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 $$$$: above $35 WW reviewers have visited these establishments recently and can recommend them. The restaurant world is squirrely; please call for reservation information and hours. Northwest LITTLE WING CAFE & BAKERY One of the Pearl's most trusted lunch spots, Little Wing puts out hearty, creative sandwiches and amazing baked goods. Make sure you get potato salad with your meal: Red roasted spuds are mixed with a light vinaigrette that makes that usual mayo glop seem like a different species. Eclectic 529 NW 13th Ave., 228-3101. $-$$ PAPA HAYDN Upscale cafe fare mingles with some of the most celebrated after-dinner confections around town. These desserts are devastating in their subtlety. You'll keep eating the mousses, layer cakes, tarts and semifreddos and never feel you have to stop, because they don't rely on simple, overwhelming sweetness. The entrees are worth a good look, too. A special ravioli is described in flowery terms--"marjoram pasta filled with smoked salmon and ricotta cheese, tossed with wood-roasted corn, red pepper and red onion and served in a fumet"--but it surpasses even the description. Eclectic 701 NW 23rd Ave., 228-7317; 5829 SE Milwaukie Ave., 232-9440. $$$ Southeast CASABLANCA Talk about atmosphere. Step inside Casablanca and you find yourself transported through centuries and across continents to the sultry languor of a sultan's palace, complete with embroidered pillows, brass tables, belly dancing and a sumptuous array of gustatory treats. Morocco has long been a cultural crossroads--the Moors, the Spanish, the Portuguese and the French have all left their mark on its history and its cuisine--and the five-course Royal Feast Dinner is probably the best way to explore this exotic heritage. Moroccan 2221 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 233-4400. $$$ 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 perfect cooking--everything turned out au point, or just so. French/ Italian 1752 SE Hawthorne St., 231-7373. $$$$ IVY HOUSE For many parents, the thought of dining out with kids is connected with the phrase "happy meal." But Ivy House offers families a very civilized, relaxed alternative to fast-food joints. As the kids play nearby, parents can savor delicious, expertly prepared food from an ambitious menu that changes seasonally. Eclectic 1605 SE Bybee Blvd., 231-9528. $$-$$$ LA CRUDA Many turn to this vibrant Clinton Street refuge for its festive kitsch-mosphere and dirt-cheap Hamm's. Here the burritos, which come in the usual meat/poultry/non-meat configurations for a variety of prices hovering around $5 or $6, could be classed as low-grade projectile weapons. Standard-issue sides like rice and beans get decent treatment, and a clutch of appetizers provides excellent options when beers and margaritas are your main objective. To amp up the familiar chips 'n' dip, La Cruda trots out the proverbial rainbow of fruit flavors at the salsa bar. And, oh yeah, did we mention the cheap beer? Mexican 2500 SE Clinton St., 233-0745. $-$$ LUCKY LABRADOR BREW PUB Don't be afraid because almost everyone in this place looks like they just jumped out of a J. Crew catalog. Lucky Lab is a blur of cotton turtlenecks, rough-hewn wood and fresh-scrubbed cheeks. But that's sorta nice. The menu chalkboard separates the meaty items from veggie: turkey sandwich, BLT, bento a-go-go (the spicy curry can make you cry!). And the beer selection is as colorful as patrons' fleece jackets. Eclectic 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 236-3555. $ North/Northeast GRAND CENTRAL BAKING COMPANY Grand Central is well known for its perfect rustic breads, but these starch specialists are equally concerned with what goes between two slices. Grand Central offers delicious and simple lunches: sandwiches of roasted chicken and apple-cranberry chutney (delectably sweet and tart), just-right egg salad, Black Forest ham and Swiss (for downtowners a minimum order of $25 can get 'em delivered free). Check this place out for tempting cakes, muffins and pastries as well. American 1444 NE Weidler St., 288-1614; 2230 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 232-0575; 3425 SW Multnomah Blvd., 977-2024. $ VITA CAFE This new diner from the same folks who own the Paradox offers an expanded menu of vegetarian and vegan dishes as well as all-American burgers. At Vita, one generation can munch deep-fried tempeh sticks with Thai peanut sauce while the other eats more traditional french fries. A flavorful artichoke spread served with toasted bread transcends political-culinary leanings, and vegan hush puppies are pretty much like hush puppies everywhere. Beef eaters might never prefer Tofurkey to meat, but the Monte Cristo sandwich, a batter-dipped, grilled stack of the soy-based ersatz turkey with Swiss cheese and thousand island dressing, could persuade them. There's a decent (and cheap) breakfast on the weekend, too. Vegetarian 3024 NE Alberta St., 335-8233. $ Downtown/Southwest EL GRILLO This downtown taqueria serves up your favorite cheap South-of-the-Border treats: tacos, burritos, tortas, quesadillas, etc. It's right next door to a strip club, and if you go to use the restaurant's bathroom you'll get a surprising peek of full-frontal nudity. You decide if that's a bonus or not. Mexican 703 SW Ankeny St., 241-0462. $ JAKE'S FAMOUS CRAWFISH For more than a century, Jake's has been attracting crowds with a remarkably simple approach: well-produced, uncomplicated seafood served by a friendly, knowledgeable staff. The Southwest Portland fixture remains especially appealing in a town that can, at times, become a little fusion-happy. Make sure to try a broad plate of the restaurant's still-famous crawfish--your server will certainly show you how to eat them. Seafood 401 SW 12th Ave., 226-1419. $$$-$$$$ ORITALIA This San Francisco outpost is an opulent purveyor of fusion food (Oriental + Italian, get it?), a testimony not to native traditions and the rootedness of place but to the ingenuity of a chef's unbridled imagination. Truth to tell, it is really a classy Asian restaurant with a few touches of the Mediterranean. When things come together nicely, as they often do here, the tastes are explosive and marvelous. For something really different (yet inexpensive) try their "Zen Tapas" lunch menu. It may sound weird, but it's truly wonderful. Fusion 750 SW Alder St. (in the Westin Hotel), 295-0680. $$$$. TASTE OF BALI Think it's hard to find Indonesian and Malaysian classics around these parts? Just visit the fine little outpost known as Taste of Bali. Entrees range from bamboo-skewered grilled chicken smothered in Malaysian peanut sauce to rich Indonesian beef stew. Prices hover between $4.50 and $7, leaving you plenty of pocket coin to splurge on a few scrumptious sides like spring rolls or lumpia, a sweet pork-filled wonton, rolled and deep-fried to golden perfection. Indonesian and Malaysian 947 SW Broadway, 224-2254. $ Suburbs HALL STREET GRILL Inside a dining room of ski-lodge capaciousness, a range of interesting dishes is served by a very agreeable staff. Menu hits include mesquite-grilled pork chops in a maple sauce, portobello mushroom ravioli and Hawaiian swordfish with vermouth lemon butter (!) and artichoke tartar. It may be located in an unlikely spot, but this is an inventive restaurant drawing skillfully from a broad palate. Northwest 3375 SW Hall Blvd., Beaverton, 641-6161. $$$-$$$$ Late Night CASWELL'S Uh-oh, here we go again. The clock just struck 10--the witching hour of the dining world--and you're all dressed up with nowhere to go. Well, there is a world beyond the common fare of burgers and fries. With a full menu until 1:30 am, Caswell's offers real meal relief to food-service types who just worked the dinner rush, and all you regular late-night laggers, too. Relax as the jazz classics croon in the background and you enjoy a range of plumply portioned goodies like pasta, thick-crust pizza, steak, scampi, and to-die-for brownies. American/Eclectic 533 SE Grand Ave., 232-6512. Open until 2 am daily. $$