Su Casa-82nd south of Burnside
This is probably one of my favorite carts. I usually prefer an actual hole in the wall, but this place is on the level of any other, in addition to having the lowest prices, sopes for two dollars and tacos for a dollar. It goes to show that it can be done better for cheaper and that a majority of places lack in skill and effort; also that the handling of ingredients is more important than simply having “organic free range” meat; I really hate when food is poor and expensive with the justification that the ingredients are “green” and local organic. This place puts most others to shame.
Santo Domingo- 41st & Killingsworth
Nothing was bad but nothing was very distinct or outstanding. Being the Oaxacan nature of the place, I went straight for the mole and it just wasn’t there, the depth I mean. This is the same for everything I’ve had in a couple of visits. It really isn’t bad in any way, it is just lacking in punch.
Panaderia 5 de Mayo- Johnson Creek Blvd & 32nd st.
I like this place. I finally went into the little panaderia after having driven past a handful of times. I though it to be a tienda and nothing more but I finally saw a sign for food and had to try it. Upon entering I found it to be a bakery which was a pleasant surprise. They also didn’t speak any English which was also pleasing. I had a couple of sopes and I must say that the pastor marinade was pretty on, at least for around these parts, very much in the traditional style. The texture of course was not quite like the rotating DF style that I have become so fond of, but the flavor was quite nice. All elements were enjoyable, the masa, the salsa, the carne, decent sweet breads too; I intend to go back soon and frequently.
Kikos- 7578 SE 13th sellwood
Nothing really caught my attention. Kind of under spiced in general was my impression. Will try it again next time i'm in the hood.
La Calaca Comelona-23rd & Belmont
One of the candidates for a one star rating, within my listings anyway. Kind of expensive comparatively, especially with other Mexican food, but it is really quite proper, blending elements of a restaurant and a taqueria. It feels traditional enough, but is not offensive to the average gringo, a good place to take a date actually. Everything that I had was not only very good but also very traditional, the same or similar to dishes that I have had in travel. The totopos were served wet, which I had never had but they were tasty. The ceviche was my favorite that I have had around. The Zarape, an offshoot of the al hombres was the best around no doubt. I can’t remember the name of it right off the top of my head, but the pork prepared in banana leaf was quite good. For desert I had to do the al pastor challenge. Wow, I had forgotten about the other style of pastor, the light marinade with pineapple chunks in it; on my last trip I had a set of them that made me think twice about this preparation, magnificent. There are many around who attempt this with less success, I am sure you know what I mean.
El Gallo Taqueria- 48th & Woodstock
Certain elements of this place reminds me of my own efforts at preparing Mexican food, thick tortillas for instance, the tell that I don’t have years of masa handling experience, the marinades a little off, over or under spiced. I am not sure what to make of the Nevada tostada from their special list, it’s on fry bread rather than masa, so it is like an unsweetened elephant ear with basic ingredients on it, nothing really special about it and certainly not worth six bucks. The tacos are a little over priced too but are a better buy. The food really isn’t bad but is
La Jarochita- Downtown 5th and stark
I had high hopes for this place because of the name. Jarocho is a name for a person from Veracruz, where my family lives, and I even spoke with them and found that they were all from the state and one of them actually from the city Veracruz. The food wasn’t so great, in fact I tried two other carts on that block and both were better I think. The level of Mexican food down town is somewhat of a joke, and as a general rule gets better as you get further away from the city center.
Los Gorditos-49th & Division
I have never been to this place, the one on 49th or the new one on 12th which seems to be the same establishment, but my eyes in the field reliably tell me that it is not good. Furthermore it is a joke amongst Mexicans. Eff veggie Mexican food and eff hipsters.
Bella & Stella Cha Cha Cha- NE Broadway & 30ish
I don’t know, this type of place is becoming too common. Just kind of white. There I said it. And the worst part is that Mexicans are working these places, and making food to accommodate a bland palette. In many cases the workers could most likely cook better food, but are under restaurant recipes. In many instances, if the cooks were to prepare their own food, we would enjoy it more than we realize, and more than the food we order just because we don’t know any better, and are under the impression that something is our favorite dish, when in reality it is the only one we’ve had.
Taqueria Neza- 33rd & Hawthorne
Ok, nothing special. They have tacos al hambre though, I can never resist; it’s asada fried in bacon, which is always good, with a few other things. They have a “spinach burrito” on their menu, and the last time I was there this dumb hipster walked up and goes “uuuuhhhh, give me the ‘spanish’ burrito.” The lady had a thick accent and so I don’t think she realized, but the fact that they offer such a thing is kind of suspect because I lived there for six months and don’t remember having spinach really ever, at least not in any recognizable form. So they offer up this pseudo ethnic food for kids who are so culturally ignorant that they can’t even read a sign; either that or he just came from bishops and his bangs were obstructing his vision; you know what I am talking about, like the sheep dog on loony tunes who’s always beating up the coyote. Anyway, my point is that these places are limited by the people they are accommodating to.
So finally, La Calaca has a potential one star awarded, I just need to go and try a few more things on the menu. Also worth mentioning is Su Casa on 82nd, perhaps one of the best carts and best all around places. I also have high hopes for Panaderia 5 de Mayo even though I have only been there once. If you find yourself on Hawthorne grab some al ambres from Neza, and if on Woodstock, El Gallo is worth a pit stop, especially because there is little else in the area. Perhaps I should adopt a system for rating those that don’t earn a star. Until next time.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
A typical outing (downtown)
So today I attended a fitness class at PSU. While I do enjoy a good workout, this is fairly atypical compared to the normal regiment. I had a good time though, the best part I think was when we all put the equipment back in the equipment closet; a smile and a wave of nostalgia came over me, reminding me of school days. Oh yeah, and it was fun to hang with a bunch of college girls too.
Anyway, after the workout I found myself down town. Food of course presented itself directly after the class, and after a few moments thought, my mind became fixated on a couple of things. The first was the BBQ pork bahn mihn at Asia Express which is the best around with only a few more potential contenders left to try, and also La Jarochita, a Mexican spot where I had never eaten. Jarocho is a word referring to a Veracruzano, and as my family is from Cordoba, Veracruz, I have been curious for a minute. I had a few other ideas of things to try while in the area, though nothing decisive. I counted on stopping at another spot or two at least, as is my practice; in this fashion I can try more places in a single day.
First stop was La Jarochita. I try never to get my hopes up too much in anticipation of food in this town, as it is merely a set up for disappointment. I couldn't help but get a little exited though what with the name and all. In Veracruz, the Pastor is in the DF style and so I imagined something similar. I ordered three tacos and asked where they all were from, and then switched the conversation over to Spanish. They were all from the state and one of them from the port, Veracruz city, an actual Jarochita. My food came quicker than all the others and to this I attribute to the Cordoba connection, but the food that came was nothing special. The sauce (pasilla) was not quite on, and the whole taco was smothered in sour cream, which I have never really seen before; certainly not without asking. They also offered the option of corn or flour tortilla with all tacos which has never been the case in my experience. The next time I go to the port I will have to look into the local variations. The avocado salsa was actually quite tasty.
While I was waiting for the tacos I went about 5 carts south to Smokin' Pig. They offer only one thing, pulled pork. I like a simple menu as it tends to raise the quality of fewer preparations (In and Out). A decent sandwich, super lo-fi, just pork on a basic bun with a sauce of your choice. I picked the spicy cuz that is how I roll; it wasn't really spicy though; it wasn't as hot as a bucket of red ants like the sign said. Two sizes, regular and large, I narfed the hamburger sized regular in under two minutes flat, not a bad sandwich.
Turning the corner, from fifth street down to third, I noticed a sign for Taste of Poland. The promise of hand made sausage caught my eye, and the fact that a real Polish guy made all from scratch was more than enough reason to rock it. I had only eaten one taco, and as they didn't really do it for me, I decided to focus my efforts (stomach) on the new found infatuation. After glancing at the menu for too long, I asked the woman working what she recommended, and here began the most adorable and enjoyable interaction of the day. She was so nice and sincere, and also, had the perfect accent and limited vocabulary which made me feel like I was in a movie, like talking to a female and polish Roberto Benini. She first recommended the combo platter as it features a little bit of every thing. I decided that I couldn't handle quite so much as I had already eaten a bit, and also had not yet reached my sandwich destination. She recommended to me the "hunter sausage spicy" and her enthusiasm made me feel likewise. Very good sandwich actually. While I don't really know about polish food, I can sense cultural pride and sincerity, at least in regard to westerners. The sausage and all of the condiments were spot on, including the caramelised onions which are usually mishandled in my opinion. I will definitely go back to try more.
The hunter sausage was massive and so after feasting on about a third, I knew that it was time to hit up Asia Express. In previous random food cart bombing I tried the sandwich here and was blown away, in great part because such a generic name did not evoke any real expectations. Where most bahn mihn places use that reddish pre-cooked BBQ pork that you can buy at the store, this place has their own house cut and marinade, and out of the four carts reviewed for the day, this one is still the best. I intend to go back for several things including the Pho which was the recommendation of the main guy working. Excellent sandwich.
While the French/Vietnamese sandwich defends its title for the day, the hunter sausage sandwich is a close second; I consumed the whole thing right after the bahn mihn. The pulled pork finishes third, and the Mexican finishes last! This is embarrassing as I am always promoting Mexican food culture, and especially with a name like Jarochita. Today, the Americas got owned by Europe and Vietnam.
Later in the day I went to a friends house for some ribs. I had been invited the week before and was quite exited, as it was someone with good taste, the same person who took me to La Fuente (previously mentioned). Definitely one of the best sauces I have had, a great combination of vinegar, hot, and sweet. I will try to get a recipe though I don't believe that one exists, the intuitive nature is what I admire most in a recipe.
More soon...
Anyway, after the workout I found myself down town. Food of course presented itself directly after the class, and after a few moments thought, my mind became fixated on a couple of things. The first was the BBQ pork bahn mihn at Asia Express which is the best around with only a few more potential contenders left to try, and also La Jarochita, a Mexican spot where I had never eaten. Jarocho is a word referring to a Veracruzano, and as my family is from Cordoba, Veracruz, I have been curious for a minute. I had a few other ideas of things to try while in the area, though nothing decisive. I counted on stopping at another spot or two at least, as is my practice; in this fashion I can try more places in a single day.
First stop was La Jarochita. I try never to get my hopes up too much in anticipation of food in this town, as it is merely a set up for disappointment. I couldn't help but get a little exited though what with the name and all. In Veracruz, the Pastor is in the DF style and so I imagined something similar. I ordered three tacos and asked where they all were from, and then switched the conversation over to Spanish. They were all from the state and one of them from the port, Veracruz city, an actual Jarochita. My food came quicker than all the others and to this I attribute to the Cordoba connection, but the food that came was nothing special. The sauce (pasilla) was not quite on, and the whole taco was smothered in sour cream, which I have never really seen before; certainly not without asking. They also offered the option of corn or flour tortilla with all tacos which has never been the case in my experience. The next time I go to the port I will have to look into the local variations. The avocado salsa was actually quite tasty.
While I was waiting for the tacos I went about 5 carts south to Smokin' Pig. They offer only one thing, pulled pork. I like a simple menu as it tends to raise the quality of fewer preparations (In and Out). A decent sandwich, super lo-fi, just pork on a basic bun with a sauce of your choice. I picked the spicy cuz that is how I roll; it wasn't really spicy though; it wasn't as hot as a bucket of red ants like the sign said. Two sizes, regular and large, I narfed the hamburger sized regular in under two minutes flat, not a bad sandwich.
Turning the corner, from fifth street down to third, I noticed a sign for Taste of Poland. The promise of hand made sausage caught my eye, and the fact that a real Polish guy made all from scratch was more than enough reason to rock it. I had only eaten one taco, and as they didn't really do it for me, I decided to focus my efforts (stomach) on the new found infatuation. After glancing at the menu for too long, I asked the woman working what she recommended, and here began the most adorable and enjoyable interaction of the day. She was so nice and sincere, and also, had the perfect accent and limited vocabulary which made me feel like I was in a movie, like talking to a female and polish Roberto Benini. She first recommended the combo platter as it features a little bit of every thing. I decided that I couldn't handle quite so much as I had already eaten a bit, and also had not yet reached my sandwich destination. She recommended to me the "hunter sausage spicy" and her enthusiasm made me feel likewise. Very good sandwich actually. While I don't really know about polish food, I can sense cultural pride and sincerity, at least in regard to westerners. The sausage and all of the condiments were spot on, including the caramelised onions which are usually mishandled in my opinion. I will definitely go back to try more.
The hunter sausage was massive and so after feasting on about a third, I knew that it was time to hit up Asia Express. In previous random food cart bombing I tried the sandwich here and was blown away, in great part because such a generic name did not evoke any real expectations. Where most bahn mihn places use that reddish pre-cooked BBQ pork that you can buy at the store, this place has their own house cut and marinade, and out of the four carts reviewed for the day, this one is still the best. I intend to go back for several things including the Pho which was the recommendation of the main guy working. Excellent sandwich.
While the French/Vietnamese sandwich defends its title for the day, the hunter sausage sandwich is a close second; I consumed the whole thing right after the bahn mihn. The pulled pork finishes third, and the Mexican finishes last! This is embarrassing as I am always promoting Mexican food culture, and especially with a name like Jarochita. Today, the Americas got owned by Europe and Vietnam.
Later in the day I went to a friends house for some ribs. I had been invited the week before and was quite exited, as it was someone with good taste, the same person who took me to La Fuente (previously mentioned). Definitely one of the best sauces I have had, a great combination of vinegar, hot, and sweet. I will try to get a recipe though I don't believe that one exists, the intuitive nature is what I admire most in a recipe.
More soon...
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Mexican Food Listing 2
Once again we are on a three star rating system, in which even recommended spots need not receive one star.
*Very good
**Worth a detour
***Worth a trip
La Fuente
12198 SW Main St
Portland, Or 97223
This place is a favorite of a friend on the west side, and for good reason too. All that I had was quite good and on par with traditional parameters. The main guy was pushing the cabeza tacos on us, implying that they were the best, a good sign. I was unable to try them in this sitting as I had already had a full order of tacos in front of me. I plan to go back and give them a go as it is less common to find a place showcasing the more exotic meats such as this. In this town it is hard to find properly prepared pork butt or even prime cuts of beef, so to boast the other bits is quite the sign of confidence. I did enjoy the pastor very much. I have only been once but my friends assure me the consistency.
Tacos y Tortas Morelia
52nd and Foster (cart)
I am kind of a fan of this place ,and I can't really put my finger on it. I think it is because of the salsa selection, which far out does most other carts, I think they have like six or seven varieties on a good day. The folks here speak Spanish for the most part and to this I attribute the great fluctuation of food, both in recipe and quality. I mean that I am pretty white in the eyes of many Mexicans, and I may receive inconsistent service as mentioned in the "racist taco" article; they think perhaps that you wont know the difference. Over all I have enjoyed what they have prepared for me, though the burrito had a lot of cabbage in it which I personally don't care for much.
El Delfin
900 Grand blvd
Vancouver, Wa 98661
After trying a handful of things on the menu, I am not impressed, salt seems to be the culprit. The Ceviche de camarones, and several of the tacos all had a common flavor which I recognize as a more mineral rich and concentrated salt; I have never officially asked, and this is not confirmed. I have used salts that can overpower a dish in this same way, an intense over salting by concentration rather than volume; in some cases they are mined instead of being derived from salt water, more concentrated and mineral rich, gaining a pinkish hue. Out of the four things that i tried, all were over salted, this potent salt has less margin for error. I can appreciate the attempt of the use of and artisan product but in this case, "no cigar" is not close enough; this salt simply doesn't belong in everything.
La Bonita
2839 NE Alberta St
Portland, Or 97211
Same problem with the salt, though slightly less. It doesn't seem to be in everything, at least not too much. The asada was ok. Stronger salt should be used sparingly and in conjunction with a basic sea salt. In a recipe that calls for several teaspoons, a dash of richer salt is all that is needed, unless that is to be the featured palate; some salsas take well to this flavor, perhaps due to the other stronger flavors present. Not such a fan of this place. The girl working there made me forget my name she is so beautiful.
King Burrito
2924 N Lombard
Whats in a name? not much obviously because this place is alright! The carnitas were my favorite, though all that I had was good. The pastor was not quite the DF style but tasty, and all aspects of roasted meats were pretty proper; the salsa was solid as well. I would definitely recommend this place.
Angel Food y Fun con Comida Yucateca
5135 NE 60th Ave
Portland, Or 97218
Definetly one of the best named restaurants around, "Angel" offers a split venue, with a seperate cantina, so that the whole family can hang out, jovenes and gorceros alike (with alcohol). The family should be able to hang together in the cross generational type of way, though our laws would prohibit it in this country, except perhaps at Applebees. Anyway, the tacos panuchos here are the closest thing to a real street food that you can come by in this town, like a garnacha or a gorda of sorts. It is a tortilla base with beans and cheese deep fried together, then chicken and other ingredients applied after. I don't really like how they top this perfect base however; the shreaded chicken is fine, but then they stack pickled red onions, pickled jalapenos, and so much black pepper that you can't really taste anything else.? Without the latter three ingredients it would be pretty on point, and I suppose that you could alter it so. Also the caldo list is pretty decent in variety and extent; the few that I tried were tasty but kind of overpriced; if you are into scary bits of meat I would recommend the caldos highly. The salsa is decent as well, but has too much black pepper in it the same as the panucho. Perhaps the chef is a long term cigarette smoker, or maybe he just really enjoys black pepper for whatever reason. Overall this place is decent.
Loco Locos
SW 9th and Alder (food carts)
Pretty OK burrito I guess. The salsa is kind of a joke though, the hottest thing in it is black pepper. Rumor is that they have some real salsa picante that isn't offered and that you have to ask for, though I cant imagine it being much as the spot is downtown. In deep SE it would make sense to have real salsa behind the counter as some actual Mexicans may walk in, but down town? The folks are Spanish speaking though and it is very common to have things that are not listed on the menu so I will inquire on the next visit.
Cazador
82nd and ?
This place used to be on 49th and Powell if any recall. Nothing great but not bad at all. The torta has a thiner bread and lettuce, which somehow works to keep it crispy. The carnitas and asada are good, the pastor is good but not quite the right sauce; nothing more daring has ever paid off in my experience.
Taqueria Uruapan
5703 SE 82nd
Over the years I have stopped in to this place on several ocations. Great fluctuation has been the case over time, so it is hard to guarantee anything, but the asada has usually been quite good. The pastor is decent also but would be better if they cut it thiner off of the rotator and fried it then with more surface area. The meats tend to be jucier than crispier but work so. There is good salsa to be had.
Lupitas tacos
82nd in the parkinglot of "airgas" I think.
Here is a spot that is about as authentic and daring as it gets in this town in regards to street tacos. They have a single (proper) grill in which all the meats mix, from prime cuts to tripe. I would prefer that the tripe were cut up fine rather than being in big chunks for tacos, but it gives a great taste to the other meats and "soup" as it were. Try it all if you try anything, you already did anyway. The tamales are decent and the salsas are good as well. This place has not been set up since the cold hit however so watch for it in the spring.
Update: This stand has not been present since the cold weather began. Perhaps it will return in the spring.
To recap for the day, no stars have been awarded. The main points of interest for the day would be: The pastor and more at La Fuente (I have heard that the Cabeza is good too), the salsa selection at Morelia, the carnitas, roasts, and more at King Burrito, the taco panucho at "Angel..." or perhaps the beef caldo which has both the good and the ugly bits, or Lupitas for an adventure in tripe tacos! Back soon with more reviews and updates.
For ten of my go to places, please refer to the very first entry, "angry start"
*Very good
**Worth a detour
***Worth a trip
La Fuente
12198 SW Main St
Portland, Or 97223
This place is a favorite of a friend on the west side, and for good reason too. All that I had was quite good and on par with traditional parameters. The main guy was pushing the cabeza tacos on us, implying that they were the best, a good sign. I was unable to try them in this sitting as I had already had a full order of tacos in front of me. I plan to go back and give them a go as it is less common to find a place showcasing the more exotic meats such as this. In this town it is hard to find properly prepared pork butt or even prime cuts of beef, so to boast the other bits is quite the sign of confidence. I did enjoy the pastor very much. I have only been once but my friends assure me the consistency.
Tacos y Tortas Morelia
52nd and Foster (cart)
I am kind of a fan of this place ,and I can't really put my finger on it. I think it is because of the salsa selection, which far out does most other carts, I think they have like six or seven varieties on a good day. The folks here speak Spanish for the most part and to this I attribute the great fluctuation of food, both in recipe and quality. I mean that I am pretty white in the eyes of many Mexicans, and I may receive inconsistent service as mentioned in the "racist taco" article; they think perhaps that you wont know the difference. Over all I have enjoyed what they have prepared for me, though the burrito had a lot of cabbage in it which I personally don't care for much.
El Delfin
900 Grand blvd
Vancouver, Wa 98661
After trying a handful of things on the menu, I am not impressed, salt seems to be the culprit. The Ceviche de camarones, and several of the tacos all had a common flavor which I recognize as a more mineral rich and concentrated salt; I have never officially asked, and this is not confirmed. I have used salts that can overpower a dish in this same way, an intense over salting by concentration rather than volume; in some cases they are mined instead of being derived from salt water, more concentrated and mineral rich, gaining a pinkish hue. Out of the four things that i tried, all were over salted, this potent salt has less margin for error. I can appreciate the attempt of the use of and artisan product but in this case, "no cigar" is not close enough; this salt simply doesn't belong in everything.
La Bonita
2839 NE Alberta St
Portland, Or 97211
Same problem with the salt, though slightly less. It doesn't seem to be in everything, at least not too much. The asada was ok. Stronger salt should be used sparingly and in conjunction with a basic sea salt. In a recipe that calls for several teaspoons, a dash of richer salt is all that is needed, unless that is to be the featured palate; some salsas take well to this flavor, perhaps due to the other stronger flavors present. Not such a fan of this place. The girl working there made me forget my name she is so beautiful.
King Burrito
2924 N Lombard
Whats in a name? not much obviously because this place is alright! The carnitas were my favorite, though all that I had was good. The pastor was not quite the DF style but tasty, and all aspects of roasted meats were pretty proper; the salsa was solid as well. I would definitely recommend this place.
Angel Food y Fun con Comida Yucateca
5135 NE 60th Ave
Portland, Or 97218
Definetly one of the best named restaurants around, "Angel" offers a split venue, with a seperate cantina, so that the whole family can hang out, jovenes and gorceros alike (with alcohol). The family should be able to hang together in the cross generational type of way, though our laws would prohibit it in this country, except perhaps at Applebees. Anyway, the tacos panuchos here are the closest thing to a real street food that you can come by in this town, like a garnacha or a gorda of sorts. It is a tortilla base with beans and cheese deep fried together, then chicken and other ingredients applied after. I don't really like how they top this perfect base however; the shreaded chicken is fine, but then they stack pickled red onions, pickled jalapenos, and so much black pepper that you can't really taste anything else.? Without the latter three ingredients it would be pretty on point, and I suppose that you could alter it so. Also the caldo list is pretty decent in variety and extent; the few that I tried were tasty but kind of overpriced; if you are into scary bits of meat I would recommend the caldos highly. The salsa is decent as well, but has too much black pepper in it the same as the panucho. Perhaps the chef is a long term cigarette smoker, or maybe he just really enjoys black pepper for whatever reason. Overall this place is decent.
Loco Locos
SW 9th and Alder (food carts)
Pretty OK burrito I guess. The salsa is kind of a joke though, the hottest thing in it is black pepper. Rumor is that they have some real salsa picante that isn't offered and that you have to ask for, though I cant imagine it being much as the spot is downtown. In deep SE it would make sense to have real salsa behind the counter as some actual Mexicans may walk in, but down town? The folks are Spanish speaking though and it is very common to have things that are not listed on the menu so I will inquire on the next visit.
Cazador
82nd and ?
This place used to be on 49th and Powell if any recall. Nothing great but not bad at all. The torta has a thiner bread and lettuce, which somehow works to keep it crispy. The carnitas and asada are good, the pastor is good but not quite the right sauce; nothing more daring has ever paid off in my experience.
Taqueria Uruapan
5703 SE 82nd
Over the years I have stopped in to this place on several ocations. Great fluctuation has been the case over time, so it is hard to guarantee anything, but the asada has usually been quite good. The pastor is decent also but would be better if they cut it thiner off of the rotator and fried it then with more surface area. The meats tend to be jucier than crispier but work so. There is good salsa to be had.
Lupitas tacos
82nd in the parkinglot of "airgas" I think.
Here is a spot that is about as authentic and daring as it gets in this town in regards to street tacos. They have a single (proper) grill in which all the meats mix, from prime cuts to tripe. I would prefer that the tripe were cut up fine rather than being in big chunks for tacos, but it gives a great taste to the other meats and "soup" as it were. Try it all if you try anything, you already did anyway. The tamales are decent and the salsas are good as well. This place has not been set up since the cold hit however so watch for it in the spring.
Update: This stand has not been present since the cold weather began. Perhaps it will return in the spring.
To recap for the day, no stars have been awarded. The main points of interest for the day would be: The pastor and more at La Fuente (I have heard that the Cabeza is good too), the salsa selection at Morelia, the carnitas, roasts, and more at King Burrito, the taco panucho at "Angel..." or perhaps the beef caldo which has both the good and the ugly bits, or Lupitas for an adventure in tripe tacos! Back soon with more reviews and updates.
For ten of my go to places, please refer to the very first entry, "angry start"
Friday, November 6, 2009
Mexican food listing
Here are ten Mexican places in no particular order. Some are good and some are bad, others have one or two decent things on the menu.
It is difficult and pointless in most cases to give a place an overall rating, especially when we are talking about blue collar food like this. It bugs me to see food cart critics using a 1-5 star rating when in reality, none of the place in question deserve more than one star; the bell curve strikes again. The best may still not be good, and stars should not be handed out to the tallest midget by default.
For this rating I will simply recommend dishes at each location, and if anything is superb than it will be mentioned further. no stars will be given unless noted.
* very good
** worth a detour
*** worth a trip
Los Taquitos
5832 NE Glisan St
Portland, OR 97213
This place has been in the neighborhood for a few, and so I have been there more than I care to admit. While it isn't the greatest all around, it does offer a few things that i would recommend if you are passing by. The chorizo tacos are pretty good actually if you get them without the cheese; they put that yellow and white pre-grated stuff on everything, yuk! The azada is better than average, i would recommend the tacos or perhaps a guarache (a guarache is like a big streched out tostada). The basic salsas are good and the 'picante' bar is nice; the avocado/cilantro salsa makes up in flavor what it lacks in texture, just a little separated is all I am saying. Most other things on the menu are ok. The carnitas are passable and those who like the the super pineapple al pastor seem to dig this spot.
La Carreta
4534 SE McGloughlin Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
This is your stereotypical family Mexican restaurant which I really despise and many would criticize me for even mentioning this place in a critique. It is true to, this place is ridiculous, but after a few late nights there I realize that they do a few things well. The carne asada is pretty decent and so are the fajitas. The real thing to check out is the margarita. If there is a bartender named Pancho working, he will make you the best margarita using the same basic ingredients as anyone else; furthermore, he will have your drink on the table faster if he is the only one on staff in the bar, faster than if there were a waiter obstructing the process, thats how good this guy is. He is one of the best bartenders I have seen in all my adventures.
La Bamba
4908 SE Powell
Portland, Or 97206
This place is the same format as La Carreta but has no redeeming values. On the two ocations that I have been, the carne asada was burned beyond edibility, and they still had the nerve to come out and put it on the table! The waiter even came out to ask how the food was, you know how waiters do, and when I said that the food was burned, they told me that the money could not be refunded, but only credited toward something else. I just wanted to be out of there; I was already on my second margarita, which repeatedly arrived un-blended despite asking for it to be blended, and didn't feel like sticking around for two more. I asked for nothing in protest and left.
Torres de Morelos
31st and Powell
This place isn't anything special. they are open until 9 which is later than others around and that is the most redeeming quality. I taste too much cheap 'manteca'. The tacos are OK and the gordita is alright somehow. Still better than any actual fast food.
La Serenita
Every time that I have passed by this place or gone in for a bite, it is packed with people eating and waiting in line. The only explanation that I can think of for the popularity, is the fact that it is on Alberta and they are just cranking it out for the dumb hipsters. I have never had a good experience here or really enjoyed anything in particular, maybe after a few beers it would be better, like a bunch of dollar pabst tallboys, jerks. It is all just a soggy mess and the salsa isn't hot. Obviously set up for the cultural sophistication level of the last Thursday crowd; If this is Mexican food, then decorating your bike with Christmas lights is goddamn fine art!
Mumu's
612 NW 21st St
Portland, Or 97209
From 11pm until 2am, Mumu's has a pretty good late night pork taco. While this is not in any way a Mexican resturant, several of the cooks are, and I reckon that this is why the leg or shoulder or whatever, is so good. If they produced some salsa rather than giving you a bottle selection it would actually be a very good experience for this town.
Muchas Gracias (aka La Conga, aka ?)
Open 24hrs, these places are jumping up everywhere so keep current on the closest one to you. This place ain't nothing special at all, but when it comes to 4 in the morning, I could eat a rice and bean burrito sober, where I could not eat any fast food burger at that hour no matter how drunk, thats all. This shift from burgers to Mexican fast food seems to correlate with the rise in sales of salsa vs ketchup as a trend. For the dollar it is just a better meal.
Update/note: When they say "hot or mild salsa?", ask for extra' spicy salsa; rather than giving you only one or two containers, they will throw in six or seven without asking, and it is a hotter and superior salsa all around. It is common for taquerias to have a number of things unlisted, as if it was somehow implied and redundant to list such things.
Ma Tonas
5919 SE Foster Rd
Portland Or, 97206
It is common to see Salvadorian places advertising a mostly Mexican menu like this, as sadly, nobody would go to a Salvadorian restaurant. The pupusa at this place is delicious, one of the rare treats around. A pupusa is like a quesadilla or an non-fried gorda; the number of variations and names of these type street foods are endless. Nothing else is as good as the pupusa but everything is pretty decent, the asada, milanesa, the pollo con hongos was better than I expected, and I've had some pretty decent tacos as well. All portions are quite large.
Taqueria Quetzal
32nd and Hawthorne
The Quetzal taco is the closest thing to a taco "al hambre" around here, steak fried in bacon with a few onions and peppers topped with cheese. It's not bad except for the cheese, the pre-grated yellow and white strikes again. It is a nice change of pace at least from the standard limited selection of meats. The tamale is good too, a wet banana leaf variety. It's worth stopping here if you are in the hood, just to try something different.
Note: No longer at this location. Taqueria neza is now almost where this one briefly was; to be listed on Mexican listing 3.
El Brassero
12th and Hawthorne
Pretty standard. The location makes for lines of hipsters who know nothing of food and have no standards of food in general, and know even less when it comes to ethnic food and culture. The food seems rushed and without love. The tacos have never impressed me, lacking something in texture and body, they do make an OK burrito as it compensates for the form of the meat. The thing that is really good here though is the red salsa, similar to a salsa macha, my favorite!
NOTE: Ten of my 'go to' taquerias are listed in the very first entry!
So to recap for the day, no stars have been awarded. The best things of the places listed above would be the pupusa at Ma Tonas, the Margrarita and asada at La Carreta, the salsa at El Brassero, and at Los Taquitos the asada guarache or tacos, or the chorizo tacos (sin queso).
After I finished typing up these reviews, I went on line to find the addresses of each place and as I googled them the first things to pop up of course were restaurant reviews. As they are listed on the search, one can instantly see the star rating and the first couple sentences of various write ups, from blogs, to city search, or the Mercury for instance. When I looked up La Sirinita, and Torres de Morrelos (for instance; there were others), I was truly shocked and appaled. I mean that I expect these reviews to be poor, but it has somehow reached a whole different level of inadequacy.
Where these two taquerias are on the bottom of my list, they received an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars from individual reviews and local press, what lunacy! What a bunch of tools! On what possible rating system could either of these places receive four stars? Only on the scale of a yogurt! In no way, shape or form do they deserve such praise. If they carry four stars, than La Carreta would be a five star effing restaurant, and as I said it is just your typical family fiasco with the goofy music and mixed drinks that you could drown in, but it still has one or two points over these taqurias. The concept of a four or five star restaurant should be reserved for something special, or at very least something passable, this food is not even of the best in town, nor is it really desirable at all. Four out of ten stars would be getting closer to reality, and even that may be pushing it.
Apart from the absolute shash of the star rating, these dunces felt the need to write down their foolish thoughts about their experience, and sound even more culturally devoid in the process. The most common comment was that the price was really good and that you 'received a lot of food for your dollar.' First of all, this taqueria is the same freaking price as every other taqueria in town, so the thought of mentioning price as a factor is quite a meaningless one indeed; It may be cheaper than the rest of overpriced Alberta, but that is the nature of a taqueria and is hardly a food critique. The same goes for mentioning the volume of food; How could a food review be any less objective than this? Is this to be a weigh in then with no actual bout? Are we handing out stars based on volume and weight of food received? Should food critics go from restaurant to restaurant with a scale and make their determination by calculating the weight to dollar ratio? Or is this an art form? Is a boxing match determined by the weigh in or the outcome of the fight?
One of the worst reviews actually was about how you could get the 'veggie bowl' for only a few dollars 'and be full for days.' What kind of review is this? If you want cheap, you can make enough rice and beans to last for weeks for only a few dollars at home, so to say that rice is cheap is not much of an insight to anything at all, except perhaps their culinary impotence. Second of all, what the fuck is a veggie bowl?!?! How can you even use the words 'veggie bowl' and then 'Mexican food' in the same sentence? This kind of shit makes me so mad, and even more so when white folks give it praise under the mistaken impression that they are actually eating cuisine from another culture. They should just go to taco bell already and stop lowering the bar of food in this town with their hideous tastes, lack of insight, and nonsensical scribblings. I mean a veggie bowl? Can anyone else see how this has nothing to do whatsoever with Mexican food and that it simply should not bear such a name? This is worse than calling our pizza 'Italian' and has more to do with our juvenile health trends, which are ineffective, and consequently cryptonite to authentic Mexican cooking. We get the worst of both worlds as people continue to be overweight and food quality is compromised at the same time. The problems with our food production are not limited to meat, and the health issues that we face in this country run deeper than just eliminating it from ones diet. Our health trends are more of a marketing pitch aimed at over weight people, meant to sell them a product rather than to target weight loss. Diet cola is a good example of this; truly healthy people don't drink cola to begin with, but obese people are sold on it, believing that it will lessen their issue. So for goodness sake just eat some meat and forget about this veggie bowl, this vile creation that surely comes straight from Satan's kettle. Furthermore, getting this veggie bowl is like ordering a cheese burger in a Chinese restaurant, so please, don't be that asshole, and if everyone is eating them, then you are all assholes.
Many more Mexican food listings to come. [photos to come soon, camera is busted]
It is difficult and pointless in most cases to give a place an overall rating, especially when we are talking about blue collar food like this. It bugs me to see food cart critics using a 1-5 star rating when in reality, none of the place in question deserve more than one star; the bell curve strikes again. The best may still not be good, and stars should not be handed out to the tallest midget by default.
For this rating I will simply recommend dishes at each location, and if anything is superb than it will be mentioned further. no stars will be given unless noted.
* very good
** worth a detour
*** worth a trip
Los Taquitos
5832 NE Glisan St
Portland, OR 97213
This place has been in the neighborhood for a few, and so I have been there more than I care to admit. While it isn't the greatest all around, it does offer a few things that i would recommend if you are passing by. The chorizo tacos are pretty good actually if you get them without the cheese; they put that yellow and white pre-grated stuff on everything, yuk! The azada is better than average, i would recommend the tacos or perhaps a guarache (a guarache is like a big streched out tostada). The basic salsas are good and the 'picante' bar is nice; the avocado/cilantro salsa makes up in flavor what it lacks in texture, just a little separated is all I am saying. Most other things on the menu are ok. The carnitas are passable and those who like the the super pineapple al pastor seem to dig this spot.
La Carreta
4534 SE McGloughlin Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
This is your stereotypical family Mexican restaurant which I really despise and many would criticize me for even mentioning this place in a critique. It is true to, this place is ridiculous, but after a few late nights there I realize that they do a few things well. The carne asada is pretty decent and so are the fajitas. The real thing to check out is the margarita. If there is a bartender named Pancho working, he will make you the best margarita using the same basic ingredients as anyone else; furthermore, he will have your drink on the table faster if he is the only one on staff in the bar, faster than if there were a waiter obstructing the process, thats how good this guy is. He is one of the best bartenders I have seen in all my adventures.
La Bamba
4908 SE Powell
Portland, Or 97206
This place is the same format as La Carreta but has no redeeming values. On the two ocations that I have been, the carne asada was burned beyond edibility, and they still had the nerve to come out and put it on the table! The waiter even came out to ask how the food was, you know how waiters do, and when I said that the food was burned, they told me that the money could not be refunded, but only credited toward something else. I just wanted to be out of there; I was already on my second margarita, which repeatedly arrived un-blended despite asking for it to be blended, and didn't feel like sticking around for two more. I asked for nothing in protest and left.
Torres de Morelos
31st and Powell
This place isn't anything special. they are open until 9 which is later than others around and that is the most redeeming quality. I taste too much cheap 'manteca'. The tacos are OK and the gordita is alright somehow. Still better than any actual fast food.
La Serenita
Every time that I have passed by this place or gone in for a bite, it is packed with people eating and waiting in line. The only explanation that I can think of for the popularity, is the fact that it is on Alberta and they are just cranking it out for the dumb hipsters. I have never had a good experience here or really enjoyed anything in particular, maybe after a few beers it would be better, like a bunch of dollar pabst tallboys, jerks. It is all just a soggy mess and the salsa isn't hot. Obviously set up for the cultural sophistication level of the last Thursday crowd; If this is Mexican food, then decorating your bike with Christmas lights is goddamn fine art!
Mumu's
612 NW 21st St
Portland, Or 97209
From 11pm until 2am, Mumu's has a pretty good late night pork taco. While this is not in any way a Mexican resturant, several of the cooks are, and I reckon that this is why the leg or shoulder or whatever, is so good. If they produced some salsa rather than giving you a bottle selection it would actually be a very good experience for this town.
Muchas Gracias (aka La Conga, aka ?)
Open 24hrs, these places are jumping up everywhere so keep current on the closest one to you. This place ain't nothing special at all, but when it comes to 4 in the morning, I could eat a rice and bean burrito sober, where I could not eat any fast food burger at that hour no matter how drunk, thats all. This shift from burgers to Mexican fast food seems to correlate with the rise in sales of salsa vs ketchup as a trend. For the dollar it is just a better meal.
Update/note: When they say "hot or mild salsa?", ask for extra' spicy salsa; rather than giving you only one or two containers, they will throw in six or seven without asking, and it is a hotter and superior salsa all around. It is common for taquerias to have a number of things unlisted, as if it was somehow implied and redundant to list such things.
Ma Tonas
5919 SE Foster Rd
Portland Or, 97206
It is common to see Salvadorian places advertising a mostly Mexican menu like this, as sadly, nobody would go to a Salvadorian restaurant. The pupusa at this place is delicious, one of the rare treats around. A pupusa is like a quesadilla or an non-fried gorda; the number of variations and names of these type street foods are endless. Nothing else is as good as the pupusa but everything is pretty decent, the asada, milanesa, the pollo con hongos was better than I expected, and I've had some pretty decent tacos as well. All portions are quite large.
Taqueria Quetzal
32nd and Hawthorne
The Quetzal taco is the closest thing to a taco "al hambre" around here, steak fried in bacon with a few onions and peppers topped with cheese. It's not bad except for the cheese, the pre-grated yellow and white strikes again. It is a nice change of pace at least from the standard limited selection of meats. The tamale is good too, a wet banana leaf variety. It's worth stopping here if you are in the hood, just to try something different.
Note: No longer at this location. Taqueria neza is now almost where this one briefly was; to be listed on Mexican listing 3.
El Brassero
12th and Hawthorne
Pretty standard. The location makes for lines of hipsters who know nothing of food and have no standards of food in general, and know even less when it comes to ethnic food and culture. The food seems rushed and without love. The tacos have never impressed me, lacking something in texture and body, they do make an OK burrito as it compensates for the form of the meat. The thing that is really good here though is the red salsa, similar to a salsa macha, my favorite!
NOTE: Ten of my 'go to' taquerias are listed in the very first entry!
So to recap for the day, no stars have been awarded. The best things of the places listed above would be the pupusa at Ma Tonas, the Margrarita and asada at La Carreta, the salsa at El Brassero, and at Los Taquitos the asada guarache or tacos, or the chorizo tacos (sin queso).
After I finished typing up these reviews, I went on line to find the addresses of each place and as I googled them the first things to pop up of course were restaurant reviews. As they are listed on the search, one can instantly see the star rating and the first couple sentences of various write ups, from blogs, to city search, or the Mercury for instance. When I looked up La Sirinita, and Torres de Morrelos (for instance; there were others), I was truly shocked and appaled. I mean that I expect these reviews to be poor, but it has somehow reached a whole different level of inadequacy.
Where these two taquerias are on the bottom of my list, they received an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars from individual reviews and local press, what lunacy! What a bunch of tools! On what possible rating system could either of these places receive four stars? Only on the scale of a yogurt! In no way, shape or form do they deserve such praise. If they carry four stars, than La Carreta would be a five star effing restaurant, and as I said it is just your typical family fiasco with the goofy music and mixed drinks that you could drown in, but it still has one or two points over these taqurias. The concept of a four or five star restaurant should be reserved for something special, or at very least something passable, this food is not even of the best in town, nor is it really desirable at all. Four out of ten stars would be getting closer to reality, and even that may be pushing it.
Apart from the absolute shash of the star rating, these dunces felt the need to write down their foolish thoughts about their experience, and sound even more culturally devoid in the process. The most common comment was that the price was really good and that you 'received a lot of food for your dollar.' First of all, this taqueria is the same freaking price as every other taqueria in town, so the thought of mentioning price as a factor is quite a meaningless one indeed; It may be cheaper than the rest of overpriced Alberta, but that is the nature of a taqueria and is hardly a food critique. The same goes for mentioning the volume of food; How could a food review be any less objective than this? Is this to be a weigh in then with no actual bout? Are we handing out stars based on volume and weight of food received? Should food critics go from restaurant to restaurant with a scale and make their determination by calculating the weight to dollar ratio? Or is this an art form? Is a boxing match determined by the weigh in or the outcome of the fight?
One of the worst reviews actually was about how you could get the 'veggie bowl' for only a few dollars 'and be full for days.' What kind of review is this? If you want cheap, you can make enough rice and beans to last for weeks for only a few dollars at home, so to say that rice is cheap is not much of an insight to anything at all, except perhaps their culinary impotence. Second of all, what the fuck is a veggie bowl?!?! How can you even use the words 'veggie bowl' and then 'Mexican food' in the same sentence? This kind of shit makes me so mad, and even more so when white folks give it praise under the mistaken impression that they are actually eating cuisine from another culture. They should just go to taco bell already and stop lowering the bar of food in this town with their hideous tastes, lack of insight, and nonsensical scribblings. I mean a veggie bowl? Can anyone else see how this has nothing to do whatsoever with Mexican food and that it simply should not bear such a name? This is worse than calling our pizza 'Italian' and has more to do with our juvenile health trends, which are ineffective, and consequently cryptonite to authentic Mexican cooking. We get the worst of both worlds as people continue to be overweight and food quality is compromised at the same time. The problems with our food production are not limited to meat, and the health issues that we face in this country run deeper than just eliminating it from ones diet. Our health trends are more of a marketing pitch aimed at over weight people, meant to sell them a product rather than to target weight loss. Diet cola is a good example of this; truly healthy people don't drink cola to begin with, but obese people are sold on it, believing that it will lessen their issue. So for goodness sake just eat some meat and forget about this veggie bowl, this vile creation that surely comes straight from Satan's kettle. Furthermore, getting this veggie bowl is like ordering a cheese burger in a Chinese restaurant, so please, don't be that asshole, and if everyone is eating them, then you are all assholes.
Many more Mexican food listings to come. [photos to come soon, camera is busted]
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The only good Nazi is a food Nazi!
Still one of the best sandwiches in town, the Reuben at Kenny & Zuke's is head and shoulders above the competition. The house smoked hand cut pastrami is the only one of its kind around, the kraut on the sandwich and the pickle on the side are house made as well, nice! In fact, I didn't even like a Reuben or pastrami at all until I had this particular dance, so give it a try even if you hate pastrami! The pastrami burger and several of their other pastrami enriched dishes are worth a go as well.
In Reuben remembrance,
Kens place use to be on Hawthorne just below 20th street. They maintained a regular menu for the week which was quite nice all around, and in addition, Tuesdays night featured the L.O.W.(laid off worker) BBQ, which was delicious, and Sunday featured the brunch menu of 'Kenny & Zuke's', which was the foundation for the current restaurant and menu. While at the previous location, Ken himself was present, especially on Sundays for the purpose of personally overseeing every sandwich that went out to a table. With seating for only 35 people or so, and because it was only once a week, Ken would almost assuredly make your sandwich, this was a glorious age. He would take the time and concern himself personally with making each Reuben properly; you could feel the love. He would personally come to your table and ask how the food was. You could also sense his frustration when there was a line, the feeling of being rushed but unwilling to rush the food. We would watch him get flustered at times like this and many others. With kens touch and his unwillingness to compromise, I cant help but think that the sandwich was a little better before, not to mention a few dollars cheaper and slightly larger me thinks. Despite all, it is still the best Reuben around, and one of the best sandwiches in town.
The menu also had written on it, "No cell phones or crying babies" which people would frequently ignore, and Ken himself would enforce personally. He would get all riled and stare people down before going over to their table an firing off a few comments. As the people were unaware of the rules in the first place, I don't believe that they always understood what had just happened; the waiter would usually fill them in. We would always get a kick out of watching the events play by play. We began to jokingly compare him to the "soup Nazi" in Seinfeld, though he never took it quite so far. He had his moments though, enough to make me turn off my phone for the duration of a Reuben. Alterations were another red zone; on one occation my friend asked for a "veggie Reuben" on the way out and the waitress said she would see what kind of a mood he was in. All of this tension just added to the sandwich, and I enjoyed the atmosphere of a smaller space.
PS I apologize for using the word "Nazi" in reference to a person of Jewish heritage, but the word "fascist" doesn't make nearly as good of a head line.
(photo to come, still without camera)
In Reuben remembrance,
Kens place use to be on Hawthorne just below 20th street. They maintained a regular menu for the week which was quite nice all around, and in addition, Tuesdays night featured the L.O.W.(laid off worker) BBQ, which was delicious, and Sunday featured the brunch menu of 'Kenny & Zuke's', which was the foundation for the current restaurant and menu. While at the previous location, Ken himself was present, especially on Sundays for the purpose of personally overseeing every sandwich that went out to a table. With seating for only 35 people or so, and because it was only once a week, Ken would almost assuredly make your sandwich, this was a glorious age. He would take the time and concern himself personally with making each Reuben properly; you could feel the love. He would personally come to your table and ask how the food was. You could also sense his frustration when there was a line, the feeling of being rushed but unwilling to rush the food. We would watch him get flustered at times like this and many others. With kens touch and his unwillingness to compromise, I cant help but think that the sandwich was a little better before, not to mention a few dollars cheaper and slightly larger me thinks. Despite all, it is still the best Reuben around, and one of the best sandwiches in town.
The menu also had written on it, "No cell phones or crying babies" which people would frequently ignore, and Ken himself would enforce personally. He would get all riled and stare people down before going over to their table an firing off a few comments. As the people were unaware of the rules in the first place, I don't believe that they always understood what had just happened; the waiter would usually fill them in. We would always get a kick out of watching the events play by play. We began to jokingly compare him to the "soup Nazi" in Seinfeld, though he never took it quite so far. He had his moments though, enough to make me turn off my phone for the duration of a Reuben. Alterations were another red zone; on one occation my friend asked for a "veggie Reuben" on the way out and the waitress said she would see what kind of a mood he was in. All of this tension just added to the sandwich, and I enjoyed the atmosphere of a smaller space.
PS I apologize for using the word "Nazi" in reference to a person of Jewish heritage, but the word "fascist" doesn't make nearly as good of a head line.
(photo to come, still without camera)
Meatball Sandwich
After being such an advocate of traditional food, and talking a lot of trash in the process, I have to take a minute to talk about the meatball sandwich. I am not even trying to say that it is Italian food, but it can be a tasty meal, and at any given sandwich shop it is usually the most interesting thing on the menu, being the only thing hand crafted in house. Pizza places are the same way, making little on site apart from the dough and maybe some bread sticks, so if they have their own meatball I say that it is worth a gamble.
I would recommend these places:
Brick House
6744 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213
This meat ball is made with sausage and that makes it proper, it has a nice balance of herbs, not over powered by any single one. Served on a baguette, it is a thicker more abrasive sandwich accompanied by a nice red sauce and a blend of cheeses rather than just one. They have a nice wood stove to crisp the sandwich just right. The sausages sandwich that I had was good too, it was the Italian sausage as they were out of their normal link. The family run environment is great and the lady who works there makes you feel right at home.
Muddy Rudder
8195 SE 7th Ave
Portland, OR 97202
This was the sandwich that first set me on this kick a few months ago. Listening to my friends father play music one night, he told me to try the meatball sandwich in between songs; he said it was the best. ( In the past he has also expressed that there is no Italian food in Portland, but still I should try this meatball) I am always one to take a food challenge and so I hollered at the waiter immediately (who is my friends friend, man what a small town!) and the sandwich came out right away. This meatball is of the fennel variety, do you know the one I am referring to? Many spices but with a spike of fennel. Mm mm. Served on baguette with provolone and well toasted, it seems they have a proper oven too.
Update: I was recently passing by and had to scratch the itch, but it was not the beautifull sandwich I remember. I hope it was a fluke and not a new direction.
Hop Works
2944 SE Powell Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
This is one of the decent breweries in the city. The beer is good and the burger better still. The last time I was there I noticed a meat ball sandwich on special. With my current momentum it seemed only right to roll with it, and man was it the right thing to do. Served on a hogie rather than baguette; the roasted red pepper sauce was sweet and delicious, it dissolved the bread nicely as I devoured it. The meat ball was well formed with a balance of herbs and topped with provolone. This sandwich was very nice but sadly it was only on special.
Update: Eugenios on SE Division has a good meat ball and sandwich, though I would prefer the bread to be either more toasetd or soggier alike. Quite nice regardless.
Others reviewed (inferior)
-East Side Subs
-Geraldi's (downtown)
-Mac's deli
Not so long ago, the meatball didn't interest me much at all. In the midst of playing around with some red sauce however I began to review a few cookbooks and some on line recipes of the (stereo)typical meatball Parmesan; this is more or less what any place will offer in town, The recipe is pretty straight forward, a simple matter of adding ingredients to your taste, and then cooking them twice. Frying, then baking/(and) or cooking in your favorite preprepared sauce. I like to fry them in a good amount of choice olive oil with a few strips of good bacon and a few sausages to be put in the sauce. The sauce of course needs a bit of carrot or something sweet, and I personally like a decent amount of fresh thyme. In the meat ball I like a lot of fresh rosemary (don't worry it will cook off) or perhaps a spike of oregano, and don't forge real reggiano. There are so many other kinds of meat balls also that I recommend you get a book like The Silver Spoon and try out others.
In preparing and serving food to friends here in town I realize that a certain amount of people are traumatized by meat loaf, to the point that in their mind, meatballs are similar enough not be desirable. If you spend some time on this recipe and sauce, you should be able to change such a persons mind. The limitation of the restaurant meatball is cost. It is easy to come up with a great home recipe but the high price of cheeses, meats, and fresh herbs are not practical for a business. So give it a go sometime, get all your favorite ingredients and add everything to your own taste, you might impress yourself.
[photos to come-camera is busted]
I would recommend these places:
Brick House
6744 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213
This meat ball is made with sausage and that makes it proper, it has a nice balance of herbs, not over powered by any single one. Served on a baguette, it is a thicker more abrasive sandwich accompanied by a nice red sauce and a blend of cheeses rather than just one. They have a nice wood stove to crisp the sandwich just right. The sausages sandwich that I had was good too, it was the Italian sausage as they were out of their normal link. The family run environment is great and the lady who works there makes you feel right at home.
Muddy Rudder
8195 SE 7th Ave
Portland, OR 97202
This was the sandwich that first set me on this kick a few months ago. Listening to my friends father play music one night, he told me to try the meatball sandwich in between songs; he said it was the best. ( In the past he has also expressed that there is no Italian food in Portland, but still I should try this meatball) I am always one to take a food challenge and so I hollered at the waiter immediately (who is my friends friend, man what a small town!) and the sandwich came out right away. This meatball is of the fennel variety, do you know the one I am referring to? Many spices but with a spike of fennel. Mm mm. Served on baguette with provolone and well toasted, it seems they have a proper oven too.
Update: I was recently passing by and had to scratch the itch, but it was not the beautifull sandwich I remember. I hope it was a fluke and not a new direction.
Hop Works
2944 SE Powell Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
This is one of the decent breweries in the city. The beer is good and the burger better still. The last time I was there I noticed a meat ball sandwich on special. With my current momentum it seemed only right to roll with it, and man was it the right thing to do. Served on a hogie rather than baguette; the roasted red pepper sauce was sweet and delicious, it dissolved the bread nicely as I devoured it. The meat ball was well formed with a balance of herbs and topped with provolone. This sandwich was very nice but sadly it was only on special.
Update: Eugenios on SE Division has a good meat ball and sandwich, though I would prefer the bread to be either more toasetd or soggier alike. Quite nice regardless.
Others reviewed (inferior)
-East Side Subs
-Geraldi's (downtown)
-Mac's deli
Not so long ago, the meatball didn't interest me much at all. In the midst of playing around with some red sauce however I began to review a few cookbooks and some on line recipes of the (stereo)typical meatball Parmesan; this is more or less what any place will offer in town, The recipe is pretty straight forward, a simple matter of adding ingredients to your taste, and then cooking them twice. Frying, then baking/(and) or cooking in your favorite preprepared sauce. I like to fry them in a good amount of choice olive oil with a few strips of good bacon and a few sausages to be put in the sauce. The sauce of course needs a bit of carrot or something sweet, and I personally like a decent amount of fresh thyme. In the meat ball I like a lot of fresh rosemary (don't worry it will cook off) or perhaps a spike of oregano, and don't forge real reggiano. There are so many other kinds of meat balls also that I recommend you get a book like The Silver Spoon and try out others.
In preparing and serving food to friends here in town I realize that a certain amount of people are traumatized by meat loaf, to the point that in their mind, meatballs are similar enough not be desirable. If you spend some time on this recipe and sauce, you should be able to change such a persons mind. The limitation of the restaurant meatball is cost. It is easy to come up with a great home recipe but the high price of cheeses, meats, and fresh herbs are not practical for a business. So give it a go sometime, get all your favorite ingredients and add everything to your own taste, you might impress yourself.
[photos to come-camera is busted]
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Honest Burger
Here are some burger spots which are pretty good, they are of the fast food variety rather than the more uptown yuppie burger which is more common these days. The difference is yellow "cheese" rather than Gruyère, ice berg instead of butter lettuce, yellow mustard not Dijon, and a basic bun not a roll, just a straight forward burger. Make no mistake, I do enjoy a fancy 1/2 pounder with some specialty beef that has a name topped with some house pancetta (which also has a name), I simply like both types for different reasons and acknowledge that each has something to offer.
Cristopher's Gourmet Grill
3962 NE Mlk Jr Blvd.
Portland, OR 97211
I love the double burger here, steak fries are excellent too, one of the few occasions where the two are together. Soul food menu.
Stop & Go Burgers
4549 NE Cully Blvd.
Portland, OR
Very good burger, extra wide and delicious. They also offer shakes, several dogs, and seafood selections; i cant tell if they are going for a diner theme or Hawaiian twist or both.
Giant Drive In
15840 Boones Ferry Rd.
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
Just what a burger should be, lots of variations; kind of far for us Portland folks though.
Roses Ice Cream
5011 NE 42nd
Portland, Or 97218
Wow! This double burger is in the zone!The fries are solid too. Save some room for home made ice cream and shakes if that is your thing.
Igloo Resturant
3128 E Evergreen blvd
Vancuver, Wa 98661
Proper. Fairly extensive menu. I look forward to trying the fish & chips, milk shakes, and chowder. The reuben sandwich is unlikely for a place like this and makes me wonder.
These are some other spots that are pretty good too.
NW burger
101 NW 2nd Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Good burger. The fries and service suck!
Hollywood Burger Bar
4211 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213
Nice Betty Boop decor. These patties are on the larger side so bring an appetite if you go for the double!
Georges Giant Hamburgers
11640 SW Pacific Hwy
Tigard, OR 97223
A do it your self bar so you better know how you like it!
Mikes Drive In
1707 SE Tenino St
Portland, OR 97202
Pretty good burger. Huge menu with lots to try.
The Observatory
8115 SE Stark St.
Portland, OR 97215
Barely qualifying for the "honest"category, this is a strange place to find a straight forward "Burger Burger". The the option of bleu cheese violates the line of the blue collar burger, but its other characteristics are enough to list it with these others; good fries too.
The issue of fries is a horse of a different color; the best fries seem to pop up in the most random places, and not always with the best burger. We will return to comment on fries, in addition to more elaborate burgers. [Photos to come]
What we lack here in Portland is a good fast food burger such as the infamous In & Out to set the standard. While visiting family in California I am always impressed with their ability as a chain to make a better burger than most individually run restaurants and bars here. There are other better burgers of course, but no major chains that come close; compare it to Burgerville, yuck! A good honest burger done right with fresh ingredients can give a more elaborate creation a run for its money any day. These are some of my favorites.
Cristopher's Gourmet Grill
3962 NE Mlk Jr Blvd.
Portland, OR 97211
I love the double burger here, steak fries are excellent too, one of the few occasions where the two are together. Soul food menu.
Stop & Go Burgers
4549 NE Cully Blvd.
Portland, OR
Very good burger, extra wide and delicious. They also offer shakes, several dogs, and seafood selections; i cant tell if they are going for a diner theme or Hawaiian twist or both.
Giant Drive In
15840 Boones Ferry Rd.
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
Just what a burger should be, lots of variations; kind of far for us Portland folks though.
Roses Ice Cream
5011 NE 42nd
Portland, Or 97218
Wow! This double burger is in the zone!The fries are solid too. Save some room for home made ice cream and shakes if that is your thing.
Igloo Resturant
3128 E Evergreen blvd
Vancuver, Wa 98661
Proper. Fairly extensive menu. I look forward to trying the fish & chips, milk shakes, and chowder. The reuben sandwich is unlikely for a place like this and makes me wonder.
These are some other spots that are pretty good too.
NW burger
101 NW 2nd Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Good burger. The fries and service suck!
Hollywood Burger Bar
4211 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213
Nice Betty Boop decor. These patties are on the larger side so bring an appetite if you go for the double!
Georges Giant Hamburgers
11640 SW Pacific Hwy
Tigard, OR 97223
A do it your self bar so you better know how you like it!
Mikes Drive In
1707 SE Tenino St
Portland, OR 97202
Pretty good burger. Huge menu with lots to try.
The Observatory
8115 SE Stark St.
Portland, OR 97215
Barely qualifying for the "honest"category, this is a strange place to find a straight forward "Burger Burger". The the option of bleu cheese violates the line of the blue collar burger, but its other characteristics are enough to list it with these others; good fries too.
The issue of fries is a horse of a different color; the best fries seem to pop up in the most random places, and not always with the best burger. We will return to comment on fries, in addition to more elaborate burgers. [Photos to come]
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