Janet Lee Johnson | The Art of Marketing

Portland food rocks. Out-of-towners are often surprised at the quality of restaurant they find here. I’ve been recommending some of our favorite places to folks who come out here from the east coast lately, and thought it might be fun to share my list here. (no comments, please, about the “cheap blog fodder,” I admit it freely.)

Two disclaimers:

1) We’re “eat in the bar” people, because neither of us eat a full appetizer + main course + dessert meal – we usually share, so know that the places we eat are fine and flexible, especially when you sit at the bar…

2) This was originally written for someone who leans heavily vegetarian. You’ll see a bit of that bias in my descriptions. I eat too much meat, so it’s nice to think of a non-meat bias meal once in awhile.

THE LIST

Paley’s Place – if I had to choose one restaurant over all others for a fabulous meal and exquisite service, this is it. They’re slightly limited on vegetarian options, but if you asked when you made reservations, I’m sure they’d let you know what they could do.

Higgins – always has a great vegetarian option on the menu. We go here après the theatre, or on a Sunday afternoon, and usually for Thanksgiving. Greg Higgins makes the best salmon anywhere. I love this place. They make all their own pickles, and such. YUM.

Lincoln – Jen makes amazing food. Just watch the photos on the website flow by. The food is even better than it looks. I crave their food for their amazing salads, onion rings and such. Whoa. I love Lincoln.

Gruner – believe it or not, cozy alpine cuisine can be delicious. I had the most wonderful mushroom dish there that I still cannot forget. It’s very different from most restaurants because it’s small and spare. Kinda noisy, but totally worth the trip.

Laurelhurst Market – okay, this is a steak house. But if I were you, I’d go there and live off the sides. Seriously. They’re fantastic. The burrata is to die for. If you do this one in the summer, there’s a lovely patio outside. This place could be my favorite in Portland. Maybe…

Tasty ‘n Sons – you must make brunch one of your options for fine dining. This place rocks the house. Get there right when it opens, or prepare to wait with coffee or a cocktail in hand. (Both excellent.) Don’t miss the biscuits. Simply don’t. The tables are all close together, and it’s noisy, but what a breakfast.

That’s a start. We also love Ned Ludd – but have only been there once. (We’re creatures of habit, and ms. m is a fantastic cook, so it’s often my preference to eat at home.)

Once you’ve been to all the fine dining places, please save a bit of time/space for the best pizza on earth at Ken’s. I have had more fantastic meals at Ken’s than anywhere else in the world… It’s crazy. If I didn’t live here, I’d be hard-pressed to not come back over and over again, just for Ken’s. I can show you pictures from my phone, and was a mayor there for a (too) short period of time.