milwaukie: who knew?
Apr. 11th, 2008 09:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aslantmilwaukie is sometimes called "the armpit of portland." but it continues to surprise me. although i live just a couple blocks from a 2-mile stretch of car dealers, trailer parks and pawn shops, i also live a couple blocks from at least five amazing restaurants.
1. da vinci's: this place is next to a vacant lot and from the outside (and the awful name) i assumed it might be the kind of place where you get a nice greasy plate of spaghetti for $5. however, with its tasteful interior and amazing service, i was won over before we had even taken a single bite. i had gnocchi in bolognese sauce, and they were heavenly -- fluffy and flavorful. gnocchi and risotto are two of my favorite italian dishes, and they are also pretty easy for a restaurant to fuck up -- they easily turn into dense glue or overcooked sludge. kirk had a linguine carbonara which was pretty amazing, too. we paid $50 for dinner with two glasses of wine and a dessert, so it's not cheap, but definitely worth going back. they have an extensive menu of classic italian dishes, and a pretty decent wine list.
2. the bomber: an actual b-17 bomber is perched above this diner, which has a staff of funny waitresses, amazing burgers, and an entire wwii-themed menu. we always snicker at "the tailgunner," a chili burger concoction.
3. sully's cafe: good, cheap brunch with local ingredients (especially asparagus) and fabulous homemade jams served with every dish.
4. got curry?: when we moved in to our house and saw the garish "got curry?" sign down the road, we immediately knew the food would either be godawful or amazing. as it turns out, this is the best indian food i've ever had in portland, which has quite a range of good indian places. got curry is also in a cute old house, so you feel like you're eating in someone's living room, and their tomato sauces are divine.
5. casa de tamales: the casa de tamales is run by the asparagus farm folks who also supply sully's cafe, i think. they make some damn fine asparagus! and also some damn fine tamales. they serve them with authentic crema (which is like sour cream but better) and their sauce is damn hot. so good on a cold night when you don't want to cook.
1. da vinci's: this place is next to a vacant lot and from the outside (and the awful name) i assumed it might be the kind of place where you get a nice greasy plate of spaghetti for $5. however, with its tasteful interior and amazing service, i was won over before we had even taken a single bite. i had gnocchi in bolognese sauce, and they were heavenly -- fluffy and flavorful. gnocchi and risotto are two of my favorite italian dishes, and they are also pretty easy for a restaurant to fuck up -- they easily turn into dense glue or overcooked sludge. kirk had a linguine carbonara which was pretty amazing, too. we paid $50 for dinner with two glasses of wine and a dessert, so it's not cheap, but definitely worth going back. they have an extensive menu of classic italian dishes, and a pretty decent wine list.
2. the bomber: an actual b-17 bomber is perched above this diner, which has a staff of funny waitresses, amazing burgers, and an entire wwii-themed menu. we always snicker at "the tailgunner," a chili burger concoction.
3. sully's cafe: good, cheap brunch with local ingredients (especially asparagus) and fabulous homemade jams served with every dish.
4. got curry?: when we moved in to our house and saw the garish "got curry?" sign down the road, we immediately knew the food would either be godawful or amazing. as it turns out, this is the best indian food i've ever had in portland, which has quite a range of good indian places. got curry is also in a cute old house, so you feel like you're eating in someone's living room, and their tomato sauces are divine.
5. casa de tamales: the casa de tamales is run by the asparagus farm folks who also supply sully's cafe, i think. they make some damn fine asparagus! and also some damn fine tamales. they serve them with authentic crema (which is like sour cream but better) and their sauce is damn hot. so good on a cold night when you don't want to cook.
