Insanely Good Catfish Dinner

The night before we thought we had a really good ginger halibut dish at Thai Restaurant Red Onion. That was until we had my parent's broiled catfish. This meal was insanely good. Light, refreshing, healthy, leisurely and utterly memorable. Mike quickly declared this meal one of his top 5 favorite all time meals we've had at my parents' house and that list grows each time we eat there.

The whole catfish was rubbed in garlic, covered in foil, baked for 40 minutes, then uncovered and lightly dressed with oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt and pepper and fresh ginger. Back in the oven for 15 minutes, then topped with green onions and more fresh ginger right before serving. Eaten rolled in rice paper with lettuce, an abundance of herbs (purple perilla, mint, fish mint and sorrel), cucumber, tart green apples and rice noodles. And if that wasn't enough there was a pungent dipping sauce made of salty anchovies and pineapples. This meal hit all the spots that make summer so great! Eaten out on the patio under a unseasonable warm late summer evening, we biked home so happy. It's amazing how an incredible homecooked meal can elevate your whole existence.

Red Onion Thai Restaurant

We have bemoaned before about our ongoing search for a good Thai food restaurant in Portland. After catching an instagram photo of Red Onion Thai Cuisine we were hopeful. On a gorgeous summer night we biked up to trendy NW 23rd in hopes of finally getting a terrific Thai meal. Results? The hunt is still on. Typical of most Thai restaurants we have tried, Red Onion's dishes are over sauced, unmemorable and watered down.
There were few small things we did like about Red Onion. Their fresh rolls had a very small portion of noodles and additional herbs such as basil and mint, but the peanut dipping sauce was a complete miss, just tasted of peanut oil. Fresh rolls dipping sauce should be bold and full of spice and flavors other than just peanuts. We did enjoy the Ginger Halibut, but that was completely wiped away when we had a broiled catfish dinner the following night at my parents' house with similar flavors.
Thai food is mainly stir fried, so we don't understand when we order a stir fried dish and it comes overloaded with sauces that are completely watered down. We eventually had to ask for chili paste or sauce to spice up the dishes and add some kick to this completely bland meal. The Pad Thai noodles and the curry dishes looked really good, but we can make these dishes at home. After eating at Red Onion we really wished Thai Tom would open up a second restaurant in Portland, we would happily dine here weekly.
We do have it on good authority that the chef who opened Red Onion is the same chef who opened Cha Ba Thai on NE Sandy Boulevard. We plan to make a trip there soon and will report back. Until then the hunt for a good Portland Thai Restaurant is still on.

Neighborhood Watch: Downtown Between SW Salmon and Taylor

Continuing on our neighborhood watch blog series, we take you to a square block in downtown Portland that has, in our humble opinion, some of the loveliest buildings in all of downtown Portland. The city block is between SW Salmon, Taylor, Park and 10th Avenue.

This block is home to our favorite building in all of Portland - the Studio Building. Just stunning. The brick, the gorgeous patina copper Mansard roof, the lead windows, and of course, the stone busts of famous composers wrapped around the whole building. I first noticed this building from the 11th floor of the Bank of California building many years ago, especially the domed skylights and the amazing roof windows. Originally built in 1926 to house rehearsal studios with performances occurring at the Guild Theater next door. I would gladly call this building home. Can you imagine living in such a beautiful building and the amazing views it must have.

I noticed this following gem of a building one night and was surprised it hasn't been torn down to make way for some new shiny glass tower similar to the ones that surround it. The buiding is located directly across the street from award-winning Director's Park. I'm so glad the city has kept this beautiful old brick building from the wrecking ball for low income housing because it really is a lovely building.

Rumor has it when the Indian mystic/guru the Bhagwan Rashneesh and his disciples owned the building which South Park Restaurant currently occupies, they had massive parties here. We imagine they parked all their Rolls Royces in the parking garage above. It's a gorgeous building and we particularly like the copper salmon bursting out of the brick facade.

The building across the street is the Roosevelt Apartment Building, which looks like a great building to live in. Right across from the beginning of the SW Park Blocks, it's such a great neighborhood, I hope it never changes.

Neighborhood Watch: Produce Row

One of the things I think make Portland so unique is the City's neighborhoods. Many are unique in location, vibe, and in particular, look. We love being tourists in our town, any reason to stroll around a particular neighborhood is an invitation we'll always accept. We love warehouse districts. If only these buildings could talk, and the Produce Row neighborhood buildings are gems. A bit rough, dirty and disheveled, with a homeless community to match, this area is one of our favorite neighborhoods in the whole city. There's so many great buildings and hidden treasures in just a few blocks. Maybe it's the lead windows, the awning covered loading areas, all the beautifully aged brick or maybe we just like boxy warehouse buildings. All we can say is riding your bike through this part of town is a real treat.

Natural Birthday Dinner

One of our top restaurants in Portland is Natural Selection, which is a restaurant "....built on vegetables, fruits, and grains...served in a warm European-style setting". The cooking style and techniques are rustic and modern and "....highlighting the flavors of France, Italy, and Spain". We have blogged about Natural Selection before and stated we'd be happy to return at least 4-times a year to taste their seasonal menu. But after this last visit, which was for another celebratory birthday dinner, we'd be perfectly happy to return every week to taste their weekly changing menu. Natural Selection is that good. Thank you to our friends Robert & Tim for being vegans and introducing us to one of our favorite restaurants in all of Portland.

Natural Selection serves a coursed menu for a bargain price of $35 for four courses, with only two different course options, or you can select individual dishes. Wine pairings are for an additional $25 and are well thought out and well worth the extra splurge. Due to Course No. 2's salad containing watermelon, which Mike is allergic to, we selected everything except for the salad courses, which looked fantastic and our friends were generous enough to share one of their figs with us. We did not opt for the wine pairing this time, but had Sazerac cocktails instead, which were excellent. Reservations are highly recommended due to the limited number of tables and paced courses. The calm, cozy and comfortable setting is a complete treat.

Our meal started with an amuse bouche of heirloom tomatoes and yellow cucumbers.

Course No. 1 - Roasted Beets with Pears. Sweet Corn Soup with lobster mushrooms and lemon oil.

Then came Course No.2 with wine no. 2!

The summer squash risotto was our favorite of the two Course No.3. We thought the Potato Hash was one dimensional and wasn't nearly as impressive.

Then came a palate cleanser that tasted of cardamon and anise, and as with everything else that evening, was exquisite.

We rarely order dessert, but Natural Selection's Squash Cake with Pistachios and a Berry Cobbler was something we had to indulge in and they tasted as good as they looked.

Not all of Natural Selection's menu is vegan, but always vegetarian. This week happened to be vegan and gluten free. The portions are perfect and for the price well worth the splurge for one of our favorite restaurants in the city.