Quick Bites PDX: Caffé Mingo; Poompui; del INTI

CAFFE MINGO
You know how certain places just have that comfortable feel for you? You know it's really right when even if you haven't been there for a year or more, the moment you walk in the door, you know nothing has changed. Caffé Mingo on NW 21st is like that for me. A place I went to regularly for years, lately it has fallen off the radar, as my Portland dining habits have taken a shift to the eastside from the west. w and I hit Mingo a couple of weeks ago, and if anything "hit" was the operative word. From our apps of the Mingo Salad and the Shrimp Skewers (pictured left in crappy photo taken with my iPhone) to their pastas (the Mingo classic penne al sugo for w, the orecchiete with sausage and greens for me) and through to the iconic Mingo dessert of Panna Cotta (right) , everything was spot on. Service and comfort zone included! Maybe it's the fact that I still see some of the same faces working there that I always have, and the food, especially the sugo, has the same warmth and flavor that it had years ago, but I have to only have respect for Mingo's consistency. Time to readjust my radar!

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POOMPUI
A year or so ago I wrote a post that I had seen the future of Thai food in Portland, and it was at Mai Thai on SE Belmont. I still love that place, but last Monday on the strong advice of my friend about PDX cart town JoshuaC, I checked out the Poompui cart on the north park blocks. If Mai Thai was the future of dine-in Thai joints, the Poompui is the present for cheap, incredibly fresh Thai take out. I've only had one thing, the Pad Kee Mao, and already I can't wait to get back. I've read plenty on various blogs and twitter feeds about Poompui, and the cool brothers who are running it. Apparently it's all true. First off, this is the cheeriest, brightly painted cart in town. It feels good just to bask in its neon colored glow. Then there was my dish of rice noodles, perfectly cooked and seasoned with fresh veggies and chicken, a bit of heat and spice coming through on each bite. These guys know their stuff, and for the stupidly cheap five bucks I spent on my lunch, I'm guessing you won't find a better plate of Thai food in town.

The menu at Poompui. Click photo to enlarge and induce salivation!

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del INTI
w and I are big fans of the Peruvian restaurant Andina on NW 13th and Glisan. We'd both read about the recently opened del INTI over on NE Alberta, and how they were serving some interesting takes on classic Peruvian dishes. So last Saturday evening we drove over, hoping to find an alternative to the drive through NW. We grabbed a table on their shaded patio, which is a great outdoor dining spot. Our somewhat over-gracious waiter (I can't believe I'm saying that "he's too helpful", but it kind of weirded me out, which says more about me than him I'm sure) brought us menus, and I had their delicious gin-ginger cocktail, which I have to say was very refreshing. But the rest of dinner, while good, was unremarkably so. Our apps of Chicharron Mixto, while fried correctly, was somewhat skimpy for $10. The Piqueo (skewer) of chicken with tamarind sauce was pretty to look at (in picture), but bland with an over-sweet sauce. w had the Hangar Steak Saltado, which seemed to be stir fried chunks of steak drenched in soy sauce. Not good. I had the Braised Lamb Shoulder with a cilantro-based canary bean stew. The herb/spice flavor of this was good, the lamb tender, but so salty that by the end your mouth is numb. Which was fine because the food wasn't all that. The upshot is that all this was not cheap. Verdict: go to Andina where for the same money you can eat much fresher, interesting Peruvian.

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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: eating spring with Asparagus, Meyer Lemon, and Pancetta Pasta

Quick Bites PDX: if you could see me now

Then these are a few of the things you might catch me stuffing my pie-hole with at various spots around Portland, with varying degrees of satisfaction....
Pork Belly Cubano at Bunk Sandwich. After reading the name of this sandwich do I even need to tell you how delicious it is? Tender, seasoned slices of pork belly with peppers and cheese. It is all too good, especially sided with their crazily satisfying bacon 'n egg potato salad. Also tried their apple-cabbage slaw. If you think you don't like cabbage salad, this one will slaw you!
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Garden State Food Cart's new Chicken Saltimbocca Sando. A couple of days ago Sellwood cart svengali Kevin Sandri told me he had a new chicken sandwich coming out. Yesterday he brought one over to the wine shack. Incredible, like an entire entrée between two bread slices. Moist organic chix breast, provolone, sage, prosciuotto. In other words, get your asses in line, pronto!
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A platter of expertly prepared nigiri and sushi rolls from the unassuming Hama Sushi out on NE Sandy Blvd. The two guys slicing and rolling behind the counter are putting out the best, freshest, most reasonably priced Japanese food in town. Lightly battered tempura calamari is the perfect start. Seaweed salad, perfectly chewy udon. They have it all. Oh, and that glorious hamachi at the top of the blog...Hama, baby!
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The Empanadas Caseras de Carne from Andina, a lightly flaky pastry stuffed with slow-cooked beef, raisins, and Botija olives. The perfect happy hour treat, especially good washed down with their Tortuga cocktail! BTW- don't even think about passing up their fabulous octopus skewer, which come with astonishingly good mashed potatoes.
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The Chicago Red Hot from Wayne's Chicago Red Hots out on NE MLK. I'd been reading about this Chicago themed dog joint where all things Windy City rule, especially a fine appreciation of my beloved Cubs. I tried to get my Wrigley mojo on with their Chicago Red Hot and an Old Style. The dog, much like my Cubs of late, disappointed. Even the nuclear green relish couldn't take my mind off of what I found to be a pretty pedestrian dog. A far cry from the lunchtime grilled happiness at Sheridan Fruit Co. The fries were decent, but again kind of "meh".
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The spherical pieces of meat flavored shredded cardboard that are the Swedish Meatballs (with potatoes, gravy, and lingonberry jam) at IKEA. They cost nothing, they taste like nothing. Lingonberry jam mixed with gravy.....they don't really do this in Scandinavia, do they??
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: a day well spentover a pot of Beef Bolognese!

Peruvian pleasure at Andina

As much as we get into eating and drinking, if we can do both for less it is even sweeter. Hence our fascination with happy hours around town. At dinner the other night our enabling friends D&K were mentioning the HH at Andina, PDX's bastion of Peruvian cuisine, where not only are all the fabulously fresh house cocktails just $5 every day from 4-6, but certain apps are also to be had on the cheap. We hit it this past Sunday. I hadn't hung out in the Andina bar much, but I have to say it is really cool. Great lighting, comfy bar stools, very friendly and more importantly competent bartenders, plus some of the best happy hour grub in town. Here's what we got ourselves into.....

Of course we have to start with the national drink of Peru,

a couple of perfectly foamy Pisco Sours

Incredibly delicious Anticucho de Pulpo, skewered and grilled octopus, perfectly cooked, with perhaps the most kick ass mashers ever, which are potatoes smushed up with olives, garlic, parsley, and olive oil. Freakish!!

Oysters on the half shell for a buck each? Can you say "Hell yeah"??!

This was one of their Causas, which the menu describes as "a traditional preparation of fresh lime-flavored potato mixture pressed into a cake with assorted fillings, served with avocado." Your reporter will simply describe it as "one of the best fucking things I've ever put into my mouth!!" They do three different versions. We had the Mixta Nikkei, which was crispy shrimp on top of spicy raw tuna, which was on top of fresh crab salad which was stuffed inside of the potatoes........do I really need to say any more? SERIOUS swoon here.
Not on the happy hour menu, but so damn worth every freaking penny!

Normally I wouldn't get too geeked over Hemingway's favorite drink, but this was their Daiquiri Natural, which is what all others should aspire to be. Although I have to say my home version rocks it pretty hard, too!

w also had their Ron-Yki-On cocktail which she loved and was made with roasted ginger infused
silver rum with fresh citrus juice. I'll also be back soon for not only more pulpo and potatoes, but their gin-based Tortuga cocktail, which I somehow overlooked. There is so much good to be had here at such a great price, you can't afford not to get your Happy Hour groove on here!

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one year ago today at E.D.T.: Tagliatelle with Sausage, Basil, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Pianos, Pisco, and Peru!

Date night. With a little culture thrown in courtesy of the Portland International Piano festival and a recital by Paul Roberts, who w has informed me is a world renowned DeBussy scholar. I have to say I have never heard DeBussy played better. Of course I had never heard DeBussy played at all, but still, to my rock-addled ears, he was pretty damn good. Anyway, this was all prelude to the main point of date night (at least for me!), which is dinner out. Tonight w had in her head to go to our local outpost of Peruvian cuisine, Andina Restaurant in northwest Portland.

Going native with a refreshing Pisco Sour





Andina is a place here in PDX where they explore the amazing mix of influences that is Peruvian food. Spanish, Asian, South American...all bases are covered, and after our excellent meal here, Andina is absolutely back on our radar. I started out with a traditional Peruvian cocktail, a Pisco Sour (recipe to follow), which is the national drink of Peru and Chile. Pisco is a grape based brandy common in South America, shaken with lemon juice, sugar, and an egg white then served up in a martini glass. Delicious, with that refreshing sweet/tart balance I love in a well made libation and also what makes this a perfect summer sipper. I’m already planning tomorrow’s trip to the liquor store!

Yucca Rellena: fried+creamy= happiness!





Appetite firmly whetted, we dove in with starters of Yucca Rellana, a cheese-stuffed yuca that is then deep fried and served on an aji amarilla and ricotta cheese sauce. This was really nice, satisfying my cravings for all things fried and creamy. We also had an outstanding dish of Conchas a la Parilla, which are grilled diver scallops with a garlic-lime butter sauce and crispy fried onions. Wow! Really fresh, and the sauce set off the scallops perfectly.

Mixto Chorrillano Cebiche




Next up was one of Andina’s signature Cebiches, ours a mix of five different fish and shellfish, which was incredibly fresh, the lime cure clearing your palates and the occasional habanero bit adding that eye bulging touch of heat.

Aroz con Pato




For entrees, w had the Halibut al Ricoto y Kion, which was a nicely roasted piece of fish set in a bowl with a shiitake mushroom, smoked bacon, and bok choy broth. Very tasty but a bit too much broth. The best thing was the side of asparagus-quinoa fried rice. I had a sensational dish of grilled duck breast and crisp confit duck leg served over cilantro-infused rice and fresh vegetables. The simple name of Arroz con Pato doesn't do justice to the complexity of flavors and the tender, savory duck meat that had me swooning.

We finally finished with a chocolate mousse dish topped with an espresso cookie...you can see me hovering in anticipation in the background.....
Culture, cocktails, and killer Peruvian cuisine. I couldn't ask for more!!
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Pisco Sour

2 oz. Gran Pisco
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. superfine sugar
1 egg white
dash of bitters
Shake all ingreients well and strain into martini glass. Prepare for feelings of well being!