salad of mixed field greens with gorgonzola. Then I was on to a perfectly cooked salmon filet with pureed sun chokes. This was all topped off with a chocolate soufflé.

If you wanted to do all of the "courses" you would start with an appetizer, move on to a salad, then a bit of pasta, a small protein plate and dessert.

Tabla has a worthy wine list both by the bottle and the glass. Wines are local as well as international. Your selection will arrive in the new Riedel "restaurant line".

I recommend arriving fairly early if you want to get right in. Otherwise, you will be waiting in line for a table. I have been here twice and the place was packed by 7:00 PM both times. The atmosphere is also quite noisy, so this is not the place to be if you want a quiet dinner.

Serratto
2112 NW Kearney Street
Portland, OR
(503) 221-1195

I discovered this restaurant a year ago when one of the local wine distributors held a couple of events there. We had dinner, on both occasions, in a private dinning area. Both meals were stellar. Even if I did order the same entrée twice, hey it was great! I wanted to repeat the meal. This was my introduction to sun chokes (Jerusalem artichokes).

Serratto serves fine Italian food. You won't find plain old spaghetti or lasagna here. What you will find is fine Italian cuisine. On my last visit, yes this time I ordered something different, I enjoyed a seafood feast! It was my day after the birthday dinner, so I was hosted by my daughter and joined by two great friends.

We started the evening with fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes and basil and a glass of Prosecco (a Shirley Temple for my daughter). We moved on to a wonderful cheese plate followed by fabulous salads. Two of us decided on the special of the day. Prawns, scallops, salmon and clams served over angel hair pasta with a wonderful broth and chili flakes (if you do not like hot food, requests that they leave off the chili flakes.) For dessert….we split the Chocolate Frangelico Cake and the Gelato Panini.

The wine list is extensive. It is skewed to Italian wines, but they have a really nice selection of local wine as well. The glassware is generic, but very nice.

These are only four restaurants in a city dotted with the best of the best! I will be exploring more as time goes on and I will tell you about them in the future. There are also some stellar eateries outside of Portland and the wine country that we will feature as well.

Until then, I highly recommend these four stops. They are stellar!

Let's go eat!