SE Portland « Je Mange la Ville

December is National Pear Month: Pear Lunch at Castagna

By mlb, on December 3rd, 2011%

I recently had the very good fortune of being invited to a festive Pear Lunch hosted by Pear Bureau Northwest at Castagna Restaurant. This was completely awesome for a number of reasons, including I got to leave work early for a long lunch and Castagna is practically in my neighborhood, so jwa and I could just walk there. And although we go to Cafe Castagna pretty frequently, it’s been a while (a couple of years?) since we’ve been to the restaurant side. So that was very nice too.

I took some photos of the lunch and at the time, I was pleased to not be the only one photographing my food. Seriously, everyone had a camera and/or iphone out and was snapping pics before trying anything. I was quite amused.

I missed a photo of the pear juice flight but I have two images of . . . → Read More: December is National Pear Month: Pear Lunch at Castagna

Mango, Mango, Mango! Grilled Chile-Lime Arctic Char with Mango Slaw

By mlb, on June 26th, 2011%

So this is kind of amusing — a couple of weeks ago I was contacted by the National Mango Board about being one of three four “celebrity” judges for Mango Taste-Off featuring Bo Kwon of Koi Fusion and Addy Bittner of Addy’s Sandwich Bar. It was June 17 at D-Street Noshery — conveniently located five blocks from my house. Well, alright then!

Here are some photos of the event.

Bowl of mangoes at the judges table — wow, the iphone4 takes great pictures!

mangoes
Addy’s Sandwich — Shredded Beef Brisket, Fresh Mozzarella and Mango/Pickled Red Onions on a Little T’s Baguette. (Photo from the National Mango Board).

mangoes
Bo’s Korean Halibut Tacos with Mango Pico de Gallo and Mango Salsa — the winner! But it was really close. They were both delicious!

mangoes
The judges — I . . . → Read More: Mango, Mango, Mango! Grilled Chile-Lime Arctic Char with Mango Slaw

Tuesday Night Dinners

By mlb, on August 31st, 2010%

Caesar Salad at Cafe Castagna.

We have started a tradition of going out to dinner on Tuesday nights. Originally, we were thinking maybe every other Tuesday, but this month went to three places — of course, I am certainly not complaining. We tried two new places: Bar Avignon and Nostrana and revisited an old-standby: Cafe Castagna. This post is mostly pictures, enjoy!

Bar Avignon
2138 SE Division Street
Portland, OR 97202

I liked the food a lot. Also, it was a very cozy space. But, jwa and I were both a little surprised with the vibe. Not really uninviting but not that inviting either. It was weird, the whole time we were there I don’t think I saw any of the staff smile at all. I’m perfectly willing to assume it was just a strange night or something and go back again, though. I really want to love this place. . . . → Read More: Tuesday Night Dinners

Genoa Restaurant, Portland

By mlb, on May 7th, 2010%

Genoa Restaurant Portland

Genoa Restaurant
2832 Southeast Belmont St
Portland, OR 97214-4024

Okay, enough about California, let’s talk about a Portland restaurant! Recently, jwa & I went to Genoa to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. We hadn’t been to the new one yet and were both very excited to give it a try. Wow, what a great meal. There’s still a few days left with this menu, I’d recommend trying to check it out. We’ve decided to not wait for another big celebratory event. Maybe Flag Day?

“The Ancient Island of Sardegna” April 28th through May 15th

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll just highlight the choices we had but the full menu is here.

Also, as the evening progresses, the images get a bit darker.

Genoa Restaurant Portland

Genoa Restaurant Portland
It’s a nice, airy dining room with maybe a dozen tables.

Genoa Restaurant Portland
We started with . . . → Read More: Genoa Restaurant, Portland

Comune Accanto for Brunch

By mlb, on March 22nd, 2010%

title

2838 SE Belmont St.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 235-4900

We finally tried Accanto for brunch Sunday and wow, we both really enjoyed it. It’s the place on the corner of 28th & Belmont, right next to the new Genoa. Actually, Accanto is to Genoa, like Cafe Castagna is to Castagna, I believe. Anyway, I love the curly fennel painting in their sign. That’s some points right there. I called before we left to walk there to see if there was a wait (there was not). I’ve learned my lesson from the not-calling-Slappy-Cakes-first-gate of a couple of months ago.

accanto

When we got there we got a table right in the front window and ordered drinks.

accanto

I got an Apricot Mimosa (Prosecco, Amaretto, apricot puree) and jwa ordered a Belmont Bloody Mary (Pepper infused Monopolowa, Spicy thymetomato juice). They were very good!

accanto