Portland Restaurant: P.R.E.A.M.

What: P.R.E.A.M.
Where: 2131 SE 11th Ave
Honeys Heart: Black Garlic Knots & the pizza

What does P.R.E.A.M. stand for? Obvs, Pizza Rules Everything Around Me. 

Our first experience with P.R.E.A.M. was at Ned Ludd during Nicholas Ford and Brandon Gomez's Monday night takeover of the restaurant. It was awesome and we were excited to learn this duo found a permanent home for their hip-hop pizza pop-up.

Adam and I signed up to test out P.R.E.A.M.'s new spot during their week of prix fixe preview dinners. The dinners must have gone well (we certainly thought ours did!) because P.R.E.A.M. is now open in the old Tennessee Red's space and I am already eager to return. The new look is all thanks to hands-on work by Nicholas and Brandon and their team. They built the bars, painted the walls, hung records, and even broke down part of the outside wall to get the massive pizza oven in place. As anticipated, there was loud 80's rap playing and as I scanned the bar, people were bopping their heads and singing along to the lyrics. The wait staff was energetic and Brandon and Nicholas were in the heat of it.

 

Brandon, who also serves as house bartender, was hustling behind the bar and when I asked what was his favorite of their gin cocktails, he urged me to try the Olive Oil Gibson ($10) with gin, dolin genepy, and olive oil, since no one had it yet that night. As promised, the drink was delicious and the olive oil added a little pop towards the end.

Adam started with a Root Beer Flip ($10) with bourbon, Blackstrap rum, egg, cream, and root beer. Smooth, creamy, and ultra satisfying. This is how I might end my meal (with a dessert of course). 

Since we were there for a preview dinner, we had set food options and the waiter gave us the menu rundown. Structured like any good rap song, the menu includes an Intro (apps), Verse (salads), Hook (polenta), Chorus (pizza), and Outro (dessert).

Intro
First up, Parmesan Chips with herb cream and Black Garlic Knots with puttanesca. You can't really go wrong with either of these, but I would be happy to pop into P.R.E.A.M. just for some of these black garlic knots.

 

Verse
Next up: salads, and both of them were great. If I had to choose a favorite it would be Yesterday's Bread. For this salad, some of the vegetables, like the radish, were left with their greens. Those veggies plus cooked carrots and other thinly sliced spring vegetables were combined with bread and a honey-balsamic dressing, I just wish there had been more, even though the portion was perfectly reasonable! The Mixed Greens with sunflower and oat crumb, red onion vinaigrette, and feta was also fantastic.

Hook
For the hook, we had to pick between two polenta dishes and opted for the Short Rib with pickled condimento and spinach. The meat on this hearty dish just fell apart. It sounded like they will have different variations of polenta dishes which I'm looking forward to exploring. It's not something I cook, ever, and sometimes I feel indifferent about it, but with the right topping and sauce I see the appeal, similarly to that of a well-prepared shrimp and grits.

Chorus
Now to the heart of P.R.E.A.M.! We were supposed to pick one of the three pizzas, but opted to a buy a second too. First choice, the Pork Meatball with escarole, veloute, and crumbs. A veloute sauce is a simple sauce made with chicken stock and butter and while Adam typically prefers a red sauce on pizza, this was amazing. A perfect example of how less can be more.

Our pizza addition included the Fontina with provolone, mozzarella, garlic, and oregano. The sauce on top of the cheese was unique, but since on a pie this simple the sauce is in many ways the star of the dish, it was a good choice. The pizzas were also served with some dried oregano, red pepper flakes, and Parmesan to sprinkle on top. Mmmmm.

Time for another drink. This round we went for the house-bottled cocktails including the Craig 'N' Cola ($10) with bourbon, P.R.E.A.M. cola and the Pink Flamingo ($11) with Ransom old tom gin, Campari, St. Germain, maraschino, and lemon. Normally both of these would be a little concerning to me having so many ingredients on the sweet side, but these were strong and well-balanced. 

Outro
We never wanted this meal to end and it was all happening too fast, but before long it was dessert time and we got to try the Cannoli with ricotta and cacao nibs and Olive Oil Cake with creme anglaise and almond brittle. The cacao nibs are dehydrated and made here locally to have a very concentrated amount of cacao and the cannoli wrap is a wonton. This dessert was good, but I think I would have preferred a different type of wrap. If you are looking for a sweet finish this wouldn't be it.

 

The Olive Oil Cake was our definite favorite with an awesome balance of dense, savory cake, sweet anglaise, and a fruit chutney on top. Even though we were pretty full, we made room for this.

Brandon said the full menu will include eight pizzas and six salads, alongside other intros and hooks. After sitting at the bar all night watching Nicholas jamming around that pizza oven, we went over to tell him how awesome it was and accidentally walked away without our leftovers which resulted in the only downside of the night. The preview meal was an awesome teaser of what P.R.E.A.M. has to offer and now that it's open I don't have to keep dreaming of our lost leftovers, I can just go back!

Portland Restaurant: Bang Bang

What: Bang Bang
Where: 4727 NE Fremont
When: Wednesday - Monday 5pm - 12am
Honeys Heart: Curry

I spent a lot of time with my grandparents on NE Fremont as a child, which meant hitting up neighborhood staples like the Alameda Cafe, Staniches, McPeet's, or Perry's (miss the lemon drops so much!). Recently, food destinations like Smallwares; Bang Bang; and Batter, Griddle, and Drinkery are popping up on Fremont and it's a bit of a game changer for the street.

Katie and I made our way to Bang Bang a couple weeks ago. Bang Bang serves Thai drinking food- food that is saturated with flavor, be it spicy, rich, sweet, etc, because it is meant to be enjoyed with drinks that will dilute the flavors. The spot boasts an extensive late night menu after 10pm but our 5pm arrival meant we were much too early to take advantage of it (are we getting old?!). We were the third table seated, but before long there was a couple and their baby sitting next to us, and the remaining tables filled up shortly after.

Of course we started with cocktails. I had the Chef's Reward ($8) with Monopolowa, Campari, grapefruit juice, and Jacobsen Sea Salt, while Katie enjoyed a White Negroni ($8) with Aria Gin, Suze, and Cocci Americano.

Our waiter recommended three dishes between the two of us, but we opted for one starter and one curry and felt that was a pretty perfect portion. The Green Papaya Salad ($8) had herbs, tamarind, and veggies. The papaya strips were really long and there was a generous amount of dressing, which means Katie and I made a bit of a mess, but both of us were okay with this salad.

For our main dish, we went with our waiters favorite, the Green Curry ($15) with a tea-cured egg, rau ram sausage, pork belly, cilantro, yam, long beans, and coconut rice. I had read reviews of how there were a lot of flavors happening in Bang Bang's dishes- too many, perhaps- and I can totally understand that feeling, but personally, I liked this!

There was a mix up in the kitchen so our curry took a long time and we were offered a dessert on the house, so obviously we ordered another cocktail. We got two Bang Bang Old Fashioned's ($9) which was strong, but good mix of bourbon, house-made cardamom bitters, sugar, and orange peel. Katie and I are doing such a good job drinking bourbon, and finding there are a lot of a cocktails we really like! 

For our complimentary dessert we chose the Thai Tea Cake ($7) which sounded like it would hit the spot with an almond crumble, galangal ice cream, and sweet lime. Unfortunately, the cake was mushy thanks to the Thai tea and the "sweet lime" sauce, which we mostly avoided, had an odd earthy flavor. The ice cream was good, but the overall texture on the plate was just not satisfying. 

I think if I lived in the NE Fremont neighborhood I might head to Bang Bang more often. Next up on the NE Fremont list is Batter, Griddle, and Drinkery inspired by the late night menu at the Original Hotcake House. The perk: it's a place to not only get your much needed late night waffle fix, but you can get cocktails too! 

Portland Restaurant: Smallwares

What: Smallwares

Where: 4605 NE Fremont St

When: Daily 5pm - 10pm, Saturday & Sunday Brunch 11am - 3pm 

Honeys Heart: Clams in Black Bean Sauce

You know that problem that Katie and I have with Boke Bowl? The one where it's good, it's really good, but it's missing... something. We're left wishing there was a little something more. Especially for the price. It's not expensive, but it costs just enough that we are left wanting... something. Well, we recently had that same experience at Smallwares on NE Fremont.

I'm going to break it down in the order that items arrived. Our night started with the Brussels Sprouts ($8) in XO sauce with almond brittle and nigella seed. The sweetness of the almond brittle was a nice compliment to the savory brussels, but the portion is pretty conservative. 

Our second dish, and probably our second favorite, was the Scallop Sashimi ($11) with yuzu butter, vadouvan, bottarga, shiso. Again we ran into the issue of feeling like $11 was on the high end for the thin slices of scallop, especially with Daruma down the street. But in terms of flavor and presentation, we'll give it a thumbs up. 

Next up. Cocktails. Yes, they took a while to materialize. There was a private party in Barwares and the front of the restaurant seemed a bit overwhelmed. I got The Gin ($10) with gin, becherovka, lillet rouge, and amargo valet and Katie went for The Vodka ($10) with vodka, benedictine, lime, black pepper, and bitters. Katie didn't mind hers but I thought they were both too reminiscent of cold medicine, perhaps too heavy handed on the bitter liqueurs. 

We finished our Smallwares experience with the Clams ($13) with Chinese sausage, black bean sauce, ginger, and garlic. This was our favorite dish. The clams in the black bean sauce was unique and the basil pieces soaking in it were a welcomed surprise and pop of fresh flavor.  

Our dinner and drinks totaled $52 but we were still kind of hungry and the drinks weren't that satisfying- and we weren't so in awe of the meal that we didn't care. Thankfully it was just Katie and me. If the boys had joined we would have had to order at least double and it would have been a pricey night out. 

Maybe we're just too cheap, or our expectations are too high. How do we know for sure? More research! Tanuki is also on our list of Asian-influenced tapas-style places to compare with Boke Bowl and Smallwares. (Bamboo Izakaya was too but not anymore.)

Portland Happy Hour: Aviary

What: Aviary
Where: 1733 NE Alberta Street
When: Mon-Fri,  5-7 PM, "Classy Mondays" all night in the bar
Honeys Heart: Bread and Bagna Cauda 

Arriving 15 minutes early to meet a friend for happy hour at Aviary left me three options: Sit in my car and probably look at Instagram, walk around Alberta, or just go in the second they open (at 5pm) and drink wine. I obviously went with the last option. 

The restaurant was empty. Granted they had only opened 30 seconds before, but I felt like the first one at the party and it's awkward because no one you know is there yet. Oh well! Happy hour is in the bar so I made my way to the back. 

I was the only customer, so bartender Corey had plenty of time to put final touches on the bar and hand me menus and offer suggestions. Corey turned out to be a critical part of our quiet Aviary experience. He was super helpful with happy hour menu suggestions, wine picks, and ultimately partaking in our poor driving stories - he didn't share his own, but he did laugh and act like ours were interesting. He also learned how instead of saying "another" to me when my wine glass is empty (which I will almost always say yes to) that he should say "you're good, right?" Good job, Corey! 

Starting out with generous $5 house wine pours was not only appreciated, but gave us time to ponder the menu. Sarah (friend from college, not sister) and I ultimately settled on the tempura green beans ($6) with a curry sauce. Be sure to mix it all up to get the sauce on the beans!

We also kicked things off with the Brussels sprout nachos ($5). Brussels sprouts are so hot right now and I'm digging it. These were odd - not sure Sarah was a huge fan - but I still liked the concept. The Brussels sprout leaves acted as the "chips" with a mole sauce, cojita cheese, and a couple other things. 

Last minute I added a $2 oyster and was pretty happy about it. That's a good price and it was tasty. 

After another round of wine and sufficient holiday updates, we decided we were still hungry. Corey recommended the slaw dog ($5) and at this point I think we were doing whatever Corey recommended food/drink-wise so we went for it. The dog is house-smoked, accompanied by a pickle, and topped with a papaya slaw. I loved that the bun was classic and soft - super good!

After some additional catch up, mostly covering the latest from the Bachelor premiere (that's important, okay), and maybe another glass of wine, we ordered the pulled pork sliders ($5). Sadly I forgot to document, but this has the papaya slaw as well with some sriracha and was a generous portion. Definitely a little spicier and heartier. 

We might have also thrown in the bread and bagna cauda ($2). I mean, only $2 and the description sounded pretty great. Bagna cauda is a warm dip from Italy made with garlic, anchovies, olive oil, butter, some kind of cream, and I heard something about tomato oil (or something). Regardless, I would recommend it. If you order something off their dinner menu this is complimentary so keep that in mind! 

Aviary also features a $6 happy hour cocktail which that night was bourbon based. The trotter n eggs ($5) was also highly recommended.

Overall we had plenty of food and three drinks each totaling $26 each (plus tip). Not bad! I don't know that everything was incredible but it was really satisfying and unique compared to many hh offerings. There are definitely items I would go back for. Plus everything was fairly priced and the service was great!

Portland Restaurant: PaaDee

The November issue of Portland Monthly Best Restaurants 2012 came out recently and of course it made me want to try a new restaurant, or ten. I finally picked PaaDee to be my first PM recommendation, figuring a restaurant that's name literally means "to bring good things" can't be bad for a Friday date night. Also, it's the same people behind Kinara, which I like, and Mee Sen, which I've been meaning to try.

Working with a tight budget, I am only commission after all, we decided to keep our date night affordable. Luckily one of our favorite theaters, Laurelhurst Theater on Burnside, only charges $4 for tickets and $16 for a bottle of wine, which of course I only get when I'm sharing. We decided to see Safety Not Guaranteed and follow that with PaaDee's 9pm happy hour. 

What: PaaDee
Where: 6 SE 28th Ave
When: 5 - 6:30pm and Last Hour

We ended up arriving early, but that was okay since there were many items on the regular menu I was happy to try. We (really just me) didn't want to wait for happy hour to order a drink, so I went ahead and chose A Taste of 27 ($9) with Oregon vodka, guava, Luxardo Maraschino, lemon, rock candy syrup, plum bitters and soda. It was really a well balanced cocktail. A little sweeter than what I might typically order, but I still enjoyed it.

Off the regular menu we ordered the Gra prao muu grob ($12) which was a super tasty combination of pork belly, basil, chili, and green beans that we added the fried farm egg ($1) to. The pork belly was crispy and the green beans had crunch. I really liked this dish and would definitely order it again.

Once the clock struck nine Adam selected a happy hour Sunrose Derby ($6) with Four Roses bourbon, Dolin Rouge, triple sec, lime, rock candy syrup and mint leaf. He was impressed, and even I was happy with a sip or two of this bourbon delight.

Even though our main dish was a great size and we probably could have called it good, we had to order off the happy hour menu. I mean, it's what we came for, right?

We chose the Tom Yum Goong ($5) and the Squid Skewers ($2). The hot and sour soup with prawns and mushrooms was excellent and on a cold fall night, which this was, I would highly recommend this. The Squid Skewers ($2) were okay. They had a spicy sauce on them, but were just slightly more chewy than I had hoped for.

Finally, we went with the Pak Kee Mao Pak ($5) with sauteed rice noodles and veggies. This noodle dish was a great deal and the portion was generous. Don't forget to squeeze the lime on top!

Overall the night was a success! We even ended this night with leftovers, which was nice since  most of our meal was happy hour prices and portions. From Adam's seat he spotted a fellow diners ramen dish and couldn't stop staring. It was slightly embarrassing, but I would have to agree that it looked AMAZING. I'm already planning our next movie/dining date night.

Portland Restaurant: Siam Society

What: Siam Society
Where: 2703 NE Alberta St
When: Sun - Thurs 4 - 9pm, Fri - Sat 4 - 10:30pm
Honeys Heart: Happy hour is all hours, every day!

Image by vj_pdx via Flickr

Sometimes when I venture to the east side, especially Hawthorne, Belmont, or Alberta, I feel like I'm not quite cool enough to be there. My look generally lacks in any homemade pieces, bitchin' boots, and edgy haircuts so I contemplate getting back in my car, putting sunglasses on, and high tailing it back to the west side. Not that I'm quite rich enough to be there. Shit. Oh well, I suffer through this feeling of inadequacy because the food is SO good and our dinner last night at Siam Society was no exception!

Last night, Adam and I made the drive to NE Alberta. Alberta is lined with cute little shops, delicious restaurants, and is home to "Last Thursday". The restaurants I have been to on this street are all great, including Tin Shed (great breakfast and daily mac n cheese!), Petite Provence, Bearnie's Southern Bistro, Branch Whiskey Bar (wonderful food, service, and specialty cocktails), and Pine State Biscuits (biscuits and gravy...oh and their homemade corn dogs). And now I can add to that list, Siam Society.

Our waitress (I wish I had gotten her name) was awesome. She was over right away to take our drink orders and offer any suggestions on the menu. Adam ordered a beer from Thailand, Chang, an award winning beer from Thailand to be exact.

We also decided we needed two appetizers, the Sweet Potato Fries ($6.95) handcut and tossed in truffle oil and the Calamari ($9.95) golden fried and tossed with lemongrass, cilantro, garlic and Thai chili. The fries were meaty and came with a vinegar-y dipping sauce, but I liked them plain. The calamari was tender and served with a sweet sauce. Perfect!

Between appetizers and our entree arriving we decided that it would probably be a good idea to order drinks. Both feeling the house ginger ale I ordered "The En-GIN-Neer" ($8) while Adam opted for a Bourbon Ginger Ale ($8), typical. The En-GIN-Neer was muddled mint and ginger shaken with house ginger ale and a generous pour of gin. The "generous" is included in the description so I expect it to be just that, and it was. They definitely make a good drink here.

For our main dishes we decided to share the Phad See Yu ($10.95) wide wheat noodles stir-fried with egg, broccoli, sweet soy and sprouts. I love phad see yu and order it (or yellow curry) almost every time I get Thai food, and this was no exception. Unlike other phad see yu I've ordered these noodles were longer and tasted like they may be homemade by Siam Society.

sorry for the blurry pic...

Based on the advice of our waitress we were stuck between a curry or the Sexy Beef ($14.95), but really the Sexy Beef just sounded so...sexy. We ordered that as our second entree. It was a wonderful combination of tenderloin, Thai chilies, bell peppers, mushroom, and garlic in coconut, served with jasmine rice.

Though I am a huge phad see yu fan, I have to say I think this dish won for flavor. It had the coconut flavor and hints of spice. Really great on the rice! Also it had that fried stuff on top which was really tasty.

Stuffed, we looked at a dessert menu, but simply couldn't eat any more! Ready to pay the bill, our waitress let us know that friends a couple tables down had got our tab...too nice of them! Thanks so much :)