Country Cat Dinnerhouse
7937 SE Stark
Portland, OR 97215

Finally, jwa and I made it to the Country Cat on Sunday night. I know it’s been open for quite a while, but this is actually ahead of schedule for us. Typically, we seem to not get to a new place until it has been open for a year or two. (Okay, no one burst my bubble and tell me CC has been open for like the past three years..)

Going in, I kind of knew I would be having the skillet fried chicken. Specifically, the Cast Iron Skillet Fried Chicken, with a sweet cream biscuit & bacon braised collard greens. jwa went back and forth and finally decided on the Heritage Burger on a French onion bun with cheddar cheese, garlic mayonnaise & onion rings.

Mmmm! Okay, but I’m getting ahead of myself. We got there right around 5:15 and got a nice big booth by the open kitchen. jwa saw the pretzels and mustard written by the bar and ordered that first thing while we were still looking at the menu — he has a fondness for soft pretzels and mustard. I thought they were very good, even though I gave jwa about half of my pretzel. Even then, I knew I was saving myself for the chicken.

We each got salads (huge!) and then settled in for the entrees — the chicken and jwa’s burger. We traded bites and enjoyed our meal quite a bit. We will definitely be back. The chicken was boneless and crispy and completely non-greasy. The greens had a smokey and sweet taste to them and I fell in love with my biscuit.

Next, I want to try the Grilled Leg of Lamb on scalloped potatoes with parmesan bread crumbs. Or maybe the Red Wine Braised Strawberry Mountain Beef on sour cream mashed potatoes with chanterelles, & chestnuts. Huh, the Cornmeal Fried Dover Sole on a chopped vegetable salad with a chunky olive & caper sauce sounds good too. This may be difficult.

Oh, and I love the t-shirts. I want one. We ended the meal with some chocolate and coconut sorbet. I ate the macaroon while jwa was away from the table washing his hands. Too bad for him. Ma ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Afterwards, we went to Home Depot and bought lightbulbs and cleaning supplies. It was a good night.

***

Battle of the Toppers

We have two wedding cake toppers and I can’t decide which couple I like better. I think we will use them both at the wedding — one set as toppers and the other as something else you might need a small bride and groom for. Sure, I know we could do flowers on top of the cake but I want to do the little bride and groom cake toppers. I don’t know why — I just like them. Maybe it’s because everyone does flowers on their cakes now, maybe it’s because I just want little plastic people standing on our cake.

The first set is a bit big and they sit on the edge of a tier on the cake. They are a bit awkward and dorky looking. Perfect for us! You’ll notice that I have also outfitted the groom with some big glasses for that touch of realism. My only concern here is that they might be a bit big for our size cake and they might fall off and plop onto the floor and end up covered in frosting and floor fuzz. Certainly not the end of the world but something to think about.

Set number two is smaller and stands on the top of the cake. They are a bit more sophisticated in appearance. They are designed after a retro set and produced by Martha Stewart but they are new and made of resin (instead of actually vintage and made of lead paint and asbestos). The glasses look a little big here but I think that makes it just the right amount of awesome. Currently, both sets are on our fireplace mantle looking spiffy and prepared to duke it out. We’ll see which couple reigns supreme…

Bridgewater Bistro
20 Basin Street
Astoria, Oregon
503-325-6777

So, jwa and I headed out to Astoria this weekend (such a pretty drive along highway 30 with the leaves and the sun and all) to have dinner at Bridgewater Bistro. It’s the new restaurant by Ann and Tony Kischner of the Shoalwater Restaurant in Seaview, WA. Not to put any pressure on the meal or anything, but they are catering our wedding at the Hotel Elliott in May and we wanted to go there and eat as many things on our menu as we could. Oh and we did.

First off, the space at Bridgewater is Beautiful. It’s a big, red barn-like building right on the waterfront. There’s a downstairs seating room, an upstairs mezzanine, tons of windows and multiple fireplaces. So warm and inviting. And one thing that I really like is that the space is not over-crowded with too many tables crammed into the space. There’s a nice amount of space between each table.

To start the meal we had a little complimentary glass of crisp fries and ketchup. I would have taken a pictures of these but we ate them too quickly.

One of the appetizers on our menu is halibut cakes with green apple and avocado salsa. While this was not on the current bridgewater menu, they did have fish cakes (halibut, salmon & cod) with a mango-ginger sauce. We tried the two-cake version of this as an appetizer to our meal. Really good — lots of fish. As the bride, I will be demanding extra halibut cakes and green salsa at the wedding. So you know, you’ve been warned. I can come by and steal your halibut cake. Back off — I’m the bride.

Next, jwa did the salad with salalberry vinaigrette and I did the French mushroom soup. Excellent all around. I loved the salad and the soup was really mushroom-y and good. We were trying to decide between a tomato soup and a mushroom soup as the second course and I think we’ll be going with the mushroom. And the salad (the fourth course) will be a great transition between the entree and the wedding cake.

Now, for our main meals — jwa had the salmon (served here with a cranberry-mustard sauce, a side of rice pilaf and sautéed swiss chard) and I had the Moroccan chicken. The salmon on our menu will be grilled (we love grill marks) and finished in the oven with a dill sauce and a side asparagus. That said, the salmon at this meal was very good. And jwa especially loved the rice.

My Moroccan chicken was the surprise hit of the meal. Not that I didn’t think it wouldn’t be good, just that I had already decided that I would get the salmon at the wedding. And we were kind of going back and forth between the Moroccan chicken and coq au vin. Not anymore. Moroccan chicken all the way, baby. So tasty. If I get this at the wedding, I will have to fashion some sort of bridal bib as the sauce is very red and my dress is very ivory and that sort of set up pretty much has disaster written all over it.

Desserts were a pear-fig-honey cobbler with vanilla ice cream and a bourbon-chocolate-pecan tart with vanilla ice cream. They were both delicious.

Price-wise jwa and I were trying to guess (before the check came) if this meal would be over or under what we just spent at Iorio for the Harvest Dinner we attended. And…Bridgewater was about $20 cheaper. We were both kind of surprised as we got a soup, a salad, three entrees (the fish cakes were an entree, not an appetizer) a bottle of wine and two desserts at Bridgewater.

Also, while we were at the restaurant, they were having a wedding reception in the upstairs private dining room! That makes me super happy too — that they can handle a full house of regular diners and also be catering a wedding at the same time. Awesome.

I’m just so happy we chose to go with them for our wedding catering. On top of the food, they’re just so nice to work with while planning a reception meal culinary extranvganza — friendly, calm, knowledgeable and skilled with northwest ingredients. The whole wedding planning can all be so stressful it’s a huge relief to have faith that the meal will be delicious and go smoothly. Hooray for Bridgewater Bistro!

Winchester Inn
35 South Second St.
Ashland, OR 97520
541.488.1113

We typically go to Ashland every Fall — see some plays, eat some food, go on some walks, that sort of thing. We’re heading off there this weekend and I thought it would be a good time to post last-Spring’s-mini-trip-there pictures. We just stayed for one night with a deal through the Winchester Inn — tickets to a play, dinner discounts, a suite and breakfast the next morning.

Our night started with dinner and a complimentary appetizer. In this case clams and mussels in a spicy, garlicky, winey broth. I have to say, neither jwa or I would have ordered this on our own but since it was brought to us for free, we dove right in, With some crusty bread it was really, really good. So good that at some point, I am going to try Tyler Florence’s recipe for spaghetti and spicy, tomatoey clam sauce.

A big bowl full of mollusks

Next, I think I had some asparagus soup. I remember it being delicious. It had a rich, smokey flavor.

Here’s a picture of a salad. I bet jwa had the salad. That’s just the type of thing he would do…

Although, upon further inspection, that might be something else. Oh, but I know it was tasty!

For my main course, I got this amazing braised lamb over polenta with rosemary and vegetables.

I think they still currently have it on the menu. Yep — they do: Braised lamb shank, basil polenta, with a braising sauce and Tangerine Rosemary gremolata. Wow, that was so good.

Surf & turf

jwa got the surf and turf special — a beef fillet, it looks like something crispy on top, something round and crusty (I’m going to guess this was a risotto ball) and crabmeat. Oh and sauces! A couple of different sauces. It was so good. I know because I tried some and he was raving about it as well.

Dessert was a fried banana, caramel sauce and a pot of dark chocolate gelatto. So excellent. I hope that is still on the menu when we are there this weekend! Okay, I should probably go pack or something…

Oh, yeah — just a reminder about this month’s weekend cookbook challenge! Make something Fallish and/or Halloween-y and send your post to me by by October 21!

Bricks of Port Townsend.

So the new job and early hour (I get up at 6:00 now!), have kept me from getting a new post together. But, I have a good feeling about tonight. In the meantime, here are some pictures of our meal at the Silverwater Cafe in Port Townsend.

Crab Shooter — crab leg meat, creamy crab bisque and sambuka-infused cream, all in a shot glass.

Lavender pepper crusted ahi tuna.

Post-dinner tea infusing.

Dahlia in the sun.

We had a nice stretch of cool, 60’s to 70’s weather recently. That appears to be over. Hello, gazpacho! I recently got the new La Cucina Italiana magazine and found quite a few recipes in there that I wanted to try out. This is the first one. I think the second one will be fig and cocoa smoothie.

Anyway, back to the gazpacho — I really liked it. So did jwa. I have another recipe for a peach and tomato gazpacho and also a lima bean gazpacho. So there hot weather, I am ready for you.

Zucchini Gazpacho
1 big zucchini
2 yellow tomatoes
1/2 green bell pepper
1 small sweet onion, chopped into quarters
2 cloves garlic
2 slices white bread, crusts removed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Tabasco
salt
pepper
3 tbsp parsley, chopped
juice of 1/2 an orange
extra olive oil for drizzling

Blend the zucchini, tomatoes, onion quarters, bell pepper, olive oil and garlic in a food processor. Get it a bit combined and then add the bread, a bit of Tabasco, parsley and orange juice. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Serve into individual bowls and drizzle with the olive oil. You’re done. Go eat. Or, you know, just go out to eat…

Carlyle Restaurant
1632 NW Thurman Street
Portland, Oregon 97209

The other night (the night after the tasty gazpacho) we went to Carlyle Restaurant in NW Portland. So awesome. And, since I didn’t have many gazpacho images for my post, I will taunt you with Carlyle pictures. Ha!

My French Lemonade (Aviation gin, Cointreau, fresh lemon juice, tonic water and a float of Chartreuse liqueur, served tall) and jwa’s Caneberry cooler (House infused Raspberry and Blackberry vodka, simple syrup, lemon juice and club soda, served in a tall glass ).

Duck Cannaloni (Slow cooked duck confit, crepes, morel mushrooms, leek fondue and truffle oil). I love duck, jwa is so-so on duck. jwa loved this duck.

I had the Spring Chinook Salmon — grilled salmon, baby fava bean risotto, ramps, preserved lemon and cantal cheese with sweet pea coulis. Mmmmmm.

And jwa seemed completely delighted and bedazzled by his Filet Mignon — grilled Cascade Beef tenderloin, Pleasant Ridge Reserve potato gratin, ramp butter, foie gras bordelaise and Tempura Tiger prawn.

How to end all of this? Tiramisu, of course!

Needless to say, it was a wonderful dinner. We even got a quick tour of the big barnwood kitchen table and the private garden seating area before we left. It was all so good, I didn’t even mind the napkin-refolding. Bring me more duck, salmon and sweet pea coulis and you may do whatever you wish to my napkin if I get up to use the restroom.

Carlyle definitely gets four swanky cocktails out of four swanky cocktails.

For Easter this year, instead of making a brunch at home, jwa and I headed off to Heceta Head Lighthouse, on the coast between Yachats and Florence. Okay, we actually headed there Saturday as it’s a 3+ hour drive and that’s pretty far to drive all in one day — even for a seven-course brunch.

I’m not saying we wouldn’t do that, just that it would be far.

We stayed at the Ocean Cove Inn in Yachats that first night (Perpetua Room, no two night minimum, good price and it was sufficiently cute) and went to the Drift Inn for a huuuuge dinner of nachos, fish, key lime pie and beer. The nachos, beer and key lime pie were all awesome, the fish, sadly, was not. *sigh* Lying people on tripadvisor.com! You bastards! It did, however, remind both jwa and I of Flagstaff. Must have been the hippie waitress. Not to be confused with the more-prevalent-in-Portland, hip, indie waitress.

Anyway, the real reason for this post — The Lighthouse and the Never-Ending Brunch of Easter Awesomeness.

Coming up the trail from the beach…the house.

So, so good. Two hours of good. Geez. Where to start? Fruit. Salmon. Blueberry frappe. Strata-frittata thing. Chicken apple sausage. Apple strudel. Cheese and fruit. A bathroom full of ladybugs.

Oregon Pinot Gris Cocktail
Fresh strawberries, honeydew, Asian pear and watermelon infused with an Oregon Pinot Gris syrup, topped with marscapone cheese and candied roasted hazelnuts. This was served with some Heceta Bright Bread– zucchinis, cranberries, apricots and candied ginger baked together in a firm yet cheerfully crumbly treat.

Oregon Lox & Bagels
with shaved onion. English cucumber, daikon and baby dill.

Oregon Blueberry Citrus and White Chocolate Frappe — A very nice palate cleanser after the fish.

Heceta Head Strata
Garnet yams, caramelized onion, fresh garden sage and Juniper Grove Thor smoked chevre. Served with Taylor’s Chicken Apple & Cherry sausage.

The sausages were so good, I had to take a picture of them too!

Grandma Marie’s Apple Strudel
Served warm with fresh whipped cream. Unfortunately, I could not finish my strudel. It was very good, though. jwa finished his without hesitation.

And last, we have: Melon & Apple Jazz
Lavender Farmers cheese from Juniper Grove Farm. Yeah. I made a little room for the cheese!

After brunch, we hiked up the trail to the lighthouse and took a tour. It’s a very cute and squat lighthouse, with less than 108 stairs.

Looking up into the lighthouse light.

Looking at the ocean from the lighthouse bluff.

Highway 101 bridge as seen from the beach.

After brunch and the lighthouse exploring, we made our way up the coast and back home, choosing to cut over at Tillamook. It was rainy most of the way back but still a very pleasant drive. Oh and the lighthouse is one of the places we are considering for Wedding 08. The food would be amazing, that’s for sure…

Strangely, the bathroom upstairs had about 10 ladybugs on the ceiling. Just hanging out. Wandering about. Being ladybugs and such. Not at all icky, though. I like ladybugs. They’re cute!

Saturday, jwa and I headed to the Dundee/Dayton area in Yamhill County, where the wine flows like, uh, water or somethng. Seriously, so much wine, so little time. You could not throw a rock and not hit a winery. Add to this, it was a beautiful day (high of 66 and blue skies).

Here’s what we saw and did.

The first stop was at Red Ridge Farms in Dundee. Of course, google maps got us a little lost and it directed us to Sokol Blosser instead of the farm (not necessarily a bad thing) but we eventually found our way to the herb farm.

They had a greenhouse open, along with many herbs, olive trees, herbs, flowers and a small store with olive oil, some art and other things. They were also having a wine tasting — this will be a theme of this post.

View from the balcony. It’s hard to see but the hills are covered with grape plants. Trees? Shrubs? Whatever. It’s all grapes, all the time.

Above the store, there is a great little apartment you can rent. It has a full kitchen, living room and bedroom. But the best part may just be the balcony. It overlooks hills and vineyards — maybe Domaine Serene and the previously mentioned Sokol Blosser, but I could be wrong there. I’m probably wrong. It was hilly and it was grapes. I know I’m right about that, though.

I captured a little bug in this shot

After checking out the farm and walking around, we got back on 99 and headed again to Dundee. Once there, we stopped at Argyle, which is one of our favorite wines.

Here, we tasted some brut, some riesling, a pinot and some merlot. jwa carried the box of six wines to the car afterwards.

The Argyle Nuthouse — unfortunately the Nuthouse Pinot and Chardonnay weren’t ready to taste yet

They also had some cheese, crackers and other snacks out but we were saving ourselves for lunch.

Argyle porch — cute!

Lunch at the Dundee Bistro, which is conveniently across the street.

I started with the cauliflower & manchego cheese soup — which was amazing — and a glass of the Ponzi pinot.

Then, we moved on to halibut fish and chips (jwa) and coq au vin for me. Both were really good.

How to finish the day? A slice of lemon-marscapone cheesecake with an espresso crust, bittersweet chocolate drizzle and white chocolate shavings.

Yeah, it was really good. After all that, we drove back to Portland (well jwa drove back as he just tasted at Argyle and had ice tea at Dundee Bistro). Not a bad way to spend a sunny St. Patrick’s Day Saturday afternoon!

Places:
Red Ridge Farms
5510 NE Breyman Orchards Road
Dayton, Oregon 97114

Sokol Blosser
5000 Sokol Blosser Lane
Dundee, OR 97115

Argyle Winery
691 Highway 99W
Dundee, Oregon 97115

Dundee Bistro
100-A SW Seventh Street
Dundee, OR 97115

Google Map of Red Ridge Farms and Surrounding Wineries

Ashland for the Shakespeare Festival
I recently got an e-mail from the Winchester Inn (which we call “The Winchester Mystery Inn”, having lived in the Bay Area), offering one night’s lodging, $30 coupon towards dinner in the dining room — hey, it’s about a free bottle of wine — tickets to a play for two and a hot breakfast the next morning. Needless to say, I picked a date, a room from the Web site, decided which play I wanted to see and called jwa to let him know about this mini-getaway all in a span of 30 minutes from getting the e-mail. I’m very easily convinced to return to places we like a lot.

On April 15th, while others are slugging away on their taxes (due Tues, the 17th this year) we’ll be kicking back in Ashland, enjoying a lovely dinner at the Winchester and seeing Tracy’s Tiger. This works out very well, as it is sold out for our traditional Ashland trip in October and I couldn’t get tickets, which made me very sad. Now I am happy.

Since we do go to Ashland every year, I figured I’d throw out a few recommendations. Although, be warned, lodging reservations should be made as early as possible. Depending on when you go, things might be booked up to a year in advance. Seriously. I know. I was shocked too when I had to scramble one year to find a place to stay. This is especially true for the first weekend in October.

Winchester (Mystery) Inn
A cross between a B&B and small hotel. Breakfast is included in the morning and is big and satisfying. Usually a choice between some sort of pancake/waffle option and a savory egg dish. Includes fruit, coffee and juice. We’ve only stayed in one room — The Sunset Room — which was very nice, albeit a bit small.

The Sunset Room

There is an awesome, private balcony though, so it was worth it. The rooms are a bit pricey though,$145 - $250, so you may want to save it for a special occasion.

Abbott’s Cottages
Our new favorite place to stay. They fill up very quick, though. Studio, one-bedroom and multiple bedroom “cottages” with kitchens, tile floors, balconies/patios and cuteness. Behind Al’s Pancake World. Okay, fine, Al’s diner. We’ve stayed in the Egret and the Duck. Rates are very reasonable, starting at $110 for a studio cottage and going up to $230 for a 3-bedroom rental house.

Casa Bella — Backyard Bungalow
We stayed here once and it was very, very cute but a little small. Lots of character. There’s a small kitchen, a small bathroom, closet and a bedroom/sitting area. The price is very good at $85-125/night (depending on season) and there is a parking spot located a few steps outside the kitchen door. It’s attached to a larger rental house, but still managed to seem pretty quiet and private. A good deal for Ashland. The Web site doesn’t seem to work anymore — not sure if this place is still available.

Fiddle Family Inn — The Cottage
Small one bedroom cottage, with a back deck and a soaking tub. We stayed here once and while it was nice, it was nothing special for the price of $150/night. Based on the outside, which is very cute, I was expecting more from the inside, which just looked like an ordinary, “first apartment” type interior. Also, there was no parking spot included. Not a big issue as we had no problem finding a spot on the street, but for $150 I’d like off-street parking. The owner was extremely nice though, so it’d be an okay choice if you looked and looked and everything else was booked.

Manor Motel
Ashland on a budget. We stayed here last year three nights and saved enough money to splurge and stay at the Winchester for one night. This is a very good deal. Rooms start at $65 a night and go up to $95 for multiple bedrooms. The website makes it look slightly nicer than it really is, though and the kitchens are very dated. That said, it was a perfectly nice place to stay as long as you’re not expecting a $150/night type of room. I did really like sitting at the kitchen table in the morning, having coffee and reading. There is also a picnic table outside and a back gate that leads out into the neighborhood.

I forget the room number that we had…

The owner was very friendly and out in the morning doing yard work on the property. I could not, however, stop myself from wondering how nice our room would be with new carpeting (or even better, hardwood floors), some bright wall paint, new artwork and a new, unstained chair. But then again, if you’re looking to save a few bucks and don’t care about fanciness or cuteness in your lodging, this is a great option.

Places we haven’t stayed at but I’d either like to or have heard good things about…

Ashland Springs Hotel
Right downtown, looks very nice. One day we’ll splurge and try it.

The Palm
We almost stayed here the first year we went but then I found a rental cottage to stay at instead (that place is no longer available). This looks like a great deal and people on Tripadvisor.com seem to like it too. It’s probably a bit longer walk to downtown than most places we stay at but then, walking is good for you so that’s not a bad thing. $64 - $169/night.

Restaurants coming soon…

Iorio
912 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 445-4716

I pass this restaurant pretty much every day (unless I catch the Division bus instead of the Hawthorne one) on my way home from work. It always looks so cozy and inviting. Bright red walls, soft lights and lately — a big Christmas tree in the middle of the restaurant, as well as two white-light decorated tress guarding the doorway.

I talked jwa into trying this place Saturday night and I’m very glad I did. We had a great two hour dinner and a very nice time. The meal started with a couple of complimentary snacks — bread with a squash dip and a small plate of marinated garbanzo beans with a balsamic drizzle and shaved Parmesan. Both were fabulous!

The meal itself was a hard choice. However, I have a rule that whenever calamari is on a menu we have to have it. At Iorio this meant calamari with a cornmeal crust and accompanied with a herbed aioli and Serrano chile oil. I really liked it. The calamari was tender and the breading not too heavy and the dipping sauces were especially good.

After much debate and a small debacle where I accidentally burned a hole in my menu with the table’s candle. Oops. jwa was very amused, though. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. Our meal decisions. Well, we went back and forth a bit on whether we could order the same thing and came to the conclusion that in this one instance it was okay. So, we both got the Chef’s tasting Menu — 4 courses for $30.

First Course
House smoked local salmon Caesar salad

Second Course
Handmade gnocchi with arugula oil and baby Gorgonzola

Third Course
Grilled baby quail with root vegetable pave and braised greens with cider glaze

or
Pan seared ling cod with chestnut butter and root vegetable pave (we both got the quail — it was all little and cute)

Dessert
Pots au chocolate

It was dee-licious. We decided to get the wine pairings for $7 more each, which included a glass of pinot grigio with the salad and gnocchi and a chianti with the quail. They were good wine pairings, but I ended up getting an extra glass of white wine as I ran out of my first glass during the calamari. Oops. Next time, I think we will just get a full bottle of something.

With our pots au chocolate, jwa had coffee (illy) and I had a coffee nudge (illy + Kahlua and Bailey’s). The meal ended with another complimentary item — cookies* (I know the kind has a specific name but it escapes me at the moment), as well as the check.

All in all, it was a very good meal and I think we’ll definitely be going back again.

Iorio gets three holiday lights out of four holiday lights.

* Interesting fact: if you have a bite of one of the leftover Iorio check cookies and a drink of Bridgeport Ebenezer Ale — the combination in your mouth tastes like roast turkey. Fascinating.

Lemongrass Chicken

Thai Basil
Corner of SW Oak & 2nd Ave
Portland, OR
503-330-1010

Well, as I’ve mentioned before, I have a new job downtown and one of the nice benefits of that is the lunch choices. My last position was up on Skyline and my lunch option was…Pizzicato. I mean, that was good, but that was it. That was the only choice nearby.

But now…the possibilities are endless! So, I thought I would start a little review of lunch carts in downtown Portland. The first is Thai Basil, which is right across the street from my office building. How convenient!

Thai Basil Menu
Chicken or Tofu Curry — a red curry, green curry and a yellow curry
Chicken or Tofu Stir Fries — ginger, garlic, veggie lovers, spicy basil and cashew versions
Chicken or Tofu Noodle Dishes — pad thai and two other varieties
Chicken or Tofu Fried Rices — comes in pineapple, spicy basil and with extra chilis

They also have specials. These include Lemongrass Chicken, Pumpkin Curry with Chicken or Tofu, Spicy Mango Curry and Stir Fried Asparagus with Chicken or Tofu.

All of these menu items come with a salad roll and dipping sauce, and a drink (Thai ice tea or water) for $5.00. Oh and a weird little wrapped candy that I’m not crazy about (tastes like lemony caramel).

Yeah, all of this for $5.00!

I have had the pumpkin curry with chicken (excellent and spicy) and I just recently tried the lemongrass chicken, which is my favorite so far. The lemon grass gives it a subtle, Thai-ish flavor and it comes with a spicy peanut sauce, chili sauce and a heavy, molassesy soy sauce. So, so good. I was in dipping heaven. The vegetables with this dish include carrots, broccoli and bok choy (I think or maye some kind of cabbage).

Another nice thing about Thai Basil is that the portions are huge! I spend $5.00 and I have lunch that day, take my leftovers home add some coconut milk (in the case of my leftover pumpkin curry — that one I even had enough to split it with jwa and we both had some) and have a lunch to bring back to work a day or two later.

Chicken Pumpkin Curry

Thai Basil gets 3.3 bowls of rice out of 4.

Coming soon in the “What’s For Lunch?” series: a selection of lunch carts on SW 5th Avenue. Also, here’s a neat little lunch cart map of downtown Portland by Audrey.

***

Je Mange la Ville is going on vacation next week. I’ll get my SHF post up next Friday but that’s probably about it, as we’ll be in Montana most of the week, celebrating my mom’s birthday.