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.

Crustacean Celebration: The Big Boys Weigh In

They were dubbed the three tenors of Portland chefs: Vitaly Paley, Philippe Boulot and Cory Schreiber. Think what you will of that moniker, but the dinner they orchestrated to celebrate the certification of Oregon's crab industry as sustainably managed by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) was a multi-layered symphony to our state crustacean. (OK, OK, enough with the musical metaphors.)

Crab and mushroom shepherd pie.

I received an invitation to the event the week before and couldn't say yes fast enough. It promised not only four courses reflecting the special place that the Dungeness crab, or Metacarcinus magister, holds in our state's food pantheon, but with wines to match from local wineries. See why I hit the reply button so quickly?

Like the certification received by the West Coast albacore fisheries earlier this year, which included tuna caught from California to British Columbia, the crab fishery as a whole, including crabbers and processors, was assessed against rigorous MSC standards. These included assessment of the stock, effect of the fishery on the ecosystem and the fishery management system. It's only one of five in the world to achieve this prestigious designation, and the only one of the five Dungeness fisheries on the west coast to be certified. Is that cool or what?

Ribeye with kale, black truffles and crab.

As for the dinner, it kicked off with a classic crab salad with plenty of shredded crab, grapefruit sections, lovely soft leaves of Oregon chicory and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds (top photo). The wine was a stunning 2009 Pinot Blanc Estate from Bethel Heights, a spicy, full-bodied, lovely complement to the bright, sweet flavors of the salad, and to my mind the most memorable wine of the night.

The second course was a slightly disappointing crab and matsutake mushroom shepherd's pie, mostly because the crab and mushrooms were indistinguishable from the thick layer of mashed potatoes on top. A good idea, but the execution was lacking, and the Domaine Drouhin 2008 Chardonnay "Arthur" poured with it only confirmed my lack of excitement over the wines I've had from them.

Poached pear with pistachio panna cotta.

But the thick slice of medium rare Carman Ranch ribeye that came next, with a side of creamed kale and black truffle hollandaise and three intact hunks of crab leg on top, was to die for, especially paired with the Penner-Ash 2008 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, a big-but-not-over-the-top, earthy mouthful. The fact that the crab wasn't the focus of the dish but was used as a garnish didn't bother me in the least and, to me, showed that Vitaly Paley has a sense of humor and isn't afraid to bend the rules. Good job!

Crab was noticeably absent but hardly missed in the dessert of poached seckel pear with a pistachio panna cotta perched on a salty, crunchy round of spice cookie, and the Adelsheim 2008 DeGlace of Pinot Noir was nice, but what I really craved was more of that pinot blanc from the first course. Though if at this point you're thinking, "Well, wah wah wah, Kathleen, too bad for you…" I wouldn't blame you, since over all this crab-filled performance piece deserved a standing O.

Check out this season's Crustacean Celebration series: Pasta with Crab and Radicchio, Deadly? I Think Not, and Let Them Eat Cakes. See also: last season's series starting with Hot Artichoke and Crab Dip (and links to other posts in the series).

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.