Food | fabliss

Ava Gene’s | Portland, OR

before coming to portland, ava gene’s was not on our radar at all. it’s actually relatively new to division street. we first heard about it from our new buddy at salt & straw. she said that it was her favorite restaurant. with all the places we had to try, we put it on our list but knew that we might not get to it. when another friend of ours (currently living in portland) also raved about it, we knew we had to try it.

here…we…go.

this place did not have any available reservations online, which was expected since we were trying to make a reservation two hours in advance. determined, we decided to go there and try our luck with a party of 6! right place at the right time? the host let us sit down right away but let us know that he would need that table in 2 hours! can i just say that i am in love with this type of efficiency? we were/are grateful for such an accommodating host!

what we ordered:

random salumi
tre scelte dai giardini ($32) – three choices from the gardens (aka salads). this is a good choice if you want to try a few of their salads/veggies. we chose (i) cauliflower, asparagus, almonds, honey vinegar, (ii) zucchini, hominy, pistachio, oregano, aleppo pepper, and (iii) cucumbers, snow peas, squid, barrel-aged colatura, filberts.
gemelli fava beans, pistachio pesto, occhipinti ($20)
anneloni, rabbit ragu, ruby streaks ($20)
spaghetti, bay shrimp, pomodorini, chiles ($20)
ricotta cavatelli, sausage, purple broccoli ($20)
lamb leg, cauliflower, pistachios, couscous ($30)

we all enjoyed the salumi! great sharing app.

cocktails were pretty great and came in cute, tall glasses. since we had been drinking all day, we didn’t really go crazy in this department. our focus was on the food.

the salads were delicious! the zucchini / hominy salad was probably my favorite, while the cucumber / snow pea salad was a close second. surprisingly great flavors. something i would definitely recommend. the cauliflower is very light. while this was good, i probably would go for one of the other salads next time.

all the pastas were uh-freaking-mazing. i repeat. uh-mazing. we loved them all. fresh pasta. kick-in-the-face flavors. very well done.

if i had to pick one, i would suggest the spaghetti with bay shrimp… but i really would get them all again.

eric ordered the lamb. i’m not a lamb person (i find it a little too gamey for my taste) but this lamb was so well done that i didn’t find it gamey at all! well done! this has made me very optimistic about my future lamb endeavors.

food: i can understand why so many people are in love with this place. pastas are excellent. definitely one of our favorite meals.
atmosphere: i loved the decor. think stylish with an old school feel. is that a thing? very trendy. marble, high ceilings, and great lighting. who doesn’t love low hanging bulbs? if you’re into restaurant interiors, you will find this place delightful. more importantly, check out the bathrooms! they are so cool! i wont spoil the surprise. just make sure you make a visit!
service: our waitress was great! staff in general is attentive… further adding to the charm of this place.
parking: this sits on the same street as pok pok and salt & straw. we didn’t have an issue parking. we found spots in the local neighborhood (free).
overall: we had a great experience at ava gene’s! i’m careful not to overhype this place. i know the reviews of this place go back and forth and a lot of people are not happy about the price. but i say…you get what you pay for… and this place is definitely worth it. this is a beautiful restaurant with a special take on traditional italian. mindblowingly great? some will think so (like us) but in general you are in for a great meal. get ready for some fantastic, quality pasta.

ps. according to our waitress. ava gene is the name of the owners daughter. cute, right? also, this is the same guy who founded stumptown!

Ava Gene’s
3377 SE Division St
Portland, OR 97202

By fabliss | August 1st, 2014 | Food, Photography, Portland, Restaurants, Travel | 0 Comments

Lardo | Portland, OR

after our failed attempt to get a donut at blue star donuts on national donut day, we stumbled aross lardo! this place was on kyle’s list (he read great things about their sandwiches) but we were honestly going to pass this place up since we just had tasty ‘n sons a couple of hours before and we both didn’t know if we could handle a sandwich.

good thing two awesome patrons sitting at the window saw our faces and urged us to go in! (yeah, i was loving portland already)

i wont lie. mendocino farms in la has definitely ruined me forever. when i read about places with “great” or “the best” sandwiches, i automatically think “but not as good as mendo.” i need to stop doing that.

so again we had an awesome cashier/waitress (you order at the counter and seat and bus yourself). she was super excited we were from out of town and walked us through the menu and gave us her recommendation. since we were splitting one sandwich… the sandwich we absolutely had to get was the pork meatball banh mi. i told her that was a bold choice since i was vietnamese. when all the other babies were eating pureed bananas, i was eating banh mi’s so one could say i’ve had a few in my lifetime. stakes / expectations are high. very high.

we ordered:

pork meatball sandwich
lardo fries
nitro beer

we wanted to get the dirty fries but she thought it was going to overwhelm us since we weren’t that hungry. in her opinion, lardo fries were perfect (herb blend with some light cheese) and could be eaten alone. not too overwhelming.

oh jesus. the sandwich was freaking amazeballs. it has to be one of my top sandwiches. the pork meatball is perfectly seasoned and moist. the bread was great and the sauce is bomb. yes, it was messy (i almost go it on my camera) but so worth it. best sandwich in portland? i dig it.

#bringingfatback i love it.

don’t judge us but we went here two time during our 4 days in portland because we wanted eric to experience this awesomeness. we went to the original location and ordered:

pork meatball sandwich (again)
lardo fries (again)
korean pork sandwich
burger
beer flight

the korean sandwich (above) was good but it is hard not to compare to the pork meatball sandwich. pork meatball sandwich is still my number one. the kimchi is great but the sandwich could’ve been a little more moist (pork or more sauce?).

kyle was a huge fan of the burger. it is one of his favorite burgers. that guy.

so the beer is really good here (we ordered the flight). kyle’s a fan of the nitro beer (carbonation removed). this was the coolest thing to us. also! they have 21st amendment: hell or high watermelon beer (from the bay!)

food: like i said, one of the best sandwiches i have ever had and is definitely one of my favorite meals in portland. i will go out on a limb and say that i could eat the pork meatball sandwich every day. yep, i’m comfortable with that. lardo fries are great but if you feel daring, get the dirty fries and tell me how they are.
service: both locations were awesome. since i spent more time talking to the cashier at the downtown location, i liked my experience there more. note: sandwiches come out pretty fast.
ambience: i like the downtown location more. it is newer so it is fresher. the original location is a lot bigger because it has a whole outdoor (bench) seating area. you really cant go wrong with either.
parking: pay and park spots. wasn’t too hard for us to find.
overall: one of our favorite meals in portland. stupidly good sandwich. we will meet again lardo.

Lardo

1205 SW Washington St
Portland, OR 97205
Neighborhood: Downtown

1212 SE Hawthorne St
Portland, OR 97214

By fabliss | July 24th, 2014 | Food, Photography, Portland, Restaurants, Travel | 0 Comments

Blue Star Donuts | Portland, OR

we put blue star donuts on our list since we wanted to try their blueberry donut! we tried going here three times. first time was on national donut day… nope. they sold out and shut their doors by noon. second time, we couldn’t get into downtown since there was a parade. thank god our final attempt was a success since we stumbled upon their location in hawthorne!

since it was such an ordeal trying to go here, we decided to order a dozen donuts for 3 of us! boom.

good thing you get a little discount when you order a dozen. flavors available that day:

blueberry cake
dulce de leche hazelnut
raspberry cake
original glazed
blueberry bourbon basil
passionfruit with cocoa nib
apple fritter
lemon poppy
cinnamon vanilla sugar
widmer hefe citrus cake
chocolate almond ganache
real maple and bacon

blueberry basil… mmm. get ready for this to melt in your mouth, folks!

passionfruit with cocoa nib (above) was a lot more subtle than we expected. they liked it (i didn’t really eat this one since it was chocolate. i just licked some of the passionfruit glaze).

the polar opposite of the passionfruit one is the chocolate almond ganache since it is on the heavier side.

maple and bacon. this isn’t anything we haven’t had before but we did appreciate bacon bits instead of strips of bacon on our donut. well done.

cinnamon vanilla sugar donut (above) was very fluffy! compared to the rest, it is pretty plain but still a great donut. the blueberry cake is one of the favs. i want one now.

our absolute favorites:

blueberry cake / blueberry basil
raspberry cake

probably my favorite donuts. ever.

our least favorite:

dulce de leche too way too sweet.
widmer hefe citrus cake was meh.
apple fritter. we just weren’t fans. this was extremely heavy and sweet.

raspberry cake is awesome! so awesome.

notable: i’ve had a number of maple and bacon donuts just out of curiosity. this is my favorite. it is just very well done. love bacon bits (over strips of bacon), the donut itself is just great. with that said, it is not something i order on the regs but it is a must try if you haven’t had it already.

food: the donuts in general were awesome. glazed donuts were fluffy and melted in your mouth. the cake donuts were light. just quality donuts.
service: line moves quickly. can’t say any more than that since there was minimal interaction.
ambience: the location in hawthorne is not as cute as the one in downtown. both locations are very bright. clean white walls with a lot of natural light.
parking: pay and park on the street.
overall: we ended up getting donuts from here twice because we had to have the blueberry and raspberry donuts again. make sure you get a cup of coffee.

apple fritter (above) was heavy. lemon poppy (below) was not mind blowing.

i had high hopes for the citrus cake. unfortunately, i wasn’t a fan. dulce leche (below) was way too sweet.

last but not least, the original glazed (below). great donut.

side note. i know voodoo donuts is the famous donut establishment in portland because it has been featured on a number of food network shows etc. however, after looking at some of the donuts (captain crunch on a donut and oddly shaped donuts) and reading some reviews, it seemed like more of a tourist trap than a quality donut shop. so we decided to give blue star a try. if we had more time, we probably would’ve ended up trying voodoo. just wanted to throw that out there.

Blue Star Donuts
3549 SE Hawthorne
Portland, OR 97214

By fabliss | July 7th, 2014 | Coffee, Tea, & Bakeries, Dessert, Food, Photography, Portland, Travel | 0 Comments

Gravy | Portland, OR

it was our last morning in portland, we had to go big. we decided to go to gravy for breakfast. i will just say that this was after kyle browsed the web for a solid hour for the perfect spot the night before. it was pretty much a done deal when he found out about their country fried steak and after he saw pictures of it.

i wont lie. i was skeptical about this in the first place. who wants to feel that heavy right before getting on a flight? despite my reservations, i was outvoted since everyone seemed pretty psyched about these “gravy biscuits” they are famous for.

what we ordered:

one order of chili verde with hash browns and a side order of two gravy biscuits (this was split between two people)
two country fried steaks. one with a side of french toast and a biscuit and the other with hash browns
make your own omelette with a side order of one gravy biscuit

country fried steak was amazing. according to kyle, this was one of best breakfasts he has ever had. get this. country fried steak here is an actual steak… so it is a lot thicker than the average country fried steak we know and love.

how proud are you right now? we ate eggs!

the french toast is also pretty awesome. since it was unexpected, it was an ever better surprise. crispy and soft at the same time.

(i’m not a huge french toast kinda person and i still found it good!)

the chili verde. stella and i didn’t even know we wanted to order this until our waitress said it was her favorite thing on the menu. recommendation was spot on. the chili verde was great! meat was tender and sauce was great. ps. i really appreciate great recommendations.

umm, does anyone want to point out how big the hash browns are?! they were good! freshly fried, hot and very crispy. just the way hash browns should be. this is served with a house made ketchup! pretty good in my opinion. on the sweeter side.

onto the meat of the review. the biscuits. the gravy.

so the biscuits and gravy… were so bomb. so bomb. the biscuit itself was a great biscuit but the gravy was even better! so tasty! i’m not even going to bore you with a description of it. you just need to try it for yourself. for all those who have had biscuit bitch in seattle… well gravy from portland blows biscuit bitch away. no even close. (biscuit bitch actually kind of ruined biscuits and gravy for me…but gravy has brought it back.)

mmm.

food: everything here was great and very reasonable priced. keep in mind that portions are huge here so you could definitely split a meal. i obviously have to give a shout out to our awesome friends. after a 3 days of straight eating, we ended strong. steak, gravy, biscuits and eggs don’t faze us. we put down this breakfast like champs.
ambience: very casual breakfast joint. we loved sitting next to the window with natural light.
service: quick and friendly. our waitress rocked.
parking: 1-2 hour street parking available. no meters.
overall: come eat here but be prepared to eat nothing but fruit and kale the rest of the day and probably the day after.

Gravy
3957 N Mississippi Ave
Portland, OR 97227

By fabliss | June 30th, 2014 | Food, Photography, Portland, Restaurants, Travel | 0 Comments

Tasty n Sons | Portland, OR

we were pretty excited to eat here! we will admit that the nice thing about portland is that every restaurant we ate at lived up to its expectations and for the most part, actually exceeded them.

came here on a saturday for brunch. the wait was about 30-45 minutes. it wasn’t too bad since we walked over to ristretto roasters to get a snack and a cup of coffee.

small plates equals over ordering because we want to try everything! here’s what we ordered:

sweet biscuits with raspberries & whipped cream ($6) – small plate
grilled chicken sandwich with grilled pineapple, spicy carrot slaw & chili aioli on sesame brioche ($11) – recommended by our waiter
french toast with strawberry-maple & whipped cream ($6) – we got the half order
“curry mee” malaysian coconut curry noodle soup ($12) – another great recommendation

we started with the sweet biscuits. i loved these. loved. the biscuits were perfect! they came out warm and dusted with sugar…it was like dessert (my weakness)! the whipped cream and strawberries just added the the greatness. i will say that although my husband and i loved this, i can see how other people wont find this mindblowing. it’s a simple but oh so delicious.

the “curry me” was a pleasant surprise! it was recommended by our waiter (we decided to order this over the burmese stew). great flavor but not too heavy. a million times better than the curry noodles at pok pok.

a lot of people raved about the french toast but we were not fans. it was way too sweet for us and was just ok. i’d suggest ordering something else.

i never order chicken burgers because it’s a gamble (dry chicken, bland… so many things could go wrong). so when the waiter recommended the chicken burger with pineapple, we were like “are you sure, man?” we listened to him ordered it, and loved it. chicken was moist, the pineapple was a great flavor addition. i would recommend this.

food: this was one of our favorite meals in portland! quality food and great combination of flavors! i would recommend the biscuits, the curry, and the sandwich! ideally, i would come here with four people, so that we could try even more items from the menu! next time!
service: fast and efficient. they know their stuff and provide great recommendations.
ambience: hopefully you are lucky and get to sit next to the open window. great lighting there. the back of the restaurant is on the darker side. they have some tables that are for communal seating so get ready to make some friends!
overall: like i said, this was one of our favorite meals in portland and would highly recommend this place! fo sho.

Tasty n Sons
3808 N Williams Ave, Ste C
Portland, OR 97212

By fabliss | June 29th, 2014 | Food, Photography, Portland, Restaurants, Travel | 0 Comments

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