Oregon Recommendations Needed

[Rosie]

Starting in Portland so Hurley's hopefully will be one evening. Need someplace else to dine for one night in Portland. Then to Salem, Eugene and Ashland. Any recommendations would be appreciated. We love food so any price and any cuisine are fine.

[malachi]

cross posted...

(all personal opinions and in no order)

the Ripe empire (aka Family Supper, clarklewis, Gotham Tavern) -- severely hyped, but the food is really very good indeed. while clarklewis is more consistent, the food at Gotham Tavern, when on, is the best of them. in general, these tend to be liked by folks who tend to be cool with a more "urban" hipster experience, and less enjoyed by people who want something a bit more sedate, comfortable and traditional. if you go to clarklewis i'd suggest skipping the menu and getting the tasting menu instead.

Hurley's -- has been the best in PDX for a while. has also seen some turnover in the last year. has some restaurants nipping at its heels now. if you want the sedate, comfortable and traditional - this is the place to go.

Paley's Place -- consistently over-rated and disappointing. i've given it "a second chance" time and time again and am now just over it.

Taqueria Nueve -- great cocktails and somewhat predictable but enjoyable "nuevo" mexican. nothing like what you'd get in LA or Miami, but not bad. skip DF (their Pearl District restaurant) as it's an over-priced inferior version of the original.

Navarre - loved by some, hated by many. if you want "inventive" food and prefer amped up "flavours on steroids" you will not be happy here. if, instead, you want simple and unpretentious food that is perfectly balanced and actually tastes good - and especially if you love wine - this might be perfect for you. best Thurs-Sun.

Pho Van Empire (Beaverton, Pearl and SE locations) -- ranges from decent to very good. i find the Pearl location to be the weakest and the SE location to be the strongest. the latter is probably my favorite Vietnamese place in town and has my third favorite Pho in town. their whole baked catfish is a must.

APizza Scholls -- the best pizza in town by a huge margin. in fact, saying so diminishs the acomplishment. may well be the best pizza on the west coast (there is a contender in Seattle and one in San Francisco). this is true, real pizza. personally, it's one of my favorite places in town. love it.

Bewon -- quite good Korean. good Korean is hard to find and the difference between good and average is enormous. i love their salt crusted mackeral as well as all the standards.

Park Kitchen -- good breakfast, very good lunch. i've actually been thoroughly underwhelmed by their dinners, which i find to be unbalanced and overly complicated and not well thought out.

[onehsancare]

In Eugene:

Cafe Zenon (quick! before the old owners stop helping the transition to the Californians with no restaurant experience)

Excelsior

Cafe Soriah (has a nice bar and a lovely courtyard)

Do not be seduced by the "on the river" ambiance of either Valley River Inn or the McMenamin's North Bank--you'd be better off eating at one of the above and then going for a walk on the river.

[Rosie]

Are any restaurants in Oregon BYO? If not what is the corkage fee?

[stevea]

Are any restaurants in Oregon BYO? If not what is the corkage fee?

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I don't know of any strictly BYO restaurants. Corkage fees vary, and I would recommend asking when you make reservations.

If you can squeeze in a lunch in Portland, I would definitely recommend clarklewis. The salads are sublime, and the whole issue of darkness and noise is eliminated at lunch. It's a very pleasant and cheery place then.

[Genny]

Hi Rosie, you may want to take a look here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=67111 for Ashland, that is part of the Rogue Valley and there is lots to do there!

[syrah girl]

We enjoyed a very nice lunch at clarklewis. I had the sea scallops that were just about the best I've had anywhere and we dine out quite a bit. I found the food here to be very good and the menu items innovative.

I've had one dinner at Paley's Place last summer and really, really like this place. Ambiance is very romantic and we dined out on the front porch. My wild salmon was perfectly prepared and basically melted in my mouth.

Park Kitchen was a big hit with us also. Very small dining room but everything we sampled was flavorful and very, very good. I've only had dinner here but hear the breakfasts and brunch are also great.

Hurley's is an excellent fine dining establishment in Portland. The muscovie duck breast was excellent served with garlic cottage fries and the cucumber heirloom salad was awesome. We also enjoyed a nice dinner at Higgins. A bit on the ordinary side but my salmon special was flavorful and very good.

Wildwood is one of my favorites. We had lunch here and I had a trout entree that put trout on a whole new level. Excellent flavors and very good chef here. My bacon and oyster salad was also a big hit.

You may want to also consider Bluehour. I've only had dinner here but will back in Portland the end of the week and am considering lunch here. Also want to try Gotham. Pho Van Bistro in the Pearl is also wondeful for Viatnamese food. So many great choices. I hope you enjoy Portland!

[bbqboy]

Hi Rosie, this may be late to ask, but are you locked into your route? Salem is not one of our glamorous cities. The Willamette Valley below Portland is mainly agricultural, though west of I-5 are many Grape Growers. Mountains start south of Eugene. Lots of folks head west from Portland to Astoria, an historic and unique city, then head down the coast til OR 126 which heads to Eugene, or all the way down to US199 and the top of the Redwoods, then over past Bridgeview Winery, http://www.bridgeviewwine.com/

http://www.strengthinperspective.com/mpfin...2/mpgal42a.html

and to the Rogue Valley and Ashland.Folks then return up I 5 to Eugene and Portland or head up and over to

Bend, an attractive city set in the high desert on the east side of the Cascades. They then return to Portland via Hwy 97 to Hood River, then down the Gorge and back to Portland.

Bill in Southern Oregon

PS: here's the Oregonian's Wine Guide for this season.

http://www.oregonlive.com/wine/oregonian/guide/

Edited May 28, 2005 by bbqboy (log)

[Rosie]

We are going to hit the wineries between Portland and Salem that is why we thought we would stay there. Then we will be going to Eugene, Steamboat, Ashland and Berkeley CA. Flying home from CA. Have been on the coast of Oregon and up the Rogue River and Columbia Gorge. Thanks for your input.