After coming from San Diego where the delicious food possibilities were endless, I was a bit nervous-—and naive—that Portland was going to disappoint. Fast forward to my first month here and I am completely shocked not only by the number of restaurants and bars to try here, but also their quality. I would like to share these gems with the rest of the world and for local visitors to experience, even if it means that I have to wait a little longer for a table on a Friday night.

Terlingua

If you are looking to warm up on a cold winter day—and Portland has no shortage of those—with a belly full of barbecue and Latin America fare, look no further than Terlingua. So far I’ve tried the “best marg we’ve had” with beef cheek tacos and cornbread with jalapeño butter for dinner. Bomb. And the pineapple-brisket sliders for lunch. Also bomb.

 

Word on the street is they’ll be moving to a bigger location this summer that’s equipped with an outdoor patio. Here’s to looking at you live music and corn hole.

Baharat

What surprisingly started as a food truck back in 2013, is now a popular brick and mortar restautant in the Mideast Bayside neighborhood. Baharat serves up a medley of mouth-watering Middle Eastern food, including our favorite lamb kebabs with a pomegranate molasses. A slew of intricate “must-try” cocktails graces the menu, making you question your ability to mix liquor just to have them all. We were in our dry January/30 day stint without drinking, so I did not partake in said drinks, but I am looking forward to doing os next time! My favorite dish was definitely the fried chick pea appetizer that I’m continuously trying to recreate at home.

CÔNG TỬ BỘT

Are you feeling bland? Or lacking a little flavor in your life? Well CÔNG TỬ BỘT will provide you with the goods and THEN SOME. This hip noodle shop delivers an array Vietnamese food with their Pho Ga—bold chicken-based pho—as the crown gem. Add a side of caramelized pork patties and finish the night with the Saigon style Kem flan that punches flavors of caramel and Vietnamese coffee.

I skipped the pho since I’m not a chicken lover and went for the HỦ TIẾU XÀO, which must by Vietnamese for “enjoy setting your mouth on fire.” Don’t get me wrong, I love spice and the suffering that comes with it. Eyelid sweating spice? Sign me up! This meal took that to another level. The dish consisted of fried rice noodles with broccoli rabe, lots of peanuts, and a never-ending amount of chilis all in a brownish sauce. While I enjoyed the noodles and the pork patties help cool it down some, I do not think I would have it again. Thankfully Jack ordered the Kem flan so I could cool my mouth off.

Eventide Oysters Co.

We fiiiinally managed to grab some oysters the other week at Eventide , which did not disappoint! My favorite part–aside from the fatty oysters themselves–was the horseradish ice. Yes, horseradish flavored ice??? It was interesting, but satisfied my horseradish needs nonetheless.

For the main courses, we chose the lobster roll, lobster curry stew, and a good ol’ fashion hamburger. The meal overall was very tasty and I was happy to finally try the seafood in Portland. I do think that the portions were tiny and left me wanting more. Like a lot more. As you can see from the haphazard photo I snapped, the lobster roll is tiny. The roll is what pigs in a blanket are to hot dogs–delicious, yet miniature versions of the real thing. I would go back though for a light dinner.

Lena’s

By day Lena’s is Portland Pottery Cafe, which I have also frequented in my short time here for both breakfast and lunch.

At night, it turns into Lena’s Italian comfort food. While I wouldn’t say the food is authentic Italian, you can get a fantastic cheese ravioli in a pink sauce (see above) along with homemade garlic knots, and many other quality dishes. They definitely put a lot of love and care into all of their food and most importantly, the people themselves are all wonderful.

Izakaya Minato

Continuing our tour of places in Portland with small plates, we headed to grab some Japanese food at Izakaya Minato. We had the daily sashimi (great), kalbi Korean short ribs (awesome), tsukune stuffed shiitake mushrooms with Japanese chicken sausage (not great) and miso soup.

The ribs were definitely my favorite part of the meal and I was honestly enjoying our date so much that even the not so winning dishes didn’t phase me too much. But my heart stopped at the dessert.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL. FINISH YOUR MEAL WITH THE BROWN BUTTER ICE CREAM.

You will not regret it!

Oxbow Brewing/Duckfat Frites shack

We stopped here for a quick beer and I grabbed a pork belly slider that was dripping heavenly juices all over my potato chips. I definitely want to come back here and venture to the actual Duck Fat restaurant as well.

I’ve also enjoyed meals here that I haven’t been able to *gasp* photograph. That’s right, your camera doesn’t always eat first, especially when you’re meeting new people and trying not to seem like a weirdo. Not everyone puts up with my not so sneaky picture snapping at meals like Jack does.

Other worthy stops in Portland so far without accompanying photos include:

–Hot Suppa for breakfast/brunch, but be prepared to WAIT. And I don’t mean like 20 minutes, I mean at least an hour.

–Bob’s Clam Hut for a quick and satisfying bowl of clam chowdah.

–The King’s Head if you’re looking for a fish and clam chowder and British fare.

-Forage for great coffee and fresh bagels. Make sure to ask them to toast it though!

That’s it for now! I’m sure I will continue eating my way around Portland in the coming months and have more places to share.