Quick Hits: Munchin' and Lunchin'

Three recent lunch stops were très tasty, not very expensive and speedy without being rushed. Check 'em out:

I'd been curious about Las Primas, the colorfully decorated little spot on North Williams Avenue advertising itself as a "Peruvian Kitchen." Not being familiar with the street food of that country, an adventurous friend and I decided to meet there for lunch.

Order at the counter and grab a seat.

The menu features a wide selection of snacks, salads, soups, sandwiches and sweets, with a fun yet thoughtful children's menu that my kid would have loved…simple sausages, fries, a cheese sandwich, mild roasted chicken and fish. Then there's a fairly extensive cocktail list divided between those made with pisco, a Peruvian white brandy, and rum, with a house sangria and a nice beer list.

Lots of choices…pick your fave!

Though we were tempted to indulge in what is rumored to be one of the best Pisco Sours in town, my friend and I both had work rather than naps on our afternoon schedules, so we demurred and opted for the housemade juice drinks and sandwiches instead. The sandwich menu runs heavy on meat with a couple of token offerings for the vegetarian and vegan-inclined, but there are several snacks and salads that would make a decent meal for those who prefer not to indulge in animal flesh.

My Buttifara, a ciabatta-like roll stuffed with pepper-rubbed sliced pork, mild chili pepper mayo, lettuce and a salsa criolla of lime-marinated red onions and cilantro, was super fresh, with plenty of moist pork and a hint of heat from the spread. They have several condiment sauces to choose from, as well, so you can pep the sammy up or down depending on your desires.

A great casual spot for lunch, it would also be fun for an early dinner with one of the aforementioned cocktails.

Details: Las Primas Peruvian Kitchen, 3971 N Williams Ave. 503-206-5790.

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Ever since my brother moved his wine shop, Vino, from its original location in Sellwood, I'd lost a reason to drive across town to Sellwood. Which is kind of ridiculous, considering the neighborhood is home to one of my favorite lunch spots, Jade Teahouse and Patisserie. Fortunately, a friend was in the mood for something warm, noodle-y and delicious, the weather having turned cold and dark in recent days.

Lucy (left) and April Eklund.

And when you need warmth with a side of neighborhood cheer, the place has few equals. Lucy Eklund, along with her husband and daughter, have built a little landmark for great food and pastries at very reasonable prices. What used to be a "secret menu" of specials has grown to be a list of its own along with the extensive regular offerings like Asian appetizers, sandwiches and noodle dishes.

I love choices!

My khao soi, a brothy, tomato-based soup with wide housemade noodles, wilted baby spinach and crumbled pork, was as good as I remembered, and my friend's crab and pork soup, which was new to the specials list, had a wonderful rich broth and lots of meaty bits buried in Lucy's version of udon noodles. Combined with a pot of tea personally brewed by teamaster (and local blogger/photographer) Josh Chang, this lunch was like being wrapped in a warm comforter—or one of Lucy's signature hugs.

Details: Jade Teahouse and Patisserie, 7912 SE 13th Ave. 503-477-8985.

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About lunchtime I not only start getting peckish, the morning's toast and coffee having worn off by then, but the lack of activity from sitting in front of the computer has a chill settling on my shoulders. So all it took was a quick call and I soon found myself grabbing my coat and heading out the door.

A recent side of pickled Asian pears…awesome!

I've been a fan of Boke Bowl since Patrick Fleming, Brannon Riceci and Tim Parsons started one of the first pop-up restaurant sensations to hit Portland. (The striking flavor and texture of Patrick's handmade ramen noodles prompted me to write an article about the art of making them.) Within a year they had gone from roving restaurateurs to brick-and-mortar barons, hosting legions of fans in the middle of one of the hottest new food locales in town.

A recent visit brought back the excitement of those pop-up days—if anything, the soup and sides are better and more consistent than back when they were essentially camping out in strange kitchens. The decor is bright and happy without being precious, and the crew in the open kitchen is dedicated to giving each customer a superior bowl and personal service.

It's great to see good folks succeed!

Details: Boke Bowl, 1028 SE Water Ave. 503-719-5698.

I Came, I Saw, I Bowled

Pop-up books. Pop-up stores. And now pop-up restaurants. Combine that with the recent craze for ramen noodles and you've got Boke Bowl, the brainchild of Brannon Riceci and blogger Patrick Fleming.

We're not talking about the ramen you remember from your college days when ten packages of those dried, curly noodles cost a buck and you could cook them up in the percolator in your dorm room. And forget that super-salty, chemical-laden "broth" from a little foil packet.

The noodles that Fleming and his crew make have a handmade toothiness, with a regular wheat version and a gluten-free yam noodle option. The broths profferred the day I was there, variations on Japanese dashi, were seafood miso, a meaty pork-and-chicken combo and a light caramelized fennel. Each bowl comes with greens, mushrooms, butternut squash and water chestnuts, and inventive additions can be ordered individually.

The meal started out with a plate of airy rice crisps with a little bowl of a housemade sriracha dipping sauce (right) alongside. Both my dining companion, mistress of the Pacific NW Cheese Project, Tami Parr, and I only half-jokingly asked if we could each get a quart of it to go. Its heat was cooled by the agua frescas (above left), though it was tempting to try a (for me, nap-inducing) cocktail from Oba's terrific-sounding bar menu.

We also selected the steamed buns, a choice of grilled eggplant with pickled mustard sauce or a version containing char sui pork, cucumber and green onion (left). Not the usual stuffed dumplings, these were more like tacos, the filling sandwiched in the fold of a fluffy disk of dough.

Apparently the Brussels sprout salad, warm Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, blood orange and house tofu croutons with Thai vinaigrette, was amazing judging from the sighs coming from nearby tables, but after the chips and buns, and knowing that a couple of big bowls of soup were on the way, we decided that in this case discretion was the better part of valor.

My pork and chicken broth (top photo), a stew so dark and rich that even Toshiro Mifune would have a hard time stomping his way through it, came with choices like buttermilk fried chicken, pork belly or a slow-poached egg. Having heard from the event's DJ, Cabeza de Queso (right), that the fried chicken was to-die-for delicious, I chose it and was rewarded with an odalisque of crispy-on-the-outside, moist-on-the-inside nuggets sitting on top of my noodles with a dollop of aioli.

The last-Monday-of-the-month schedule, posted at the last minute on the website, happens at a rotating list of local restaurants. Past event locations have included Bijou Café, Cruzroom and the Globe, all at night, the one I attended at Oba being the first lunch the team had attempted. While this kind of schedule provides its fans an element of eager anticipation with a whiff of exclusiveness, it also makes it a challenging way to run a restaurant.

Patrick and Brannon only have a skeleton crew themselves, relying on the kitchen staff at the event location to put out the bulk of the food on the day of service. For the most part these are dishes that the line staff has never made (or seen) before. Plus the abbreviated schedule and throngs of fans being seated all at once means that mistakes can happen, like my first bowl of soup arriving after a significant wait and sans the requisite ramen. When the lack of the main ingredient was pointed out, a new bowl was quickly provided (and I wasn't charged for it). Also, some of the noodles were initially clumped together in a mass that required some work to untangle.

Overall, though, it was a fun and, yes, exciting experience, and if a rumored permanent location for this experiment-in-a-bowl does materialize, any problems with consistency should disappear with the addition of a permanent staff. Until then, though, you'll have to monitor their website and go knowing that the unexpected is always lurking in the wings.

Details: Boke Bowl. Last Monday of the month pop-up event. Monitor the website for next location.