Filed under: Southeast Portland, Thai | Tags: Hawthorne, paleo, pandanus leaf, pok pok, southeast portland, thai restaurant, yelp
3145 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR 97214
503 234 6192
Thanks Tami for the recommendation!
Saw this restaurant on our way to another restaurant and was reminded that it was recommended to us by someone. We made a knee jerk reaction to stop by and eat here. We then looked up some photos on Yelp and we were In like Flynn. We were starving too. But hopefully that did not bias our opinion that the food was so dang amazing!
What we ordered: From the section in the menu called “Specialties” we ordered:
SP6 – “Gang Om” – Tender slow-cooked beef in a home-style gang om curry with lemongrass, kaffir leaf, galangal root and Thai herbs topped with green onion and cilantro.
SP10 – “Gang Hung Lay” – Tender slow-cooked pork and pork belly in a Northern Thai-style curry with pineapple, garlic, ginger and peanuts.
From their Specials of the Day – “Kai yet Sai” – sweet and sour ground pork and shrimp stir fried with carrot, onion, tomato and green onion wrapped in an omelet.
How we ordered it: Everything we ordered as is. Each dish comes with a side of rice. We did receive the rice, but you can easily pass on the rice.
What we received:
SP6 – “Gang Om”
SP10 – “Gang Hung Lay”
Special: “Kai Yat Sai”
Cost: SP6 “Gang Om”‘ – $11.50, SP10 – “Gang Hung Lay” – $11.50, Special “Kai Yet Sai” – $11.00
Quantity: At first glance, we were unimpressed of the portion size. Mind you, we did have rice with our entrees. With that being said, we were INCREDIBLY stuffed by the time we reached the end of our meal. Like normal people who stop when they are full, we of course did not. Without the rice, the stews would have still been a hearty, but we would recommend ordering an additional dish; which we did, but really did not need to.
Quality: The specials SP6 and SP10 were incredibly tasty. I was thoroughly satisfied with every aspect of these dishes.
SP6 tasted savory and flavorful, very Asian tasting because of the lemongrass.
SP10 was a little sweet, because of the pineapple, and spicy; a really great combo!
The Special “Kai Yat Sai” was kind of like an elaborate version of ketchup and eggs. Really tasty, but not as original tasting as we had hoped. The three pieces of shrimp that came with it were less than impressive. I probably wouldn’t order it again, but since it was a Special of the Day, you probably don’t need to worry about it.
Meat-O-Meter says:
So stinking impressed with the food here! We’re just sorry we didn’t come here sooner. We’ll be back for sure.
On a side note, Chiang Mai flavors their water with a leaf called the Padanus Leaf. It makes the water taste like there is a hint of coconut, sweet and a slight depth of a nutty flavor. It was really really good.
We will be buying Pandanus and putting it in our Brita. Apparently Pok Pok does this as well. It was such a nice discovery that added to the awesome experience we had at Chiang Mai. Oh, what a pleasant discovery!
Filed under: Japanese, Korean, Southeast Portland | Tags: Japanese, kimchee, Korean, paleo, restaurant, southeast portland
15 Southeast 9th Avenue, Portland, OR
Happy New Year! Sorry for the long hiatus. The holidays get pretty crazy!
Our first new restaurant of 2013 was not a complete bust we are happy to say 
They’re in the same building of Simpatica, so we’ve heard about it, but didn’t know much about it. Then over the holidays it was recommended to us, so we thought we’d stop by here for Happy Hour.
What we ordered: From the Happy Hour Menu: Chicken skewer, Beef steak skewer, “Bara” Pork Belly Skewer, Onigiri (Grilled rice ball), Yakionigiri (seaweed wrapped rice with pickled plum inside), From Regular Menu: Kani Salad (The Special of the day: crabmeat with arugula), Pork Kimchee Stew
How we ordered it: As is. We’ve added rice to our diet…. Though for no rice, you could easily get the pork kimchee stew without rice cakes if you wanted. Also, you could easily not order the rice balls or seaweed rice wrap as well 
What we received:
Small bowl of mildly spiced popcorn, they give everyone at the beginning of your meal.
Kani salad (crabmeat with arugula)
Chicken and Beef Steak skewer
“Bara” Pork Belly Skewer
Yakionigiri (Rice wrapped in seaweed with pickled plum inside)
Pork kimchee stew with rice cake
Grilled rice balls.
It’s amazing how the pictures look when you have good lighting! Gee…
Cost: Kani Salad (crabmeat and arugula)- $12, Chicken, Steak, Pork Belly Skewers – $2 each (happy hour special), Rice balls and rice seaweed wrap – $1 each (happy hour special), Pork kimchee stew – $7
Quality: Very high quality meat. They’re like the other restaurants in Portland, it’s hormone free, antibiotic free, natural…’n all that good stuff. Really tasty, really surprised at how good it was!
Quantity: Hmmm…how do you verbalize that look when you’re thinking, ‘I don’t think so” or “oooo! that’s gotta hurt”, and you suck air in your mouth with widened bottom lip….
MEAT-O-METER SAYS!!
The Kani Salad was described as a sizable salad. Eek, maybe we should have told him that we’re big eaters and I guess we should have told him we were sharing it. Considering how hungry I was, I would have eaten the entire thing in 6 bites. For $11, I was expecting it to be slightly larger. Though it was dungeness crab meat, so I guess that’s how it goes….don’t get me wrong though, it was very very tasty.
Which led us to be slightly worried about the size of the rest of our meal. The skewers, though single portioned, were incredibly well made: moist and tasty, really great meat. Since it was Happy Hour, we decided to get another Pork Belly Skewer. I think on the regular menu the skewers are $4 each, so a bit on the expensive side for our tastes.
For our sizable meat intake needs, Biwa didn’t quite meet them. Hence, the sideways thumbs. Happy hour is great here though!
If you didn’t want to eat rice, didn’t go during Happy Hour and wanted a really fulfilling meal, you will have to be ready to spend a bit more. You’ll be dropping some dollars for small portioned dishes as well as the number of dishes you’ll have to order to feel full. Though this is a Japanese/Korean restaurant with rice being a staple of the culture’s diet, not eating rice would be difficult here, but do-able.
When we left at 6:30 pm-ish, it was packed and a line had formed! So obviously a very popular joint with high quality cooking.
Overall though, we enjoyed it and we’ll definitely be back fro Happy Hour! Pork belly skewer…mmmmmm.
Filed under: Breakfast, Southeast Portland | Tags: Breakfast, ground beef dish, pale, Portland, potato pancakes
3200 SE Milwaukee, Portland, OR 97202
503 963 8000
This was my birthday breakfast! Sanborn’s has been around for a while and all they serve is breakfast. They specialize in fruit pancakes and waffles, but they have a lot of other choices as well. As per usual for Portland breakfast places, they are pretty busy during the weekend, unless there’s a parade (tis the season) going on, then there’s no wait! We found a small Groupon Instant Coupon (which is only redeemable on the weekdays); it was $5 for $10 worth of food.
What we ordered: Potato Pancakes, Build your own 3-egg Omelet (choice of two ingredients: sausage and peppers), Kelly Street Special (ground beef, onions mushrooms, spinach and eggs)
How we ordered it: The omelet can be ordered whipped and baked OR scrambled . We ordered it baked, just to see what it would look like. We did sub in side of fruit instead of toast for an extra cost. You can totally sub the fruit in with no cost if you don’t get the potatoes AND the toast.
What we received:
Potato Pancakes
Build your own omelet (baked)
Kelly Street Special
Cost: Potato Pancakes – ~$9, Build your own omelet – ~$10.99 (baked), Kelly Street Special – ~$10 (Dangit they don’t have the prices on the menu and I forgot the prices) But they are all between $9-$12. Sorry! I will update as soon as I get a chance to go back.
Quality: Everything was super tasty. Why can’t our ground beef taste like this? It turns out they put Worcestershire Sauce in it….yum.
The omelet tasted a little different though, since it is baked it’s a bit dryer on the outside and really light and fluffy on the inside. It’s not for everyone, though I thought it was pretty good.
Quantity: That is a huge omelet. Well, at least it looked huge. That is also a huge plate of ground beef and eggs and a huge plate of potato pancakes. They were ridiculous! Awesome that they were gluten free! Just potatoes and egg.
Did we eat all of it? Actually, no. 2 entrees would have been fine, but we had to order more for the blog!….(any excuse to order a lot of food )
Meat-O-Meter says!
Holy cow, this was pretty awesome. We were pleasantly surprised. Granted Sanborn’s has been around for a long time and they for sure have honed their craft. They are only open for breakfast and they do it well. The Kelly Street Special is soooo great for the amount of meat they give you! Now only if it were grass-fed beef.
We’d say it’s pretty competitive with Gravy, just because of the other non-pancake and non-omelet choices. We went on a Friday morning, so I’d be hesitant to come here on the weekend where it’s probably ridiculously busy. Though, that’s Portland breakfast for you….
Filed under: Cambodian, Coupon!!, Food cart, Southeast Portland | Tags: beef curry, Cambodian food, food cart, paleo, Portland
1114 SE Clay, St., Portland, Oregon 97214
Here’s their Facebook Page!
Sok Sab Bai is a staple lunch destination for us now. They may be open only during the SUMMER this year. Last year, when they first opened, they were open only during the summer and closed the rest of the year, so be sure to go check them out soon! Here’s some info:
Their hours are 11-2:30pm on Mon-Wed and 11-7pm on Thurs- Fri. That is if they run out of food, they close early. ”Like” them on Facebook to get their daily updates. They post their rotating menu everyday and like to hear from their customers about what should be put on the menu.
Their dishes are between $5- 9. They take Cash only. The awesome entrees that we got were a bit more expensive for a food cart, but sooooo worth it! Also they have a Groupon Instant Coupon available. It is a small coupon, $4 for $7 worth of food. Groupon gives you a refund if you don’t use it the same day of purchase. Pretty neat! Now to the good stuff…
What we ordered: Sausage plate, Braised beef curry, (not pictured: Grilled Chicken Plate – Has A LOT OF MEAT)
How we ordered it: Hold the rice on the sausage plate please!
What we received:
Braised Beef Curry
Sausage Plate
Cost: Sausage plate – $9, Braised beef curry – $8, Grilled Chicken Plate – $6 (not pictured)
Quantity: There was an ample amount of meat in the curry dish. We were pleasantly surprised. There was more meat than veggie filler. Yay! The sausage portion was slightly smaller, but that’s typical for sausage. But wait, this isn’t just ordinary sausage…
Quality: Their sausage is amazing! It is so flavorful and fatty, it’s like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. They assemble the sausage with cooked rice and leave it for 3 days. Our understanding from what the owner told us, is that the rice begins to ferment and that is what gives the sausage that sour special flavor. (There’s a link below if you would like to see how they make it). It is so good, I could probably eat these sausages for days and nothing else. It is very different, but in a good way. We loved it! Oh yes, and about the curry, the flavor was tremendous! This curry sticks out in our minds as one of the tastiest curries we’ve had in Portland.
Meat-O-Meter says!
I am kind of known for sugar coating things slightly, but that’s what makes the Meat-O-Meter and I such a great pair! The truth rings true from the Meat-o-meter’s rating. I can’t say enough accolades for these dishes. This food cart makes some restaurants just look bad!
We have also ordered their Grilled Chicken Plate, Grilled Pork Chops, Mackerel Plate and Congee dish (boiled rice porridge, not paleo, but oh soooooo delish!) All of which were very flavorful and so tasty! We absolutely love this food cart! Did I say that already? If only they were open on the weekends.
On a side note: the owner of Sok Sab Bai is also the owner of the sushi restaurant, BaRa, on SE 21st and Clinton.
To sum up, this food cart has great tasting food, good prices and ample portions of food. Who has two thumbs up and loves this food cart? THIS GUY! :D
For the chefs out there who would like to know more about this Cambodian sausage called Khwa Ko, here’s a pleasant video on how to make it!
Filed under: Middle Eastern, Northeast Portland, Southeast Portland | Tags: grass-fed beef, middle eastern food, paleo, Portland
3401 SE Belmont St, Portland, Oregon 97214
503-236-8325
Grass-fed Beef! Get on it, in case you haven’t already. Not only is grass-fed meat gaining popularity, but it’s freaking good for you (high in Omega-3). FYI: Crossfit Portland sells grass-fed ground beef, roasts and steaks from Neiffer Triangle 4 Ranch! Cheaper than at the supermarket! :D
Finding grass-fed at restaurants is slowly getting popular, at least in Portland that is. Not only is the meat at restaurants local, but the next step IMO is for it to be grass-fed. Dick’s and Ox has made that step, others will soon jump on the band wagon as well. The big question is, will they skimp on the portion size as soon as they switch to grass-fed? Well, let’s find out! Hoda’s is in the Southeast, but also has another location in Northeast Fremont and 47th. We NEVER would have known about this restaurant if Jason Stein hadn’t told us about it! Thanks Jason! Here is what they have displayed on every table. Click to enlarge.
Grass fed beef! That’s pretty sweet. But are they worth the amount of meat per dollar? Let’s see…
What we ordered:
- #1 Kafta Kabob Plate (two skewers of 100% grass-fed natural ground beef kabob served with choice of rice or humos and a salad)
- #5 Beef Shawarma Plate (delicately flavored marinated 100% grass-fed natural beef, sauteed onions, served with humos, tahini sauce, and a salad)
How we ordered it: We ordered one regular salad and another salad with feta and olives for an extra $1.50 just to see what the difference would look like. The kabob plate was ordered with rice and hummus. The shawarma plate was ordered with hummus only. You have the choice to add Tabouleh for an extra $1 instead of rice, which would make it slightly more Paleo, but I’m not a big fan of tabouleh. Oh wait, tabouleh has gluten in it…nevermind then, problem solved
What we got:
Side salads, feta and olives is on the right.
Beef kebab
Beef Shawarma
Cost: Beef Kebab – $13, Beef Shawarma – $13, $1.50 for the extra olives and feta on the salad.
Quality: Hey! It’s grass-fed beef! Can’t argue with that!
Quantity: Surprisingly I could not finish my plate! I had the kebabs and it was more than enough food. Those kebabs were deceivingly very large. The Meat-O-Meter though finished off his plate like a champ and was fully satisfied.
Meat-O-Meter says!
Riddle me this: Why do so many people line up at Dick’s Kitchen, when Hoda’s is right down the street where you get so much more grass-fed goodness for your dollar.
I think we’ve made our point. Nuff said.
Filed under: American, Southeast Portland, Southwest Portland | Tags: fish and chips, gluten-free, Portland, restaurant
5901 SW Corbett Ave., Portland, OR 97239
503-246-4434
Amy G. found this place and thought we should try it, Thanks Amy! They are self proclaimed Portland’s Best Fish and Chips!
What caught our eyes was the gluten-free menu. The entire restaurant is gluten-free. No butts about it! Here’s a snippet of their story (click to enlarge):
Click here for more about their Gluten-Free Story.
Their breading is brown rice flour, they flash fry it in rice bran oil and they filter the oil twice a day. Granted of course this is not paleo, but IMO way better than the vegetable oil and regular wheat flour most restaurants use to fry stuff. The Meat-OMeter LOVES fish and chips. It’s a love hate relationship. His mind Loves it, but his gut does Hates it. Not quite worth it, until we found Corbett Fish House.
What we ordered: Regular Size Pacific Cod Fish and Chips, Regular Size Halibut Fish and Chips and Buttermilk Garlic Chicken Strips
How we ordered it: We didn’t realize you could get Sweet Potato Fries!! Dangit! So we ordered all as is.
What we got:
Chicken Strips
Pacific Cod
Halibut
Cost: Chicken Strips – $7.75, Pacific Cod Fish and Chips – $9.75, Halibut Fish and Chips – market price – $18.75
Quality: Their fried fish is pretty legit. The fish was not too greasy and very lightly battered. Granted I’m not a big connoisseur of fried fish, but it was overall pretty tasty. Chicken strips, flavorful, not too greasy, not dry, and really good. Of course you can order non-fried foods here, which looks tasty, but why would you go to a steak place and order a salad?
Quantity: When the plastic baskets were placed in front of us, I must admit I was not impressed; especially for the Halibut. However it was deceivingly enough food for a meal. The Chicken Strips at $7.75 were by far the BEST bang for your dollar. NOT worth it for the Halibut, just get the Cod. When it’s fried, the difference is slightly noticeable and therefore not worth it for the huge price increase.
MEAT-O-METER says!
Yes we ordered a fried crazy mess! I know, we could have picked a better restaurant that was a bit more “Paleo-ish friendly”, but do you see that picture above? He loves this shit. He just wants some fish and chips at a good price. The fact that Corbett Fish House is openly and legitimately gluten-free gives it major points. BIG PROPS to the owners for doing this. They even have a little pamphlet on the table explaining why gluten is bad for you and some basic information about Celiac disease. Can’t argue with that! It’s like they were preachin’ to the choir! Hallelujah!
I didn’t leave here feeling bloated with the food just sitting at the pit of my stomach, waiting to make it’s impact. I felt close to normal and I left satisfied. Granted I won’t be coming here every week, but it’s comforting that there is a place out there that’s slightly more forgiving on your gut.
PS, I heard the fish tacos were pretty good. It didn’t look like a large amount of meat, but maybe worth it….order at your own risk!
Filed under: American, Northeast Portland, Southeast Portland | Tags: chicken, east burnside, oregon, paleo, Portland, salad
UPDATE ON HOUSE SALD WITH SIDE OF DOUBLE CHICKEN ORDER. As of 6/23/12, FOTM changed the price on their side of chicken from $2.50 – $3.50. That’s an extra two dollars for this House side salad with order of double chicken. This makes this amazing salad deal into an average/OK salad deal…soooo, order at will. Also, we were informed that their chicken wings are NOT breaded! Their boneless chicken wings are however dredged in flour. Good to know, food for thought, I’d say that’s some good meateats reporting!
1708 East Burnside Street, Portland, OR 97214
(503) 230-9464
(This tip was given to us by Jake M.! Thanks Jake! Hope school is going well and we miss you at the gym )
This place has a special place in my heart. Growing up in upstate New York, the Buffalo Chicken Wings were something that were taken for granted. I didn’t realize you couldn’t get that Buffalo sauce outside of upstate New York. If you did, it was terrible. The owners of FOTM are from Buffalo, New York (home of the Buffalo Wing w/ the special sauce) and they also used to play Ultimate Frisbee, (which is even closer to my heart!), sometimes using frisbees as serving plates for their wings, this place is awesome! Unfortunately this post has nothing to do with Chicken Wings. Their wings are slightly battered, but their sauces are gluten free…if that counts for anything….
What we ordered: House salad with chicken. (2 grilled tasty chicken breasts)
How we ordered it: Ask for House salad with chicken and to add an additional side of chicken. (double the chicken)
What we got:
House salad with double the chicken
Cost: House salad – $2.95, Add grilled chicken for $2.50 and then add an extra side of chicken for an additional $2.50. Total = $7.95!!!!
Quality: Awesomeness! The grilled chicken was tasty, moist, not dry at all! The chicken is from Northern California, and free range according to the blurb on their menu and website.
Quantity: This salad should be called, “Would you like some greens with your chicken?”. Just how we like it!
MEAT-O-METER says!
Woohoo!! We have one happy camper. This salad is pretty amazing, I was really impressed. It’s a ton of protein with your salad. Very Paleo friendly, the only thing on the fence is the balsamic vinegrette. Not sure how much sugar they put in their dressing, but they didn’t have oil and vinegar, that is the only thing that was kind-of-not-so-paleorific.
Other than that this is a great restaurant that you can go with your non-paleo friends. They can have their beer and wings, while you can still have a tasty paleo friendly chicken-tastic salad.
Filed under: American, Southeast Portland | Tags: beanless chili, Northwest Portland, oregon, paleo, Paleo burger, southeast portland, sweet potato fries
3312 SE Belmont St. Portland, OR 97214
503 235 0146
Sorry, to temporarily excite some of you, but we still think Dick’s is……eh….
But because so many people at the gym go there frequently and rave about it, we were curious just how much Dick’s changed their menu. When we were there last, they did say they were still going through some changes and trying to figure out their menu. So of course we had to go back and try it out. Otherwise it would always be lingering in the back of our minds and we would regret not trying one more time.
The first thing I noticed when we arrived for the second time was that the advertisements and articles saying that they are the first Paleolithic Restaurant were gone. That was really refreshing actually. They weren’t trying to be something they weren’t.
DK's Original Medium Size Chili
DK Burger bowl
Bacon Burger served Naked with side of "Yam Not Fries" and coleslaw. Yes that's cheese on there...
Cost: DK’s Original Chili – $4.50, DK Thai Burger Bowl – $9.00, Bacon Burger Naked – $8.75, side of Yam Not Fries – $3.00
Quantity: Not the greatest. 5.5 oz of burger before cooked. So it ends up being a tiny burger. I still don’t get it, the coleslaw bowl is so small!
Quality: Beef is grass-fed. Can’t get any better than that!
MEAT-O-METER Says!
Well, its not great, but it’s better than it was before! Not bad…I can see if you’re in a bind for some grass-fed beef, you can go here and spend more money than you would like. The substitutions and additions add up really fast! My Bacon Burger ended up being $11.75 total. It was small, though the quality was good, I still spent more than I would have liked on a burger combo meal even though it was grass-fed. Though they must be doing something great because they have a second location in the Northwest! I would love to hear your thoughts!
Filed under: Southeast Portland, Thai | Tags: paleo, Portland, Thai BBQ chicken
- Thai BBQ Chicken
- Thai BBQ Pork
Filed under: American, Southeast Portland | Tags: American, expensive, paleo, Portland
7937 SE Stark Portland, OR 97215
503.408.1414
OMG! Not to sound like a 6th grader, but this has got to be my new favorite restaurant! We came here about 3 years ago during our pre-paleo days and really liked it, but for some reason it took us this long to come back. Maybe because back then our palette for amazingly cooked meat hadn’t developed fully and our appreciation for fine dining hadn’t been fully grasped. This place is a bit expensive, not Hoity Toity, but in the $15-$22 range for entrees. A restaurant that is very feasible when you want to treat yourself once a month or week
What we ordered: Baked Goat Cheese and Orange Salad, Molasses and Hickory Smoked Duck Leg, The Country Cat’s Whole Hog.
How we ordered it: As is!!! I should have ordered the Duck Leg with an alternative side for the Spatzel. I had no idea Spatzel was tiny flour balls of goodness….service was great, so substituting the Spatzel for additional veggies would have been no problem.
What we got:
Baked Goat Cheese and Orange Salad
Country Cat Whole Hog
Molasses and Hickory Smoked Duck Leg
Cost: Baked Goat Cheese and Orange Salad – $10, Country Cat Whole Hog – $21, Molasses and Hickory Smoked Duck Leg – $19
Quality: This restaurant was in Portland, so where do you think the meat came from? Yes, you guessed it, it’s local.
Quantity: The quantity for the price we paid was a sold GOOD. Duck was a perfect size, I was stuffed. The amount of hog was so much that the MEAT-O-METER was slowing down a little bit towards the end.
MEAT-O-METER says!
FANTASTIC! This restaurant is a solid thumbs up with even a slight smile. We highly recommend this restaurant, it is a bit farther out of town; SE 80th and Stark, but sooo worth it! Very Paleo friendly and a nice bar. too! There are weekly and daily specials. Atmosphere – Good, Food – Good, The Country Cat – GOOD!!!
