Brunch Bonanza: Tasty n Sons

We drove directly to Tasty n Sons after we landed in Portland.  That's dedication, folks.

This self-touted "Portland neighborhood restaurant" is enormously popular.  Even at 2 p.m., we waited about 15 minutes for a table; I can only imagine the madness that occurs during prime dining hours.  Nevertheless, it's a pleasant wait and one that's worth your while.  We left our cell phone number with the hostess and took a delightful walk around the adorable block.

Griddled bacon-wrapped dates with maple syrup and almonds ($2 each).

Like candy!  Magnificent giant candy for adults!

Roasted apple with bacon lardons and cheddar ($5).

Cheesy.  Bacony.  Applely.  Nonsensical-word-inducingly good.

Chocolate potato doughnut with crème anglaise ($1.50 each).

You will turn into Homer Simpson when you bite into this hot little ball, drool and all.

Potatoes bravas with over easy eggs and aioli ($7).

The aioli made this skillet.

Burmese red pork stew with short grain rice and eggs two ways ($10).

A fan favorite with good reason.  Sweet and salty and mix it all up with that egg?  One warm bowl of happy comfort.

What could make this meal even better?  Even with beverages and tip, we only paid $41 for all of this.  Man, I love Portland.  It's like going to another country with a great exchange rate.

Late Bird Gets the Awesomeness: Aviary

We had a late dinner at Aviary our first night in Portland.  It kinda knocked our socks off.  This remains my favorite meal in Portland to date.

Aviary disproves the old saying, "Too many cooks spoil the broth."  Three co-chefs -- Sarah Pliner, Jasper Shen, and Kat Whitehead -- combine their extensive New York (Ducasse, Aquavit, Jean Georges, Tabla, Aldea, 5 Ninth) and Portland (The Heathman, Giorgio's, Couvron) experience to bring you exquisite dishes without pretense.

This is NYC-quality with Portland pricing and freshness.  In other words, it's a dream come true.

Housemade sodas.

Very bubbly.  Very refreshing.  Not too sweet.

Charred octopus, scallion pancakes, green papaya, long beans, cashews ($15).

Smoky and tender paired with fresh and crisp to make bright and tasty.

Duck confit, salted black beans, figs, fennel ($17).

Gloriously salty and juicy with just the right amount of sticky and sweet.

Crispy pig ear, coconut rice, Chinese sausage, avocado ($15).

Oh.  My.  God.  This is the dish to get.  This is everything in one hot mini wok.  This is happiness and comfort on a late Friday night.

Buttermilk panna cotta, mango, passion fruit sorbet, fennel crisp ($6).

Tangy and creamy and how-is-this-only-$6?!

Cardamom rice pudding, cashews, pomegranate, saffron gelee ($6).

When this arrived at our table, I got really worried.  It reminded me of the ridiculous concoctions that my seven-year-old niece makes at Yogurtland (not good, folks, not good).  But you know what?  It worked.  It worked so incredibly well that I scraped every little bit out of the bowl.  I guess sometimes a combination of all the flavors and textures you can think of actually succeeds.

Don't miss Aviary.  Put it on your list when you go to Portland.

Eggsellent Brunch: Graffiato

My favorite meal during our anniversary weekend in the Northeast was brunch with Mr. and Mrs. Yeah4Me at Graffiato in D.C.

Graffiato is Chef Mike Isabella's ode to his Italian-American heritage, sprinkled with Mediterranean and Latin notes from his previous life as executive chef at Zaytinya and sous chef at Alma de Cuba.  Some of you may recognize Chef Isabella's name from Top Chef.

Consider me a huge fan now.  Huge.  Every single thing we had was absolutely fantastic.  If Graffiato had existed back when I lived in D.C., maybe I wouldn't hate D.C. so much.

Housemade five-spice ginger beer and housemade watermelon and lemongrass soda ($5 each).

I love when places have fresh juices or homemade sodas.  These were the best of both worlds.

The four of us decided to do the "booze and bites" deal.  For $25, you choose any three dishes and/or cocktails.  We opted for three dishes each and added drinks and desserts on top of that.  Prices listed are what you'd pay without participating in "booze and bites."

Burrata, Heirloom tomatoes, melon, saba ($12).

Fresh and sweet and creamy.

Hand-cut spaghetti, olive oil poached cherry tomatoes, basil ($9).

A fancy childhood favorite.

Risotto, soft egg, pancetta, mushroom ($12).

Rich, starchy, eggy.

Crab scramble, arugula, ricotta salata ($13).

The eggs were ever so light and mixed wonderfully with plenty of crab.

Meatballs, creamy polenta, farmed egg ($10).

So tender and meaty and cradled in a sunny egg-infused, grits-like porridge.

Crispy potato gnocchi, summer squash, pine nuts ($11).

This dish convinced me that all gnocchi should be fried golden brown. Crunchy!  Pillowy!  Yummy!

Skirt steak, potatoes, corn, ricotta salata, salsa verde ($13).

Meat!  Meat!  Meat!  Yeah!

Wood oven baked eggs, spicy sausage, tomatoes, peppers ($12).

Underneath those beautiful yolks were delectable, spicy, juicy sausages!

Crispy lamb, yogurt, cucumber, tapenade ($13).

Easily the best meat at the table.  Perfectly charred.  Just fatty enough.  Luscious.  Wondrous.

Sweet corn agnolotti, Chanterelles, pine nuts ($11).

Everybody's favorite non-meat dish!  We got two of these!  Sweet, delicate, and dreamy!  Must get!

Roasted chicken thigh, braised Romano beans, tomato, Parmesan ($10).

I feel like this is something that an Italian-American grandma might make.  Good job, Grandma.

Market berry pizza, ricotta, hazelnut ($8).

I had only a tiny bite because there were blackberries in the mix, but the one tiny bite I had was very good.  If I'm ever in town again, I'd love to try the actual non-dessert pizzas here.  I bet they're awesome.

Cinnamon knots, Nutella ($6).

We didn't actually order these, but fried dough drizzled with Nutella is always a welcome complimentary error.  It should be noted that the service at Graffiato is quite impressive.  Our server was really friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.

Pistachio cake, cherries, balsamic, orange gelato ($7).

Tiny but dense, moist, and lovely.

I highly highly highly recommend that you visit Graffiato when you're in D.C.  Better yet, grab two happy, hungry friends like Mr. and Mrs. Yeah4Me, so you can try as much food as you possibly can.  Thanks for sharing this meal with us!

BroMo's British Birthday Bites: The Parish

********THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED.********

I interrupt our anniversary weekend coverage to bring you Brother Monkey cheer!  I know there are many fangirls out there!

BroMo is having a gigantic joint birthday bash tonight.  But we celebrated on a much smaller scale on Wednesday night at The Parish, which has moved into the old space of the departed Angelique Cafe.

The Parish purports to "bring you a true twist on the English gastropub."

Translation: British small plates.

Disco Nap -- grappa, aperol, muddled lemon, mint ($16).
Black Bee -- bourbon, lemon juice, honey, stout ($12).

I had the Disco Nap, and BroMo had the Black Bee at the bar while we waited for his friend Aziz.  Mr. Monkey had a housemade ginger ale.  Good drinks, all.

Deviled eggs ($6).

I opted out of this one, but the guys each had a bright bite to start.

Grilled corn with honeycomb butter ($6).

Rest assured, we got two plates, so we each had half a sweet buttery ear.

Poutine of crispy pork shoulder with paneer, mint, and peas ($14).

Doesn't this sound incredible?  I thought so.  But it was disappointingly only "very good."

Haricots verts, grilled peaches, garam masala, burrata ($13).

Refreshing and summery.  Green beans were crisp.  Burrata and peaches were a delight.  The menu fails to inform you that there are random pieces of potato in here.  Those were not a delight, especially when I thought I was going to eat a peach.  Boo on you, potato interlopers.

Mojama, duck egg, truffle, potatoes ($16).

Mojama, mo' problems.  Very very salty.  But apparently it's supposed to be.  Mojama is salt-cured tuna.  Think lox but with tuna.  And much saltier.  I wasn't a fan.  I don't think Aziz was either.  BroMo and Mr. Mo ate most of this.

Fish and chips ($20).

My second-favorite dish of the night.  Golden, crunchy, and not laden with oil.  Excellent batter ratio.  Definitely get this.

Telegraph porter sausage, pickled cherries, parsnip puree ($14).

Mr. Monkey was amused that the sausage looked like a hockey puck.  And that was the most interesting thing about this yawn of a dish.

Meat pie -- braised beef, Stichelton, escarole ($20).

My third-favorite dish of the night.  Flaky crust.  Tender beef.  Strong bleu.  And just enough bitterness from the greens.

Fried chicken, grilled peaches, tomatoes, and currant vinaigrette ($23).

I saved the best for last.  It was close call between this and the fish and chips, but I'm awarding this chicken my gold star of the night.  So crunchy.  So juicy.  So flavorful.  You want this.

The Parish is off to a good start, and I can confidently state that somebody in the kitchen is a master fryer.  I hope I'm not too full to try dessert next time.  Happy birthday, BroMo!