Hi there,

My husband and I will be in Portland for the first time next month for about 5 days. We are foodies and eating good local food is important to us when we travel. I looked at the Portland restaurants in Zagat and noticed, to my surprise, that the lowest food rating any gets is a 22 and most rate from 24 - 27. We live in the San Francisco Bay Area and our local Zagat reserves ratings of 24 - 27 (for food) for the very best restaurants in town, and there are certainly many fine dining venues around here that don't rate that high. Not every restaurant in town can be the best, can it?

SO, my question is, which restaurants are truly the great ones in Portland? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Oooh, we ate so well in Portland! Let me see if I can remember the places without getting my list ...
The Heathman, bar is good and the restaurant.

The Red Star Tavern & Grill, excellent
We went to Bluehour and while it is a pretty restaurant, in a great area of town-the Pearl, I found the food a tiny bit contrived and ordinary and the atmosphere was sort of a mix of cool types from the neighborhood and businessmen and some who seemed to be there just to ogle everyone else...
There were others and I cannot remember names right now (I am planning my Paris trip and that is all I can remember now )
You will get plenty of foodie advice here, just be sure to take the advice of people who have actually eaten in a restaurant and are not just passing along Chowhound postings
Have a great time!!

Higgins -- Northwest fare, local products.

You'll get many spirited opinions in response to your question. Chowhound may help you be more discerning.

Thanks Presocia, you reminded me , Higgins and clarklewis

As Kal would say
tick...tick...tick...
R5

I would suggest: clarklewis, Hurley's, Paley's Place and Bluehour to start with. I'd love to chat more about these places with you on the PNW Chowhound board. www.chowhound.com

In a few weeks we'll be trying Park Kitchen and Wildwood! Can't wait! ***kim***

Hi R5, LOL! =D>

Le Bouchon in the Pearl District is a wonderful little French bistro. Genoa in SE Portland has been around for many years, and is still one of the most wonderful meals in Portland. It is a 6 or 7 course price fixed meal that will not disappoint. (I believe you can do a smaller version mid week - but why??)

I need to qualify my response by first stating that I'm not sure what a "foodie" is. Secondly, I think Zagat is being easy on Portland. We've got some good food here, lots of it actually, with new places popping up seemingly almost every weekend. But food here is certainly not any better than most meals I've had in the bay area.

IMO, Paley's, Clarklewis, Higgins, & Wildwood probably best represent what Portland food is about. The several times I've been to Bluehour, I've come away feeling the food was nicely presented, but relatively tasteless; overhyped I think.

Someone mentioned Genoa, Portland's finest italian restaurant that's been around for ages, but a little to stuffy for me. I like Alba Osteria & Enoteca in SW just as well, and it has a much more comfortable neighborhood atmosphere, like something you might find in Cow Hollow. Cafe Mingo in NW, and Fratelli's in the Pearl are also good, if a little more casual.

I've not had much Thai, but Typhoon serves some of the tastiest cuisine I've had anywhere. I'm almost embarrassed to say that I can't come up with a knock-your-socks-off seafood place. Jake's is good, but traditional, and South Park has some nice dishes, but is a little streaky.

What is Zagat saying is good?

Hi Beachbum, I am not sure that others will agree but my definition of a "Foodie" is someone who really centers their travels on the restaurants. Food, the actual restaurant,the service, the presentation is very very important to them. One of the major enjoyments of the trip.

Rather then say the person who wants to find the best art galleries, or plays or concerts or stores, or beaches etc.

Of course that does not mean a foodie does not love all the other above mentioned things too. Most people I know that live for the best restaurant/farmers market etc. have such a passion for life they general have a lot of passion for other enjoyments also. They just take more interest in where and what they are going to eat then say perhaps the average person.

IMHO Portland does have excellent food. I have never had a bad meal in Portland. But am so bad about remembering where I have eaten because I haven't dwelled on the names of the restaurants.

I do know that some of my favorites are downtown in hotels that have been renovated and brought back to life. Had a wonderful lunch in one like that that was walking distant from the Chinese Garden, but again I cannot remember the name of it.

There is a very good restaurant out by Lake Osewaga (sorry I know I don't have the name correctly) that is wonderful.

But anyway, that is IMHO what a foodie is.

tick, tick, tick..Kaboom!!

daria, on the Chowhound board, there are many inquiries such as yours with excellent responses. You can learn a lot about the restaurants in Portland on that board. R5 & Pam would you care to share your favorites in Portland for daria? ***kim***

I thought about the Zagat thing a little more. My guess is that expectations are lower for Portland than San Francisco. I had 3-course dinners for under 35 euro in Paris last fall that were much more memorable than any meal I've had in Portland (Couldn't have anything to do with being in Paris, could it? If you're reading this, I'm envious, Scarlett, but wish you a bon voyage, none-the-less).

Taking this off-line to chowhound might be a good idea, daria. There's a certain... shall we say, dynamic in Portland (Seattle, and some areas of California) hotel and restaurant threads that turns many of them into free-for-alls.

The Chowhound chat with kim should be short though. I'm quite sure she's not dined more than once in any place she's recommending.

I assume you mean Portland, Oregon?

If so, I love Higgins, it is near the Portland Art Museum. Great Northwest food and great local wines.

i like the Veritable Quandry- but only if its nice and I can eat outside -
kind of noisy and crowded otherwise.
Dont know about the food at the Portland Grill but know they have the best views and a great happy hour

Beachbum--Not surprising, but we had the same experience in Paris. Excellent food there at a fraction of the cost and pretense elsewhere. BTW, we like Typhoon here too.

Now...just to sit back and watch the fireworks here

How about 750ML? So Cool!

http://www.750-ml.com

Or Oba
http://www.obarestaurant.com

Don't miss Papa Haydn for lunch or dessert on NW23rd street!

We liked Pozzo at the Hotel Vintage for fresh Italian, nice seats in the window.
And Pho Van (Vietnamese) on Glisan Street in the Pearl, lunch or dinner.

This is all making me want to go back to Portland and eat!

What?? Come back to Portland to eat, when you've got Paris to look forward to? Any way we can somehow work a trade, Scarlett?

We were disappointed when we walked by what used to be 750ML a few weeks ago. They'd previously had a closed for remodeling sign, but now look like they're gone for good. Those fries with garlic dip were the best.

But that's kind of how it is with Portland restaurants. Places like Oba, Pazzo's, and Genoa that have been around a while have a loyal following. Newer places (and I'd put Clarklewis and Bluehour into this group) may be wildly popular early on, but their customers move to the next newest, hottest, spot, and they end up being flashes in the pan (pardon the pun).

Thank you all for your replies. Many (if not all) of the places you suggested are listed in Zagat. There are only 44 restaurants in Portland listed.

Kim, I appreciate your suggestion that I try chowhound. I've been hesitant to use that site because it claims to be anti-foodie and anti-Zagat (I love Zagat). So, I was never quite sure if I would be accepted on that site. I don't claim to know what "foodie" means to all people, but to me it means that food is more important to me than it is to the average person and the meals I eat on vacation are VERY important because eating is a large part of how I enjoy the travel experience.

Beachbum, I’m glad you said that and not me (about the expectations in San Francisco v. Portland), although I have to admit that is what I was thinking!

Two casual places that we really enjoy, and happen to be owned by the same lady, are Mother's Bistro and Mama Mia's Trattoria. They are on the same block even. Very different food and decor from each other. I will say that the decor at Mama Mia's is not my style, but the food and service make up for that.

Mio Gelato is definitely worthy of a stop as well.

Portland City Grill is ok, not great. Definitely good for happy hour though like someone else mentioned.

You will find that Portland has a much more relaxed feel than in the SF Bay area.