Pok Pok: Hot and Spicy!

I encourage everyone who reads on to take this with a grain of salt. Neither I or Wifey are really big on spicy hot stuff, no matter what part of the world it's from or how authentic it is. I also believe there is a special for place for dishes that are made super damn hot for the sheer fun of it.

Pok Pok is one of the better known places in Portland, a Thai restaurant operated by Andy Ricker, one of the most well-known chefs in the city (and also the owner of the Whiskey Soda Lounge, Ping, and the coming-soon Pok Pok Noi). We had put off going here not because the food wasn't supposed to be awesome, but simply because we just aren't huge spicy Thai food fans. We finally decided all the good reviews couldn't be wrong - we had to go.

Pok Pok is in a converted house on 32nd and Division. The grill is actually in a covered outdoor area where there once was a driveway and the seating is in what was once a basement (there is more upstairs for large parties). Because of the way it's set up the atmosphere almost gives one the feeling of being somewhere else, as in not a former house in Southeast Portland. I can't say it feels like Southeast Asia since I've never been there, but it has a feeling of elsewhere, if that makes any sense. It's nice.

We started off with a side dish of shrimp chips. I have no idea what these are made from, but Wifey had before somewhere else and told me I would love them.

I actually did really, really like them. They are the size of a flattened baseball, but extremely light and fluffy. And yes, they do taste shrimpy. I have no idea if there is ground shrimp in the dough or what, but they are yummy.

We also got a couple drinks. People rave about these "drinking vinegars." If it sounds odd to drink vinegar, well, it did to me too. Here is a link where they explain the background. Pok Pok's drinking vinegars come in plenty of flavors and I chose blood orange. That one is apparently quite popular.

It was pretty good, actually. Tart and sweet at the same time, it's the kind of flavors that go very well with spicy food. More on that later...

Wifey ordered a Vietnamese coffee. It came out just like this, only the water was in the top section. The white part on the bottom is sweetened condensed milk. They use Stumptown coffee and the hot water slowly drips through the grounds above to the milk below. When it's done, you take the metal part off the glass and stir it up.

We've tried this a couple of different places - Jade Tea House and An Xuyen Bakery - but neither were this good. I'd order this again - it was a tad bitter while still being very sweet. Not sure it's ideal with the food we ordered.

We ordered three dishes. The first was Kung Phao - grilled Gulf prawns.

Unfortunately that was the best picture of the prawns - the lighting wasn't that great, even with flash. As you can see they come whole, which meant peeling off the heads and shells, and there was a lime/garlic/cilantro/chile dipping sauce. The prawns were cooked nicely, but a tad bland by themselves - hence the sauce. That sauce was alternately cool and hot, with a taste I like to call "green." To me, that taste comes from fantastically fresh green things, like a fresh basil pesto, and the chiles in this sauce gave it a kick. It would also be a nice enchilada sauce.

We also ordered some jasmine rice for a side - it was good, but nothing to get too excited about.

Our second dish was Muu Sateh - grilled pork loin skewers marinated in coconut milk and turmeric.

These came with bread, a peanut sauce, and cucumber relish. The pork was excellent, and dipping them in the sauce was a fantastic for a creamy, peanutty, coconutty flavor. The relish was...hot. The cucumbers were pickled with some jalapenos (I think), and a lot of fresh cilantro. It was too hot for my taste but I ate it anyway because vegetables are good for me.

The last item we ordered was the Pok Pok Special, which consists of half of a Kai Yaang (roasted game hen stuffed with lemongrass, garlic, cilantro, and pepper), sticky rice, and papaya pok pok (spicy green papaya salad with long beans, tomatoes, dried shrimps, and a host of other things).

The game hen was fantastic. I'm not sure what kind of bird it was (tasted like chicken), but I'd definitely order it again. The two dipping sauces weren't identified, but one was sweet and spicy (sweet chile sauce?) and the other was just spicy (seemed to be soy based). The papaya pok pok? It may have been good, I have no idea. After one bite of that I literally couldn't taste anything else it seared my tongue so badly. I'd order Kai Yaang again, but I have no desire to ever have that salad.

Overall I think it was a good meal. We enjoyed ourselves, tried some new things, but Thai food still isn't something we are going to eat too often. Maybe this is too "American" of a point of view in some people's minds, but spicy hot just isn't something I ever crave - Wifey either. The artistry of creating these dishes, the obviously high quality ingredients, the beautiful presentations, and the depth of the flavors are all good reasons to go to Pok Pok. Would we go back? Would we recommend it? Yes, on both counts, but with the caveat you have to want something spicy.

I'm also fully aware my opinion of spicy doesn't match everyone else's. There are going to be people who read this and have eaten at Pok Pok who think it's not that spicy, and they will scoff at what I'm saying. I will then direct them to my opening statement; this is a review of a highly respected Thai restaurant by two people who fully admit Thai (and super spicy food in general) isn't their thing.

And despite all of that, yes, we would eat here again. Maybe not tomorrow or next week, but we would go back. For whatever that's worth.

Mini Cart Crawl

Last week I decided to surprise Wifey with dinner from some of the foodcarts downtown, so I headed over the carts on 9th and Alder just before lunchtime.

My first stop was Nong's Khao Man Gai. This was a return trip because it was so good the first time and a place Wifey had been subtley hinting she wanted food from again. I think I got there at about 11:15 and there was only one person ahead of me already getting their food. This time I made sure to order extra rice - such a great set of flavors - so there would be plenty to share. Good thing I went there first; by the time I got my food the line was four people deep with more coming. Highly recommend you get here early.

The next stop was also a return trip, to Spella Caffe. I promised I'd give them a second chance after not being horribly impressed despite rave reviews from every corner of the planet. Of course, silly me, I just ordered the same thing. This time, though, I put some thought into drinking my mocha, trying to pick out flavors. I think - and this is far from scientific - that the coffee part of the drink I liked; it was the chocolate element that I'm not agreeing with. I may have to ask them what they use, because it tastes to me like a bitter powder. It's not that that one shouldn't do that, just doesn't seem to match my tastes. I will go back - and get an espresso or capuccino - something that doesn't use the chocolate. Maybe I'll even buy some beans to bring home and put to work myself.

The final stop, and the second half of what became dinner, was The Whole Bowl. I'm wary of vegetarian food, I admit it. I prefer to get my protein from meat and eggs even though beans are an excellent source. I'm also admittedly not a brown rice fan. However, I wanted to try something different this time, and this place comes highly recommended. There isn't much to ordering - you basically say you want one. That's even less thought than what is needed at Nong's. What you get is a bowl full of brown rice, red and black beans, avocado, olives, salsa, sour cream, cheddar cheese, cilantro, and their special Tali sauce - all for $5.50. They do have tortilla chips to go with it for $1, so I got a bag of those too. This is really out of my wheelhouse, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was good stuff. When you mix all of those ingredients up in the bowl you get quite the nice meal, with excellent flavor from all over the spectrum. You also get a crapload of food, because this thing is guaranteed to fill you up with goodness.

Wifey was ecstatic when I brought home the food and it proved to be plenty for the two of us for dinner. Probably more than plenty - we were both stuffed. Good thing we worked out beforehand, otherwise the results might not have been pretty.

Nong's remains a must-visit. Spella, I'm still doing my research. The Whole Bowl, my first vegetarian adventure? I'd definitely do it again, but being a self-professed carnivore I do need to be in the right mood. A true vegetarian would probably love it on a daily basis, and I think even with the sour cream and cheese it's a pretty healthy meal.

Vacation: Lovin' PDX Food Carts!

Believe it or not, one of our goals on vacation was to hit some of the food carts around Portland, hopefully ones that are only open during typical work hours during the week. There are something like 400 carts around Portland, so we had do some research (really, we have spreadsheets and stuff - it's very scientific) to determine what would make the cut. I mean, after all, you can only eat so much in a couple weeks, right?

In the end we didn't get to all the ones on our list, and we hit some that weren't on the list, and we hit some that didn't qualify for the "only open during work hours" clause, but whatever. It was fun. And yummy. We still can't get over the quality of the food you get at these places, the variety of the food, and how cheap it is overall. I never really thought about how much of a restaurant price is based on rent, but it must be about 50% considering the cheapness and quality of the food at the carts.

Who needs restaurants anyway?!

So here's a hitlist of where we went (you knew I was getting back to food at some point).

Moody's: This tiny donut cart is hidden behind the Rocking Frog Cafe near 25th and Belmont. We hit it up and got a chocolate and vanilla doughnut to go with a mocha from the Cafe. The doughnuts were solid grub. They weren't greasy or oily and had nice flavor, but they weren't the best I've had or anything. Would I go back? Maybe if I was in the neighborhood and had a hankering for doughnuts, but I don't see that being very often. The mocha was just okay.

Spella Caffe: This coffee cart downtown deals in various espresso drinks as well as gelato (Italian ice cream). Plenty of people called this the best espresso in the city, so of course we had to try it. We ordered a mocha and some stracciatella gelato (vanilla with hard chocolate - an Italian standby) to see how it compared to our favorites. The mocha was solid, but I didn't think it was the best in Portland. The gelato was good and may be one of the best in Portland, but I confess to not having tried very many - yet. Would I go back? I would, I think. Next time I might just try a plain old espresso, since people who talk about this place say that's what they love. Mark Spella down as "needs more research." Hey, someone has to do it.

Maximus / Minimus (Seattle): Yep, hit up a food cart in Seattle too. This place is started by the same people who run Beecher's Cheese (Sugar Mountain) and it's pork. And the cart is designed to look like a pig. Seriously, how could anyone NOT check this out?! We hit up the cart just after the lunch rush, so it wasn't too busy. Actually, we got downtown during the lunch rush and there was a huge line, but by the time we found a parking spot (Seattle, you suck for downtown parking) and hiked our way back to the cart, no line at all. Um, yay us?

One thing jumped out immediately as we ordered our sandwich with slaw and Beecher's Flasgship cheddar added on (honestly, I think we went minimus - sweet instead of spicy - on the flavor): these people are efficient. In Portland when you order at a cart you typically wait for your food for a bit and you may pay when your order or when you get your food, just depends on the cart. Here the cart actually had what I can't really describe as anything other than a waitress with a handheld computer. You gave your order, she punched it into the machine, and then she swiped your credit card. The receipt then printed on another machine on the side of the cart, managed by another employee, who gave it to you with your order number. In short, this place was designed for high volume traffic, something none of the carts I have visited in Portland have done on par. Is that good or bad? Neither, really - just different.

Oh yeah, the food. Even though we went light on the spice with our sauce, that little sandwich still had some kick to it. And it was good, but it wasn't amazing or anything. If you go, which you should just for a picture with the pig (which I might do next time), don't bother getting the cheese. Honestly, I couldn't taste it at all. I'm not sure if that was because there was so little of it or the pork and sauce just overpowered it. The slaw was excellent - no mayo, which for me is a plus with slaw. You know, because I'm obviously concerened with calories. If I lived in Seattle and especially if I worked downtown I'd check this place out repeatedly, but coming from out of town I think it's a one-time thing - too many other places to check out.

Brunch Box: Brunch Box is a cart that has got a lot of love nationally for what they do - burgers and breakfast. It also made some best burgers in Portland lists and caught my eye with something called YouCANHasCheeseburger (funny for those lovers of LOL cats - one of my favorite sites). It's basically a regular burger, but instead of a hamburger bun it's stuck between two Texas toast grilled cheese sandwiches. Brilliant! Why not?! I mean, more bread and cheese with my cheeseburger? Of course! Lay it on me! When it came time to order, though, I went with something called a Redonkadonk, which is basically the same as a YouCANHasCheeseburger plus a OMG Burger - added fried egg, spam, and ham. And yes, lord, it was good. I wouldn't recommend this to precede an afternoon run, but if all you are going to do it sit on your ass, it's good stuff. Oh, and it's huge - we made it four servings I think. Oh yeah, I'll go back. I need a YouCANHasCheeseburger.

Sidecart: Right next to Brunch Box, and opened and operated by the same person, is Side Cart. In what is simply a stroke of genius Side Cart specializes in all the side dishes you'd love to have with your hamburger or breakfast sandwich that are, conveniently, made by Brunch Box right next door. We opted for tater tots and seasoned curly fries - both very good, not too greasy, good flavor - and we'll definitely go back for those mac and cheese bites or cheesy tots. We ordered a side order instead of a full order and that proved to be a good choice - it was still the size of a medium take-out Chinese food container, more than enough food. A full order is probably a meal in itself.

Grilled Cheese Grill: Grilled Cheese Grill has almost a full lot in Northeast Portland on 11th and Alberta, with eight picnic tables and a converted old school bus to sit and eat if you like, in additioin to the trailer they make the food in. Honestly, it's a nice setup. Plus, you can sit on the opposite side of the lot and still hear when your order is ready because they announce it over a PA system. Oh, and they take credit cards here - I love not having to use cash, but most carts don't take cards. The idea of this cart just blew me away, honestly. An American classic, the grilled cheese sandwich, spiced up with all sorts of flavors and ingredients. Check out the menu to see what I mean. Wifey ordered a Jalapeno Popper, which had jalapenos, cheese, cream cheese, and tortilla chips on the sandwich. Good stuff. Not too spicy, but plenty of flavor. Me? Well, when someone has something called the Cheesus Burger, you know I'm having to get that. Like the Redonkadonk at Brunch Box, the burger buns are replaced with grilled cheese sandwiches. And you know what? Just as yummy. It's actually a bit smaller (no egg or pork), but still two meals. Given the size of their menu I don't know that I would necessarily order it next time, but I wouldn't rule out getting it again. It was yummy for sure. Oh, and how the menu said you don't have to eat again for two days? They aren't kidding. But in a good way.

Ziba's Pitas: Question for you, dear readers - Have you ever had Bosnian food? Do you even know what Bosnian food is? Yeah, neither did I - so that's why we went here. Why not try something completely off our radar? We ordered a Burek, which is a meat pita. And when you read pita, don't expect anything like a Greek gyro - these are completely different. They come similar to a sandwich, but there are multiple tubes in the bread filled with meat. I'd love to see how these things are put together because I don't get it just by looking at them. We ordered the full meal, which I recommend because the sauce that comes with the cucumbers on the side as well as the ajvar (grilled vegetable sauce) make excellent dipping for the pita. Again, very, very good. I'm a fan and I'll definitely go back. However, a word of warning: Don't eat this if you are working out in the next six hours. Probably not a good idea. I don't know for sure, I'm just guessing - it's a heavy meal.

Nong's Khao Man Gai: To be truthful, I had never heard of this Thai cart until a friend from Seattle came into town and said this was a place she absolutely had to go to. We were like - um, what? Don't you hate it when someone from out of town comes to your city with something like that, a place they have to eat or something they have to do that you have never even heard of? For me, that was Nong's. After our friend went there and then proceeded to rave about it, calling it one of the best places she ate in Portland - and she was here for four days expressly for food - we had to hit it up. Actually, I think Wifey knew about the place and she probably told me, but it probably slipped my mind because the menu didn't really jump out at me. Why? Because Nong does only Khao Man Gai, which is basically chicken and rice. And honestly, who doesn't like chicken and rice? Especially perfectly cooked chicken and wonderfully flavored rice, with a soy bean sauce (a delightful kick for mixing), and a Chinese winter squash soup. For $6! $6! A deal! And honestly, this was the best chicken and rice I've ever eaten. Wifey wanted to go back the next day despite our list of places to go back to, it was that good - and I can't disagree. I shrug at the soup, but it did provide some balance to the spicy sauce. When we go back we'll opt to spend $2 for extra rice. So good though... And neither of us had any idea we liked Thai food. Apparently we do. And Bosnian.

El Masry: And, apparently, Egyptian. As I think I mentioned, one of the things we wanted to do was step outside our comfort zones a bit, hence the forays into things like Bosnian, Thai, and Egyptian cuisines. El Masry has a huge menu, but we ordered the chicken schwarma (that might be spelled wrong, I've seen multiple spellings) and it came with seasoned fries. The schwarma was wrapped in a pita with a myriad of vegetables and a sauce, not overly dissimilar from a gyro in presentation but a decidedly different flavor. And excellent. We'll definitely go back at some point because there were about 20 other things on the menu that looked good as well. Thumbs up.

Funny story. When we hit El Masry it was on 9/11, just before the lunch rush. We placed our order - didn't pay yet - and were waiting for it to be made. Wifey and I were the only ones there that early so we were talking when this other pair comes up to us, man and woman, dressed in business clothes (we were on vacation, so probably looking like we were going on a hike or to the gym, I can't recall which). I paid them no mind until I realized they were talking to us. Here's my inexact but generally legitimate rendition of the conversation:

Woman: Have you paid for your lunch yet?

Me: Um, what?

Woman: Have you paid for your lunch yet?

Me: (Silence...just looking at this lady trying to figure out why the hell she would be asking that. I mean, that is weird, right?)

Woman: We're doing a sort of pay it forward thing in rememberance of 9/11 and we want to buy your lunch.

Me: Umm...

Woman: We don't want anything in return, no strings attached. We'll buy your lunch.

Me: (looking at this lady like she is a bit weird, perhaps with three heads) That's okay.

Woman: It's just something our ad agency is doing, a pay it forward thing, to say thank you and do something nice.

Me: (shaking head no)

Woman: (looking suprised)

Me: No thanks.

Woman: Are you sure? I mean, no strings attached, we just want to buy you lunch.

Me: I appreciate that, but it's not necessary.

Woman: (clearly surprised) Well, okay then. Have a good day!

Me: You too.

Was that weird I turned them down? That I said no, I'll pay for my own food? I agree on the surface it probably seems silly on my part, but it just felt wrong, you know? I mean, we don't break the bank or anything but we do okay - it's not like we NEED anyone buying our food for us. And an ad agency? That part is probably what got me more than anything, though I probably would have turned it down even it was just some random person.

Here's the deal though. If they really wanted to do a good deed, we were in downtown Portland. There are plenty of homeless people trolling the streets - there were probably some nearby in that part of downtown - so why not by THEM lunch? Why the middle class couple who can obviously afford their own food? Buy food for the homeless guy, give him a nice Egyptian meal, and have that be their special 9/11 remembrance good deed. Why rely on some theory of pay it forward, when you can help someone who is literally right there in front of you?

That's not something I'm going to do. I'm not a big believer in the goodness of humanity - Wifey jokes I'd be the one to end this kind of chain (and she's probably right) - but if I was some company who is doing this for a reason, shouldn't you at least find people that need the help?

I just didn't get it. And I didn't need it. So I turned it down. Wifey laughed when they left, saying they'll go back to their office at the end of the afternoon and tell people they made the offer to 200 people and only one person turned them down. I'm sure I'm some kind of weird story in that office. Oh well.

Fun times at the Portland Food Carts!