Portland Dining Month Wrapping Up

Dang! With just five nights left, it looks like I'm not going to be making it through my picks of restaurants to hit during Portland's annual Dining Month—in fact, I've only made it to two on the whole darn list so far.

But with an opportunity to sample three courses of some of PDX's finest grub—there are 90 places to choose from—for just $29, it almost makes it into the "I don't feel like cooking tonight" category, which, if I had my druthers, would be every other night around our house. To me, it's a chance to try out places that fit the "special occasion" description, a trial run for a later date night, anniversary or place to take out of town friends.

My first hit was Kelly Myer's Xico, which we'd visited earlier but wanted to return to, if only because I was seduced by the salmon in mole verde (top photo) on offer. Which points up the fact that though these menus are designed around the featured price, the offerings are obviously barely clearing break-even status. Added to that was the opportunity to get one of the restaurant's signature margaritas, which totally hit the spot.

Beverages aren't included in the price, of course, which no doubt gives the restaurants a chance to make up some of the revenue, but I've never felt pressured by up-selling on the part of staff or given the nose-in-the-air treatment because I'm ordering the "cheap" option. Remember that March can be a pretty slow time of the year for dining out, so most restaurateurs and wait staff are happy to see so many smiling faces at their tables.

The second trip was to Paley's Place on Northwest 21st, the anchor of Vitaly and Kimberly Paley's now three-restaurant empire (he also owns downtown's Imperial and Penny Diner). Dave and I were seated at a cozy table in the dining room behind the bar (above right) and were brought amuse bouches of shot glasses of cucumber gazpacho with our drink order. Again, there was no sniffing on display when I ordered the Dining Month menu, and no move was made to grab back the amuse as not included—same with the complimentary basket of bread and butter.

Portions at both places were generous, as well, with Paley's main course of grilled albacore (left) perfectly seared on a bed of frikeh salad with a drizzle of caper aioli. One caveat to be noted is that the offerings are set in stone, so check the menus listed on the website to make sure it will accomodate any of your party's dietary restrictions. For instance, while I can (and do) eat almost everything, Dave's lactose issue makes it virtually impossible to enjoy all three courses, so he orders from the regular menu. (Though you can always check with the restaurant when you call to make your reservation.)

So if you can't make it one of the next five nights, put it on your calendar for next year. I have a feeling this event is gonna be here to stay.

Paley's Bar

And no, I'm not talking about Vitaly Paley's venture into the questionable realm of the it-tastes-like-cardboard power bar. I'm talking about the pocket-sized and European-feeling bar that sits to the left of the main dining room at Paley's Place, one of Portland's great dining spots. You take a seat, hang up your purse or coat on the hooks under the bar, and before you can even greet the folks sitting next to you, you've got a menu in your hand, water and a dish of their addictive homemade barbecue-flavored chips to munch on while you ponder your beverage choices.

And this bar has major cocktail chops. My negroni was nearly as good as Dave makes them at home, though theirs is the orange zest version rather than the lemon zest we use. And those of my companions were spot-on as well, nicely balanced and with generous pours, not those wimpy little half-sized things that some bars in town pass off for $8 and change.

The bar menu is the same one the restaurant offers, so you can stick with their wonderful small plates or go for the big entrée guns. We had the night's special mussels, big, orange-y and succulent, and when they start rolling out the (seemingly bottomless) house specialty fries with mustard aioli, stand back. As if that weren't enough, we then had the truffle spaetzle with mushrooms that oozed earthy goodness, and a Dungeness crab salad with truffles and bacon. Yikes!

This is as good as anything you'll get on the planet, and it's the ideal cozy, romantic spot to share a drink and a nosh with someone special. Even if they're sitting next to you at the bar and you've never met them before!

Details: Paley's Place, 1204 NW 21st Ave.; Phone 503-243-2403.

Paley's Place

When faced with a really special occasion, where do you go for a nice, romantic dinner? With our 25th anniversary coming, we tossed around the usual suspects: Ciao Vito, Lauro, Alberta St. Oyster Bar & Grill, Castagna, Paley's Place, Fife, Nostrana. And some new entries: Balvo, Roux and Carafe. It's an embarrassment of riches, really. But the day before the "big day" we finally settled on Paley's, which we hadn't been to for a couple of years.

With the weather warm enough to eat outside, we requested a table on the porch and were greeted by baskets brimming with ripe, luscious tomatoes fresh from the farmers' market. We were ushered to our little table for two, so glad not to be sitting in the perfectly nice but too stuffy dining room, especially on a summer night.

We ordered a Sapphire martini and a lemon drop and snacked on a little amuse bouche of fresh grilled eggplant crostini with aioli. Now for the only gripe of the evening, and a persistent pet peeve of mine: Why do bars do sugar rims on frozen glasses? As the ice on the outside melts, it causes the sugar to drip down the glass and I end up with a sticky mess all over the glass and my hands. Sheesh!

Anyway, we'd heard that the Kobe beef tartare was not to be missed, so as we sipped our very nicely made drinks (except for the...oh never mind...) we gobbled up the horseradish and salt-spiked beef that was topped with a duck egg yolk and featured little piles of minced onion, parsley and capers. It's served with light rye toast points, which I find overpowers the delicate flavor of the beef, so I substituted the plain bread that they bring to the table. Incredibly rich and succulent, this is tartare to die for. And we'll be borrowing this idea for our own appetizer plate in the future.

We opened the spectacular 2000 Ridge Geyserville Zin that my brother gave us from his personal stash. What a burst of glorious juice! This must be what is meant by "highest and best use"...kind of like nirvana for a grape. It was still so young and supple, we almost felt guilty drinking it. This baby had years left to mature and change but, man, was it fantastic! Thanks, Bruce!

Anyway, back to the meal. We ordered salads, one of greens with black cherries and carmelized onions with a balsamic vinaigrette, the other mixed greens with radicchio, pork belly and gorgonzola. And both very tasty. Then, right on time, our entrees arrived, a pasta cut in triangles tossed with sauteed green and yellow beans, wild mushrooms, potatoes and pesto, and then a potato gnocchi with crab and preserved lemons in a butter sauce. The crab was just shredded and tossed with the cooked gnocchi so it was warm and had that lovely light crabby flavor you long for but so often don't get. With the preserved lemon spiking up the flavor quotient, this was a nice, simple but elegant dish.

Then, to put us competely over the top, a couple of piping hot decaf Americanos with an amazing dessert of Dagoba chocolate empanadas served with cinnamon cherry iced cream and sherry-soaked bing cherries. Ay yie yie! And all this for much less than we'd thought it might be; enough that we'll definitely be back in the near future. Needless to say, a very lovely evening to celebrate a very singular occasion.

Details: Paley's Place, 1204 NW 21st Ave.; Phone 503-243-2403 for reservations.