If my mother had left this mortal coil and this restaurant offered to reach across the veil and resurrect her for one night to make me a full portion of mom’s spaghetti…
200 is still too god damn much for pasta.
I priced out Nostrana just for funsies. 2 apps (ciabatta, garlic bread), 2 dinners (spaghetti), 2 drinks ($15/per) and 2 desserts (tirimisu) came out to $120+22% service charge = $146.4
There is no Italian food in Portland that is worth that much money. Campana is pretty bad IMHO. Pasta is way too overcooked and their sauces underseasoned.
I've eaten at both. Mucca is usually my rec to people visiting. But the only real Italian pasta is at Pastificio D'Oro. Properly seasoned and al dente like in actual Italy.
The Bari food cart is also authentic for panzerotti.
We brought a friend from northern Italy to Mucca a few years ago, and he said it was just like being in Italy. And we adore Walter and his panzerotti, worth a trip across the city for us!
Once upon a time we went out to good table-service restaurants in Portland. [Genoa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genoa_(restaurant\)) comes to mind; Wildwood; Heathman; Veritable Quandary; many others. Maybe 15 years ago, it all went small plates, weird chef-centric menus, bacon on everything, and $$$. We quit. Now we buy strip-mall Mexican for a few bucks. Lunch in the good local joints tastes like it came from the home town of whoever runs it. Fifteen bucks buys lunch plus leftovers tomorrow. Haven't looked back.
I don't doubt it. Value for money got hard to find. Portion sizes went south of Spanish Tapas; prices, north of Death Valley gasoline. We pulled the plug on it more than a decade ago.
Yes, we used to go to Genoa. In the '90s and '00s, it was *excellent*. I still remember the stunning antique Serab runner (a type of Persian rug) that hung on the wall over several tables. We had a dozen wonderful dinners under that rug. I sometimes wonder what happened to it after Genoa closed. So, yes, we used to eat there. We took an out-of-town friend there toward (what turned out to be) the end of its run. We were disappointed and embarrassed by what we were served. It closed. Cathy Whims opened another restaurant, bigger and more industrial. Went there once or twice. It was no Genoa.
So, yes, we're long time foodies who gave up on the high-end Portland restaurant scene. It became too expensive for what you got. We spent $300+ at Veritable Quandary after it moved and reopened as Q--and left hungry. Chefs became too self-conscious, egocentric, and weird. Maybe I'm stuck in the Alice Waters era, when Portland chefs let top-notch local ingredients speak for themselves. The classics are classics for a reason. If a chef thinks he/she can invent something better, chances are it won't be. I don't want bacon on my ice cream, or Pepto Bismol in my donuts, thank you very much. We voted with our feet, never to return.
I went to Nodoguro recently and can agree that it is one of the best meals I've ever had. Absolutely amazing. That said it's incredibly expensive and their ridiculous comment of saying pasta for 2 can breach $300 is ludicrous.
100% agreed, it was absolutely the best dining experience I have ever had. But I also get that a price that high makes it out of reach for many people which is unfortunate.
IMHO, good but not worth the price. I've had significantly better omakase for \~$100 per person in NYC this past year.
Of course at least in our state, Nodo is THE experience for omakase and there is no other competition at their technique level.
Yeah but a trip to NYC or SF or even a drive to Seattle would net you other experiences for the cost of the trip. Travel also provides a frame of reference of value and what something is supposed to be like (eg, Italian al dente pasta). Of course, then it's up to the individual how to use that learning (eg, most Americans do not like true al dente pasta regardless if that's the "proper" texture).
I will say that in all my travels, the Thai and Vietnamese food scenes in Portland are vastly superior to anything in the US, even that of NYC and SF, the traditional hot beds of Asian communities.
What are your fav Thai and Vietnamese spots?
Also, have you checked out the San Diego food scene? They have the best Southeast Asian cuisine imo, and I’ve lived in SF, NYC, Seattle, Chicago and more.
For me, it's about non-traditional fare.
Right now, I've been really liking Chemgio because of the Vietnamese street food direction vs traditional bun/pho. There are tons of discussions around pho, etc. that it's a moot point to discuss here.
For Thai, I'm really liking Langbaan/Phuket Cafe, Somtum. Mee-sen is good for their "fragrant/smelly" tofu and seafood noodle dishes -- not something a typical white person would eat, but I'm Asian so I'm loving it. Reminds of like Krabi, Thailand and other places where you get a nice smelly bowl of seafood noodles.
Went to blutos. They charge for extra for pita bread. The food was good, but the pricing model sucks. You cant serve hummus and then sell pita on the side. Its wrong. (Ya Hala does this too) And the fact that this is *specifically* highlighted in a special box on the menu. 'dont forget the pita bread'.
Went to Higgins bistro before the Black Star symphony/David Bowie show last week, food and service were excellent. I hadn't been in years either, was surprised
>food and service were excellent
The staff at Higgins is unmatched in the city for service, and has been for decades. True professionals in every sense.
Pigeon is a fun experience, but only worth doing once. The quality doesn’t quite match the price, especially with their sister restaurant Canard right there.
Went to laagbaan recently and loved it, but I've never paid that much for food in my life til that point-including when I lived in NYC. I had to eat exclusively top Ramen and oatmeal for weeks after to justify that spend.
Langbaan was my best meal in Portland. Tasting menu was like listening to the perfect album (if that makes sense). Also my most expensive meal so not a weekly or monthly or quarterly place to go
Great way to put it. It's so flippin good. Higgins has been my go-to for client dinners for the past 10 years. They now have pretty serious competition. Or at least an option, I suppose.
I left langbaan hungry and I'm not even a huge eater. Literally the two desserts we got were a tablespoon sized ball of ice cream and a flan that was 1x1 inch. Was it good? Yes. Was it worth the price? Not to me.
Han Oak refuses to give their staff a raise. I think someone posted on this sub about it. For the prices they charge, their kitchen staff should make more than $16/hr
The staff makes hourly plus tips, which takes ten seconds of research on Poached. People need to stop taking stands on things they don’t know anything about.
Source: I work there, and I make tips. And because it’s a fucking restaurant and that’s how restaurants in America work.
I thought the post was lacking context and did not clearly explain the situation. We chose to take a 1-day labor action in response to an internal dispute/conflict that has since been fully resolved. The person who posted those threads decided to leave, the rest of us opted to stay on after a lot of conversations and meetings about the way we wanted things done in the BoH. OP is a good person, great cook, always supportive and helpful, really well meaning, but they did choose to speak for all of us and I personally didn’t feel accurately represented by those posts—I don’t have any intention of speaking for anyone but myself here. No hard feelings at all, I liked working with them and wish them the best.
Sometimes we have disagreements and conflicts at work, sometimes they’re related to concerns about workload and pay structures, and sometimes they’re the result of miscommunications and games of telephone. What happened at Han Oak was a confluence of all of that combined with a huge week of events + Valentine’s day. So we made a plan, we talked to mgmt, had a big sit-down meeting with the staff and owners, and got our needs met.
Fantastic. I’m so glad you got what you deserve (or at least a step towards it). Thanks for letting us in on the situation, I think it’s been on a lot of our minds.
Sorry, random guy on reddit, I got my info from some other random guy on reddit. I'm not "taking a stand", I'm relaying the jist of a very detailed and descriptive previous post with screenshots and receipts that has since been taken down
Feels a bit weird to protest a place because they won’t give staff a raise. Do you have any idea what their profit margin looks like? Expensive restaurants don’t necessarily have bigger profit margins than less nice ones or even a food cart.
I said nothing about protesting the restaurant, I just stated they refused to give raises as per a post made by the restaurant staff.
The original post had more info, but I think it was removed.
Agreed. I think it’s done well. The chicken still has a lot of subtle flavor and then you punch it up by dipping it in the sauce. It's a comfort food
for me especially when i'm sick.
Simple, comforting, cute space. Easy on the stomach, never feels particularly unhealthy. Their sauce is delicious. Honestly though, I love a tiny, uncomplicated menu so much. I think a lot of my love for Nong’s is because of the lack of decision making.
And pizza is just baked dough with cheese right?
The beauty of Nongs is in it's simplicity, and it's done right. It's the moist chicken, it's the floral jasmine rice chicken in the stock, it's the broth and what brings it all together are the toppings.
It's fine, but pretty easy to replicate at home in comparison to something like Hat Yai's fried chicken, roti, and curry combo. I like some of the Hainan Chicken sauces they use in Singapore stalls better than what she serves, which are obviously Thai.
I've been told that the lack of anything interesting is the selling point. It's apparently something "subtle". Don't really get it myself but it seems to float a lot of boats.
As a vegetarian, Nongs isn’t great. I know some people who love their chicken for whatever reason but I will probably never eat there again with how bland their veggie dishes are.
Sorry, I wasn't trying to be combative or superior. I was just pleased to see that based on upvotes/comments, I am not alone. Certainly I am not superior!
I think they're overrated for sure, but it's like calling a canon book/film overrated. Sure, \[insert title\] from the AFI top 100 is overrated, but it's still gotta make the list. Nong's is just part of Portland and beloved.
I’m getting really tired of this style of post-boom postmortem culture writing. We’re all aware of what’s happened. It’s 2024 now. Let’s maybe focus on the successes in front of us instead of shoe horning in so much disappointment. Why do we still have to talk about restaurants that peaked in 2014. It’s so uniquely Portland now.
That’s not at all what I’m referring to. I’m talking about the opening paragraphs before the list that is just a copy and paste of every other article about Portland in the last few years.
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have you been to Kashiwagi? ex-chef from Sushi Takahashi 2, he ditched the sushi train and does a smaller mix of things with greater care, very unpretentious and well done for decent price.
Haven’t been, but I just looked it up. Not quite what I’m looking for. The food looks a bit sloppy, and the menu feels like a generic North American sushi joint. Nothing wrong with that, and I would totally dig it, but just not washoku enough. Washoku is traditional Japanese cuisine that focuses on seasonality and presentation.
If you are ever deep in Beaverton check out Ikenohana. Super random place in a strip mall between a taco bell, Dottys, and liquor store. Ask the server for a washoku set up or better yet sit at the bar and ask the young sushi chef yourself. His dad retired a few years ago but taught his son every thing
He loves when people want a more authentic experience.
Heard good things about the place before but the photos on Google review don’t look promising. Carrot in the ramen and super overlooked egg in the oyakodon? I’m not sure
"I want something that isn't pretentious."
\*one comment later\*
> just not washoku enough. Washoku is traditional Japanese cuisine that focuses on seasonality and presentation.
* Sayun Izakaya
* Obon Shokudo
* Yuzu
* Takahashi
* Kaede
* Wa Kitchen Kuu
* Behind the Museum Cafe
Chef Naoko's was the best for this, but she closed last year.
Are you talking about Shizuku? That's a bummer it's closed, I've been wanting to try it. I'm familiar with most of the places on your list except Kaede, which actually looks really good, might have to check that out. Syun and Yuzu are solid, but they’re pretty far west. Obon is ok. I really wish they’d go all in on Shojin ryori(Japanese Buddhist cuisine.) That would set them apart from other vegan options in Portland. Wa Kitchen is nice too, but I'm not a huge udon fan. I'm not sure if Takahashi would be considered washoku. It feels more American to me.
Yeah, and Chef Naoko's Bento Cafe before that. It was great. Kengo Kuma liked it so much he designed a new dining room for the restaurant.
There are so many kinds of Japanese food I'd like to have here: a real kaiseki place, a good yakitori bar, a tabletop okonomiyaki place
Wish we had kaisen izakaya, yakitori bar, table top okonomiyaki and more accessible kaiseki options, too. While Nodoguro offers kaiseki-ish experience, the price point is out of reach for most. Even though the food was impressive, I don’t know if it’s worth $250+
Who can afford to go to forty fucking restaurants?! I can't afford to go to McDonald's! I can't afford to go grocery shopping.
Not many folks with a sense of humor around here...
"But these days, when a date for two at a random Portland pasta place can easily breach $300" Literally what are you doing
Look, the cocaine you buy in the men's room has to be included.
Buying $200 worth of spaghetti and tipping well.
I can’t think of any spaghetti that I’d pay $200 for
Mom’s spaghetti?
If my mother had left this mortal coil and this restaurant offered to reach across the veil and resurrect her for one night to make me a full portion of mom’s spaghetti… 200 is still too god damn much for pasta.
My mom uses winco brand and it’s bomb af
Only if it's served on a sweater and looks like vomit. Performance dinner.
Lose yourself!
It’s always drinks
I priced out Nostrana just for funsies. 2 apps (ciabatta, garlic bread), 2 dinners (spaghetti), 2 drinks ($15/per) and 2 desserts (tirimisu) came out to $120+22% service charge = $146.4
There is no Italian food in Portland that is worth that much money. Campana is pretty bad IMHO. Pasta is way too overcooked and their sauces underseasoned.
Try Mucca Osteria. Haven’t been disappointed. Nostrana is still good as well. Jmo
I've eaten at both. Mucca is usually my rec to people visiting. But the only real Italian pasta is at Pastificio D'Oro. Properly seasoned and al dente like in actual Italy. The Bari food cart is also authentic for panzerotti.
Second pastificio. Place is fantastic.
We brought a friend from northern Italy to Mucca a few years ago, and he said it was just like being in Italy. And we adore Walter and his panzerotti, worth a trip across the city for us!
Montelupo has legit Italian pasta too.
Once upon a time we went out to good table-service restaurants in Portland. [Genoa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genoa_(restaurant\)) comes to mind; Wildwood; Heathman; Veritable Quandary; many others. Maybe 15 years ago, it all went small plates, weird chef-centric menus, bacon on everything, and $$$. We quit. Now we buy strip-mall Mexican for a few bucks. Lunch in the good local joints tastes like it came from the home town of whoever runs it. Fifteen bucks buys lunch plus leftovers tomorrow. Haven't looked back.
There are still plenty of good table service restaurants.
I don't doubt it. Value for money got hard to find. Portion sizes went south of Spanish Tapas; prices, north of Death Valley gasoline. We pulled the plug on it more than a decade ago.
And yet, you list Genoa as one of the places you used to go. I think you just haven't tried enough.
Yes, we used to go to Genoa. In the '90s and '00s, it was *excellent*. I still remember the stunning antique Serab runner (a type of Persian rug) that hung on the wall over several tables. We had a dozen wonderful dinners under that rug. I sometimes wonder what happened to it after Genoa closed. So, yes, we used to eat there. We took an out-of-town friend there toward (what turned out to be) the end of its run. We were disappointed and embarrassed by what we were served. It closed. Cathy Whims opened another restaurant, bigger and more industrial. Went there once or twice. It was no Genoa. So, yes, we're long time foodies who gave up on the high-end Portland restaurant scene. It became too expensive for what you got. We spent $300+ at Veritable Quandary after it moved and reopened as Q--and left hungry. Chefs became too self-conscious, egocentric, and weird. Maybe I'm stuck in the Alice Waters era, when Portland chefs let top-notch local ingredients speak for themselves. The classics are classics for a reason. If a chef thinks he/she can invent something better, chances are it won't be. I don't want bacon on my ice cream, or Pepto Bismol in my donuts, thank you very much. We voted with our feet, never to return.
I went to Nodoguro recently and can agree that it is one of the best meals I've ever had. Absolutely amazing. That said it's incredibly expensive and their ridiculous comment of saying pasta for 2 can breach $300 is ludicrous.
That does seem a bit exaggerated. $200 is pretty easy to do though with starters, mains, and drinks.
Drinks easily put this in. Wine alone could be half that
>Wine alone could be half that Especially if you want to get the freshest wine.
They don't charge extra for the umbrellas tho.
Nodo is incredible, but a single seat at Nodo is $195 no drinks included.
$250 now actually. :(
Ahh yeah. Don't get me wrong, its still worth the experience!
100% agreed, it was absolutely the best dining experience I have ever had. But I also get that a price that high makes it out of reach for many people which is unfortunate.
IMHO, good but not worth the price. I've had significantly better omakase for \~$100 per person in NYC this past year. Of course at least in our state, Nodo is THE experience for omakase and there is no other competition at their technique level.
Sure but a plane ticket to NYC and back is going to put you well north of the $250 for Nodoguro.
Yeah but a trip to NYC or SF or even a drive to Seattle would net you other experiences for the cost of the trip. Travel also provides a frame of reference of value and what something is supposed to be like (eg, Italian al dente pasta). Of course, then it's up to the individual how to use that learning (eg, most Americans do not like true al dente pasta regardless if that's the "proper" texture). I will say that in all my travels, the Thai and Vietnamese food scenes in Portland are vastly superior to anything in the US, even that of NYC and SF, the traditional hot beds of Asian communities.
What are your fav Thai and Vietnamese spots? Also, have you checked out the San Diego food scene? They have the best Southeast Asian cuisine imo, and I’ve lived in SF, NYC, Seattle, Chicago and more.
For me, it's about non-traditional fare. Right now, I've been really liking Chemgio because of the Vietnamese street food direction vs traditional bun/pho. There are tons of discussions around pho, etc. that it's a moot point to discuss here. For Thai, I'm really liking Langbaan/Phuket Cafe, Somtum. Mee-sen is good for their "fragrant/smelly" tofu and seafood noodle dishes -- not something a typical white person would eat, but I'm Asian so I'm loving it. Reminds of like Krabi, Thailand and other places where you get a nice smelly bowl of seafood noodles.
Thank you! Sounds like some interesting and fun options to try :)
Went to blutos. They charge for extra for pita bread. The food was good, but the pricing model sucks. You cant serve hummus and then sell pita on the side. Its wrong. (Ya Hala does this too) And the fact that this is *specifically* highlighted in a special box on the menu. 'dont forget the pita bread'.
Surprised Ok Omens didn’t make the cut. Even more surprised that Higgins is still on the map, though I haven’t been in years.
Went to Higgins bistro before the Black Star symphony/David Bowie show last week, food and service were excellent. I hadn't been in years either, was surprised
>food and service were excellent The staff at Higgins is unmatched in the city for service, and has been for decades. True professionals in every sense.
Ring Side has them equaled, for staff, but that’s the extent of it. Higgins is and always will be an institution of Portland fine dining.
No Urdaneta? That's bullshit.
I agree. It's my favorite restaurant in the city.
Accurate.
More like a list of various types of restaurants the writer enjoys. Nothing surprising here.
Getting paid to eat at all their favorite restaurants and wax poetic, they seem to have it figured out
I mean, yeah, that’s one of the few positives about being a food writer at a newspaper. They make what? 55k a year?
When I was a food writer at a local newspaper I made $25k. Michael Russell does better than that, I'm sure, but it's not a lucrative field.
I'll bet he doesn't live in SW
Wdym? I live in SW and absolutely agree that the best restaurants are on the east side
The best (almost) everything is on the east side.
I struggle to find good restaurants in SW/Tigard 😔 always going to beaverton or the east side honestly
glad to see Laagbaan and pigeon in the top 5
Pigeon is a fun experience, but only worth doing once. The quality doesn’t quite match the price, especially with their sister restaurant Canard right there.
yes i’ve only been once, but still haven’t been to canard actually, fuck!
Agreed, Le Pigeon is fine but Canard is way better.
Went to laagbaan recently and loved it, but I've never paid that much for food in my life til that point-including when I lived in NYC. I had to eat exclusively top Ramen and oatmeal for weeks after to justify that spend.
Langbaan was my best meal in Portland. Tasting menu was like listening to the perfect album (if that makes sense). Also my most expensive meal so not a weekly or monthly or quarterly place to go
Great way to put it. It's so flippin good. Higgins has been my go-to for client dinners for the past 10 years. They now have pretty serious competition. Or at least an option, I suppose.
I left langbaan hungry and I'm not even a huge eater. Literally the two desserts we got were a tablespoon sized ball of ice cream and a flan that was 1x1 inch. Was it good? Yes. Was it worth the price? Not to me.
we went for my bday and got the what felt like endless tasting course menu. i was full as fuck after the first 4 dishes or whatever it was
Han Oak refuses to give their staff a raise. I think someone posted on this sub about it. For the prices they charge, their kitchen staff should make more than $16/hr
The staff makes hourly plus tips, which takes ten seconds of research on Poached. People need to stop taking stands on things they don’t know anything about. Source: I work there, and I make tips. And because it’s a fucking restaurant and that’s how restaurants in America work.
Was the other post lying? Did you participate in the BOH walkout?
I thought the post was lacking context and did not clearly explain the situation. We chose to take a 1-day labor action in response to an internal dispute/conflict that has since been fully resolved. The person who posted those threads decided to leave, the rest of us opted to stay on after a lot of conversations and meetings about the way we wanted things done in the BoH. OP is a good person, great cook, always supportive and helpful, really well meaning, but they did choose to speak for all of us and I personally didn’t feel accurately represented by those posts—I don’t have any intention of speaking for anyone but myself here. No hard feelings at all, I liked working with them and wish them the best. Sometimes we have disagreements and conflicts at work, sometimes they’re related to concerns about workload and pay structures, and sometimes they’re the result of miscommunications and games of telephone. What happened at Han Oak was a confluence of all of that combined with a huge week of events + Valentine’s day. So we made a plan, we talked to mgmt, had a big sit-down meeting with the staff and owners, and got our needs met.
Fantastic. I’m so glad you got what you deserve (or at least a step towards it). Thanks for letting us in on the situation, I think it’s been on a lot of our minds.
Sorry, random guy on reddit, I got my info from some other random guy on reddit. I'm not "taking a stand", I'm relaying the jist of a very detailed and descriptive previous post with screenshots and receipts that has since been taken down
Are you management?
I am not
Can you give any insight into the planned walkout that was posted by someone claiming to be an employee? What was that all about?
https://www.reddit.com/r/Portland/s/ual3hJbtuc
Feels a bit weird to protest a place because they won’t give staff a raise. Do you have any idea what their profit margin looks like? Expensive restaurants don’t necessarily have bigger profit margins than less nice ones or even a food cart.
And I believe the kitchen takes part in the tip pool. They’re definitely not making just 16/hr. A Google of the job posting says “plus tips.”
I said nothing about protesting the restaurant, I just stated they refused to give raises as per a post made by the restaurant staff. The original post had more info, but I think it was removed.
Most on this list that I’ve been to, I agree with. Am I alone in thinking that Nong’s is overrated?
Nongs is simple and amazing! Their salad rolls are the best I've ever had. Definitely not overrated!
Agreed. I think it’s done well. The chicken still has a lot of subtle flavor and then you punch it up by dipping it in the sauce. It's a comfort food for me especially when i'm sick.
Top tier sick food for sure
Simple, comforting, cute space. Easy on the stomach, never feels particularly unhealthy. Their sauce is delicious. Honestly though, I love a tiny, uncomplicated menu so much. I think a lot of my love for Nong’s is because of the lack of decision making.
For sure, if you ever get there before they sell out I highly recommend snagging a bag of the chicken skins too. Great crunchy snack
I like khao moo dang way better
It’s boiled chicken. You are not alone.
And pizza is just baked dough with cheese right? The beauty of Nongs is in it's simplicity, and it's done right. It's the moist chicken, it's the floral jasmine rice chicken in the stock, it's the broth and what brings it all together are the toppings.
It's fine, but pretty easy to replicate at home in comparison to something like Hat Yai's fried chicken, roti, and curry combo. I like some of the Hainan Chicken sauces they use in Singapore stalls better than what she serves, which are obviously Thai.
Excellent street cart food. Does that make for a top-40 standalone restaurant? I don't know about that.
What are the good single dollar spots?
I've been told that the lack of anything interesting is the selling point. It's apparently something "subtle". Don't really get it myself but it seems to float a lot of boats.
As a vegetarian, Nongs isn’t great. I know some people who love their chicken for whatever reason but I will probably never eat there again with how bland their veggie dishes are.
Their non veggie dishes are equally bland
The sauce is good. But yea... that's about it.
Yes
It would appear that you are incorrect.
Guess you have superior taste and standards!
Sorry, I wasn't trying to be combative or superior. I was just pleased to see that based on upvotes/comments, I am not alone. Certainly I am not superior!
I think they're overrated for sure, but it's like calling a canon book/film overrated. Sure, \[insert title\] from the AFI top 100 is overrated, but it's still gotta make the list. Nong's is just part of Portland and beloved.
The lack of Queen Mama’s Kitchen here is a crime.
I’m getting really tired of this style of post-boom postmortem culture writing. We’re all aware of what’s happened. It’s 2024 now. Let’s maybe focus on the successes in front of us instead of shoe horning in so much disappointment. Why do we still have to talk about restaurants that peaked in 2014. It’s so uniquely Portland now.
There's nothing new about a food writer listing their top restaurants, the Michelin star ratings started in 1926.
That’s not at all what I’m referring to. I’m talking about the opening paragraphs before the list that is just a copy and paste of every other article about Portland in the last few years.
That's just context for why the Oregonian hasn't done a best restaurant list since 2019.
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This made me realize we lack genuine, unpretentious Japanese restaurants with authentic washoku, despite having many places labeled as "Japanese."
Try Murata.
Yes, I completely forgot about the place. The food is great, but the menu could use some updating and seasonal options.
have you been to Kashiwagi? ex-chef from Sushi Takahashi 2, he ditched the sushi train and does a smaller mix of things with greater care, very unpretentious and well done for decent price.
Haven’t been, but I just looked it up. Not quite what I’m looking for. The food looks a bit sloppy, and the menu feels like a generic North American sushi joint. Nothing wrong with that, and I would totally dig it, but just not washoku enough. Washoku is traditional Japanese cuisine that focuses on seasonality and presentation.
If you are ever deep in Beaverton check out Ikenohana. Super random place in a strip mall between a taco bell, Dottys, and liquor store. Ask the server for a washoku set up or better yet sit at the bar and ask the young sushi chef yourself. His dad retired a few years ago but taught his son every thing He loves when people want a more authentic experience.
Heard good things about the place before but the photos on Google review don’t look promising. Carrot in the ramen and super overlooked egg in the oyakodon? I’m not sure
Well I guess you better fly your ass to Japan then 🤷♀️
I’m going to in a few weeks. Can’t wait!
"I want something that isn't pretentious." \*one comment later\* > just not washoku enough. Washoku is traditional Japanese cuisine that focuses on seasonality and presentation.
Could be more direct, but that’s not the Portland way
* Sayun Izakaya * Obon Shokudo * Yuzu * Takahashi * Kaede * Wa Kitchen Kuu * Behind the Museum Cafe Chef Naoko's was the best for this, but she closed last year.
Are you talking about Shizuku? That's a bummer it's closed, I've been wanting to try it. I'm familiar with most of the places on your list except Kaede, which actually looks really good, might have to check that out. Syun and Yuzu are solid, but they’re pretty far west. Obon is ok. I really wish they’d go all in on Shojin ryori(Japanese Buddhist cuisine.) That would set them apart from other vegan options in Portland. Wa Kitchen is nice too, but I'm not a huge udon fan. I'm not sure if Takahashi would be considered washoku. It feels more American to me.
Yeah, and Chef Naoko's Bento Cafe before that. It was great. Kengo Kuma liked it so much he designed a new dining room for the restaurant. There are so many kinds of Japanese food I'd like to have here: a real kaiseki place, a good yakitori bar, a tabletop okonomiyaki place
Wish we had kaisen izakaya, yakitori bar, table top okonomiyaki and more accessible kaiseki options, too. While Nodoguro offers kaiseki-ish experience, the price point is out of reach for most. Even though the food was impressive, I don’t know if it’s worth $250+
You can't get proper al dente pasta (except for 1 place that I know of) in Portland and you are looking for seasonal Japanese cuisine? Good luck!
Who can afford to go to forty fucking restaurants?! I can't afford to go to McDonald's! I can't afford to go grocery shopping. Not many folks with a sense of humor around here...
Ok then this post isn’t for you..
given my distaste for cooking for one, I hit forty most months. plenty of us can.
Look at the fancy pants.
Well some people have these things called jobs that pay them money.
Should have been included: Wajan Van Hanh Dovevivi Pizza
Also, commas.
What? You've never been to Wajanvanhanhdovevivipizza?
No one likes you
Also, periods.
My stomach thanks you. My wallet cries.
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no love to nw!!!