Portland for a second year in a row for American Thanksgiving. This time around we tried a couple of cideries and new spots along with a couple old spots we couldn’t resist (aka. Cascade). Let’s gooooooo.
Day 1
Korean Tofu House
Casa Italia
Day 2
Coava Coffee Roasters
Matt’s BBQ
Coco Donuts
Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider Taproom
Tienda Santa Cruz
Cascade Brewing Barrel House
Day 3
Off the Waffle
Blue Star Donuts
La Piñata Takos
Tasty n Alder
Nong’s Khao Man Gai
Alter Ego Cider
Day 4
Broder Café
La Costa Taqueria
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Korean Tofu House
While en route to Portland, we made a pit stop for food at Korean Tofu House.
Hours.
We dropped in on a holiday Thursday for lunch (around 12:45pm) and it was bumping. Service is quick and efficient. They brought out hot tea and waters are already on the table for you.
The menu is one page; tofu soup, other soups, bibimbop, BBQ and noodle. A grand total of 27 items to choose from.
They ask how spicy you want your food (level 1 to 5); we went with 4 for everything.
Banchan
They brought out 5 side dishes. Kimchi, bean sprouts, potatoes, sliced fish cakes and green onion pancake.
I’ve never seen green onion pancake served as banchan before but these were excellent.
Kimchi had a good spicy level.
Bean sprouts were refreshing.
Sliced fish cakes had a good bite.
Purple rice
Everyone got a bowl of rice to go with our food. Perfect amount.
Pork tofu soup (#5) ($8.99 US)
They add an egg into the tofu soup (bonus they even do it for you). The soup was decent but lacked a bit in terms of depth.
Soy bean paste soup (#8) ($7.99 US)
Green onion, zucchini, tofu and onion. Homey and comforting; I think I liked this one a touch more than the pork tofu soup.
Topokki (#25) ($8.99 US)
Spicy seasoned bar rice cake. We added ramen ($1.00 US) which I’d say was worth it. The topokki were bouncy and chewy. This was the only dish that had a good kick to it. Liked the addition of sliced beef, sliced fish cakes, cabbage and green onion.
Solid, reasonably priced Korean food at KTH.
Korean Tofu House
https://koreantofuhouseuw.com/
4142 Brooklyn Ave NE
Seattle, WA
(206) 632-3119
Casa Italia
After a full day of driving, we finally made it into town. We dropped off our bags and headed over to try a spot for dinner. It was closed so we crossed the street and walked over to Casa Italia.
We dropped in on a Thursday evening (around 6:45pm) and it was half full. Service was brutal, especially for an Italian restaurant. We were not impressed.
The menu is short with appetizers, salad, soup, pasta (fresh and dry) and meats. We weren’t super hungry so split two pasta dishes.
Click here to see the menu (1, 2, 3 and 4).
Bread
It came with a dipping sauce (olive oil, balsamic, garlic, cilantro and red pepper flakes).
Pasta del fornaio ($18.00 US)
Fresh pappardelle with Italian sausage, caramelized onions and red wine tomato sauce.
Frutti di mare ($22.00 US)
Linguini with salmon, shrimp, mussels, scallops and clams in a light red pepper flake marinara sauce.
Smaller portions and pricier Italian food at CI.
Casa Italia
http://www.casaitaliaondivision.com/
3035 SE Division St
Portland, OR
(971) 279-5684
Coava Coffee Roasters
Our first stop of the day was coffee at Coava Coffee Roasters. They have multiple locations around the city.
Sign outside.
We dropped in on a Saturday (around noon) and there was a constant line of people coming in for a drink. The inside vibes are very chill with even a fireplace in the back. A perfect spot to get some work done.
Some merchandise when you first walk in.
These candles get me every time. First time I saw these were at Full Tilt Ice Cream.
The drink menu is small with 10 options.
A couple pastries available with no prices (how hipster of them).
Coffee beans for sale ($14.00 US to $15.00 US).
Espresso ($3.50 US)
J said his espresso was strong and bitter.
Latte ($4.50 US)
B added soy milk ($0.50 US). She found the latte more milky flavoured than she prefers. It wasn’t too thin but she wanted more coffee flavour to come through. I don’t drink much coffee but I actually liked it.
I see why Coava is so popular in the city.
Coava Coffee Roasters
https://www.coavacoffee.com/
2631 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR
(503) 894-8134
Matt’s BBQ
I was debating between a few BBQ food trucks to try but settled on Matt’s BBQ. They’re located in one of the many food truck plazas that are all over the city.
Hours.
We dropped in on a Friday for lunch (around 12:45pm). There’s plenty of picnic style seating but beware, it’s all outdoors. They had a couple sauces including peach mustard, hog vinegar and garlic BBQ.
The menu consists of meat, sandwiches, sides, shebangs and tacos.
They also had a couple small specials/appetizers.
The whole shebang for 2 ($25.00 US)
1/4lb sliced brisket, 1/4 lb pulled pork, two ribs, sausage, slaw potato salad and beans.
My favourite piece of meat was the jalapeño cheddar sausage. So tasty with a burst of flavour and slight kick. I though the pulled pork was a touch dry.
The ribs were well seasoned.
B really liked the sliced brisket; tender and juicy but slightly fatty on certain parts.
Barbeque sauce.
The sides were bland and unmemorable.
I did like the dill pickle and pickled red onion.
Good but if I’m choosing BBQ, my preference/go to is still for The People’s Pig.
Matt’s BBQ
http://www.mattsbbqpdx.com/
4233 N Mississippi Ave
Portland, OR
(503) 504-0870
Coco Donuts
After lunch, we were ready for our next snack which was donuts and more coffee at Coco Donuts. They have a couple locations throughout the city.
Signs outside.
They even have a cute bicycle donut stand.
We dropped in on a Friday afternoon (around 1:30pm) and lucked out. They had an end of the day donut deal! $4.00 US for half a dozen or $8.00 US for a dozen.
They also have 50% off drinks on Monday and Tuesday.
Service was sweet, friendly and genuine. A big shout out to Genevieve who saved B’s mitts (she forgot them) and gave us three complimentary donuts when we came back for them.
Three cases of donuts on display; premium, filled, buttermilk, old fashion, raised bar, twist, cake toppings and raised toppings.
They even have miso veggie turnovers.
They also have their own coffee beans for sale ($14.00 US to $15.00 US).
And of course, pink merchandise.
Drink menu.
End of day donuts ($4.00 US for 6)
We ended up going with an apple fritter, buttermilk glazed, chocolate coconut cake donut, lavender glaze, raspberry filled jelly and crumb raised. My favourite was the raspberry; the jam filling was excellent and tasty.
Crumb raised had the lightest and fluffiest texture.
B really enjoyed the buttermilk glazed.
Apple fritter was standard.
Lavender glaze was a touch subtle and floral.
Chocolate coconut cake was, of course, the densest that we tried.
Drip ($3.00 US for 16 oz)
J found it strong and flavour was too sweet for his liking.
Lavender latte ($4.75 US for 12oz)
Subtle in lavender but it was tasty and coffee notes came through.
Quality, fresh donuts and an unreal, steal of a deal for their end of day donuts!
Coco Donuts
http://cocodonuts.com/
33 N Skidmore St
Portland, OR
(971) 279-4858
Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider Taproom
I’ve been excited to check out Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider Taproom for some time now as I’ve tasted a few of their ciders from various cider festivals.
A few signs outside.
Hours.
We dropped in on a Friday afternoon (around 3:00pm). It wasn’t too busy but they had an unreal Black Friday deal on their bottles and cases.
Normally, their bottles are $7.00 US (500ml) and $12.00 US (750ml).
Price sheet for their Black Friday garage sale.
Closeup of a few of the cider bottles/offerings.
Holy water(melon) sounded interesting but wasn’t on tap to try.
There’s a menu by the bar along with a paper menu with descriptions.
Flights are $16.00 US (for 6) or $28.00 US (to try all 12).
They even have a hot cider option!
Flight ($16.00 US for 6)
We opted for the sacrilege sour cherry (#2), Oktober apfelwein (#4), friendsgiving collab with Daidala (#6), valley of the pear (#9), providence (#11) and tepache navidad (#12).
Sour cherry was okay but very subtle in cherry flavour. Apfelwein had some spice notes but wasn’t memorable.
Our favourite was the friendsgiving collab which went down easy (tasted like juice)! All I got from the pear was an artificial vanilla flavour. It smelled similar to cream soda.
The providence was our least favourite; the after taste was unpleasant and the only flavour I could taste was something similar to a rice soy milk. The tepache navidad was the other one we liked. It tasted like cooked pineapple.
Sadly, we didn’t love any of the ciders at Nat’s.
Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider Taproom
http://reverendnatshardcider.com/
1813 NE 2nd Ave
Portland, OR
(503) 567-2221
Tienda Santa Cruz
Always need to get my Mexican fix in when we’re in the States. Decided to try Tienda Santa Cruz for dinner.
Couple signs outside.
We dropped in on a Friday evening (around 7:00pm). It wasn’t busy but quite a few people came in to order takeout. Order at the counter and they bring out the food to your table. You can pay with card for anything over $5.00 US.
The menu is up behind the counter; there’s 18 items along with a few other random things.
They also had a few desserts (cheesecake and flan) for $3.00 US.
There’s also a sauce station with pickled carrots and four sauces.
The diablo had a kick to it.
Chips
They bring out a complimentary basket of chips with a verde sauce.
Chips were fresh and tasted homemade. Addictively good that we asked for a second basket.
Horchata ($2.00 US)
This one was too sweet and tasted artificial. Wouldn’t get this again.
Tacos ($1.50 US to $2.00 US)
We ordered half a dozen.
The best were the tripe and al pastor; both were tender and moist.
Fish was solid but a touch under seasoned.
The lengua was crispy but too salty and fatty.
Carnitas were decent but the chorizo was overcooked.
Posole ($7.00 US)
Jalapenos, cilantro, chicken, lettuce, onion and tostadas.
The tostadas they come with are crispy but bland.
The soup itself was good; broth had good depth with a solid portion of chicken and garbanzo beans.
I’d say this is best shared in a group setting.
2 Tacos combination ($6.00 US)
J opted for pollo and al pastor. The combo came served with rice and beans.
A pretty good portion for one.
Hay rico tamale ($2.00 US)
They forgot about our tamale so we took it to go. Ate it a day later and it was still good!
Cheap tacos and good prices at TSC. I’d come back again.
Tienda Santa Cruz
24 SE 82nd Ave
Portland, OR
(503) 408-4896
Cascade Brewing Barrel House
The only Portland place we came back to for a return visit was Cascade. We love our sours and how chill this place always is.
We dropped in on a Friday evening (around 8:00pm) and they had the b-ball game on all the TV’s.
There was a sweet Black Friday deal going on where several bottles were on sale for $14.00 US. Cheapest we’ve ever seen them! Click here to see the deals (1 and 2).
The menu has changed ever so slightly since our visit from a year ago. They have traditional & seasonal ales now. Click here (1, 2 and happy hour).
Heck, they even have the drink menu up on a TV screen now.
Watermelon gose 2019
Hibiscus, sea salt and Hermiston watermelon. I found the watermelon a touch too underwhelming. B said it reminded her of watermelon Jollyranchers.
Rose city sour 2017
Very floral but with a a strong flavour of rose petals and hibiscus tea.
Pistil whipped 2018
This one was very unique with an infusion of saffron and chamomile tea.
One way or another
Marionberries and Meyer lemon zest. Another tasty, unique combination.
Cerise nouveau 2018
Aged in Pinot barrels with fresh bing cherries. The most akin to a wine.
Primordial noir 2017
Aged in wine and bourbon barrel with bing cherries and spices on nitro. Interesting but not of my favourites.
Brunch line 2017
Barrel aged with chardonnay grapes and orange zest. There’s a flicker of chardonnay.
Careful with that aprium, Eugene
This was one of their guest taps from Beachwood Blendery. Belgian style sour ale with honey rich aprium. Completely crushable.
Figaro 2015 ($14.00 US 750ml)
Noyaux 2015 ($14.00 US 750ml)
Cranberry 2016 ($11.00 US 750ml)
Another awesome visit at Cascade and perfect way to end our night.
Cascade Brewing Barrel House
http://www.cascadebrewingbarrelhouse.com/
39 SE Belmont St
Portland, OR
(503) 265-8603
Off the Waffle
We were planning to check out Broder Café but the line was insane (over an hour wait, no thanks). Luckily, we had made backup plans so walked a street over to Off the Waffle which had no line.
We dropped in on a Saturday (around 11:00am) and it was busy. The inside is small and cramped. Order and pay at the counter first and then seat yourself.
The menu consists of liège waffles; savoury, in between and sweet.
There was also one special up at the counter.
You can buy their liège waffles for home ($15.00 US for 6).
2x Coffee ($3.00 US)
Standard. Nothing special about their coffee.
Vermont maple syrup ($1.00 US)
Bit of a joke that they don’t offer you maple syrup. For a dollar, you get just enough syrup to cover your waffle.
Goat in headlights ($10.50 US)
Liège waffle with chèvre, avocado, two sunny side up eggs, EVOO and basil chiffonade. The goat in theory sounded great but there was way too much on the waffle.
It overpowered the flavours and lost part of the texture in the waffle itself. I liked the addition of the fresh basil.
The hey Bob ($6.50 US)
Fuji apple, melted havarti cheese, cinnamon and drizzle of maple syrup. This was the better of the two dishes.
You could taste the waffle; crispy outside and light, fluffy inside. The melted cheese with apple was a tasty combination.
The fruit party ($10.50 US)
Topped with apple, banana, pear and strawberry compote. You get a good amount of fruit and J really liked the waffle.
I’d stick with either OtW’s in between or sweet waffle options.
Off the Waffle
https://offthewaffle.com/
2601 SE Clinton St
Portland, OR
(971) 258-2730
Blue Star Donuts
Dropped in for a quick bite (aka. one donut to share).
We enjoyed our first visit to a different Blue Star Donuts branch last year.
They always have an interesting lineup of flavours.
Had their raspberry rosemary buttermilk flavour last time (yum!).
They also have coffee and tea for drinks.
Matcha, matcha man ($4.00 US)
Vanilla cake donut with lime leaf, infused maple syrup, matcha glaze and salted matcha crumble.
We love matcha but this wasn’t intense enough for us. J didn’t liked the addition of the salt to the donut.
Blue Star Donuts
https://www.bluestardonuts.com/
921 NW 23rd Ave
Portland, OR
(503) 265-8659
La Piñata Takos
We were downtown and heading over to do some shopping. I was still peckish so decided to stop at La Piñata Takos again for some cheap tacos.
Prices haven’t gone up too much (mostly $0.50 US). Randomly, the horchata is jacked up now.
Fish taco ($1.50 US)
Fish taco was as good as I remember. Honestly, for $1.50 US, you can’t really go wrong.
Street taco ($1.50 US)
Decided to try a street taco and they let you choose your meat (beef, pork or chicken). I went with pork; decent but it was a touch dry.
La Piñata Takos
432 SW 3rd Avenue
Portland, OR
(503) 943-9725
Tasty n Alder
Last time we were in town, we’d checked out Tasty n Sons (which is now closed). While we were downtown, we decided try Tasty n Alder for a quick bite. They offer a daily mid day bar menu (2:00pm to 5:30pm).
We dropped in on a Saturday (around 5:00pm) and the bar area was packed. There was only room to stand and eat. The dining room was even busier with people lining up to be seated right at 5:30pm. Crazy.
The mid day bar menu has smaller, larger and sweeter options. There’s also drinks ($9.00 US wine, $4.00 US beer mugs and $10.00 US cocktails). Click here to see (1, 2, 3 and 4).
Fries ($3.00 US)
These are fried in beef fat. Sounded great but we didn’t love their fries. It’s a small portion and the texture is oddly dry.
Steakhouse sandwich ($10.00 US)
If you make it for their mid day bar menu, this is a must! The steak sandwich was unexpectedly delicious. Steak was thinly sliced with deep fried onions (great crunch) and an addictive aioli sauce.
I can see why TnA is so popular.
Tasty n Alder
https://www.tastynalder.com/
580 SW 12th Ave
Portland, OR
(503) 621-9251
Nong’s Khao Man Gai
It’s been a year since our original visit to Nong’s Khao Man Gai. Almost everything is the same except they added a new dish.
We dropped in on a Saturday evening (around 6:15pm) and it was busy. Don’t fret, food comes out fast and people eat quickly.
Drink options.
The menu is essentially the same except now there’s a soup and you can order a piset (large size).
I don’t remember them having actual menus last visit but they do.
2x Thai ice tea ($4.00 US)
Slightly overpriced for a jar of Thai ice tea but better than average.
Super soup ($9.00 US)
Chicken bone broth with winter melon, chicken, rice, fried garlic, green onion and cilantro. Soup had good depth and flavour. It reminded me of something your Thai grandma would make. Chicken pieces were tender and winter melon
Pork and rice (#4) ($11.75 US)
Still the best thing at NKMG. Everything on this dish works brilliantly.
If you know, you know (cue eye roll of what kids say these days).
Tofu peanut sauce (#6) ($10.00 US)
Steamed tofu with jasmine rice, steamed broccoli and peanut sauce. This was disappointing and bland. Tofu is soft and the peanut sauce really needed a kick. Wouldn’t get this again.
Still popular for a reason.
Nong’s Khao Man Gai
http://khaomangai.com/
609 SE Ankeny Street
Portland, OR
(503) 740-2907
Alter Ego Cider
I’ve been wanting to check out Alter Ego Cider’s taproom ever since discovering them at Seattle Cider Summit (grapefruit/guava was bomb).
They’re interesting as the owner originally starting out making wines (under Helioterra).
Sign outside.
Hours.
We dropped in on a Saturday evening (around 7:30pm) and it wasn’t busy. The inside is homey with a couple bar stools and about half a dozen tables. Service is friendly and I had a good chat with the worker.
Closeup of their cider taps.
Closeup of their cider and wine bottles.
The menu is small; 12 options on draft along with snacks and wine.
For cider, they had 7 flavours, three guest taps and two beers.
The flight prices were odd as you can technically get three samples for cheaper than the $10.00 US price tag…
2x Flight ($10.00 US for 3)
For the first flight, we went with the guardian angel (#2), strawberry margarita (#4) and mirabellissima (#6). The second flight was peach orange cranberry (#7), Bauman’s: do you like pina colada? (#8) and Finnriver lavender black currant.
Our favourite was the strawberry margarita (strawberries, lime and sea salt); very drinkable.
Finnriver’s lavender black currant was fruity, not too floral and smooth (not semi-dry as it was described on the menu).
Guardian angel (blueberry with hints of pomegranate) was a touch too subtle.
Peach orange cranberry was slightly tart.
We didn’t like the mirabellissima (mirabelle plum and pinot blanc juice) or Bauman’s pina colada (pineapple and coconut).
Both tasted artificial and did not have an enjoyable aftertaste.
AEC was a chill spot to try a few ciders.
Alter Ego Cider
https://www.alteregocider.com/
2025 SE 7th Ave
Portland, OR
(971) 229-1445
Broder Café
We’d tried to come to Broder Café the morning before but bailed when we found out it was over an hour’s wait time. We decided to check it out again the next day. They’re a Scandinavian inspired cafe located next door to La Moule.
Hours.
Coffee station outside for while you wait in line.
We dropped in on a Sunday morning (around 9:15am) and there was only one group ahead of us. We jotted our name down on the waitlist and still had to wait 30 minutes for a table. Service isn’t efficient and there’s a lot of bros hanging around, not doing much.
There’s a breakfast menu and lunch menu (you can order from either) along with an extensive drink menu (1 and 2). Specials they had for the day.
Drink special when you first walk inside.
There was also a small pastry display case.
Hot sauces that they bring to the table upon request. Cry Baby Craig’s (from Minneapolis) was decent.
Coffee
B and J weren’t fans of the coffee. Both the coffee outside and in were disappointing. Also, strangely, they tasted differently.
Nitrate-free bacon ($4.50 US)
Three slices of bacon. We liked that it wasn’t greasy and had a crispy bite but totally overpriced.
Rustik polse patty ($4.50 US)
House-made sausage patty with mustard sauce was better but slightly dry.
Seasonal fruit fritter ($4.50 US)
Apple cinnamon. This was the best of the side dishes that J ordered. A slightly dense pancake but tasty. Could have used more apple flavour.
Uunipuuro ($9.00 US)
Traditional Finnish oven porridge served with honey, apple butter and Swedish oak milk. No one liked this dish.
Bland and heavy; the only saving grace was the lingonberry berries.
Aebleskiver ($11.00 US full order)
6 Danish pancakes served with house-made lemon curd and lingonberry jam. In hindsight, you really only need to order a small ($8.00 US for 4).
The balls were fluffy but again, dense.
The lemon curd was tangy and sweet, same with the lingonberry jam.
Broder bord ($15.00 US)
Nordic rye toast, house-cured gravolax, firm & soft cheese, beet-pickled hard boiled egg, granola parfait and a daily side (a tiny slice of what tasted like a cinnamon bun). It’s nice that you get a variety of things but for the price, it’s a small board.
The granola was the best item; excellent and clearly made in-house.
I liked the firm cheese over the chevre. You only get two tiny pieces of rye toast. The potatoes were forgettable.
The gravolax was tasty but such a minuscule slice.
Hard boiled eggs were well executed.
The food was heavy and not what I’d consider worth waiting for. Too many other good brunch spots in Portland.
Broder Café
https://www.broderpdx.com/
2508 SE Clinton St
Portland, OR
(503) 736-3333
La Costa Taqueria
I randomly spotted La Costa Taqueria while we were getting gas at the 76 station. They’re right off the I5 (exit 186). If we hadn’t been low on gas, we would never have stopped and found this taco truck.
Sign outside with all their meat options.
Hours.
We dropped by on a Sunday (around 3:00pm) and there was a small but constant queue of people getting food. They have a tin shack if you want to eat and stay out of the elements.
Two sauces (a mild green and spicier red) are also in bottles.
The menu has a bit of everything but we only were interested in the tacos.
There’s a good variety of meats Sadly, they were already out of pescato.
4x Tacos ($6.50 US)
All the tacos were $1.50 US except for the lengua ($2.00 US). We tried the pollo, adobada, cabeza and lengua. Best taco was easily the lengua; super tender but still with a good bite.
The cabeza (head) was also delicious. We always love the off cut meats the best.
Adobada was juicy and moist but the pollo was a touch overcooked.
Bonus points for the garnishes (pickled carrot, radish, grilled onion and grilled jalapeno pepper).
Cash only. A surprising find at LCT; some solid tacos that I’d come back for next time we’re road tripping.
La Costa Taqueria
https://www.facebook.com/familytacos/
116 128th St SE
Everett, WA
(425) 499-8829
CHERRY BOB-OMBS 