A ROTATING GUIDE TO RESTAURANTS WE LIKE Navigator: Northwest | Southeast | Northeast | Downtown/Southwest | Suburbs $: up to $15 per person, beverage and tip included $$: $25 and under $$$: $35 and under $$$$: above $35 WW reviewers have visited these establishments recently and can recommend them. The restaurant world is squirrely; please call for reservation information and hours. Northwest BEAU THAI The decor alone qualifies Beau Thai as the best low-rent Thai outpost in Portland. Standards such as salad rolls and pad Thai are well above average, and unfamiliar-sounding dishes can prove outstanding. THAI 730 NW 21st Ave., 223-2182. $$ CAFE AZUL Dinner here is always memorable, in part because the tastes linger and play out like a haunting song that won't go away. What's so good about Cafe Azul is that the sauces have great depth and strength yet seem to complement the food, not overwhelm it. The tacos are legendary, bathed with lime, chile and cilantro and filled with various meats, beans and crumbled white cheese. MEXICAN 112 NW 9th Ave., 525-4422. $$$$ BAMBOO'S Wedged beneath a Walgreen's, this Hunan-Szechuan restaurant follows a simple formula: voluminous, tasty entrees at a reasonable price and a menu that stretches from hot-and-sour soup to Peking duck. Although the appetizers tend toward pot stickers, the Number One Favorite Chicken--a shredded mountain of poultry in a spicy peanut sauce--is a real find. CHINESE 103 NW 21st Ave., 241-8122. $$ WILDWOOD Chef and owner Cory Schreiber's culinary understanding of the region is unmatched, and he delivers with metronomic consistency. In 1998, he deservedly shared the prestigious James Beard award for the leading chef in the Northwest. NORTHWESTERN 1221 NW 21st Ave., 248-9663. $$$-$$$$ BASTA'S This stylishly urban Italian restaurant offers classic Italian cooking such as Uncle Vittorio's Ragout with baby-back rib meat, braised with tomato and vegetables and tossed with rigatoni. The waiters are charming, smart and helpful with everything from choosing a reasonable chianti to keeping the meal running apace. ITALIAN 410 NW 21st Ave., 274-1572. $$-$$$ CAFE DES AMIS This is the place to go for a fine meal if you want absolutely no surprises and consistently high-quality presentations. The smoked-mushroom ravioli and the fillet of beef with port-garlic sauce are legendary. This little dining room is so removed from all the brass ring-grabbing for which the neighboring Northwest streets are renowned that the time spent here drinking French-press coffee and cracking the lid on the excellent crème brûlée seems like rebellion of the best kind. FRENCH/NORTHWESTERN 1987 NW Kearney St., 295-6487. $$$$ CELADON This top-notch Asian restaurant commingles the cuisines of Japan and Korea. Upon entering, you could become overwhelmed by the overall sushiness of the place and just stick to Japan's greatest export. But just ordering sushi is a mistake, because the Korean dishes are superb. The pork ribs are soaked in a spicy marinade that will have you swearing off that brown-sugar slop forever, and the kim chee will grow hair on your lips. JAPANESE/KOREAN 1203 NW 23rd Ave., 464-9222. $$$   Southeast CHEZ GRILL This ever-popular spot forgoes the hackneyed Tex-Mex menu for something a little more daring: New Mex-Mex. The fairly outrageous decor--something like Alice in Wonderland as interpreted by Cheech Marin--belies the kitchen's consistently no-nonsense, hefty offerings. MEXICAN 2229 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 239-4002. $$ THE PIED COW COFFEEHOUSE The Pied Cow is a great place to grab a light, elegant meal. The Pied Cow is mostly known for its coffee drinks, but it also offers a rather nice selection of plates for less than $10. The baked brie is served beautifully with hazelnuts and baguette rounds. Dessert is excellent here--this is one of the few places in town that makes a cannoli that won't make Mamma mia cry. COFFEEHOUSE 3244 SE Belmont Ave., 230-4866. $ CASTAGNA Castagna has the clean lines and the clean tastes that place flavors above everything. The cuisine is French and Italian, but with just enough latitude that it avoids both orthodoxy and the ersatz. What distinguishes Castagna is the perfectly done cooking, everything turned out au point, or just so. FRENCH/ITALIAN 1752 SE Hawthorne St., 231-7373. $$$$ CLAY'S SMOKEHOUSE GRILL As its name implies, the vaguely Southwest-decorated Clay's smokes its food right on the premises, using alder wood for the seafood and a hickory-and-mesquite blend for meats, poultry and vegetables. Everything is drenched in Clay's so-smoky-you-can-almost-taste-the-ash sauce, which balances its pungent toughness with just a touch of the sweet. BARBECUE Clay's Smokehouse Grill, 2932 SE Division St., 235-4755. $$ ESPARZA'S TEX-MEX CAFE With its eclectic, almost nutty, menu (including smoked meats and ostrich, for example), Esparza's measures up to the best of down-home Mexican food. The Hank Williams Tamales are tasty and excellent--homemade masa wrapped around smoked beef brisket. But check the specials board for new creations. TEX-MEX 2725 SE Ankeny St., 234-7909. $$-$$$ FIDDLEHEADS The menu here runs north and south through the Western hemisphere, from Brazil to the Native American settlements of Canada. At its best, it creatively blends such traditional ingredients as quinoa, local berries, nettles, wild rice, buffalo, corn, appaloosa beans, epazote, masa and Ute grill bread. It is big on dumplings, chowders, stews and cobblers, dishes that the original settlers made staples of in early Northwest cuisine. NATIVE AMERICAN 6716 SE Milwaukie Ave., 233-1547. $$$ FUSION The space actually doubles as a decent vintage furniture shop. The menu beckons with old standbys like New York steak, then extends its reach to red-curry mussels and an amazing mesquite-grilled salmon, marinated in soy, ginger and wasabi. There's a wide range of simple, low-cost sandwiches as well. FUSION 4100 SE Division St., 233-6950. $$   Northeast WINTERBORNE Winterborne is a cool oasis in the desert of contemporary restaurant hype, a throwback to an earlier world of tranquility and tradition. It is, of course, an old Portland fixture, where dependable, though hardly innovative, fish and seafood dishes have satisfied customers for years. Its new, decidedly French approach is worth bringing the restaurant back into the forefront of your mind. FRENCH 3520 NE 42nd Ave., 249-8486. $$$$ METRONOME For a simple place, Metronome's presentations can be surprisingly attractive. If you order carefully at this neighborhood cafe, you can have a fine light dinner: The soups, salads and appetizers are superior to the entrees, and you can make a fine meal from the first three categories. ECLECTIC 1426 NE Broadway, 288-4300. $$-$$$ HOKKAIDO Located along a stretch of Northeast Sandy Boulevard that is crowded with Southeast Asian restaurants, this simply appointed place serves the Japanese equivalent of meat and potatoes: sushi, sashimi, noodles, teriyaki and tempura. Ask your server which fish is best and you will be rewarded. JAPANESE 6744 NE Sandy Blvd., 288-3731. $$   Downtown/Southwest PASTA VELOCE The pastas are simple and light, and the portions are honest. Every bowl of noodles--there are over a dozen choices in all--comes with fresh Parmesan and bruschetta. Standouts include penne alla zucca, a vegetarian mix of butternut squash, spinach and tomatoes, and the gnocchi with grilled chicken, broccoli, tomatoes, Gorgonzola, walnuts and brown butter. ITALIAN 1022 SW Morrison St., 916-4388, and 933 SW 3rd Ave., 223-8200. BIJOU CAFE Now in its 22th year, the Bijou continues its commitment to using organic and local ingredients in its hearty fare, which leans toward healthy. Breakfast specialties include a roast-beef or snapper hash, tofu scramble and whole-wheat quesadillas with a spicy pumpkin-seed, tomatillo and roasted-pepper spread. The Bijou's cheery decor and friendly staff make it an excellent choice for relaxed, non-power dining. AMERICAN 132 SW 3rd Ave., 222-3187. $$   Suburbs BUGATTI'S RISTORANTE The comfortable, curtainy dining room here seems perpetually set at Tuscany dusk, as soft lights play dimly off earth-toned, sponge-painted walls. The menu offers several appealing choices of classic Italian cooking. The pescatore--tiger prawns, garlic and basil in a marinara sauce over linguine--is robust without being overbearing. A chicken breast awash in fontina, capers and a marsala sauce proves tender and substantial. ITALIAN 18740 Willamette Drive, West Linn, 636-9555. $$-$$$ THE GREEN BEAN CAFE The burger bar at the Green Bean Cafe & Market specializes in fulfilling vegetarians' dreams of living the meaty life--sans the meat. It's as close as non-meat eaters can get to sloppy Americana and homespun solace in a bun, aside from divorcing the beef from the burger at your neighborhood dive. VEGETARIAN 14125 SW Walker Road, Beaverton, 644-4442. $$   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published March 15, 2000