Category Archives: Food and Drink

New Croissant shop: Twisted on NE Broadway

Food and Drink, NE Portland
Twisted Croissant storefront with neon sign of croissant
Awesome neon croissant!

A new croissant shop opened to the general public on NE Broadway this last month, and their croissants are decadent. They have been serving at farmer’s markets and other locations around town for a while, but now have their very own store.

After a tragedy last Monday when I walked by and discovered they are closed on Mondays, I had three croissants this Sunday:

  • Butter (aka plain)
  • Chocolate
  • Monte Carlo – a sweet/savory combo that may rotate through their menu

We were also able to order coffee drinks, and stuck to a cup of drip coffee on this trip. There is a little bit of counter seating at the front and back of the store, and you can also sit in the design store next door.

The Monte Carlo was our favorite and the Chocolate and Butter vied for second place. All were delicious, and three croissants were more than two people needed.

Website: https://www.twistedcroissant.com/
Address: 2129 NE Broadway St.

 

Gado Gado

Food and Drink, Hollywood, NE Portland

Gado Gado is a new restaurant in the Hollywood neighborhood of NE Portland. The food and drinks are superb.

Our first dinner was during their opening week, which felt a little chancy, but turned out amazing. Both the service and the food was delicious. We ended up with a fancier fish than what was on the menu, and the flavors were perfect. The dishes on the menu have changed with each visit, and I highly recommend ordering a variety of options to taste the range of textures, flavors, and cooking techniques. We have tried to order at least one dish from the Chef’s Specialties, and these have often been our favorite of the meal.

The mixed drinks are also delicious, and I’ve focused on options where I don’t have the ingredients available at home.

While my digestive system is no longer equal to chef’s menus (simply too much food in one sitting for me), we have gotten rave reviews of the Rice Table approach from friends. If you are young and hunger (or older and stronger than me), go for it!

The space is in the same little retail development as Baskin-Robbins, and is light and airy. Since it’s an old strip mall, there is parking out front, and you can make reservations using the Resy application.

Website: https://www.gadogadopdx.com/
Address: 1801 NE Cesar E. Chavez Bvld.
Phone: 503.206.8778

La Moule: mussels and french fries

Food and Drink, SE Portland

Mussels and french fries and cocktails and wine and a burger and salads and a pasta dish and pure bliss.

La Moule is one of my favorite restaurants in Portland. I learned to love mussels here — and try to restrain myself at other restaurants from ordering mussels because they rarely are as good.

The menu is relatively small, but I’ve never had a bad dish. The pasta changes with what’s available, and is a great option for folks who don’t care for seafood or meat. Even for those of us who do eat seafood, it’s sometimes hard to resist.

The wine and cocktails have always been a delight. If ordering a bottle of wine, I usually ask for a suggestion since they carry inexpensive wine that I’ve never heard of. That being said, I have a hard time resisting their cocktail menu. They can also make delightful low- to zero-proof drinks.

If I lived around the corner, I’d be eating at their back bar for happy hour meals far too often.

When you first enter at the corner, you enter into one of two main dining areas and can see into the bustling kitchen. To your left, there is another room with more seating and a delightful bar that takes drop-ins. As La Moule gets going for the evening, the noise levels escalate. Plan accordingly.

What I eat: green salad and split the classic Marinière mussels with a dining partner. Fries and all the sauces. Something tasty to drink.

The details:

2500 SE Clinton St.
Portland, OR 97202

Website: http://lamoulepdx.com/

Make a reservation via Open Table

And enjoy!

Iconic gone; BBQ arriving! – updated

Food and Drink, NE Portland, Sullivan's Gulch

Update: We have BBQ! I haven’t been yet, but while staring at the menu, a woman walking interjected that Miss Delta’s BBQ is delicious! Need to make a visit.

The Iconic Lounge on NE Broadway between NE 22 and 24th has closed. Signs are up promising BBQ from MD PDX and the mdpdx.com web address. No much info there yet, but curious what’s on the way.

Iconic never seemed to thrive (and had enough fails that some members of my family refused to go there). I always enjoyed the happy hours and projected movies, but I never went all that often. Rose and Thistle always won out.

Stash tea — a Portland institution

Tea

Portland is a city with wonderful tea. While our beloved Steve Smith has died and moved onto the great tea tasting room in the sky, there continue to be many wonderful options for tea in Portland.

Having grown up in Portland, I have a soft spot in my heart for Stash Tea. They have been around since 1972 (older than me!) and now have their headquarters south of Portland in Tigard. Their company story is really fun to visit — and most grocery stores in Portland carry their teas. Their bagged teas are always solid and dependable, and their loose-leaf is delicious.

You can also purchase their teas on Amazon! I’m particularly partial to their lemon ginger for a non-caffeinated tea option.

Grain & Gristle: my favorite restaurant

Food and Drink, NE Portland

I feel a little wild, saying that I have a favorite restaurant. There are so many wonderful ones in Portland and I love so many of them.

But I’m going to go out on a limb (for me) and state my favorite. I love Grain & Gristle the most. The space is small and cozy. The staff is friendly without being smarmy or condescending. There are no televisions. The drinks are great: house wine never disappoints, cocktails are scrumptious, and they serve my favorite local brewery (Upright Brewing — deserving of their own post).

The food is delicious. The burger is fabulous. The mussels slay me. The “two-fer” is a great and amazing deal. I love pickles.

I believe dessert is also great, but I’m usually too full to order any.

They are on my bus line: #8.

Grain & Gristle is in NE Portland at 15th & NE Prescott. You can make reservations on Open Table.

Woodblock Chocolate: oh, when will you open!?! – updated

Food and Drink, NE Portland

The chocolate manufactory I just discovered I needed.

Updated: Woodblock Chocolate is open and is delicious!

Look what I just discovered in my neighborhood: our very own chocolate manufactory (best word ever): Woodblock Chocolate. Now, admittedly, there are other chocolate shops very, very close by (Creo Chocolate, Alma Chocolate, Missionary Chocolates), so it is not that I am deprived of chocolate (and we shall not speak of 180 Xurros — the most dangerous siren call of all).

But I stumbled across this beauty all on my own, without any warning. I cannot wait for them to open… But when will they open?!?