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Lucky Strike Chinese Restaurant on SE Hawthorne Blvd. at SE 39th Ave.

October 21st, 2011 · SE Southeast

Portland, OR Restaurant Review: Lucky Strike Chinese Restaurant

Lucky Strike Chinese Restaurant on SE Hawthorne Blvd

Part of me feels like Chinese food in general, and Chinese restaurants specifically, have been around in enough communities for enough years, where a “good” Chinese restaurant maybe isn’t so much about authenticity anymore. That’s not to say that authentic Chinese food is bad, or that there is not any kind of specific intersection between “authentic” and “good” Chinese food, in fact, quite to the contrary, I am sure. Let me explain. The culturahttp://www.portland-restaurant-review.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=1497l expression that is Chinese food has been translated to such a degree, that each of us has developed an individual continuum of taste, quality, etc. — and this may or may not have anything to do with whether or not a restaurant is serving food that Chinese people may actually eat. Make sense? That being said, this is a long overdue review of a couple of dishes at Lucky Strike Chinese Restaurant in the Southeast on Hawthorne. And I think I love eating at this place. I do.

When a single dish at a restaurant pops up in your mind, seemingly unprovoked, from time to time, I think that’s a tell-tale sign that you’ve found something of quality. And this has happened to me several times with Lucky Strike. Now I’ve never seen a Chinese person working there, let alone an Asian person, now that I really think about it, which harkens back to my bringing up the “authenticity” question. Is there a group of exquisite Chinese chefs in the kitchen, and they’re just so busy at work that we in the dining room never actually see them? I suppose it’s possible. But my point in this review is that it doesn’t matter. And maybe further, that it shouldn’t matter. The food here is really really good, and I think people should know about it. Especially because it’s a bit deceptive — almost to the point of it being a question of whether or not the restaurant is even at the address where it’s supposed to be. [Read more →]

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Northeast: Shoyu Chicken at Ate-Oh-Ate

October 3rd, 2011 · Single Standout Menu Item

For Single Standout Menu Item, we review only one dish, one item or one beverage that we feel deserves its own bit of fanfare. This could be the one dish not to be missed, or the item on which the eatery has built its reputation.
Portland, OR Restaurant Review: Ate-Oh-Ate in Northeast Portland

Ate Oh Ate on E. Burnside in PortlandI’ll spare you the ga-ga talk if you’re a regular reader, and if you’re not and found your way here instead through some kind of search in Google on something like “hawaiian food portland” or more specifically “Ate Oh Ate Hawaiian Portland,” then long story short — as evidenced by my reviews of both Lilikoi Portland and now Namu Killer Korean BBQ — I love shredded, sweet, savory pork and beef dishes that take the best of Hawaiian-style food and twist it into Portland’s unique style and scene.

Well I won’t spare you ALL of the ga-ga talk over the meal I had at Ate-Oh-Ate in what I feel I have to technically call Northeast Portland, even though the restaurant is on E. Burnside, so it’s really on the line between the Southeast and the Northeast. That being said, it’s there for everyone, regardless of your neighborhood. And it should be there for everyone, because these guys are DOING IT. Whoa. I went into the experience after a week of binging on Namu’s Kahlua marinated pork and cabbage, and with one quick look up at the colorful chalkboard menu inside, I almost pulled the trigger on the same exact dish. Then I saw Katsu, and noticed you could get a porkchop version, and I got sentimental and sad and started missing my time in Japan and the culture’s counter-style food, and then I saw Kal-bi. And it kind of just kept going like that until I thought, maybe I’d get the Katsu but maybe I should also ask the owner what they think the best dish on the menu is.

And so I ended up having my mind made up for me, and that decision was to take down the Shoyu Chicken plate lunch with macaroni and cheese. And here’s how that went for me…

[Read more →]

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PDX Cocktails: History and Recipes for Five Classic Cocktails

September 28th, 2011 · Portland Cocktails and Bars

Old-Fashioned Cocktail, History, Recipe and the Best in Portland

Old-Fashioned Cocktail PortlandAptly named, the Old Fashioned is possibly the first cocktail on the books. In fact, the earliest documented definition of the word “cocktail” (dating back to 1806) states that a cocktail is a potent mix of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar—the basic ingredients of what we now know as an Old Fashioned.

Colonel James E. Pepper, a member of Louisville’s Pendennis Club and distiller of bourbon whiskey, allegedly coined the name “Old Fashioned” in the 1880s. Colonel Pepper has also been credited with popularizing the drink, in part by bringing it to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel bar in New York City where it became the favorite cocktail of President Truman.

Over the course of its long history, the Old Fashioned has changed significantly. Even the earliest recipes vary on the specifics and, with the increasing popularity of mixology, contemporary twists and variations are springing up.

One of the older recipes comes from George J. Kappeler’s “Modern American Drinks.” More than a century after its publication in 1895, this Old Fashioned recipe might not be considered “modern” anymore, but it certainly provides a great (and historically authentic) basis for this delicious cocktail: [Read more →]

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Namu Killer Korean BBQ on SE Belmont St. at SE 43rd Ave.

September 15th, 2011 · SE Southeast

Portland, OR Restaurant Review: Namu Killer Korean BBQ Food Truck on SE Belmont St.

Namu Korean BBQ Food Cart: SE Belmont, PDX

Dear Mom,

I’m writing to you in what I can only describe as “heaven” or else, “heaven-like” or possibly maybe, “heavenly.” And it’s weird because I got here by becoming a killer. I’ve killed, I’ve barbecued, I’ve done some wonderful things, and I had no idea this would be waiting for me on the other side.

I’ve — if I can stretch the idea of what a verb can or should be — I’ve Namu Killer Korean BBQ’d myself, and now, I’m experiencing a level of joy and comfort and terminal bliss that is more likely than not, Heaven itself.

Thanks for everything,
Your Son.

Food carts can get EVERYTHING right every once in a while. Why not? They’ve often got great chefs / cooks / personnel / ideas behind them, just like a “regular” restaurant. They’re just mobile, or whatever else you’d like to point out in the way of their differences. Namu Killer Korean BBQ on SE Belmont in the 40s is what I’d like to call, a near-perfect food cart experience. Why? The food is priced perfectly: it’s not exactly cheap, but you get a ton of food for your dollar. The menu is tightly controlled, operating within an interesting culture or two without entering into a crazy unidentifiable area, the people who work there are literally the nicest humans in Portland or maybe in the hemisphere, and even though sometimes the same menu item will appear and taste like two different dishes on any two given days, diners eating at Namu will quickly find out that regardless, BOTH versions of that very same dish will knock their socks off. It’s a breakfast to dinner dream come true. I swear.

[Read more →]

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