Thai Society

A potential Asian powerhouse amps up the Alberta 'hood.

Food Reviews & Stories While doing "beverage research" at Binks on Alberta Street, I've often eyed the peculiar concrete building sitting empty next door. With odd antique details—high, arched windows and wrought-iron ... More

Wednesday, February 1, 2006 Ivy Manning

Restaurant Guide 2005

Food Reviews & Stories Walking into this buzzing terra cotta-washed restaurant is like setting foot in another country: The music is Latin, the staff is warm, the menu titles are in Spanish, and the dishes are full of splashy color and foreign ingredients. Start with the Peruvian national dish, cebiche�an array of seafo More

Thursday, January 19, 2006 Ivy Manning

A Passage To India

Baraka boasts real Indian food in a surreal interior.

Food Reviews & Stories There are a couple of things restaurants do that make me wince. When I spy the description "cooked to perfection" on a menu, I think, "Uh-oh, this is not going to be good." Baraka Bar, a new Indian-in ... More

Wednesday, January 18, 2006 Ivy Manning

Restaurant Guide 2005

Food Reviews & Stories Between the laid-back expertise of the staff, the upscale Cajun cuisine and the sure hand of a bartender who knows good bourbon, you'd swear you were in the French Quarter. Never mind the blackened-everything craze of the '80s; this is the refined cuisine of the once glorious, now much battered New More

Monday, January 16, 2006 Ivy Manning

Come Pick Me Up

Tracking the elusive tiramisu.

Food Reviews & Stories Over a quickly disappearing plate of tiramisu, a friend asked me what my New Year's resolution was. When I finished licking my spoon, I declared, "My resolution is not to lose weight, but to gain it. ... More

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 Ivy Manning

A Familiar Table

The new Lucy's is topped with charming dishes and lackluster sides.

Food Reviews & Stories When the owners of Lucy's Table decided to sell their upscale Mediterranean-inspired restaurant on Northwest 21st Avenue last May, well-heeled regulars were worried they would lose their cozy haven to ... More

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 Ivy Manning

Roux Voodoo

North Portland's newest Creole house conjures savory magic.

Food Reviews & Stories "Why another Southern place?" That was my first reaction when I heard about Roux, the much-anticipated NoPo restaurant owned by Dwayne Beliakoff—of Bluehour and Zefiro lineage. There are already ... More

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 Ivy Manning

All In The Family Meal

An intrepid food writer discovers what restaurant staffers really give thanks for.

Featured Stories "I want what they're having," I said urgently to my companion as a pungent, delicious aroma wafted through the nearly empty dining room of our favorite Thai eatery. We were eating lunch late in the af ... More

Wednesday, November 23, 2005 Ivy Manning

Cravings:

In Pursuit Of Phenomenal Falafel

Food Reviews & Stories As an exchange student in Greece, I ate falafel every night of my 17th summer. After dancing until dawn in packed outdoor discos, my host sister and I would stumble to the snack stands. While Despina ... More

Wednesday, November 2, 2005 Ivy Manning

Restaurant Guide 2005

Food Reviews & Stories The fact that this restaurant is in Camas, Wash. (a 20-minute drive from downtown Portland), or that chef owner Brad Root sharpened his knives at influential kitchens like Wildwood and Higgins, is really beside the point after your first forkful. The wood-lined dining room and amber lighting create More

Thursday, October 20, 2005 Ivy Manning