Light Lunch

Lunch is to budget foodies as Goodwill is to penny-pinching fashionistas. If I want to try out a high-end place before plunking down serious cash for an evening out, I'll gravitate toward those that offer a down-sized (and lower priced) sampling of their menus at mid-day.

Always wanted to go to Nostrana but can't scrounge enough out of the sofa cushions for dinner? Or heard about the fabulous shoestring fries at Café Castagna but the full meal deal is out of range? Try lunch at either. Seriously. You'll spend a fraction of what dinner would cost and get a good idea of what the kitchen is capable of. Plus who orders a whole bottle of wine with lunch, much less a cocktail? Again, savings in the bank.

If there's one spot in Portland that has garnered endless gibbering in the local press since it opened, it's Andy Ricker's love song to Thai street food, Pok Pok. And lunch is the ticket here as well. Same fascinating food, somewhat lower prices, and you're not obligated to try everything on the menu.

I went with a friend the other day and ordered the Tam Kai Yaang (top photo), a mellifluous-sounding and flavor-packed melange of roasted game hen with long beans, tomatoes, peanuts, Chinese celery, cilantro, Thai chiles, garlic, lime, palm sugar and fish sauce for $9.50. And the Yam Makheua Yao (left), another salad that featured smoky grilled Chinese eggplant with fried dry shrimp and garlic, chopped boiled egg, Thai chiles, shallots, cilantro and a lime-fish sauce dressing, priced at $9. Smashing.

Now, you might well ask, "Two salads with similar ingredients?" and you would not be out of line. But in this kitchen, the sum of the parts do not mean the same tastes emerge in the final preparation.

A side of sticky rice and our lunch was still light. In more ways than one.

Details: Pok Pok, 3226 SE Division. Phone 503-232-1387.

Pok Pok Rocks

The headline says it all. And, though I'm really not a "joiner" and generally will do almost anything to not go along with the crowd, I'm on the bus with them if they're going to this place. We went to Pok Pok with a total of six people, an ideal number since it gives you a chance to try lots of dishes (we had a total of nine), the only drawback being that the restaurant only has one table for that size group and it's a four-top with a bench on one side. Fortunately three of our group are smaller in stature and width, so we made them sit on the bench and the rest of us occupied the three chairs. It made for a cozy dining experience and all the food was within reach, which was handy since everyone was so busy eating that you couldn't get them to pass you anything.

The restaurant is located in the basement of a small bungalow, just down the street from Lauro and Pix, two other well-known denizens of this stretch of SE Division below 39th. Inside it feels like someone's basement party room, with a wet bar against the back wall, a low ceiling and an assortment of small tables scattered around the concrete floor. All waiting, and at dinner this is a given, is done outside on the patio tables. The good part is that cocktails are served while you're waiting, and you get to smell the delicious smoke from the charcoal grill that is kept blazing with orders from the restaurant and the take-out shack.

I won't go into details about the individual dishes, since each one we had was completely distinct from the others and all were fabulous. The other good news is that the main floor of the house is going to open for dining next month, which will mean more great food and, hopefully, some larger tables.

The summary? One word: Go. Or maybe two: Go now.

Photo, clockwise from upper left: Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings, Northern Thai Herbal Salad, Shrimp Salad, Prawns in Thai Noodles, Green Papaya Salad, Curried Beef Hot Pot (in pot), Eggplant with vegetables, Duck salad. Not pictured: Hoi Thawt (mussels).

Details: Pok Pok, 3226 SE Division; Phone 503-232-1387.