One last restaurant in Portland - and it's dinner.

Le Pigeon, while named after, a, well, pigeon, is an upscale Portland restaurant that specializes in French cuisine.

Often hailed as a must-try, this restaurant draws a line so I was here early before they opened to assure we'd get a seat (and be finished in time to catch the bus back to Seattle!).

Bon Appetit said it's the restaurant that put Portland on the culinary map. Specifically, the beef cheeks bourguignon is legendary.

Half civilized French bistro and half culinary crack den, where your darkest desires are realized (think foie gras torchon with buttermilk pancakes or sweetbreads with blue cheese are indulged) (Travel + Leisure).

Once the restaurant was open, we were seated around the open kitchen, which is always fun to get a little show with your dinner.

The menu draws on French inspiration and has just a few entrees that span various proteins: pork, chicken, lamb, beef, fish and even a burger.

First, a bite of bread. Not bad.

After a bit of a wait, my entree came out: Beef Cheek Bourguignon - green garlic and fregola “mac n cheese” pickled escargot, carrot pesto salad. So tender, and I loved the little fregula texture. The pickling gave some nice acidity, and the rich broth soaked everything. Such a well-thought out dish. Very good.

And, a little sweet bite to end on!



Grade: A

We had time for a brewery in Portland, too.

Burnside Brewing Company was near our dinner restaurant so we had a quick beer before grubbing.

The menu has a lot of options, but there was one that stood out to me: Sweet Heat - Wheat ale with apricot puree and imported Jamaican Scotch Bonnet peppers.

Wow, you can actually taste the heat in this beer. Like, my throat was actually tingling.

We are brewers who make great beer.  Starting in 2010 the goal of having an independent, creative brewery in the heart of Portland, came to fruition. After a Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver and 500 plus beers later, Burnside Brewing is proud to be a fixture on the inner east side along with other quality distilleries, breweries and small business owners. Our tanks are working seven days a week, on a 15 barrel system, allowing us to provide a wide variety of beer choices throughout the year (SOURCE).

It was well-balanced, though, and very good. Plus the nice heat at the end. Now, that's a good beer.



Grade: A

Who knew a simple chicken and rice dish would gain a cult following?

Nong's Khao Man Gai is more than just that, though. This food cart started out with humble beginnings and has grown and expanded and introduced the folks of Portland to khao man gai.

Poonsukwattana had to teach Portland the ways of khao man gai. "It's about balance," she repeatedly says as she walks through how the dish is made. "Here and there I see people criticize my dish. They think that every part of it has to have flavor, like a burrito. But it doesn't work that way for me." Instead, Poonsukwattana layers flavors slowly, infusing each of the three main components of the dish — the chicken, rice, and soup — with essence of the others, whether in shared aromatics or, in the case of the rice and the soup, literally infusing it with the very chickens being served on the same plate. A wallop of flavor comes from the sauce. "I like the chicken and rice," Poonsukwattana smiles. "And one word comes to my mind: celebrating." (EATER)

 This dish seems so simple, but there's so much that goes into it. After learning about it, it makes sense why it has such a following.

While there are other things on the menu, this is what most people are going for:

Wow. There is so much flavor, the chicken is perfectly tender, and that sauce is spicy and sweet and absolutely delicious. The soup - flavorful and a perfect complement. That rice even has a chicken flavor. It's all very delicious together.

Grade: A

Stumptown Coffee is one of the best coffee shops in the country.

This place has helped to move coffee into an artisan realm:

The business practices and quality standards of Stumptown Coffee Roasters have led to them being recognized as having "revolutionized the coffee business" and helped "refine coffee drinkers' palates" in Portland. Founder Duane Sorenson and Stumptown Coffee Roasters have been credited as being part of the third wave of coffee movement (WIKIPEDIA).

Sorenson, and his employees, in pursuit of the best quality coffee spends considerable time visiting farms in person and is willing to pay high prices for coffee he deems worthy—occasionally three or four times the fair trade price. He once set the record for highest price ever paid for coffee beans. Sorenson is known for forming lasting relationships with coffee producers. 

Stumptown places a bit emphasis on tasting, roasting, sourcing and more.

While you are holding that cup of coffee, close your eyes. Open your mouth slightly. Breathe in deeply through your nose. 

You are smelling the most complex thing humans consume. When people talk about the flavors of coffee — notes of orange, or hints of clove — it’s because those organic molecules are contained in the coffee bean. If a coffee reminds you of apple pie, it's because coffee shares some of the same components as food, like lactic and malic acid. 

Inside that small bean are the same natural components that make flowers smell so lovely, the same ethers that let you know when a piece of fruit is ripe. Coffee has twice as much going on, molecularly speaking, as red wine. 

When tasting coffee, try waiting for it to cool down a little — you’ll be able to taste (and smell) the most when it’s the same temperature as your body. 

Flavor only matters in the context of you. What do you like? What does this scent remind you of? Are you looking for a full-bodied cowboy coffee, or a delicate, tea-like finish? Chocolate aromas, or hints of jasmine? 

Don’t worry if you can’t describe it precisely, or have a different perception than someone else. Even when you can’t put it into words, you’ll know what you like.You experience the full flavors of the coffee bean if and only if nothing has gone wrong during… roasting.

So, Stumptown is just way cool for a number of reasons and I was super excited to try it.

They had a Sasparilla Latte on special, so I tried that.

And, it was very good. If I had a more discerning palate, I could probably tell you about individual notes and flavors. But, I can tell you this: I really enjoyed it. It was smooth, roasty and provided a nice little jolt. Lovely.

Grade: A

While Seattle is fantastic, I was determined to take a train just down to Portland to get a taste of that city, too. Unfortunately, the train was canceled due to a mudslide, and we were bused to Portland.

First stop: Voodoo Doughnut.

Voodoo is a quirky, suggestive donut shop that's open 24 hours a day, with lines twisting and turning outside the sparkly brick building through pink gates.

“A culinary example of just how weird Portland can be”, these colorful 24/7 Old Town-Chinatown dessert dens are “worth a stop” even “just to gawk” at the “huge” corner-curling lines for “extremely imaginative”, often “hilarious”, pastries like the “to-die-for” bacon-maple bar and “as-good-as-advertised” signature Voodoo Doll; all in all, the "novelty" makes it a “must-visit”, especially for “visitors.” (Zagat)

We took our place in line outside of the shop. The bright pink gates, the sparkly brick siding, the neon lighting and fencing all made me think we might be at a strip club. But, we weren't.

After waiting for quite a while, we were finally inside and able to order. Cash only.

The donuts are all sort of gimmicky, with one called "Cock-N-Balls" and filled with Bavarian cream. There's "The Homer," with strawberry icing and round sprinkles. There's a "Marshall Mathers" dcake donut with mini m&ms.

But, I went for some classic ones -

The Voodoo doll is filled with raspberry jelly and topped with chocolate frosting and a pretzel stake.

The Bacon Maple Bar has maple frosting and bacon.

The Maple Blazer Blunt is dusted with cinnamon sugar, the top is dipped in maple frosting and red sprinkle embers.


So, I think these were actually good. I know they're tourist-central, but a good jelly-filled donut is a good jelly-filled donut. I think the blunt and the maple bacon were a little lackluster. But the namesake voodoo is tasty.

Voodoo Doughnut in Portland Oregon, Eugene Oregon, Denver Colorado, Austin Texas, and now L.A. California, was the brain child of Kenneth “Cat Daddy” Pogson and Tres Shannon who had been friends for a while. They always wanted to start a business together. Something that would fit into an extraordinary Portland Oregon business climate. Something fun, different, and one for the ages. 

Cat Daddy with his stunningly brilliant business sense, and Tres with his seemingly endless supply of connections, set forth to conquer Old Town, Portland Oregon, and the world with the Doughnut!! After a meeting with some Armenians and drumming masters, they were ready to set up shop in the “crotch” of Portland — Old Town. 

There was only one problem, neither Cat Daddy nor Tres had ever made a doughnut before! They set out for the sunny Los Angeles suburb of Pico Rivera, California, where they met up with some doughnut masters, and learned about doughnuts from the ground up. These old, grizzled doughnut veterans knew what they were doing and were barely willing to give up their trade secrets at first. 

But the charm and good looks of our Portland heroes eventually won over the doughnut masters, and the secrets were revealed to them. Learning when to throw the flour, proper handling of a rolling pin, the intricacies of an old fashion, the “flip,” and countless other tricks of the trade were now in the hands, minds, and notebooks of Cat Daddy and Tres. They returned to Portland regaling the locals with tales of Brad Pitt eating one of their early maple bars, a Chick Hearn memorial documented on Japanese Television, featuring Voodoo Doughnuts, and the wild, wild, times of California — artists, actors, washed up sports stars, old people, disillusioned tourists, and musicians. Ah California… Portland soon learned of these tricks and Voodoo Doughnut became the best tasting doughnuts in the world, chico!! 

After flying in some “Voodoo Oil” from down south, acquiring the nuts and bolts of their shop, the boys started tinkering around with their methods that soon became known locally, nationally, and worldwide. People have talked about Voodoo Doughnut in Tibet, on Easter Island, Japan has some stylish folks sporting the latest Voodoo underpants, and friends have shared a buttermilk bar in Tanzania. I’m sure some corners of the globe have yet to be penetrated. Stay tuned! (STORY)

Grade: A