A ROTATING GUIDE TO RESTAURANTS WE LIKE Navigator: Northwest | Southeast | Northeast | Downtown/Southwest | Suburbs | Late Night $: up to $15 per person, beverage and tip included $$: $25 and under $$$: $35 and under $$$$: above $35 WW reviewers have visited these establishments recently and can recommend them. The restaurant world is squirrely; please call for reservation information and hours. Northwest BASTA'S Basta's was great when it opened in 1994, but recently it has been inconsistent. A visit confirmed the rumors that the old favorite is back on track. Many things on the menu are delightful, notably a smoked-salmon pasta less heavy and rich than most. But if you're looking for true decadence, order the following meal: Start with insalata mista--sometimes these salads can be bland, but Basta's is a tangy mouthful. Next, have the Braciole di Maiale alla Griglia. All forks at our table gravitated toward this grilled pork chop marinated in milk and fennel seed with an explosive demi-glaze. The accompanying potatoes were perfectly parboiled before roasting, leaving them delicately soft on the inside. For dessert: the chocolate torte. Italian 410 NW 21st Ave., 274-1572. $-$$$ 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. The dark chile guajillo, a rich, vibrant brick-red sauce, bathes chunks of lamb that have been braising slowly in its earthy and explosive flavors. The chocolate mole smothers a wonderful piece of free-range chicken. 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. The large, long room, with its terracotta tones, leads to the open kitchen and a small bar stocked with an impressive number of tequilas. Cafe Azul's kitchen presides with intelligence and savvy, bringing out the hidden glories of an impressive cuisine about which most of us know far too little. Southwest 112 NW 9th Ave., 525-4422. $$-$$$ ¡OBA! A WW Restaurant of the Year (1998), Oba continues to break ground in the creation of nuevo latino cuisine. Food historians are quick to point out that cultures have traded flavors and ingredients since hominids first boiled a tuber, but that doesn't always mean you could find the crossover dish in a restaurant. Oba successfully adopts the flavors from a sweeping arc of the hemisphere's geographical menu, with influences from Texas, the Gulf Coast, the Caribbean, and Latin America from Mexico to Brazil, using them in dishes more familiar to norteño palates. New additions include the pollo confit tostada, marinated and slow-cooked chicken on a flat, crisp tortilla topped with mixed greens and sliced avocado, drizzled with lime-cumin vinaigrette and pomegranate molasses and sprinkled with toasted pumpkin seeds. Smoky and slightly sweet guava-habanero barbecue sauce elevates a full 2-pound rack of rotisserie-cooked babyback ribs a few notches above rib-shack barbecue, and the signature ahi tuna encrusted with mild ancho chili and black pepper is still just plain delicious. Latin 555 NW 12th Ave., 228-6161. $$-$$$ Southeast THE COMPASS WORLD BISTRO This popular neighborhood bistro is darling and unpretentious, and it features one of the most comfy outdoor seating areas in town. One part of the menu changes every four months to reflect a geographic focus, and the other part is fixed with the cafe's most popular dishes. If you prefer to stay close to home, favorites such as the sweet-potato pancakes with brie, sautéed pears, apricots and figs are there for you, and the ever-faithful Compass meatloaf with garlic mashed potatoes is always at your service. Desserts here are strong and all made in-house: Don't miss the inspired version of Bananas Foster, with soaked cake, homemade vanilla ice cream and a butterscotch sauce. Be sure to make reservations for weekend dining. International 4741 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 231-4840. $-$$ GINO'S A quintessential neighborhood place, but more than that--in fact Gino's is a wonderful spot for a casual but well-executed Italian meal, serving most dishes with gravy. You can hardly go wrong, whether you order the mussels and/or clams doused with mouth-filling tomato chunks and a sublime broth, or the hearty Grandma Jean's Pasta, a meaty stew ladled over the fettuccine--a dish right out of la cucina de Nonna. Another virtue is the presence of excellent Italian reds in half-bottles. With its richly polished antique bar, period lighting, and full house of serious eaters, you're bound to have a good time. Italian 8051 SE 13th Ave., 233-4613. $-$$ WILD ABANDON Situated between Genoa and Bangkok Kitchen, Wild Abandon borrows from both its Belmont neighbors--and almost every other cuisine--with sometimes spectacular results. The Mussels Tropicale pairs the world's most underrated mollusk with coconut milk, cilantro, lemongrass and lime juice; it's worth committing a felony for. The goat-cheese torta, which swims in pesto, sun-dried tomato, roasted garlic and a tarry reduction of balsamic vinegar, would be right at home at Genoa at twice the price. Main courses are less predictably excellent, but the fish tacos and cioppino are first-rate. Be sure to check out the new breakfast menu. International 2411 SE Belmont St., 232-4458. $$-$$$ North/Northeast PAMBICHE A new restaurant with an old-world taste, Pambiche offers a sampling of what Cuban cuisine once was and could be. You'll know you hit the place when you see the bright pink concrete walls on the outside, or when you sink your teeth into an order of yucca frita (a.k.a. breadfruit or tapioca) on the inside. For a classic Cuban experience, start with chicken-filled fritters or squash-stuffed croquettes while Chef John Connel-Maribona whips up an adobo-marinated roast pork sandwich, a garlicky, slow-cooked flank steak, or slices of tongue simmered in a tomato and pimiento sauce flavored with mild chiles and toasted almonds. Pambiche's desserts rival any in town, ranging from rum-soaked banana cake to lemony rice pudding. Cuban 2811 NE Glisan St., 233-0511. $$ Downtown/Southwest HIGGINS The restaurant's ever-changing menu reads like a road map of the region--Oregon bay shrimp snuggle up to Walla-Walla sweet onions, who live a few doors down from home-grown hazelnuts. You can often see one of the cooks from the restaurant heading over to the downtown farmers market on Saturdays with a huge basket under his arm to get locally grown goodies. This provincialism works at the downtown restaurant where even the garnish is gobble-worthy. But just because Higgins has a Northwest-centric approach, the cuisine isn't small-town. And the wait-staff here is top notch. Want to order a few starters and share an entree? No problem. In fact, they'll most likely bring it separated on two different plates--they even divvied-up duck for us once, and that's no easy feat. Northwest 1239 SW Broadway, 222-9070. $$-$$$ MOTHER'S BISTRO & BAR Mother's serves, as you might suspect, what's come to be known as "comfort food." Lisa Schroeder, chef and owner, tells us in the menu that she's come to the realization that "home-cooked food is the best food," a rather rare admission from someone in the business of luring folks out of the family dining room. But what she's getting at is the notion that while the rarefied ingredients, complex preparation, and architectural presentation of haute cuisine can definitely result in amazing meals, it's the down-home food of childhood, whether real or only wished for, that we inevitably return to. Comfort Food 409 SW 2nd Ave., 464-1122. $-$$$ Suburbs HIRO SUSHI RESTAURANT You won't find any trendy offerings here like Philadelphia or Spider rolls. Customers tend to be Japanese-Americans or intelligent Americanos who don't require pandering. The seafood is extra fresh, and the attention to preparation is artistic and obsessive. Japanese 6334 SW Meadows Road, Lake Oswego, 684-7521. $$. Late Night FELLINI The big misconception surrounding Fellini is that--with its staff and clientele of follicularly unclean hipsters and facially perforated punks--the food can't be any good. Surprise! Fellini offers some of the yummiest food for your tummy at a price even a musician can afford, and the urban-chic artwork won't make gourmets feel like they're slumming. The New York steak special is deliciously crispy on the outside and juicy inside, with sweet sautéed mushrooms and bulbous potato that add a touch of healthiness. The Alf Chicken rocks, with penne, rosemary cream sauce and perfectly spiced slivers of meat. True masochists go for Fernando's Heart Stopper (two 1/3-pound burgers with cheese, bacon and fries), and veggie-heads like the Happy Times platter (mushrooms, onion and pecan with cream sauce and grilled polenta). Eclectic 125 NW 6th Ave., 243-2120. $