Winner Winner Let's Go to Dinner!!! Chinese Food Edition

After many terrible, terrible forrays into the world of East Side Chineese Cuisine we have a winner!

And I have to tell you that I've driven by this place and scoffed at it's exterior. (Insert: Shame)

Belive me when I tell you it is the best CROW I've ever had to eat.

China Town In Beaverton

Is honestly the best on the east side.  How did I find it you ask?

It was Chineese New Year, My husband had a work dinner...I was feeling festive so I went to China Garden in Sherwood. (Insert: Shudder)

Husband sends text after I've purchaced food... "I'm bringing some leftovers from work thing"
"cool I'll add it to what I've got" I reply.

The food From China Garden smelled pretty good, so I figured...at least it won't kill me.

I should have taken photos of this stuff.  Have you ever seen bright yellow gravy to put on Egg Foo Young?  I have now.  And lived through eating it.  It was nondescript.   What the stuff on the Matrix must be like...

Anyway Jer gets home with a catering tin of food.  Chow Mein, House Rice, Mongolian Beef and OMG the Egg Rolls!!!!!

"So Where did they GET this food of the Chineese Gods?" I ask.

"You know that Place in Beaverton in the Strip mall?"I bet they own that stripmall.
"Shut the front door...You're JOKING."
"Apparently it's the best Dim Sum on the East Side."
"You're enjoying this aren't you?"
"With Relish."
*Eats Egg Roll* (Insert: Bliss)

China Town Restaraunt
14125 SW Walker Rd.
Beaverton, OR 97006-5966

Great Lengths

Well, not that Far anymore. And is any length too far for a REALLY good cup of coffee? I don't think so.

When we first moved to Redmond, WA I was in a similar possition about finding places to call my own.  Places I'd feel like I had friends.  Victor's Coffee was my first place.  They were kind and remembered me after one visit.  Jane's smile and Victor's sweet nature made it easy to feel at home.  Sadly they sold the place to a dude with no idea of how to be a nice person, but as long as you called ahead to make sure he wasn't there... life was still pretty good.

Anyway, Victor and Jane moved to Cannon Beach, OR.  We began ordering their beans by their web order from their new store The Sleepy Monk.  It was a beautiful thing to support people I liked and LOVED for helping me feel at home.  Now that we live closer, we actually make the trip every 10 or so weeks to the beach to buy them at the store.  Victor and Jane picked a couple of awesome owners this time.  (They have retired to follow the waves.)

So when you have a bit of time, or are already visiting Cannon Beach you should definately take some time to get a perfectly crafted espresso drink. Buy some beans as well!  We like Muddy Waters and Monestary Blend.  Fiddlers Fusion is also pretty great.

The Sleepy Monk 

While in "town" we divide our time between S.bucks, Dutch Bros, and Black Rock.

Well I would walk 500 miles...

Is South West Portland considered a Burb? Winner Winner Let's Go to Dinner

I'm hoping so...because my heart belongs to the French Dip Sandwich at the Old Market Pub.

A true celebration of a foot of french bread, a load of roast beef, and just enough caramelized onion. No cheese, just a bowl of Au Jus to get it as soggy (Or Not) as you'd like. (and yes I ate the WHOLE thing)

As a bonus...they actually brew some really killer beer.

Mr. Toad's Wild Red is my favorite to go with this sandwich. Their Heff is also awesome.  I still need (yes need) to sample the rest of their beer offerings.  Give me time, I've only been here three months!

My birthday is Feb. 5. Guess where we'll be celebrating?

It is also very family friendly and pretty loud.  So noisy kiddos blend in to the back ground. :D (Not that my children are noisy!(riiiiight))

Don't Cry For Me...

I've got a few places that I like :D

After a disasterous conveyor belt Sushi experience at Sushi Land at Bridgeport we found Sushi Hana on Hall Boulevard.  It's good fast sushi that is safe and fairly inexpensive. This is imperative as my son LOVES the Shrimp. (Seriously- when he is a teenager I'd better be working to pay the grocery store.)

Then there is Fudruckers. We used to go to the Red Bird but their burgers always tasted frozen.  When we moved Fudruckers became our new Burger place.  They even have an Elk burger! I wish they'd quit over cooking mine! I'm going to make them re-fire it or stand back there and say "Take it off NOW"as Elk cooks quickly and isn't very fatty so, it only takes like 4-5 minutes to cook to medium- which is a tad pink in the center.

So far it seems the Burbs are a sea of chain stores, which are fine but, I'm looking to support some people doing it right out here in the vast expanse of un-Portland.

I have a few lines on some good Asian food- we shall see.  After I find Pho and Chinese Takeout (that doesn't have Pand.a E.xpress on the front door) I'll begin looking for Mexican food and then my favorite: Itallian.

Next up: The distance I will go for good coffee. (Pictures!)

Mai Asia...not my Asia.

Looking for Pho in all the wrong places...

Mai Asia has a bunch of great reviews on the the net.  Perhaps they are all for their very good Salad Rolls and peanut ginger sauce.  I could eat those all night.

Their Pho Ga, which is our favorite type of Vietnamese Pho or "Pho Soup" as my four year old likes to call it- was not the stuff of my dreams.

The chicken was...probably boiled.  Not the biggest sin, but steamed is a better texture.

The broth is where this soup goes really wrong.  It tastes...heavy and smells...um...organish? As if they boiled the stock with the whole chicken in it and only removed the feathers?

I don't want to beat them up, the owners and staff were awesome, they gave my kid a jelly and were friendly and kind.  I kinda want to jump back there and give them a lesson in clear broth.  But that would be totally rude.

If all Pho in the burbs is like this...I'm going to have to order Pho Kit by the case.  While Brandy would LOVE my business, we tend to go out to Pho on nights I don't want to cook!

Victory #1 Well I lied...

There was one place that we used to love, that actually has grown to four or five locations!

Pizza Caboose!

Their crust is crunchy and tastes awesome, the cheese is good, the toppings are high quality and generously placed.  The price is right and you can eat it in a caboose.  Or they will deliver it (Just short of our place- sadly! Next store in Tualatin PLEASE!!!) hot from their trucks that are equipped with warming ovens.  It is really good pizza. Now I want some.

The atmosphere is a family friendly but low tech, low frills place.  I wouldn't call it a dive, more like a hole in the wall.  I don't know about their newer locations, but I'm happy with it just the way it is.

We had my four year old's fourth birthday at the Tigard location after bowling at Tigard Bowl.

Heads up for the moms out there, do their party package! Great deal, Great fun!!

You Can't Leave for Over a Decade...

We lived in Portland for two years about 12 years ago.

We had started to really love it here. We had places.
The places are gone.
The Places Were:

The Noble House- Unarguably the best Chinese food in South West Portland
Spaghetti Already- Pizza, Focaccia sandwiches, pasta.
The Red Pepper- Better Mexican Food, Azteca but better. Albondegas was awesome.

All in the Water Tower at John's Landing.  All gone now.  Was it location? Was it economy? Who knows.  I'd have to do a lot of investigating that I don't have time for with two active boys to take care of!

That's another thing: I now have two sons! A four year old and a nine month old.  So dining out has new requirements, but both love to eat, and are generally very good eating out.  The four year old loves to go places and the nine month old, he loves to eat! Food.  Real Food.  With his one tooth.

So, Here I go...searching for food in the southwestern suburbs of Portland, Oregon.  Doccumented for your entertainment. My standards are those of a realistic food lover.  I want food done well, at a good price, served to me with a smile. (Not to mention that I'd like to be able to drive there without getting on the Interstate.