"Holla"...at Ya-Hala. Lebanese fare, with elbow room to spare!

When you walk into Ya-Hala (8005 SE Stark) they'll let you know that in Lebanon, "Ya-hala" means "Welcome." So in Portland "Ya-hala" means "Welcome...to my stomach."

This holds true for all Lebanese restaurants, come hungry. Previously, my only real experience with Lebanese eateries in Portland has been the famous (and magically delicious) Nicola's on SE Grand (as well as SE Broadway); where the accommodations are cramped, the pitas runneth over, and the middle eastern beats are jammin'. So needless to say I was pretty stoked to eat at Ya-Hala, finally a place to get kebabs and tabbouli where I wouldn't have to wait on the side of NE Grand Ave, observing failed attempts to park in the Andy and Bax lot. Also, Ya-Hala is Zagat-rated!

After a moderate wait (to be expected on a Friday night) I started with the Veggie Mezza, which consisted of the usual small plates of hummus, tabbouli and baba ghanouj, in addition to other faves, dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), falafel, and Aranabeet, which is essentially friend cauliflower.

For an entree, I had the Moughrabeih, which was very tender braised beef and chicken along side a bowl of couscous mixed with chickpeas and spices and a side of yogurt.

Although it was all very tasty, and reasonably priced. (The entire gut-busting meal for two totaled 25.00, and you can purchase a bottle of wine for as little as $18) I was not blown away. The food was good and tasted very fresh, but it seemed to be missing that little kick or unique "Je ne sais quoi" that we all hope to find at a new restaurant. The service was ok, the tabouli was good, the hummus was decent, and so on and so forth. But I left Ya-Hala without the brimming tales of culinary wonderment and delight that I so often find at Portland eateries. It was not so delicious that I wanted to (and succeeded in) consuming the garnish.

If you are looking for some decent, affordable food on the east side, Ya-Hala is definitely an option, I would recommend it for an impromptu dinner out, a treat for lunch, or something affordable and different, but I would notqueue up on the sidewalk outside to get in.

All you gotta do is Dance?

Gotta love the corporate luncheons. The small talk, the name tags, the assigned table, the soggy salmon, the hard rolls, it's enough to make you think twice about the "free lunch" you're eating. The elderly man in the chair next to me was sulking into his rice pilaf. "Young people these days," the old man grumbled. "They have no idea what real dancing is, they just sit in bars and rub up against each other, you call that dancing? When I was a kid, we could dance for real, there was always a live band, a good band too."

I considered what he said. The Crystal Ballroom with its famous sprung dance floor is typically host to surging throngs of jumping bodies.

The next week my uncle invited me out dancing. "So you're hitting up the club scene these days?" I joked, elbowing him in the arm. "Not clubs, way better. A bunch of us get together and go out swing dancing, maybe a little lindy, whatever's playing. There's a live band, It's a great time." I imagined old church ladies wearing florals hanging out in a rec hall or grange. I thought of cold pasta salad, sheet cake, and watery punch diluted by the melted ice ring.

"Thanks I'll pass..."

So when I found myself lining up outside the Imago Theater, to get into someplace called the Mambo Lounge, I was a bit confused as to where we were going. But there was a line and a wooden signboard on the sidewalk, so I went with it. We paid $10 to get in and joined a crush of people leaving a show at the Imago. After climbing about three floors up a back staircase that appeared to go head nowhere, we emerged into a huge ballroom. There was a band warming up on stage, (a real band) and people gathering for a salsa lesson. After learning a few basic steps, the place quickly filled with the Salsa dance enthusiasts of Portland. The atmosphere was laid back and so much more pleasant than any "club scene." I left at the end of the night having spent roughly $20. Way less than a night out! We immediately made plans to not only go back, but find out what the dance hall scene in Portland really has to offer.

Making new friends!

Reasons you should go out dancing:

1) You may drink some, but you'll drink way less. And you'll burn twice the calories!

2) Meet interesting new people!

3) Dance with people, without feeling like you are being physically violated at a frat party.

4) You can pretend you're on Dancing With The Stars

5) You can learn something new!

Where to go! (most of the dances are cheap cover, anywhere from $5-10, $15-20 if it's a special event, like New Years's Eve)

http://www.swingout.net/ Find out where the Portland swing/lindy scene meets

Norse Hall http://www.norsehall.org/

Crystal Ballroom (there is still real dancing here!)

Scottish Rite

Viscount Studio <---you can also take lessons here

Parkrose Ballroom

Portland Police Athletic Association

Andrea's Cha Cha Club @ The Grand Cafe

The finer points of eating chicken feet: Dim Sum in Portland

Lots of people think that the "small plates" phenomena is new. It is not, ask any Chinese person who has been eating Dim Sum since before they could walk. Just look at the popularity of Dim Sum, the restaurants are always packed! It's no surprise that Dim Sum (as well as Tapas) may or may not have contributed to the evolution of small plates. The only real discernible differences are:

1) For Dim Sum, carts of small plates circle the restaurant, all you need to do is point and mumble in caveman-like fashion and they'll hand you some cheap food! They don't expect you to correctly pronounce the name, or even really understand what you're eating. Rice/porridge/gruel in a bowl with a happy concoction of beef intestine and "thousand year eggs?" Bring it on!

2) At small plates the food is not cheap, and more often than not you may feel obligated to correctly pronounce or understand what you are ordering. In the event that you don't, you may be looked upon as a quaint and amusing novelty. They will most likely smile warmly upon you like you are a 4 year old child who just mastered "please" and "thank you."

What exactly IS this?

3) At Dim Sum, they don't care if you don't finish your chicken feet or leave your designated slice of sea cucumber uneaten. But at small plates, if you don't finish your chocolate covered chicken wing, they'll want to know why.

This is sea cucumber, it has been served to me once at Sam Woo in Los Angeles.

Why Chicken Feet?

Let's begin with some poetry:

Chickens are feathery, short and stout. They have beaks, so they cannot pout.

They have wings, but can’t really fly. Though many times I’ve seen them try.

They peck and cluck and eat corn meal. If I were a chicken, how would I feel?

We love all creatures all the same, but the poor chicken’s feet are really lame.

With only three toes with long bony nails, they might as well be covered in scales.

People eat the meat and the fat you see, but the feet are considered a delicacy!

I’m not quite sure what they call the feet, but they’re not very appetizing,

nor sound very sweet. They’re fatty and bony and yucky too, that’s the last thing

I want to chew. Maybe you can grind them and make them dog food,

or sauté them in butter for the socially crude…

I think eating their feet is kind of rude! Unless you’re in a really strange mood.

Braised chicken feet! Take a gander folks. You must be a skillful master of chopsticks to pick these up. They are very dense, squishy and slippery.

Yes, chicken feet are fatty, they are also bony. But yucky? That is subjective. I would argue that fried chicken feet are substantially more delicious, much more similar to gnawing on the end of a wing. What red-blooded American turns their nose up at gnawing on an overfriend chicken wing?

Places to eat Dim Sum in Portland:

Wong's King on SE Division St.

Jin Wah Restaurant in Beaverton

Fong Chong in Downtown Old Town

Wong's King on the Eastside (I have not eaten here, but I hear it's really good!)

House of Louie in Downtown Old Town

Some things to remember if you're a dim sum newbie:

1) Dim Sum is an adventure! For everything new you don't like, there's probably something you'll wonder how you've lived without.
2) There's a lazy susan in the middle of the table because you're supposed to share.
3) As open as you are to new ingredients, be open to new textures.
4) Remember that Dim Sum is like brunch, as fun as it'd be to eat for dinner, they don't serve it then.
5) It's best to plan a little ahead, and go in a big group.

Great food, great prices, great service! Yay!

One of the last places most people would expect to find a cool restaurant is tucked back into a quiet neighborhood. Au contraire, not in Portland my friend! This is where you'll find Firehouse. On NE Dekum St. just a couple blocks of MLK, Firehouse is located in; you guessed it, an old renovated firehouse. Located on a funny little corner, it's hard to miss, and once you've eaten there, the food isn't hard to miss either!

I've eaten at my share of swanky trendy hip places, and their bite is usually not as good as their bark....meaning what they actually do isn't as unique or good as what they say....

Firehouse is the opposite. The floorplan of an old firehouse doesn't exactly lend itself to the most ideal restaurant space in the world, but nevertheless the atmosphere is warm, rustic, contemporary and comforatable, and old photos of Portland firefighters long past lends a homey feel to the place. You can also watch chicken roast on a spit. Rad!

We started with fried cauliflower which was served with meyer lemon creme fraiche. Keep in mind that I think cauliflower is nasty. It was fantastic. I am now a cauliflower fan. It probably helped that it was fried. We also got some deep fried stuffed olives, and cheese with honey on it. I am always a fan of cheeses drizzled with honey after a particularly impressive morsel at Bar Mingo, luckily this did not dissappoint. However I'm not sure what the olives were supposed to be stuffed with, they looked empty to me...

We split a pizza, one of their signature items cooked in a homemade brick oven. The crust was perfect! And good pizza crust is hard to find. Chewy and flavorful and so good that the crust alone is as good as the pizza itself. At first I was wary of the sauce because it looked wet, it was a simple puree of tomatoes and olive oil, but in this case, simplicity didn't lend itself to chance. It was of course delicious as simple things made with good ingredients should be. I liked ithat Firehouse was an un-pretentious, unassuming atmosphere with a great menu that wasn't trying too hard.

The prices were reasonable and our waiter was personable, friendly and prompt. I overheard him at the next table talking about the wines and it sounded like he knew what he was talking about, which is obviously a very appealing quality in a waiter, and all too often seems to be lacking. A server not knowing their wines is like a bookseller not knowing who Kafka or Goethe is...like at Borders! But that's another story all in itself...

Stimulate Your Love Life, Cheap dates without that cheap feeling

Our once robust investment accounts are dwindling, and it's not just your imagination, things are more expensive. Recession madness is here, we weep, we cry, we cut coupons...but at some point, it's time to move on. Get about town already!

Start with a late morning coffee and a bag of choquettes at St. Honore.
http://www.sainthonorebakery.com/. Everything in the case is to die for. If you want savory, I reccomend the croque monsieur. This is what a latte/cappuccino really tastes like.
Weather you're in at the NW Thurman location or the Lake Oswego location, grab a bag of choquettes to go and take a turn around the neighborhood. Both locations are ideally placed amongst great little shops and conviently enough, both are near libraries (in case you were a little fuzzy on that, a library is a place where you can check out and read books for free).
Estimated Total Cost:

2 cups coffee & bag of chouquettes: $11



Are you salivating yet?

Want to get out of dodge? Head for Oregon's wine country. It's about a 45 minute drive from Portland, and once you get there, you will feel like you are in another country. The Domaine Drouhin has a pinot noir that's so good, last time I was there, I loudly announced I would happily take a bath in it (in my defense, I had a few glasses down the chute at this point). A flight is about $10, and they tend to be more heavy handed during the week, so if you have a group, spring for a bottle at about $45 to share. http://www.domainedrouhin.com/

Another great winery is Erath, if you go tasting here, the first three or so glasses are free! They have (in my opinion) a stand-out riesling and of course being Oregon, pinot noir as well. Their estate is somewhat more humble than the commanding Domaine Drouhin, but beautiful nonetheless. http://www.erath.com/.

On your way out of Dundee, stop at Argyle. Just make sure you have a DD, because their sparkling wines are the bomb! Last time I was there, I didn't have such a happy ending, but I don't blame the wine, I blame it on riding in the back of a minivan.

http://www.argylewinery.com/

estimated Total Cost
2 Flights at Each Winery (give or take) and gas to get down there: about $35

When all else fails, there's always Happy Hour!

1) One of my all-time favorite happy hour haunts is La Casa Del Matador on NW 23rd http://www.matadorrestaurants.com/%20AsideAside from making a very decent sangria, their happy hour menu is not the usual sparse selections of quesadillas and boring tacos; and the happy hour portions are close to, if not the same as the portions of regular appetizers. Try to get a seat near the fire pit in the bar!

2) Always great for views with a decent happy hour selection is the Portland City Grill. On the 30th floor of Portland' tallest building, the US Bankcorp Tower (Big Pink). They have happy hour all day on Sundays!

Ever the purveyor of a good time, sometimes lack of "cash-money millionaire" status just calls for a little creativity...

Have a recession pub crawl! Hit every bar along the drag. The only rule is that you can only order the cheapest drink on the menu. Prepare to experience exotic tall boys of PBR, other random beers you've never heard of, jello shots, and of course the infamous $2 mystery shot!

You will also meet some very interesting people. At one "bar" that strangely resembled a living room, we randomly ended up jamming to the rhythmic stylings of the drummer from Pink Martini and scored some free creepy halloween masks in the process! Success!

A Quick Note on Sushi in Portland

I have never been a big "sushi person." I turned the corner on sushi when my mom took me to a place that used to exsist in Vancouver called Moshi. I was obviously very apprehensive because it was in a strip mall. I always thought the best sushi was found at swanky trandy sushi restaurants.

Then I found San-Sai. It's on NW 21st Ave across the street from the McMenamins Blue Moon Cafe. There is a sign in the window advertising happy hour. It is always there. Do not be alarmed. The place is always buzzing, always bright and clean. And certain items on the menu are always 50% off, and the items that aren't, are reasonably priced. They don't have lots of creative cocktails, they don't have a big fancy fish tank with exotic fish in it that you are not actually eating.

San Sai is in the neighborhood Portland writers, but not actual Portland residents commonly refer to as "The Alphabet District."

Some of my personal San-Sai Favorites:

Crunchy Spicy Tuna Roll, Spicy Tempura Roll, Spider Roll, Mudslide Roll, Catepillar Roll, assorted vegetable tempura and miso soup.

Honorable Mention: $3 Warm Sake. (I don't like sake)

So I continued my thought that the best sushi was supposedly to be trendy and expensive. So I went to Sinju, which according to Citysearch.com is "the best in Portland." I spent a lot of money. (Keep in mind I am not usually cheap on the tip, unless you really deserve the "hint.") I drank a fancy cocktail and ordered all my usuals; hand rolls of the spicy tuna persuasion, tempura, and so on and so forth. It was good. Presentation was nice. But that's it. And in all actuality, I think San-Sai sushi is exactly the same...if not better.

Perhaps I was not wrong about Sinju?

This dirty dining report on Sinju refers to the Bridgeport location, not the Pearl location. Their score was only one point above requiring closure.

http://www.kptv.com/dirtydining/18598680/detail.html

http://www.sinjurestaurant.com/ <-----Very nice flashy Flash-based website.

We know never to judge a book by it's cover. Now we know not to judge sushi by it's accompanying cocktail menu!

Please post your replies and let me know about your local neighborhood sushi gem!