I love catching up on the old and new in Portland OR, my favorite get away only three hours down the road from Seattle. In the old favorites category see what I enjoyed at Urdaneta and St. Jacks. In the new category I love Bluto’s and the Phuket Cafe.

Blutos Wood fired Greek Inspired

I still miss Pok Pok on SE Division Street and wanted to see what was going on there. No Uber driver I talked to had any news of success, only attempts that didn’t stick. The restaurant business can be so tough. Nearby in the SE Belmont neighborhood Bluto’s stood out as worth trying and I call it a success. The welcome is warm and the wood fire is roaring even on a summer day. They cook on it! The arugula and citrus salad is fresh and full of flavors and textures accented by a dressing with labneh at the core. The pork chops were excellent with a sauce they call charred scallion but I would call an herb salsa as the parsley stands out visually. Lots of good olive oil and spices in it. I searched for a Greek sauce recipe that is similar and found none. This dish feeds two people and the french fries were delicious. The spiced lamb skewers are recommended by me as a snack. The lore behind the venue is the chef’s love of John Belushi and his character Bluto.

Phuket Cafe

The Phuket Cafe is an outstanding addition to the NW neighborhood. It has great karma in filling the space of my dear departed Ataula, a Spanish outpost I visited many times. The pandemic killed some great ones. I love Thai food and they are doing a good job here with a short menu of classics and a few innovations. Watermelon salad is a YES. Fried cabbage is a good side dish. My heart was won with fried pompano. I think of pompano as an Atlantic East Coast fish. No time to research the origin of this fish but it is well done in this kitchen. Unlike the baby shark I loved recently, a Vietnamese favorite in a Chinese restaurant in Rainier Valley of Seattle, the pompano was cut into small pieces before frying which makes it easier to eat. It was covered in a boldly spiced, fish sauce base with lots of texture and crunch from peanuts and who knows what else. It looks like a mound of confection but will light your mouth up. Wrapping lettuce and herb leaves around each piece to eat with your hands is the same succulent, crunchy experience as the baby shark. Go to the Phuket Cafe as soon as possible to order this. The Prawn Curry which didn’t get a Thai translation on the menu, tasted like a good curry with depth but not heat and also had a few other shellfish not mentioned in the title.

Sightseeing tour and snacks

The Japanese Garden is a must see. The Portland Art Museum always has a worthwhile exhibition or two. For my most recent visit, Monet to Matisse: French Moderns featured a painting or two by many well known artists but you might not have seen the specific work before. The Fisherman’s Cottage by Monet is the promotion for the show and a favorite of mine as it is part of my character Bernadette’s private collection. She has an original and a several fakes painted by her father. I hope you haven’t forgotten this important plot line in The Cooking Class in Budapest! The sculpture is by Auguste Rodin titled Danaid (a mythological character who killed her husband and pays for it with a horrible fate as dramatized here being stuck in the rock). Magnificent! Tanner Springs Park on NW 10th Avenue and NW Northrup Street is excellent urban green spot with naturalistic plantings and a water feature. The border fence is a whimsical reenactment of a beach wind break. I think this is a great example of art for the people in the city. The artist of the Owl on NW Front Avenue between NW 16 and 17 Street was not named but deserves a plaque. The waterfront walk in NW section is along the Willamette River and is now complete with many residential buildings and not too much retail. If you need to rest after the 11,000 steps from the Saturday Portland State University Farmer’s Market, The Dockside Saloon and Restaurant is your spot for a cold beverage and better than average hot dogs, hamburgers and sandwiches. The chef graciously sliced a gourmet dog in half for us to share garnished with sauerkraut and dijon on a toasted bun with lots of chips. As everywhere in PDX, the service is friendly. You get the feeling the servers like their job and where they live.

Urdaneta in the Alberta Arts District is still going strong

This small Basque-Spanish tapas bar is the same size and space it was when it opened in 2016. The look and feel of a bustling spot in San Sebastian continues to invite and reward anyone who succumbs to the desire for a night out thousands of miles away from your local. I always hope for salt cod and foie gras. On this night I felt I had hit the jackpot again. The details of each dish can be read in the menu and can be hard to discern in the photos. Trust me each bite is a pleasure.

The first board contains ALCACHOFA (artichoke and Spanish goat cheese mousse, artichoke conserva, leek marmalade, crispy plantain) and FOIE GRAS (foie gras ganache, toasted banana bread, plum coulis, pepper jelly, walnut crumb). In both cases the vehicle of the plantain and the banana bread added noticeable texture and flavor to the composition. The second board is TORTILLITAS DE CAMARONES (Spanish shrimp fritters, Oregon pink shrimp, green onion, piparra aioli, pomegranate molasses). The third bowl is HALIBUT (roasted halibut, herb crust, carrot salmorejo, charred pepper sauce). The fourth bowl is the sweet finale STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE (almond cake, Pablo Munoz strawberries, white chocolate creme fraiche, strawberry mild, strawberry crumble). The power of the organic farmer today shows in his inclusion in the menu. I consulted with a seller about selecting a local cheese. I was told, “No one treats his cows better than he does.” Two examples of the new salesmanship of the specialty farmer.

It is fitting that I’ve run out of room when I get to my old favorite St Jack. After all these years it’s hard to get a reservation for a table in the bar. Believe me when I say, the liver mousse is still the best. Scallop crudo and mussels were enjoyed too. The manager gave us a butter lettuce salad that retails for $14 for free because it had croutons tossed in it which made it inedible to the orderer. I complimented him on the dijon vinaigrette and he said, “I knew I gave it to the right person.” I love Portland.