Lucca

My new favorite restaurant in the hood. I love this place. Everything about it. The food is good, (wood fired pizzas are awesome), prices are a bit on the high side but reasonable for the type of food and normal for Portland, service is exceptional, atmosphere nice except when there are too many children present, (which isn't often).... but mainly it's an attitude. No I don't mean there IS attitude... and that's the thing. So many restaurants in Portland give too much attitude...and for no good reason. (Believe me, I KNOW attitude.)
So far, every one I've met on their staff is friendly, helpful and educated. I have a feeling most are creatives. They don't make you feel like an idiot if you can't pronounce something on the menu, or if you ask questions. They smile a lot but don't seem overly gooey... as if all they are thinking about is that tip money. They appear when you need them, and stay out of the way of your conversation otherwise. If you come in alone, they engage you without a moments hesitation. Even when they are swamped with orders and the place is packed... it looks like they enjoy their work.
The chef is a woman. Of course I'd like that. They make it look as if they all really care about your experience there. Whether they do or not, I can't tell you. All I know is I love the place and hope it survives and thrives for a long time.

Finding a Restaurant on Monday Night

My partner and I needed a break from the heat, from working at home and from Papa Murphy's Delight pizzas. (We pick them up often when we're too tired or lazy to cook and don't feel like going out to brave the crowds.) When was the last time you tried to find a restaurant that was OPEN on Monday night around here? We had several in mind, Bernie's, Lolo, Belly, and a couple more, all unfortunately closed on Monday.
We ended up at a nice looking place called Soluna off NE Fremont. People sitting outside, sipping wine and eating, a shady side of the street, large windows, and the tree lined parking lot was full. We were greeted at the door by the young bus boy who held the door for us, something I have always appreciated and a courtesy that I'm afforded more and more the older I get.
The restaurant was bustling, the waiters sweating. We were seated in a corner by the bar. Our waiter (the bartender) came shortly, a thin guy with tatoo covered arms and dark rimmed glasses, to pour water and drop off the menus.
The first thing I noticed, which may seem inconsequential to some, was the chair. It was actually BIG and had soft padding and a high back. Very comfortable. I'm so used to sitting down into these rickety, cheap things that wobble and are hard on my buns.
Next the menu... seemed like some interesting options. Our waiter stopped by seeming a little hurried and not too happy, but at least polite. He doesn't even crack a smile when I order us two "giant" Lemondrops.  The drinks come in short order, but alas, nothing giant about them or even remotely large, still, just the right blend of tart, sweet and vodka. We are happy. I order the Artichoke and Goat Cheese Tart with Sun Dried Tomato and Kalamata Tapenade and Crostini, and the Spinach Salad with Pancetta Vinagrette, Cranberries and Apple. My partner orders Two Layer Gazpacho and Romaine Salad topped with Grilled Chicken Breast.
Well here comes the review part. Plates? Somewhat interesting but didn't grab me. Kind of messy really. Tastes? Ok. I just wasn't "wowed" by anything. The goat cheese tart wasn't really a tart as I was expecting. It was nice, pretty on the plate, a little bit too much lemon, but rich and tasty just the same. Sort of a mushed up goat cheese patty with a coating of something resembling panko. There was about a teaspoon of tapenade on the plate and the crostini were so crunchy I think they must have been made last week and toasted again. I happen to like mine just a little crunchy around the edges and chewy in the middle so it doesn't seem like I'm biting down on a mouth full of pebbles.
My spinach salad was good. A balance of salty, sweet and sour with the spinach and not soggy with dressing. Romaine salad was a little hard to find under the chicken breast, only a few tiny hints of green poking out from under the chicken. I mean how much does a head of Romaine cost these days?? My partner and I both felt the gazpacho left something to be desired.
The waiter took off with our wine list as soon as our meal came, and we kept trying to eyeball him to come back so we could order a glass with dinner but no luck. We gave up after we each had two bites of dinner left and decided we had wine at home to satisfy our thirst if necessary.

All in all in my dining experience scale of 1 to 10, I'd give Soluna about a 6. The prices were good. Just nothing surprising or spectacular about either food, service or presentation. I'm not panning the place, it was a pleasant find on a hot Monday evening when most of our favorite neighborhood restaurants are closed. They were busy and I take that into account too. I would definitely try it again. My photo really doesn't do the place justice, but I'll include one anyway.

Carnival Restaurant and the Best Burger in Portland

When I was a kid growing up on the SW side of town, my favorite spot for a hamburger was the Carnival Restaurant. You could smell the grill and the burgers cooking from all the way around the windy corners up on Terwilliger Blvd. There were always lines out the door and the parking lot was usually packed. They had big flame broiled burgers before Burger King ever existed in Oregon, (BK's first restaurant opened in 1954, in Florida - The Carnival opened in 1950) and they had a huge condiment bar you could help yourself to with enough hamburger relishs to make any kid drool.

Portland is a city overflowing with restaurants and young entrepreneurs these days. We are not lacking in choices here. Portland is trendy, full of slow foodies, farm-to-table mentality, and humanely raised organic everything... right down to your shoelaces. Restaurants open and close every month and you can find the strangest foods imaginable at the food carts scattered all over town in every available empty lot. I know I'm spoiled with this plethora of wonderful food but sometimes I just want to go out for an old fashioned burger and fries, and to me that doesn't mean the McDonalds drive-through.

So my first review is a research project. It might be a little difficult, since I just joined Weight Watchers, (somehow I'll manage!) but my goal is to try ten to fifteen top burger joints in the Portland area.... someplace where you can get a burger and fries for UNDER $15. That cuts a lot of places off the list right there! Since I'm obviously not going to go out to test ten burgers in ten days, it may be a while before I get back to you on this. It's an ongoing project this fall.
Just fyi, the burger in this photo is from my favorite little diner/store/gas station in Fields, OR. Not in the running for this particular review but a damn good burger just the same!