Pho Tango

December 28, 2012

Date #64

For work I sometimes need to go to our plant in Tillamook, this is a 2-hour drive so I need coffee. I found a location of my favorite coffee place, Dutch Brothers, on the way; I also found our spot for date night tonight right across the street, Pho Tango. The restaurant is busy with people even at this late hour, this is a good sign we have found a tasty restaurant.

We started with vegetarian spring rolls, and pot stickers, both were very tasty and were served with a sweet dipping sauce. They were served very quickly, which was nice because we were very hungry.

                         

Next, we both had Pho, I the vegetarian, and Chuck the beef special including flank, brisket, soft tenderloin, tripe, and meatballs. My Pho was good, but not a lot of flavor, tasted like a weak vegetable soup with tasteless rice noodles, this is the reason I usually don’t have Pho it’s not good without the meat and egg noodles. Chuck’s Pho on the other hand was very good, lots of flavor, and plenty of meat, this is one of his favorite meals.
I’m happy we tried this restaurant, I have looked at for months, in a new area of town we have never explored before…off to Kohl’s we go.

La Buca

December 21, 2012

Date #63

I guess modern society interpreted the Mayan calendar incorrectly, as date night did happen tonight. We were in the area of Northeast Portland, an area Chuck loves to go for date night, driving up Burnside towards 28th avenue and come upon La Buca in a great old area of Portland. It’s located on an old building, the restaurant is rather small and many people are waiting for a table, this is a really good sign Chuck found a good one. To our delight we were called to our table within minutes, this was because we said we would sit in the bar, I would recommend this because it’s just as nice as the main restaurant.

We started out with caprese bruschetta, the bread was crispy, mozzarella creamy, and the balsamic glaze was sweet, such a wonderful tasty combination. So often when you order bruschetta the bread is soggy when it arrives at the table, this was not the case, even our last bite was still crispy. This was a very good start to the evening.

For dinner I ordered vegetariana this consisted of penne, roma tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, pine nuts, and garlic tossed in lemon juice and olive oil. I just loved this bowl of pasta, I could taste all the different ingredients because it wasn’t over powered with sauce, so light and refreshing for a winter night.

Chuck ordered polenta con maiale which was slow roasted pork with caramelized onions and peas over parmesan polenta in a sage chianti butter sauce. The pork was soft and moist, the polenta creamy, and the butter sauce blended everything together magnificently.
To top off the evening we stopped by the Whole Foods next door and looked at all the tasty wares, such a lovely evening.

India Flavors

December 14, 2012

Date #62

I started out with the idea of going to a Chinese restaurant tonight, but while at work today I wanted to pick a second choice because we did Chinese just a few weeks ago. I am happy I did some research because on the way home I notice the restaurant I had chosen had a different name. Could still be a good place, but wanted to wait a few weeks to see what others have to say. Tonight I chose India Flavors, a nice Indian restaurant in Beaverton and right next door to Fred Meyer so Chuck can do what he loves to do…shop!

We started out with cocktail samosa, chick peas, potatoes, and spices in a crispy wrap, and a sweet sauce for dipping. These were really good, we weren’t sure what we had ordered, but were pleasantly surprised when we bit into the crispy crust and found soft potatoes and Indian spices, the sweet dipping sauce was a nice compliment.

For dinner we ordered navratan kurma, goat curry, garlic naan, and rice. My navratan kurma had 9 vegetables in a creamy spice sauce, the veggies were firm, and the sauce was a bit spice but the cream cooled it down. This mixture was so good along with the rice and naan. Chuck’s goat curry was really good, even though he ordered it not spicy, it came pretty spicy, but not spicy enough for him not to eat all of it. Chuck said this was the best goat he had had since Saudi Arabia…I wondered to myself how many times had he had the opportunity to have goat…poor cute goat!
The young man that was our server didn’t look the part, with his hat and jeans, but he was one of the best servers we have had. He made sure we had everything we needed and when we asked for something, he brought it right away, such a pleasant surprise from so many other servers out there. The other think about India Flavors was most of the guests were Indian, this was a very good sign we had found a great Indian restaurant. Chuck…and I got to do some shopping afterwards, he was happy; full belly and shopping equal a great date night! 

Seasons and Regions

December 7, 2012

Date #61

As we start out tonight we head down the 99W, now I’m not sure if we actually should be heading this direction because of past experiences due to talking while driving, but it seems like we are headed the right way as we turn into a favorite area of mine, Multnomah Village. We have never gone wrong with any date night in this area, and tonight its first Friday, Santa and horse drawn carriages are here, this is a really good sign. We turn into a restaurant called Seasons and Regions, the parking lot is full but there are signs that tell us to park across the street at the Jewish center, so we do, along with many other hungry people. Thankfully, it’s bigger than expected inside and we are sat at a table right away.

We started with Dungeness crab wontons with goat cheese, chives, and a red chili cucumber salsa for dipping. The wontons were crispy and the filling full of crab and not overpowered by the cheese, and the salsa was amazing. The wontons had little pockets that could be filled with the spicy, sweet salsa before eating, yummy!

It was very difficult to select our main course; I had it down to four and asked our server for help with the final selection. She told me that the Pacific red snapper and vegetable risotto was one of their most popular dishes, that’s what I chose. Chuck was able to decide on his own and chose NW seafood & pasta in white wine butter sauce. Our main course included soup or salad, I had the Caesar salad, and Chuck the tomato basil soup because one of his friends told him it was superb. The Caesar was lightly dressed, and garnished with shavings of parmesan cheese, it was light and refreshing. The soup was so flavorful, the basil stood out from the fresh tomatoes, very good choice, I had a sample!!

The red snapper was something that I am not used to eating, but both Chuck and I are trying to set out of the box. This venture out was fantastic, the fish was moist, the risotto creamy, and veggies crisp with flavorful grill marks. It is no wonder that this is one of their most popular dishes, I agree it was just wonderful!

Chuck’s pasta was full of seafood, each piece it’s own distinct flavor, married with the cream sauce and pasta made this dish scrumptious. The pasta was firm and the cream sauce light and flavorful, the parmesan and fresh herbs complemented the dish.
We weren’t planning on dessert but our wonderful server gave us each a spoonful of their homemade peppermint ice cream to try. We could not resist, we both had a scoop of ice cream, I peppermint and Chuck espresso. The ice cream was so thick and creamy, I don’t think I have tasted anything like it, I know I will be craving it in the future.
What a wonderful dinner, so many wonderful choices, oh and I didn’t mention they have a vegetarian menu, we will be back soon, if only for a scoop of ice cream. Another good sign this was a great choice is I had a hard time finding different descriptive words to describe the tastes we had tasted. YUM!!!

La Hacienda Real

November 30, 2012

Date #60

Tonight I wanted Mexican food again. We have driven by La Hacienda Real a few times but never have tried it. And our friends seem to go there a lot, so I decided we would try it tonight.
We started with chips and salsa along with refried beans and something that resembled coleslaw. I wasn’t sure how this combination would be, but it was amazingly good.

Chuck and I are trying to stay away from our usual dishes of Chorizo con huevo and cheese enchiladas. So Chuck decided on shredded beef taco, enchilada, and tamale with rice and beans, and I really tried something different chile relleno with vegetables.  Chuck’s dish was great, each item contained the same meat, but tasted oh so different. The sauce was so flavorful, you could tell it didn’t come from a can, and contained so many different spices. The chile relleno was covered with veggies, because I ordered the veggie variety, and a white cheese medley. I usually eat the rice first when I am eating Mexican food, but tonight all I could eat was the chile relleno. The combination of green chile, egg, cheese, and veggies was so creamy amazing, I didn’t want to get full on anything else. I can’t believe I have never tried this before. Chile relleno could be my new favorite Mexican dish, can’t wait to try it again.

So happy we tried this restaurant, our friends saw we were here when we checked in on Facebook, they came over for a drink in the bar, we joined them. Great evening!!

Thai Elephant

November 23, 2012

Date #59

Today we were out Black Friday shopping in the Tanasborne area and thankfully, Chuck found a restaurant nearby so we didn’t have to fight traffic. Tanasborne Towncenter was lighting their Christmas tree when we finally located our destination right next to the tree, Thai Elephant, so we rushed in front of the crowd to get a table.

We started with veggie spring rolls and plum sauce. The little rolls were bursting with veggies, and the wrapper nice and crispy. The sweet plum dipping sauce complemented the spring rolls nicely.

Chuck loves curry, he chose Kang Karee (yellow curry) with pork and potatoes, mildly spicy. He loved his dish, even though it was spicy, the curry flavor was so tasty, he said this was the best curry he has tasted.

I had a difficult time deciding on what to eat tonight so I asked the server to help me. I chose Khao Sauy (Chiang Mai Noodles) with shrimp, but asked to have it not too spicy. A dish came to the table that I wasn’t expecting, and was a little nervous to try. I was so surprised how great it was. There were crispy noodles on the top, and shrimp, onions, cilantro, and noodles in an amazing spicy, coco-nutty, curry broth, I was something like a soup. It was so spicy my nose was running and I was sweating, and all I said during the meal was this is so good, and so spicy, I can’t stop eating it. I let Chuck try some even though I wanted to keep it all to myself. I only had broth left, but because it was so good we took it home, and I made two lunches out of it by adding broccoli, best lunches ever!
Both dishes were so good we thought about going there again the next day, and I still think about my curry soup, I hope we go back there again soon. I am so happy I let the server help me decide what to eat, because I wouldn’t have tried Khao Sauy on my own, date night is such an awesome adventure!

Wu's Open Kitchen

November 16, 2012

Date #58

Tonight if felt like Chinese food, we often had it before date night, but we haven’t had it on a date because we are so into trying new things. Wu’s Open Kitchen is our spot tonight, we have frequented this restaurant many time, not in a few years though.

We looked through the menu and found 3 different plates to create a well rounded meal, shrimp and broad noodles, sweet and sour pork, and 2 kinds of shrimp, sweet and garlic. To our pleasure the food came to our table quickly, we were quite hungry.

Their sweet and sour pork is one of the best Chuck has had, the pork is tender, breading crisp, and sauce very tasty, even the carrots and green peppers were crisp and flavorful. The noodle dish was amazing, the sauce was slightly sweet and garlicy, a flavor I love. The vegetables were crunchy and the shrimp flavorful. The spicy shrimp in the other dish was really good as well, slightly more spicy than I enjoy, but so good I couldn’t stop eating it.
It was nice to have Chinese food again, and this is one good restaurant to try, really good for lunch too, very fast service.  Good choice if I do say so myself.

The Fish Wife

November 9, 2012

Date #57

Tonight we head out towards North Portland, Chuck was using his GPS again and making me very nervous. After a few trips around the block because of the great map app we find The Fish Wife. It is an old restaurant in a strip mall, on Lombard St., it doesn’t look very appealing from the outside, but at 8pm it is full of people. Inside it looks like a crab restaurant like you would find on the beach.

We were hungry so we both ordered clam chowder. We have our favorite fish restaurant in Seattle so we often compare our clam chowder to theirs. My first impression wasn’t good, it looked like thick potato soup, not my favorite. We were pleasantly surprised, it was so flavorful, not thick at all, full of clams and not too many potatoes. This is my second favorite clam chowder, favorite in Portland!

Next we both had cod and chips. Again I was a bit leery of fish and chips because I don’t like thick beer batter, and the fries have to be good. Again I was pleasantly surprised. The fish was lightly battered in a crispy crust, and the fries, waffle, were cooked to perfection! Awesome food! I totally understand why this place is so popular.
The next Monday at work I told my friend about it because she lives in North Portland. She knew of it and said it has been there for years and is very popular. So happy we found this place because we will be back next time we crave fish & chips, and we don’t have to go to Seattle. Nice find Chuck!!

Si Senior Mexican Food

November 2, 2012

Date #56

Tonight I wanted to go back to our favorite food, Mexican, because last week’s date night wasn’t so good. I found a place in Beaverton, close to home, Si Senior Mexican Food was our destination tonight. I used my wonderful GPS on my Android phone and she directed us to the location effortlessly.
When we enter the parking lot around 8pm, it was a good sign that the parking lot was still full. The restaurant is quite large, we were sat at a table immediately, and presented with chips and salsa (my favorite). The salsa was good, nice chunks of veggies, and a mild to medium spiciness level, just a bit too spicy for me but I did eat plenty.

Chuck ordered a combo plate of a tamale, taco, and enchilada, and I a cheese enchilada, both came with rice and beans. The sauce that covered the enchilada’s and tamale tasted like a mole sauce, full of wonderful flavors, it wasn’t just a regular enchilada sauce. This sauce also went well with the rice and beans, and we ate up the rest with the chips.
Great dinner tonight, especially because last week’s wasn’t so good. We will definitely come back to taste more of their yummy food.

Queen of Sheba

October 26, 2012

Date #55

I don’t like it when Chuck brings out his iPhone and plugs in the address for date night, because it’s the iPhone map…ugg. True to form with this stupid app it doesn’t work very well and takes us around the block many times during rush hour traffic. Finally, we sit in a parking lot where the app says the restaurant is, but is not, and look for it the old-fashioned way, by actually looking at the address on the map. After much stress we find the restaurant and find a place to park on the street.

The place is nice, not very fancy, with quite a few tables full. I wasn’t too excited to try Ethiopian food but it is date night and I can’t say no, Queen of Sheba is the place. So we ordered 2 vegetarian dishes, and a lamb dish for Chuck. The server said it’s served family style, and that was ok with us.

The enormous plate came to the table with 4 folded over pancake looking breads with the 3 different dishes we had ordered and a salad atop the pancakes. There were no utensils, we needed to use the pancake to pick up our food. The pancake tasted like fermented bread, not my favorite flavor. The potato dish tasted good, but the mushroom dish was way too spicy to even taste. Chuck enjoyed his lamb dish, and ate most of mine.
I’m sure this restaurant is a favorite place for many, and the serve was great, but this is not a favorite place for us. Chuck had tried Ethiopian food before and enjoyed it, but my first try will probably be my last.

Urban Fondue

October 19, 2012

Date #54

This weekend my parents came to visit so they joined us for date night tonight, this is not their first time either. While planning this visit they told me they had put a list together of restaurants they wanted to try from previous date nights. I thought to myself it would be fun to go to one of the fondue restaurants as we could celebrate my dad’s 75th birthday, but later talked myself out of it because we used to do fondues all the time when I was younger and I thought they would like to try something different. To my amazement while talking on the phone to my dad a few weeks before they came he told me he would like to try a fondue restaurant, sold!
Of the two fondue restaurants we have tried, we decided on Urban Fondue because we like non-chain restaurants so much better. We were taken to a cozy booth with high cushioned backs and pillows to sit on; it was very private and quiet. We ordered a few fancy drinks to start and 2 cheese fondues, a white cheddar and caraway, and a brie and gorgonzola with roasted hazelnuts. They came with bread but we also ordered house made Italian and French garlic sausage. When the fondues arrived, the talking quieted due to the scrumptiousness of the offerings. We had the cheddar one before which was amazing, but the brie and gorgonzola was out of this world. This surprises me because I didn’t think I liked gorgonzola.
The next course consisted of steak, pork, and veggies for Chuck and I, and steak and lobster for my parents, and we did share. Also included with this course were many different types of sauces to dip your nuggets into after they are cooked to perfection in the stewing liquid of tomato fennel broth, and urban yosenabe. Our wonderful waiter told us which sauces went with each meat and vegetable, but by the time he was done explaining each sauce we forgot which sauce went with what meat, but it didn’t matter they all tasted good together. Chuck added a bit of every sauce to his plate and mixed them all together, yummy!

By this time we were all very full, but we couldn’t not skip the best course…dessert. We chose a milk chocolate and roasted hazelnut fondue. Included as dippers were chocolate chip and peanut butter cookie dough, cream puffs, donuts, banana, strawberries, and dried fruit. Decadence is an understatement, if you have never tried a chocolate fondue this is not something to miss. Maybe next time we will just go for dessert…
The night was amazing, full of eating and drinking, talking and laughing, just a really good time. Thank goodness the car was parked a few blocks away, sitting in the car right away would not have been a good idea. We still have 3 more days of fun, let it begin!