Park Kitchen
Annnnnd I am back after a short hiatus. A few things to note... if you have to sleep inside of an airport, Portland's airport (PDX) is great because there is free wifi. (So why did you not blog more?! Um...) And apparently I saw something rare in Portland for early summer... four consecutive days without rain. Wha?! I think it is a very green city compared to New York since there are trees everywhere, and if you like nature, it is a good place for you. From my four days there, it also seems like a great food city when you compare it to similar sized cities like Louisville, KY or El Paso, TX. Never been to the latter two but seriously... what kind of regional cuisine is in El Paso? In Portland, there are number of quality restaurants serving regional cuisine. Park Kitchen was the first stop on my long weekend of never-be-hungry.
After reading about what to eat in Portland, Park Kitchen seemed like a good choice. I met up with my friend Jack and we set out to try some of Portland's finest. Since I have not seen Jack for over a year, he was not really used to all the picture taking of the food, so I left out his meal. Oh wellz. As you can see though, I ate enough for me and a pregnant woman.
First up was terrine of the day, which was a duck and pistachio terrine. You would think a food blogger would have eaten a terrine before but it was a first time. Since I had never ordered it before I also had no idea how to pronounce the word 'terrine' (which fyi, rhymes with 'latrine'.) Stupid, right? So I pronounced 'terran' (which rhymes with 'barren'.) You do not know what a terran is? Well, you must not have ever played StarCraft. Yea the waitress did not pick up on it but I ordered a human of the day. Awesome job, Danny.
I do not think terrines will ever blow my mind and thrill me the way something like bacon can do. It was almost like eating a meat spread on crackers. The terrine came with mustard with seeds and beets. The flavor combination of all three worked to perfection, but terrines are just okay in my book.
After the terrine came the halibut which was cooked well. Nicely seared on the outside, the fish went well with the beans that came with the dish. I really do not have much to say about it because it was solid but not transcendent. After the fish came the homemade hot dog! The waitress said that everything was homemade, from the hot dog to the bun to the ketchup. This totally intrigued me and I had to order it.
The hot dog is made from both pork and beef and smelled delicious off of the grill. Here is the thing, does it look like a sausage to you? It looks like a sausage to me. It is probably more cool to call something a homemade hot dog versus a sausage. Despite being pre-sliced before coming to the table, the dog was juicy and packed a strong meaty flavor.
Park Kitchen is located in a trendy part of Portland called The Pearl District. It is kind of like their version of Soho. If you are ever in the Portland area, I highly suggest you give it a try. And there will be a few more PDX related posts, and so if you want some of the normal stuff, Food in Mouth will resume normal shenanigans next week.
Park Kitchen
422 NW Eighth Ave.
Portland, OR 97209
503-223-7275
I couldn't remember what I ordered here since it was like 40 meals/cupcakes/coffees/oysters/gelatos/crepes ago, but a salad here looks like any other salad.
Jack
June 17, 2008 4:28 pm
you don't know how to pronounce "terrine"? seriously?
Ang
June 17, 2008 5:47 pm
3 things:
1. I've never eated terrine either because it sort of looks like dog food.
2. I have an odd obessions with Portland though I've never been there. It's like it's calling my name. I may move there on a whim.
3. Can we please get one haiku?! Please?! I'm addicted. My week's been off, you, Danny, can set it right again!!
Blondie
June 17, 2008 8:09 pm
Jack,
Yes I agree, that was why I did not take any pictures of your salad! haha
Ang,
Seriously, it is amazing I passed fourth grade. Another difficult word was cafe au lait. Yea... that took a while.
Blondie,
dog food can be good, right? It is much better than dog food ;) Perhaps a haiku tomorrow, since it has been a busy week. Maybe a haiku will set my week right too!
Danny
June 18, 2008 1:56 pm
So what was your favorite meal in Portland?
Jonathan
June 18, 2008 7:04 pm
Hmm... I shall mention this in a later post. :)
Danny
June 20, 2008 10:51 am