We’ve been settling into our life in Portland, and we’ve been enjoying the food. Always eager to hear about more places we should try. Here are some places we’ve eaten in August and September.
Taste of Szechuan – I read that this place was under new management and chef, so we gave it a try for takeout food. Some things were excellent, particularly the braised tofu (which was mild but gingery and also contained pork) and the ma po tofu (one of the best versions I’ve had in the USA, also w/ meat). Some of the American-Chinese dishes were also excellent (e.g. orange chicken and shrimp fried rice). Other items were only OK: potstickers, spicy eggplant, string beans. I didn’t care for the hot and sour soup, which was too peppery. But we’d definitely order from here again esp. for the mapo tofu!
Oly’s Pizza - Our local pizza spot just a couple blocks walk from our house, we’ve ordered from here several times. I like that you can order half-half pies with different specials/flavors. It’s not perfect pizza, but it’s the closest I’ve lived to a good pizza place in many many years, so I’m excited about it.
Alma - We were very excited for our date night here, and unfortunately it was only OK for us. Some dishes were decent, but others were too salty. The lighting was also really dark – like they had decided on everything in June forgetting that by early September, it gets dark a lot earlier. My husband said eating here reminded him of when he would be up studying in the late-night hours at the university library, with those little desk lights. Probably not the vibe they were looking for?
Shami Cafe - Had some very nice takeout shawarma and falafel sandwiches from this place near Mt Scott Park. They have a small back patio that I got to peak into when I was picking up food. I’d definitely return.
Ken’s Artisan Bakery in Nob Hill - I love the goat cheese and leek croissants. Also enjoyed the guava snail roll and the morning bun. We also tried one of the small passionfruit tarts. Everyone thought it was too sour, except my 3-yr-old who loves sour things and thought it was perfect.
Sivalai Thai Restaurant on Stark - We ordered takeout from here a while back. Everything was pretty basic and only OK, which was too bad because the people there were super super kind and friendly.
Wajan - We ordered some takeout. I loved the beef rendang, and I also liked the fried chicken. The menu feels pretty heavy though – not much in the way of vegetables or lighter dishes. So I’m not sure how often we’d eat here, unless we order some food and make our own salads to go with it. I preferred the food at Gado Gado, though that’s definitely in a different price point.
Poa Cafe - Came here for brunch on a Sunday. My kids loved the blocks to build with. Had some very good avocado toast, a great breakfast sandwich, and we also loved the blue smoothie. I’d definitely return for the smoothies. Also has a nice outdoor area, though we sat inside.
Hanoi Kitchen - Maybe we were there on an off day, but we were sadly not impressed. The banh cuon tasted like they had been microwaved, and the fried spring rolls were thick and super disappointing (tasted like they’d been commercially purchased at Hong Phat). The pho ended up being the best of what we ordered, though it was only so-so. We had read much better reviews so it was disappointing.
Pho Van - We ordered takeout crispy fried catfish, and they did a pretty good job. Came with herbs and noodles and rice paper wrappers. We also had some good fried egg rolls and maybe another dish or two that weren’t very memorable because I don’t remember them!
I think there are more places, but that’s all I have time to write about now! Hope this is interesting/useful to someone 
