The Heart of Portland

Since my current mode these days is manic, it wasn’t that unusual that on Wednesday at 12:07pm, the only thing I’d had to eat so far that day was an orange Luna bar. So I skipped down to a local food cart popular with me and my coworkers called “The Whole Bowl.” Which is the only thing they sell, that is, the Whole Bowl: a base of brown rice, followed by a generous slathering of Tali sauce (named for the proprietor and chef), then a mixture of red and black beans, a quarter of avocado, salsa, a dollop of sour cream, cheddar cheese (which I pass on), black olives and fresh cilantro. I will often add some sweet chili sauce from the condiments provided. This has become my new comfort food, especially at the day job. Simple yet flavorful with a good starch base and protein.

While waiting my turn, I heard passersby give a thorough and favorable critique of the Whole Bowl before discussing the merits of other food carts about town. The variety is astounding, and some of them are as established as housed restaurants. Everything from hot dogs to vegan soul food to Hawaiian bento to crêpes to some of the best Indian food in town, and each has a following.

And this is just the carts—then there are the restaurants, coffee shops, bars, bakeries and, yes, deli counters in stores. Every one distinct and expertly critiqued. And everybody I know has a strong like or dislike in every category.

Some of my favorites? For deli counters I like the Zupan’s in SE or the Nature’s on Division. For coffee, Stumptown is number one with me, followed closely by Common Grounds, the Pied Cow and Rimsky-Korsakoffee House in SE and Coffee Time in NW. I like hanging in bars even though they quickly get too smoky for me, like the Horse Brass or the Space Room. O’Brien’s in NW used to a favorite but I haven’t been in a while and the Low Brow is in a class by itself. If I want something smoke-free, quiet, with good coffee drinks, whiskey and wine, then there’s only the Sapphire Hotel for me (which is open ’til 1am, no less!).

Bakeries, it depends. For bread products (including Irish soda) and flakey pastries (like croissants or pistachio danish), I am a fan of the Pearl Bakery; for decadent cakes, coffee cakes and butter rich pastries, definitely JaCiva’s (pronounced Jack-Iva’s) and for the best damn donuts, the Helen Bernard Bakery.

Restaurants have many sub-catergories. For take out, Dingos, Thai-Thai or Mr. Moto. If it’s breakfast, the Cup and Saucer or the Cricket Cafe, though my all-time favorite and champion is the Byways Cafe, which has gone through three name changes but held on to the same staff. They respect my order for two blueberry pancakes (one less than a short stack order) and noticing what I usually did with the two easy-over eggs I ordered along with them, began to give me my pancakes side by side on large plate so I could more easily put one egg on top of each pancake. After I had poured on the syrup, of course—they offer either maple or blueberry kept perfectly warm.

For lunch there’s Jimmy Mack’s, the Daily Cafe, Good Dog/Bad Dog or the Bijou Cafe. Dinner is usually the hardest to decide. There’s Saburo’s for the best sushi, Sivalaya for excellent Thai, the India Oven for Indian, the Delta Cafe for U.S. Southern food, Pambiche and its downtown spin off Cañita (now gone) for amazing Cuban food, Jarra’s for Ethiopian and your basic McMenamins for the burger and fish and chips type stuff.

There are also the restaurants we can’t normally afford except for surprise bonuses, visiting relatives or special occasions: Jake’s (seafood), Il Piatto, the Saucebox (hipster pan-Asian) the Bombay Cricket Club (Indian) and Papa Haydn (basic American, with at least thirty selections for desert)

And the above isn’t even a fifth of the options.

I often explain this stellar selection of eateries—of which a dozen or so are in easy walking distance from my house—to out-of-town visitors as being part of the same reason as why we have we have so many movie theaters and bookstores, so much live theater, why 80 to 90% of the population has an active library card, and why many stores carry a superior selection of candles and bathing supplies:

The dark and wet winters.

When sunset is at 3:45, it’s raining 90% of the time and it’s cold with no promise of snow, it’s self defense. My theory was further vindicated when, on one of my father-in-law visits, he explained that even back in the ’60s Portland had a rep as a gourmet town. (Though Kip’s father hails from North Carolina, he has visited Portland on and off through the years in the business of being an aluminum engineer.)

But really, Kip and I don’t eat out all that much. Normally when we get together with friends for dinner, one or more of the participants is doing the cooking.

Going back to this past Wednesday, while waiting online at the Whole Bowl, I was looking forward to dinner and movies at Elaine and Mark’s, which was to feature a vegetarian lasagna, courtesy of Elaine.

Kip and I arrived early, so we all sipped martinis and chatted as Elaine prepared the lasagna, discussing odd martinis, the merits of cheap beer and Las Vegas. Dinner was wonderful and included zucchini sautéed in butter and sherry and a good salad. Our contribution was the apple cranberry pie I’d baked the night before and a videotape of Tampopo.