Screen Door

http://www.screendoorrestaurant.com/
2337 E. BURNSIDE
Portland, Oregon

This place has quickly become one of my favorite Portland restaurants. I try to go for special occasions but now live only a few blocks away so it may become more regular than that. There are two meals to write about, their brunch and dinner. Brunch is only served on the weekend. It is well known as one of the best and although the doors open at 9, there is a long line around the corner by 8:55. I recently went for my birthday breakfast celebration and it was everything AND MORE!

First off, praline bacon. It's candy.

 

My favorite, and one of their specialties is the Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Waffle. There is so much going on here but it works in every way. The fried chicken is beyond perfect - moist on the inside, very crispy on the outside, a little spicy, some depth of flavor. It really works with the sweet potato waffle, which isn't too sweet because that's where the maple syrup comes in. It seems extreme but is very balanced. Delicious and filling.

 

UPDATE: Sept 6
While their brunch is divine, their dinner is also not to be missed. Usually I get the buttermilk fried chicken. It is perfect, just like the breakfast chicken and waffle. Crispy on the outside, super moist on the inside and a little spicy. This time I chose the Smoked & BBQ'd Beef Brisket and I was definitely not missing the chicken. While I didn't care too much for the horseradish-bacon potato salad, it also came with cooked green beans. The brisket was oh-so-perfect with nice globs of fatty goodness, perfect sauce and topped with crispy fried onions.

Of course what would a southern meal be without a proper mac and cheese? Their mac is baked to perfection, and definitely not for kids who'd prefer Kraft mac. It comes straight out of the oven, with the cheese bubbling and ready for you to eat. Creamy and delicious!

Da Kitchen

425 KOLOA ST
Kahului, Hawaii

Okay so this was from when I went back to Maui last month. This is one of those "must eat at when I am home" places. Their portions are amazingly huge and the food is ono. Can't go wrong there.

Katsu Moco - My ultimate favorite local food is loco moco. This is a step above. It's a full loco moco PLUS a chicken katsu! If that weren't enough, it is served on a ton of fried rice. How could I pass this up? I couldn't, but I also could not finish. That is rare for me. It was so good but they just give so much I had to take leftovers. So again, it was fried rice, topped with a delicious hamburger, chicken katsu, fried egg, sauteed mushroom/onions and a yummy brown gravy. I was definitely in hog heaven.

Korean Chicken - my mom and grandma love getting this here and at Zippy's. Although my grandma makes it better than both places, it was pretty durn good. My mom had her hands full with this one. I think they put like 3 whole breasts or something like that. She didn't even make a dent on her plate. I had to help her but I had my hands (or mouth) full with my own meal. So this ended up in the to go container as well. Someone ate well the next day...

I was headed on the plane so my mom took home two full boxes. I'm pretty sure my uncle was the lucky one. I thought of bringing it on the plane but that would just be so mean to the people around me. Plus I had already picked up something from TJ's market earlier.

Blossoming Lotus

http://blpdx.com/
1713 NE 15th AVE
Portland, Oregon

The best vegan food in Portland. Well I haven't tried them all but when I am in the mood for something filling, delicious, nutritious and beautiful, I head to Blossoming Lotus. While I do eat quite a bit of meat and am not vegetarian by any means, this place is the bomb!

Thai BBQ Wrap

Live Pizza

They serve all vegan food and have a big selection of live foods. While I prefer my meals to be warm and filling, the live food really is pretty good. Everything that I have tried at Lotus has been nothing short of amazing. I definitely recommend their bowls.
The Green Goddess Bowl is definitely my favorite, with an addition of their tempeh or soy curls. It is a big meal so go hungry! You can have either quinoa or brown rice (I like quinoa), topped with steamed kale, salad greens, alfalfa and a delicious sauce. I always get tempeh cause it rocks!

Crema

2728 SE ANKENY
Portland, Oregon

This is the quintessential neighborhood bakery/coffee shop for me. Good music, coffee, art, people, and of course...food. It really helps that the workers are nice, friendly and not pretentious like a lot of "cool" coffee shops. I go there several times a week and have their baked goods quite a lot. My favorite is their quiche. I don't know what makes quiche so delicious but it is. The main things are a good crust and a balance of ingredients/cheese/eggs.Their crust and ingredients are always good. Depending on what they have in season or just what they feel like, they change up the quiche everyday. I've had many different ones. They switch up the cheese depending on what the other ingredients are. I can't even list what I've tried but some of my favorites are asparagus, mushrooms and goat cheese. You really can't go wrong with that!

La Buca

40 NE 28th Ave
Portland, Oregon

The celebration of a new job calls for something delicious and filling. Our new apartment is merely blocks away from many intriguing restaurants. There is something for every appetite. It was hard to pick just one for a casual celebratory dinner but this one was recommended as yummy and cheap. Italian is one of my favorites so I knew we couldn't go wrong.

We started out with some small caesar salads. Then came some bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, classic. The service was quick and friendly. While there weren't many people at the time, it always seemed like people were coming in and out.

My choice of entree was the "abituale: penne tossed with spicy italian sausage in a parmesan & roasted garlic tomato cream sauce". It was amazing! The sauce was perfectly spicy and creamy. The little sausage bits were great. When I ordered I kind of expected big pieces of sausage but they knew what they were doing. The little bits are perfect for the pasta and sauce.

Jeremy had the "pomodoro: spaghetti tossed with a fresh basil and garlic tomato sauce". It was a nice, light pasta for the hot, summer day. Nothing special but nothing lacking. As refreshing as a hot pasta could be.

We will definitely be visiting this place again. Both the entrees were less than $10 and we left full and happy. It doesn't hurt that it's only 3 minutes away.