"Quirky East Side of Portland, Oregon" restaurants to try...
 

According to current issue of Bon Appetit Magazine, there are a number of "hot new restaurants" emerging in the east side of Portland, Oregon. The list includes Lauro Kitchen, Lovely Hula Hands, ClarkLewis and Family Supper.

From a first pass through web searching, it appears Family Supper is owned by ClarkLewis, a restaurant which recently was the catalyst for an energetic discussion about its long waits, hard chairs and ambient noise.

The magazine is usually dependable, but for those of you who know these spots, would you advise your personal opinion of each with which you are familar? We will be a party of six, and I see that these are fairly small establishments, so if that would appear to be a problem, please advise.

I have an extensive collection of your earlier postings of many other Portland restaurants, and this inquiry would build on that and is in the interest of finding something different for one of the nights we will be in town.

Most of us are fairly adventurous eaters, but spicy would be a problem for one, so that's important to consider.

Thanks.

Jim

Pardon me while I kick this back to the top and ask if anyone has even heard of these places.

Thanks,

Jim

Didn't see this the first time around, Jim. I can't be of much help anyway. I live on the west side, and as your thread title suggests, the Willamette River is a sort of geographic and demographic dividing line. Of the restaurants you list, I've only been to ClarkLewis, and not even heard of Lovely Hula Hands. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised; we usually let places cool down before giving them a try.

While I did enjoy the food at ClarkLewis, and it would be safe for everyone in your group, I was a bit put off by other factors, mostly the noise. It's not the place I'd go as a party of six if I wanted to carry on conversation with everyone in the group.

Of the three, I've only been to clarklewis and I was not impressed. But in fairness I was there the first month it opened and it may not have hit its stride (the chairs were uncomfortable but I heard they've changed them).

There are lots of great restaurants on the east side.

Just checked Citysearch re Lauro Kitchen. Lots of positive reviews, but also lots of complaints about long waits. Lauro does not take reservations (I hate that) and apparently they only have one table that will seat six so probably not a good option for your party.

Well,I have been to clarklewis several times. While I agree that there were some rocky moments in the first few weeks, I think they definitely hit their stride. It's a boisterous atmosphere, and the larger tables are not great for intimate conversations. However, I think the food, the serving options, and the chef's choice dinners more than make up for it.

We enjoyed clarklewis for lunch. The food was very innovative and flavorful. I wanted to try it for dinner but we ended up at Park Kitchen (loved it) and Higgins. ***kim*** ((f))

Jim,
When will you be needing to pick a restaurant? DH and I were *just* saying how we have been wanting to try Lovely Hula Hands now for awhile. If we try it before you need to pick, I would be more than happy to pass along a review. Some friends of mine have been there and really enjoyed it. As for the others, I only can comment on Clarklewis - but my comments would only match those that you have recieved in previous threads regarding long waits (even with reservation), hard chairs, lots of noise and great food.
Sara

been to clarkLewis and Lauro. Loved the food at CL and had a lot of fun there. Lauro was much warmer environment, food good, but not quite as memorable. CL could probably hold your crowd better and takes reservations.

How about Higgins or Paleys? Neither is on the east side, but both are great and take reservations.

SKS, Thanks. Our trip is in July, so if you would post a review of Lovely Hula Hands it would be appreciated.

I guess the key areas of interest for us would be quality and uniqueness of the food, ambiance, and ability to accommodate a party of six. Taking reservations would be a major plus.

Thanks again.

Jim

Jim we also very much enjoyed our meal at Wildwood. Paley's Place as previously mentioned was also very good! ***kim*** ((f))

Jim - I haven't forgotten about going to Lovely Hula Hands!
Maybe we will get there (after our trip to NYC!)in late May or so.
Sara

The way this house selling thing is going here, I might be in Portland much sooner than I expected to be!!:O
So I will keep this in mind too, Jim :)

Glad to hear it. I was hoping you were still going.

Thanks. Look forward to reading your review.

Jim

Thanks, Miz Scarlett. The more input, the better.

Housing market must be great over there. Somewhat slowed here in Houston, but still good.

Jim

What are you hearing on the Portland real estate side, Scarlett? What I've read recently says inventory of homes for sale is as low as it's been in years. Hope you can find one you like at a price you're willing to pay!

Jim, still haven't been to any of those restaurants other than ClarkLewis. I'll post if I do go. So many restaurants, so little time!

Beachbum--Did you catch the Town Hall show on the news a few nights ago? It was about the real estate market and exactly what you said. It was pretty interesting.

I have a friend who is a realtor here and yes, the market is very hot. I live in a townhouse complex and the three units that have gone on sale in the last few months sold very quickly. Then again, the market isn't as insane as California's.

Andrew

The market here is much better than we expected. We have all the makings of a bidding war brewing at the moment..big big grin.
As for Portland, we have no time to househunt, and we don't want to make a mistake, so we are going to rent when we get there. The apts that we have heard of so far, all rent for 3-6-12 months, so we can take out a short lease if we wish and be there while we research and look. I am wanting to be in the West Hills..near NW23rd if possible..the apts are in the Pearl and near the Museum.
We will be there as soon as we can get this offer bit over with.
We might be there for 10 days so I will have a lot of time for new restaurant research too!
JimF, if you go first you have to tell me! :)

Yeah, it definitely is a seller's market.

I didn't see the Town Hall piece, mms, but didn't I hear that all the lots in a small planned development in your neck of the woods recently sold within a few hours of being placed on the market?

Andrew, there was a post earlier in the day, "Oregon Photography" I think, that I topped hoping for a response from you.

Ummm, sorry to hijack the thread, Jim.

Beachbum--Yes, our area is pretty hot right now. The downtown area is being revitalized also and so far it looks like it will be very nice.

Had to laugh at the hijack comment though...these Portland threads seem to attract that:)

Just don't mention Portland hotels and you will be OK ;)

I am intersted in hearing about Lovely Hula Hands :D

Oh Scarlett...please, please, please, may I? LOL!

JimF and all..
I found this Bon Appetite issue in my cupboard, it is from April.
I took down names and addresses :)
Lovely Hula Hands and Lauro sound great, I think we will skip the family style get together at dinner :)and skip Family Supper..besides, we don't eat red meat which might cramp our style.

My question:
having nothing to do with restaurants..
We are concentrating our househunt so far on NW or SW Portland..I have heard that Sellwood,Hawthorne are "funky" and "quirky" and I keep imagining shabby and in need of gentrifying..am I right?
Personally, I want to be IN Portland, not across the river, but are we missing out by not looking there too?
thanks and forgive me JimF for once again hijacking a Portland thread :D

Hi Scarlett -
There are some really great neighborhoods 'across the river' (assuming you mean the Wilamette River and not the Columbia River!). It is still Portland - just not downtown. Sellwood is great but pretty expensive now. There are lots of great areas on the east side of the river but you're right - mostly will be old homes. These neighborhoods have tons of character though. Some are more 'gentrified' than others of course.

JimF - We're going to try Lovely Hula Hands tonight!! Just learned though that they don't take reservations and they have only 10 tables...... don't know how that might effect your decision.

Sara

Thank you Sara, we will have to devote a day at least to looking in that area..and we can have dinner there too :)

I like the east side a lot. Hawthorne is a great street for shopping and eating. Cup and Saucer is my favorite for breakfast. They have a vegan carrot cake I would almost kill to get the recipe for (look out grammar police! That has to be one of the worst sentences I have ever constructed.)
Scarlett, check out the Mt. Tabor area. It is at the top of Hawthorne and is a lovely area. And the bus service to downtown is great. On the backside of Mt. Tabor is my favorite middle eastern restaurant, Ya Hala. I know that's not spelled right. I had better quit. Enjoy! Scarlett, don't miss the farmers markets on Sat. mornings in the Park blocks. I take a cooler every time I go to Portland (and try to plan for a Sat. morning departure back to Bend. CJ

:D Thank you!

Oh Scarlett, you are so lucky! I would love to be shopping for a house in Portland. Many of the areas on the east are very nice..I personally love Ladd's Addition...quiet streets (they are 45' off the regular grid, so nobody likes to get lost in there), lovely older homes, and not that you need em, but excellent schools. It is very close in..my friend bike rides and sometimes walks to downtown from there.

Of course if you like new homes..you'll find a lot more of those on the west side hills. I also love the area up near the rose gardens.

Lauro is very good. One new restaurant that I really enjoyed last month is on SE 26th & Clinton. Sub Rosa...a tiny little Italian place. It's across from Nohos and the Clinton theatre. The best pizza and ceasar salad that I've had in a long while. My girlfriend had a wonderful seafood pasta, and my daughter had a vegetarian dish.

Yummmm. I love eating in Portland! my niece is having her first child in June, so I may be back this summer!

Sara, if they only have 10 and will not take reservations, we may be out of it. Just for grins, ask them what they would recommend for six people wanting to try their restaurant but unwilling to wait for hours. (We do enough of that here in Houston...)

We would be willing to book now, if needed, for a late July evening.

(Maybe it will be terrible, and my question will be moot.)

Thanks!

(Now, Scarlett, you may go back to house hunting... lol. No problem, anytime I can facilitate a conversation between friends, I'm more than willing.)

Jim

Jim, you are a gentleman and I will start my own thread so I will not hog yours :)
Thanks((F))

Jim - I'm back from Lovely Hula Hands! I'm sorry I didn't catch your earlier post regarding asking them your question....but here goes my first ever 'official' restaurant review!

I'm not sure the small size would be a problem for you depending on when you were planning to go. There was a group of six there and they just pushed tables together for them.

We made sure to get there early- they open at 5 and we got there at about 5:30 and got the last table with no wait. By 6:00 there were some people waiting and by the time we left around 7:30(?) I over heard the hostess say it would be a half hour wait. That being said, they have a lovely porch to wait on and it looked like they would bring you drinks from the bar.

The food was good - not my favorite in town, but really good. My husband liked it more than I did. Service is decent - a little slow but we didn't mind waiting since the atmosphere is nice and the drinks were good. The atmosphere is definitly unique - it's in a bright pink house and it's cute inside.

We had the crab cake appetizer which was good with some sort of paprika roumalade, I had a thai flat iron steak dish that had a nice spicyness to it. It came with herbs and sticky rice that were intended to be put in lettuce wraps with the steak. Yummy but messy. :) My hubby had a korean bbq beef dish that had a similar lettuce wrap situation. There were some other things on the menu that sounded good including a snapper dish, duck breast, and roasted chicken. We also shared a molten chocolate cake with warm ganache in the middle and raspberry sauce and english cream on top - super yummy.

They have an interesting cocktail menu and the drinks we had were good.

Prices were really reasonable - our bill for 2 cocktails, glass of wine, appetizer, two entrees and the cake was about $63 (before tip).

Are you set on dining on the east side? I think you would have a good dinner there, but I'll tell you my all time favorite place in Portland is Fratelli's http://www.fratellicucina.com/home.asp and I've been there too many times to count and never been disappointed. It's in the NW area (Pearl district) but doesn't have the snobbyness or high prices typically found in that area. I love the atmosphere, the service and the food. The antipasto appetizer is yummy and they have this chicken dish which is the best thing I've ever eaten - it's the seared chicken wrapped in prosciutto if youcheck out the website and menu (we even got the recipe so we can have it at home now!). They will take reservations and can definitly seat a group of six.

Hope some of this was helpful in your decision! There really are so many good restaurants in Portland it's hard to choose. I've eaten at a fair number of them so feel free to ask if you have more questions.

Sara

Nice report on Lovely Hula Hands! We're looking forward to trying this place when we're back in Portland in a few weeks! ***kim*** ((f))

Didn't see your thread, so I would add Irvington and Laurelhurst neighborhoods (both on the east side) as places to look, Scarlett.

Not sure I'm reading this as a rave review of Lovely Hula Hands, Sara. If you like Fratelli's, give Cafe Allora and Piazza Italia a try. Both in the Pearl, Italian, and a little downscale from Fratelli, but you won't be disappointed.

beachbum, I'm not sure it's a 'rave' review either -but I did enjoy it and would go back. Guess I'd say B+ overall, my husband would probably give it an A.

Thanks for the other restaurant ideas- I've been to Piazza Italia and really enjoyed it but haven't tried Cafe Allora - will definitly add it to our never ending list of restaurants we need to try. :)

beachbum, a friend of mine sent me a note about a House Tour in Irvington, all the old wonderful houses..I will put that on our list too..this househunting trip is gonna be a looong one :D

Thanks, Sarah, I think I will file this one in the "possibility" category.

Say, everyone, what is the name of the restaurant located in Portland's tallest building? I envision a great first night gathering, looking over the city, with good wine and a great dinner.

Would this be the place? Or is the view really all you get? I'm looking for that perfect spot so that the week gets off to an outstanding start.

This will be a Sunday night, by the way.

Thanks.

JimF

would that be Portland City Grill? Great views, but gets mixed food reviews.

Lucy

Forgive me as I am half awake...but I will try my best at a response that makes sense. I just had a girls weekend in downtown and one place we went for drinks last night was the Portland City Grill. Yes, the views is what the draw is there. We had drinks, enjoyed the sunset, and were off to our next adventure. My friends were from Seattle and they wanted to do the touristy stuff, so that is why it was on the list.

I told you I am half awayke! Forgot to add that yes, the food there is ok, nothing really exciting. That is why we didn't bother.