WILLAMETTE WEEK'S RESTAURANT GUIDE 2000-2001 Restaurant Listings A B C E F G H I J K L M O P R S T U V W Y Z Paley's Place It's been more than five years since Kimberly and Vitaly Paley hung out their shingle, and the story of how a concert pianist and ballet dancer left the big city and came to Portland to start a restaurant, while still a sweet story, isn't as important as the fact that they run a really fabulous restaurant. Back when they started, Vitaly (the pianist and the one in the kitchen) said, "I like to cook the things I like to eat." Oh, the things he likes to eat. A salad of warm spot prawns, capers, freshly grated horseradish, and heirloom tomato on sweet lettuce. Roasted summer vegetables with baked garlic and salad cress. Halibut gently poached in olive oil, moist and perfect, or duck confit with wine-poached figs, or slowly braised lamb next to fork-mashed potatoes spiked with fresh basil and olives. Some of the flavors come from childhood memories of his grandmother's cooking; others are classics with Vitaly's disciplined touch, such as sautéed sweetbreads au poivre, lightly crusted and peppery, with chewy little spaetzle and wild mushrooms. Kimberly (the dancer, sommelier and sunshine in the dining room) makes you feel like the most important customer to ever walk in, and of course you are. (JD) 1204 NW 21st Ave., 243-2403. Dinner daily. Expensive. Pambiche Pambiche--Spanglish for Palm Beach--is what bandleaders in the Dominican Republic called the merengue-fox trot dance tunes they cooked up for polyrythmically impaired American soldiers who occupied the Caribbean island in the early 1920s. It's also the name of the hot little Cuban cafe with the bright pink storefront, the place full of happy people eating spicy red beans, fried yucca and crispy little fritters stuffed with corn, squash or the slightly sweet ground beef and vegetable mixture called piccadillo. Food anthropologists have called the post-Columbian food of the Caribbean the only original cuisine to emerge in the New World. It's true that comida criolla blends cultural flavors from Spanish conquistadores and African slaves with indigenous ingredients like sweet potatoes and tomatoes, but there won't be a test. Just sip a Jamaican cola or Portland's best sangria, let the uptempo percussion filter down to your toes and enjoy your ropa vieja, lengua en salsa, or Cuban pork sandwich. Save room for dessert, too; chef and owner John Connel-Maribona spent a little time at Papa Haydn. (JD) 2811 NE Glisan St., 233-0511. Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday-Monday. Moderate. Papa Haydn In the old days, you could walk across the backs of the spawning salmon on the Willamette and grab a rich dessert at Papa Haydn. The salmon are nearly gone, but Papa Haydn remains. In a neighborhood overrun by chi-chi, PH is a respite of normality. Sure, it's a great place to watch the well-coiffed world of 23rd Avenue go by, but it's more than a see-and-be-seen spot. It's a top-notch serious restaurant. Case in point: On a recent visit, our waitress, Laura, provided possibly the best service I've ever experienced in Portland. She was gracious and informed, had perfect timing and was intimate without being overly familiar. The appetizers were abundant and flavorful, especially the red pepper aioli with the breaded clams and the chicken liver pâté. With broad and satisfying offerings, it's impossible to go wrong, especially with the daily grilled special. And the filet mignon was like butter. One suggestion: It would be nice if Papa's put a little more zest in its food--even the horseradish was mysteriously bland. Still, Papa Haydn remains the perfect place to take anyone, from a first date to your grandma. (PW) 701 NW 23rd Ave., 228-7317; 5829 SE Milwaukie Ave., 232-9440. Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday, brunch Sunday. Moderate to expensive. Paparazzi Imagine yourself rich. Your blood is green. You wake up every morning going, "Hmm, what'll I buy today? A plane? A Rolls? Alicia Silverstone?" You think caviar and tuna fish probably cost about the same, but you're not sure because you've never bought a can of tuna--and why would you? It's not like you need to economize. Which makes Paparazzi the perfect restaurant for you: It's not extravagant, but it's not the type of place for those who need to economize. The service is lovely, the food is good, the atmosphere is swanky in an understated way, and the bathroom is an adventure. Some folks would squirm at the thought of shelling out $14 for a plate of pasta, however delicious it might be--but you don't blink. You order a bottle of Valpolicello. The waitresses are nice--you can imagine what it might be like to date them--and the artwork is very tasteful. The menu comes on antiqued paper, in genuine Italian. It's got insalata caprese, but also sweet-potato ravioli; this is the Pacific Northwest, after all. Enjoy yourself; the chocolate ice cream is worth every penny. (BO) 2015 NE Broadway, 281-7701. Dinner Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Mondays. Expensive. Paragon One of the first Pearl District restaurants to explode on the scene, Paragon still serves a hungry clientele that battles the thickening throngs (especially on weekends) at the large bar across from the dining room. The space is lofty, with an industrial look on two levels, moody lighting and a distinctly downtown feel. The food is often uneven--you get a gorgeously undercooked ahi tuna, but a depressingly overcooked pork chop. Or a splendidly garlicky and anchovy-laden Caesar, but an order of clams burdened with too much tomato sauce. Paragon is most cunning with its interesting side dishes. The pork chop is almost redeemed by a beautiful ramekin laden with a gratin of corn laced with a bit of bourbon--Kentucky couldn't have done it better. The tuna is graced by black lentils and truffle oil. Paragon's cooking blends modern American with hints of American regional, and the fish dishes are probably the best bets. Desserts often shine: I especially enjoyed a coconut-lime tart, as well as a crème brûlée with touches of wild ginger. You won't be knocked out of your socks here, but it is a decent spot to dine after a hard day of haunting the local boutiques. (RJP) 605 NW 13th Ave., 833-5060. Lunch and dinner daily. Moderate-expensive. Pavillion Grill & Trattoria Psst. Icks-nay the attoria-tray. True trattorias tend to be more intimate and homey than the gigantic, multi-tiered Pavilion. And so the one meal of the week to which this spacious, almost barn-like structure seems best suited is, of course, Sunday brunch. We're talking the matriarch of holy-day feasts, replete with the "all you can eat" subhead so coveted by God's American people. If stretched table to table, end to end, the smorgasbord at Pavilion would be somewhere near 50 feet long; needless to say, you have a significant number of options. Prime rib can be followed by steamed clams and oysters on the half shell. Dim sum can come before the pan-seared vegetables or after a plate of extra-hollandaisey eggs Benedict--you decide. Fresh fruit cleanses the palate before you reapproach the buffet for a piece of double chocolate cake and a scoop of English bread pudding. An army of culinary-school grads with tidy frocks and hair tucked neatly beneath erect white hats is constantly in a flurry of replenishment. Look out stomach, it's Sunday morning and I hear Pavilion calling. (BF) 10700 SW Allen Blvd., Beaverton, 626-4550. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Moderate. Pazzo With its low ceiling, dark-wood paneling and cloistered nooks, Pazzo feels like one of those ancient North Beach restaurants that's been filling San Franciscans with cioppino and manicotti for what seems to be forever. Since the parent company hails from The City By the Bay, a little fog-induced atmosphere is understandable. But in the nine years since Pazzo opened with a California buzz, including celebrity-sightings, it's matured into the kind of place Portlanders love. A solid lineup of Italian dishes takes advantage of great local ingredients, including fresh buffalo-milk mozzarella, flown up from California and served simply with roasted peppers and arugula. Our own ocean delivers great calamari, and here it's quickly grilled instead of deep-fried, and it's really good. Even better, the calamari comes with small green lentils, like the ones grown near the Umbrian hilltown of Castelluccio, cooked al dente, red-pepper spiked and drizzled with olive oil. A handful of standup pastas, the risotto del giorno, and a half-dozen entrees with something for everybody round out the selection. An excellent touch are the contorni, the Italian side dishes that nicely complement a meal, available à la carte. While the current menu bears the mark of Kenny Giambalvo, who's moved on to the much-buzzed-about Bluehour, look for a winter selection coming soon from new chef Nathan Logan, just off a stint with Celestino Drago in Los Angeles. (JD) 627 SW Washington St., 228-1515. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Moderate-expensive. Plainfield's Mayur Now that you can get a pretty decent Indian meal at many a Portland mall food court, is Plainfield's Mayur irrelevant? Well, that's like saying that since you can get a decent General Tso's from a street cart, Legin is no longer important. From the setting of the restaurant (an opulent Victorian mansion just off West Burnside Street) to the career waiters in black tie to the ceremoniously revered tandoori center, glassed in and on stage in the middle of the restaurant, it's clear that Plainfield's is a cut above. Even the common and familiar dishes, such as chicken tikka masala, take on a whole new glow in the hands of the Plainfield's kitchen staff--the chicken's more subtle, the curry more resounding. A plate of chutneys, assuredly unlike any you've tried before, comes with your meal; with the waiter's help, you can use them to coax another dimension out of your meal. Plainfield's' own brand of chai tea and the perfectly harmonious cardamom-rose ice cream nestled on a bed of fried saffron noodles pushes you over the top. (CBB) 852 SW 21st Ave., 223-2995. Dinner daily. Expensive. Portland Steak and Chophouse Boring name. Stuck in a chain hotel. Not worth the trip, right? Wrong. Residing on the ground floor of the immaculately restored Multnomah Hotel (now an Embassy Suites satellite), the Portland Steak and Chop House is a refreshing throwback for carnivores who want big hunks of meat prepared with finesse. You can also find a variety of fresh local seafood (the chowder and salmon rate especially high) and more than a nod to dairy-tolerant vegetarians (three words: almond-covered brie). And the bar's happy-hour offerings rank with Portland's best. At times the menu seems overreaching (pizza makes an unnecessary appearance), the decorations generic and the service overly brisk, especially since the ambient darkness and attentive wait staff make you want to stay all night. But how can you not like a place with free mouthwash and cologne in the bathrooms? Even in the suddenly crowded local steakhouse market, this restaurant is decidedly well done. (BL) 121 SW 3rd Ave., 223-6200. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Expensive. Red Star Tavern and Roast House If your pang is for just about anything that's been wood-fired, pan-seared or oven-roasted, then Red Star's gonna have to be on your hot list. The atmosphere is business casual, which of course grants happy indulgence in anything from a super-juicy cheeseburger with steak fries to a much haughtier cioppino with Dungeness crab, sea bass, regional mussels and tiger prawns. But there's an unusual catch with the Red Star that separates it from its semi-corporate class: The kitchen is down to earth and remarkably flexible. Only want an order of garlic mashed potatoes to go? No problem. It's not on the menu as a solo item, but hey, they'll give you some for a fair price. And what about the jicama slaw that comes buried underneath the Southwestern tamales? Can you get that by itself for a lunch salad? Sure. What the heck. Well-funded restaurants attached to fancy hotels owned by out-of-state companies are so often overrated and overpublicized. The truth is that Red Star doesn't have to be so accommodating. Yet it is. And we like that. (BF) 503 SW Alder St., 222-0005. Breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday, dinner daily. Brunch Saturday-Sunday. Expensive. Ruth's Chris Steak House With the most family-friendly atmosphere of this town's big meat-eaters' emporia, Ruth's Chris on a Friday night almost feels like a spiffy spaghetti feed at the local community center. Lots of dressed-up families and clusters of golf-shirted guys marking special occasions dig into thick, juicy steaks, and judging by the looks on their collective faces, they're happy as clams. While the focus is on beef, and plenty of it, there are a couple of other gems sprinkled throughout the menu. The New Orleans roots of this upscale chain peek out from a dusky, roux-thickened bowl of gumbo that delivers a pleasant peppery kick. A tangled mound of shoestring fries the size of a bowling ball offers a challenge in extracting each mouthful, but the spuds are hot, crispy and perfectly salted. The service is great, too. (JD) 309 SW 3rd Ave., 221-4518. Dinner daily. Expensive-Very Expensive. Salvador Molly's Sun Stop Cafe It takes a special kind of restaurant to regularly attract people to a mini-mall. Tucked behind a banal stretch of Hillsdale's Capitol Highway, Salvador Molly's Sun Stop Cafe is spoken of by loyal patrons with zealous intensity, as if Jim Jones were making your margarita. But the religion here is one of vibrant sun-baked culture and accompanying south-of-the-border spices. (Imagine if the cast of Survivor had a great caterer.) With peanut shells crackling beneath your feet and surf videos playing above, the scene is strictly laid-back, dude. Pull up a picnic bench and start with Spanish tapas or even some rasta curls, the local reinvention of onion rings. The entrees are like a Love Boat cruise through the Caribbean: Cuban sandwiches, Jamaican jerk chicken and Mexican burritos all earn a hearty ¡olé! Just remember to wear a raincoat over that Hawaiian shirt when you exit back into rainy Southwest Portland. (BL) 1523 SW Sunset Blvd., Hillsdale, 293-1790. Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday. Closed Sundays. Moderate. Saucebox With its rep for hot men and techno-on-Valium aura (the DJ spins nightly at 10 pm), this uber-swank spot hops on the weekends. But weekdays it downshifts, emerging as a relaxed and surprisingly inviting spot, and the food itself, a pan-Asian fantasy, ups the comfort quotient. Though the presentation is high style, the dishes deliver on a powerfully plebeian level with well-cooked and ample portions. Strong sauces manage to complement instead of compete with perfectly cooked entrees (specials and main dishes rotate while starters stay put). Javanese roasted salmon weighs in as a delectable choice; its bedding of soy, hot pepper and lime-drenched spinach is as to-die-for as the main entree. New chef Eric Johnson has added some of his touches to the menu, including some kick-ass Thai mussels. Skewers loaded with chunks of peppery beef and chicken sing with flavor when paired with fresh veggies and a heavy black bean sauce. And a massive beverage list, including a little something for any debauched taste, adds to the enjoyment. On the cocktail side (18 choices so far), the tangy Blood Orange Drop and the Coconut Lime Rickey, an SPF 30 concoction reminiscent of Coppertone Suntan Lotion, both kick. Though infectious beats lull satisfied diners at Saucebox, one glance in the drive-in-theater-sized angled mirrors of this chic-retro-meets-Hanoi joint remind dubious patrons that they are still in the land of cool, so pose accordingly. Oh, and to first-timers, those are soybeans masquerading as an hors d'oeuvre, baby, not snap beans--be forewarned. (KC) 214 SW Broadway, 241-3393. Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Friday, dinner only Saturday. Closed Sunday-Monday. Bar menu available after hours. Moderate to expensive. Serratto After an uneven start last year, Serratto has improved dramatically, and the food is as Italian as the tall, narrow casement windows that line the wonderfully pleasant dining room. Insalata di mozzarella fresca combines fresh mozzarella (and it's really fresh, made every day in the kitchen) with ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, oregano and day-old bread that's been properly soaked in a bit of water and squeezed out--a dish that would be right at home on the boot-shaped peninsula. A rosemary-encrusted pork tenderloin roast shares the plate with simple grilled polenta and a spicy vegetable ragu of eggplant, carrot, onion and wild mushrooms, the kind of simple, ingredient-oriented cooking that is quintessentially Italian. A great wine selection makes lingering easy, and there are plenty of choices available in both 6- and 9-ounce glasses. Michael Cronin, who also owns Caffe Mingo next door, is an unabashed Italophile, and it shows in the small details such as the correct usage of Italian plural nouns and articles on the menu. (JD) 2112 NW Kearney Street, 221-1195. Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner daily. Moderate-expensive. Shalimar Finding a batch of hot, crispy samosas in these soggy parts isn't as tough as it used to be, thanks, in part, to an influx of Indian high-tech workers into the Silicon Forest. It's no surprise, then, that when Intel exec Naveed Shewarni decided to open a restaurant, he and his business partner, Sabahat Rafiq, settled on Orenco Station in Hillsboro. Shalimar, which means "House of Joy," has been open since last November, just across the street from the relocated Merchant of Venice. The sauce we sampled in lamb khara masala wasn't as "exotic" as the menu promised, yet a couple of dishes stood out. The jhinga safroni, plump, fresh tiger prawns coated with coconut and served with refreshingly tangy mango chutney, were, indeed, "deep fried to perfection," and the fish tikka (marinated halibut baked in the tandoor) had a nice kick. Combined with the tasteful decor and pleasant staff, this is one train stop that calls for some loitering. (JS) 1340 Orenco Station Parkway, Hillsboro, 844-3838. Lunch and dinner daily. Moderate. Southpark Southpark is one of Portland's favorite downtown restaurants for a post-theater performance meal. Occupying the former space of Heathman's B. Moloch Bakery and Pub, Southpark has come into its own. It has one of the most interesting wine lists around, the first local restaurant to organize reds and whites under such rubrics as "Crisp, Fresh, Dry," "Smooth, Medium Bodied," "Rich, Full Bodied," "Aromatic and Medium Dry," "Lush, Intense Fruit Driven," etc. The cuisine is broadly Mediterranean, with several interesting dishes from that country sadly underrepresented in Portland: Portugal. The most interesting items come in terra-cotta bowls that retain the heat, the presentations both earthy and sophisticated. The roasted chicken in the earthenware dish is gorgeous--a generous serving smothered in roasted fennel, artichoke hearts, and (a great touch) preserved lemons. Southpark has wisely kept its bourride, an intense fish soup laced with saffron and chock-full of mussels, clams, shrimp and white fish. Southpark leans a lot on anise or fennel-based dishes; witness the mussels and Portuguese sausages with orange zest and a splash of Sambuca. One would expect Southpark's talented chef, Paul Ornstein, to use interesting seasonal ingredients; he knows his produce, and the Wednesday version of the Farmers Market is right outside his door. The restaurant's paella is tasty but too wet. Don't miss the Sicilian lemon cheesecake, a plump disk of very intense and smooth filling supported by an almond crust. (RJP) 901 SW Salmon St., 326-1300. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Moderate to expensive. Sungari Restaurant A very comfortable and attractive Szechwan restaurant, Sungari offers few clues to ethnicity in its decor: a gong, a few statuettes, but no Chinese tchotchkes. Muted colors, white napkins, fresh flowers on the table, high-arched windows and comfortable seating all put you in the mood for something a bit special--and Sungari (mostly) delivers. There aren't many items you can't find elsewhere (though the Peking duck, which has to be ordered 24 hours in advance, is rarely seen in these parts). But the quality and presentation are choice. Cold sesame noodles make for a fine appetizer, and wontons in hot chili oil arrive as a generous order of light wrappers with a dense and vibrant filling. One of the best dishes is a serving of plump sea scallops in a blazing hot sauce cooled down with seaweed and sautéed vegetables. Another interesting order is chunks of chicken slathered with mounds of fresh ginger and onion, which proves to be bracingly hot in the mouth. While many of us are familiar with Lover's Eggplant, Sungari works an interesting turn on the vegetable: Pureed eggplant is rolled into balls and coated with a very light batter and cooked almost like dumplings, puffed up, creamy within and not at all greasy. The only disappointment in a recent meal was the enticing-sounding shrimp with honey walnut: Unfortunately, the nuts were slightly burned, and the shrimp over-cooked. But in general, this cool space is a welcome addition to a lackluster Chinese restaurant scene that continues to be a disappointment for a city with so many first-rate Asian restaurants. For the moment Sungari, along with Southeast's like-minded Legin, may be the best of the lot. (RJP) 735 SW 1st Ave., 224-0800. Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday. Moderate. Swagat There are few restaurants included in this guide where a couple can get a complete dinner for under $30. Swagat is one of them, and it's anything but chintzy. Sure, the interior looks like it's straight out of the Bombay Company (only shabbier), but at a joint like this, you really don't care about the ticky-tackiness. Your mind is on other things, like crimson tandoori delights and the cheap all-you-can-eat lunch. Indian meals can be overwhelming in terms of sheer volume, and Swagat is no exception, but the presentation here saves an eater from feeling flattened by a mountain of glistening chick peas. All entrees are available à la carte or as the thali dinner, which includes heavenly naan, vegetable curry du jour, thick lentil soup, raita, dal and dessert (choose the gulab jamun, which is as good as a New Orleans beignet). Go for the dinner, even if you're not ravenous. The enchanting variety of textures and flavors defines Indian cuisine, and at three bucks extra, you can hardly afford to miss out. The tough part is deciding on an entree: Should you pick a curry dish, and if so, do you want standard chicken or hot lamb vindaloo? What about those curious homemade cheese cubes with spinach, the biriyani plates (pilafs made from basmati rice) and the shockingly red tandoori specialties? See what we mean? As a general rule, bypass the chicken curry in favor of the superior tandoori chicken. If you want shrimp, the biriyani will make you sing. Of course, you could always opt for the lunch buffet, when you can try it all. (CM) 2074 NW Lovejoy St., 227-4300; 4325 SW 109th Ave., Beaverton, 626-3000. Lunch and dinner daily. Moderate. Syun Izakaya Forget the Toyota Corolla, forget the Yamaha organ, forget the Tamagotchi. Japan's most significant cultural export to the United States is the sushi bar. We enter lugging our mundane worries, our parking tickets and our scheduling conflicts, and we emerge a few hours later, refreshed and relaxed, our butterflies soothed by a belly full of raw fish. Tucked away in the basement of an old library, Syun (pronounced "Shoon") is the perfect culinary getaway to the land of the Rising Sun. Step inside, and you're greeted by a bilingual babble--always a good sign. For starters, check out the spicy cabbage salad or the light, tasty gyoza (pot stickers to you). While Syun offers plenty of tempura and other deep-fried delights, the main attraction is the exceptional fish: try the thick slices of bonita sashimi, silky smooth, with an iridescent burgundy hue; or the irresistible, lightly seared unagi (fresh water eel); or the rainbow roll, which spans the sushi spectrum from salmon and tuna to shrimp and amberjack. Syun also boasts an impressive variety of sakes, helpfully accompanied by a scale rating the wines from sweet to dry. Don't miss the other unusual touches, such as exquisite floral arrangements in the bathrooms. 209 NE Lincoln St., Hillsboro, 640-3131. Lunch and dinner Monday-Friday, dinner Saturday-Sunday. Moderate. Tapeo It may not have sawdust on the floor or a guitarist with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, but Tapeo is the real thing. The best tapas restaurant in the city, it is a wonderful retreat, and Ricardo Segura presides over an extensive menu with deft authenticity and warmth. One could come a half-dozen times and not be acquainted with the entire menu. You dine at cushioned banquets or tables scattered about the homey room, just close enough to make for a constant hum of pleasure. There's a selection of hot and cold tapas, and the ideal dinner would mix them: starting simply, say, with Spanish olives and cheese, perhaps a tapenade or roasted peppers, working through an array of grilled shrimp, clams in garlic, anchovies, mussels or saffron-laced scallops, and moving to such heartier meat dishes as garlic sausage or pork stew. Figure about a half-dozen platters for two, and consider having the traditional chilled fino sherry instead of wine, all Spanish and excellently chosen to match the tapas. Tapeo has become a great Portland institution; at few other places can you feel assured you will be getting a touch of Spain. Don't expect to keep Spanish hours (dining from 10 pm until 1 in the morning), however, though you will feel like celebrating in the party atmosphere, and everyone leaves with Iberian contentment. (RJP) 2764 NW Thurman St., 226-0409. Dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday-Monday. Moderate to expensive. Terra The Buddha that oversees the scene at Terra, the newish Japanese restaurant that's housed in the old Bima site, is huge and imparts an air of solemnity to the proceedings. The Buddha and assorted other religious representations sprinkled about the place invite the impression that this is a restaurant run on discipline and focus. But instead of sticking to strictly Japanese fare, Terra offers a hodgepodge version of fusion that nevertheless succeeds at times. The sushi roll, always up for reinvention, here comes with both smoked salmon and smoked duck, cream cheese and blue cheese. The Italian-focused dishes seem to suffer at times from overseasoning, but the simpler seafood-oriented dishes are superb and the fish presented in the nigiri sushi is top-notch. (CBB) 1338 NW Hoyt St., 224-2933. Lunch and dinner Monday-Friday, dinner only Saturday. Closed Sundays. Moderate to expensive. 3 Doors Down Cafe I enjoy restaurant noise, the hum and buzz of animated conversation. But Three Doors Down, with its stone floor and hard-edged walls, unrelieved by any fabric to soften the sonic boom, taxes your endurance. The acoustic onslaught, along with the restaurant's adamant refusal to take reservations, hardly endears one to the space right off the bat. However, you can call ahead on the day you intend to visit, get your name on a list and be assured a slot. And in nice weather the very genial staff will serve wine outside while you wait, though when the rains arrive, you'll have to hang out around the corner at the bookish Powell's, checking back periodically. Three Doors Down serves Italian cuisine, but often with a twist. The appetizers are standouts, especially a fascinating plate of immense and flavorful scallops accompanied by peaches and bathed in a stunningly aromatic peach-cream basil sauce. An old Three Doors favorite lingers on the menu: al dente green beans sautéed in gorgonzola cream sauce--delicate yet rich, flavorful yet respectful of the beans, and satisfying when scooped up with a soup spoon. A bowl of steamers comes with a firm crust of Parmesan for another vibrant starter. The restaurant's signature dish, Seafood Fra Diavolo, has never budged from the menu and, on a recent visit, seemed just as marvelous as ever, with its abundance of clams, mussels, shrimp and halibut tossed with fettuccine in a hearty red sauce--a soul-satisfying experience. A few other dishes fell a bit short, however. Salmon with cranberry beans and cipollini onions sounds promising, but the fish was somewhat overcooked. And roasted chicken with a bit of cream, olives and capers became unavoidably confused on the plate, the mashed potatoes running over everything. Perhaps just a bit more attention is needed. But everything is redeemed by the startling Boston cream pie, light years beyond anything of the ilk you've had in your high-school cafeteria. Three Doors Down boasts a devoted fan club, and most of the time the restaurant warrants the acclaim. Service is snappy and crisp, the energy in the room runs high and the kitchen has a good time. (RJP) 1429 SE 37th Ave., 236-6886. Dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday-Monday. Moderate to expensive. Three Square Grill The dining experience at Three Square Grill is one of consistent pleasure and warm, giving magnitude. And while great care has been taken to spruce up a rather unassuming strip mall storefront with snazzy decoration and rotating original artwork, the focus here remains unwavering--it will always be the food. Straight on down to the crusty breads and ungodly selection of desserts, baked goods are brought to life in on-site ovens. These treats perform perfect supporting roles for the kitchen's Pan-American entree bent. Three Square's jambalini, with chicken, sausage, crawfish and fettucine noodles swimming in a spicy tomato sauce, touches on the kitchen's fascination with all things Louisiana creole. Even better is the substantial North Carolina-style pulled-pork barbecue sandwich, loaded with tangy slaw on a homemade bun. This may not sound like fine dining, but again, the focus is on flavorful content, not showy form. On the sweet tip, wait 'til you get a load of their pineapple upside-down cake. Oh my! This is very, very good. Struggling restaurateurs of Portland should stop by and take notice: Three Square Grill has built a loyal following on simplicity and commitment to food. (BF) 6320 SW Capitol Highway, 244-4467. Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Friday, dinner Saturday, brunch Saturday-Sunday. Closed Monday. Moderate. Typhoon! From Bon Appétit to Zagat, national food guides have gushed forth praises for Bo Lohasawat Kline's tribute to Thai cuisine. Her knack for taking simple ingredients and blending them into surprisingly complex bursts of flavor is most evident in the popular miang kum appetizer. Peanuts, lime, onion, coconut and a couple of less-common ingredients (dried shrimp and Thai chili) are sprinkled upon a crisp spinach leaf, rolled up and dipped in a homemade sauce before doing the jig on your taste buds. Thai classics--chicken satay, spring rolls, pad Thai and tom kah gai (chicken coconut soup) are safe bets, but Typhoon! is a place where you can wander off the beaten menu. Vegetarians can relish the Eggplant Lover, with its savory black bean sauce and extra-firm tofu, while fowl-mouthed diners can fill up on royal duck curry, served with a tangy pineapple sauce, or the smoky Thai barbecued chicken seasoned with garlic sauce. After dinner, you can order one of the 50 teas available and wander across the hall to the Imperial Hotel's jazz lounge for some mellow music to cool off the fire inside. (JS) 2310 NW Everett St., 243-7557; 400 SW Broadway, 224-8285. Lunch and dinner Mondays-Saturday, dinner Sunday (no lunch Saturday at Broadway location). Moderate. Veritable Quandary No other restaurant of its stature has such legions of long-standing, devoted regulars as the V.Q., the original watering hole of Portland's lawyers, planners, City Hall types and radiant visionaries of all stripes. Hard by the ramp to the Hawthorne Bridge and unassuming from the sidewalk, this quintessential downtown spot with a pretty garden alongside can be a bit clattery at times, but good cheer masks any fumbling in its long, narrow corridor setting. In fact, the wait staff are keen, spirited and knowledgeable about the menu. Whether you sit in wooden booths or at tables with gleaming napery, you'll have absolutely wonderful food. The dishes are essential American classics, with an occasional foray into other cultures but acclimated to local tastes, which speaks of the freshness and integrity of ingredients. You'll find an emphasis on grilled meats, braised dishes such as hearty and succulent osso bucco--V.Q.'s signature item--and beautifully cooked fish. The ample osso bucco comes with plenty of creamy marrow and the softest polenta in town. During a recent summer evening a grilled grouper--a rare fish in these parts--put me in mind of lazy Mediterranean seaside tavernas. For starters, a grilled seafood sausage, crammed with crab, scallops, prawns and salmon and exhibiting a nice char along the sides, comes bedded on wild greens, while gnocchi doused with roasted garlic pesto and tossed with dried tomatoes is another perfect reminder of southern parts. In the winter, the grilled Black Angus rib eye is a luscious slab of meat with beautifully arrayed torpedo onions and frothy mashed potatoes. The V.Q. always does well by wild mushrooms, and its salads are smartly composed and dressed. Many places feature local berries in August, but few put together as tasty and authentic a cobbler; this one's giddy with plums. Returning to this restaurant is always a pleasure--few places in town serve such dependable meals in a setting that is sultry and sophisticated. (RJP) 1220 SW 1st, 227-7342. Lunch Monday-Friday, brunch Saturday-Sunday, dinner daily. Expensive. Wild Abandon The conversion from first-time diner to die-hard regular happens pretty quickly at this popular spot. Tucked incongruously among the quickie marts and laundromats along a stretch of Southeast Belmont Street, Wild Abandon just keeps getting better. Try starting off with a trio of fat shrimp and crab cakes with a tangy red-pepper aioli, or maybe Ginger's prawns, marinated in ginger and lime, quickly grilled and served with a deceptive honey-sweetened wasabi sauce that packs a nice little bite of its own. The eclectic menu covers a lot of ground, from a cheesy baked ziti laced with scallops and portobellos to Indian fry bread topped by sautéed vegetables and chicken to plum-and-pistachio-stuffed pork tenderloin to free-range Argentine beef tenderloin (a great piece of meat from the pampas). The common threads are big flavors and ample portions, and they keep people coming back for more. (JD) 2411 SE Belmont St., 232-4458. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Moderate-expensive. Wildwood Nothing too fancy comes out of Cory Schreiber's Northwesterly kitchen, and that's just the way he likes it. One of the leaders of the simplicity movement in town and a James Beard Award-winning chef for the region, Schreiber has made it his signature to present top-quality local ingredients prepared in the manner to which they're accustomed. A wood oven is used in many dishes to delicately keep the flavors in; the chicken is perfectly moist and paired with portobello mushrooms, sweet corn pudding and huckleberries in vinaigrette. This is one case in which the Schreiber system works best. The decidedly scenelike atmosphere at Wildwood is one of the few detractions; on more than one occasion I've received snotty treatment from a hostess. Still, you can't beat the skillet-roasted mussels or the highly reasonable brunch on Sunday. And of course, if you don't want to deal with the scene at all, there's that new cookbook of his. (CBB) 221 NW 21st Ave., 248-9663. Lunch and dinner daily. Moderate to expensive. William's On 12th Barely a year old, William's is coming along nicely. A storefront restaurant in an unlikely neighborhood, this Southeast space boasts an unexpected formality and tasteful elegance. The ambitious establishment serves lovely dinners, wisely keeping the menu short and manageable, with a remarkably intelligent and well-priced wine list. Some refined restaurants serve little appetite teasers to start with; William's gives you a palate cleanser, but not of the traditional sorbet--recently we were treated to a mid-dinner plate of perfectly roasted beets and fresh watercress. Starters might include a chilled scallop, shrimp and squid salad or a rich saute of wild mushrooms with summer tomatoes. William's still serves its bizarre baked brie and brown sugar (please, William, enough!), and the restaurant indulges the curious habit of offering the identical cheese platter as either appetizer or dessert. Entrees shine, especially wonderfully grilled lamb, tender duck breast and the crisply crusted sautéed sweetbreads. The plates are thoughtfully and uniquely garnished, with such choices as caramelized carrots and peach-fennel bread pudding. Don't miss the crème brûlée; when you break into the sugar it feels as if you're cracking through the ice in the Lake of the Woods, with the farm-fresh eggs lending an almost golden hue to the creamy interior. And the homemade ice creams are outstanding. All in all, this is a comfortable and charming dining experience. (RJP) 207 SE 12th Ave., 963-9226. Dinner daily. Expensive.   Winterborne Loyal devotees of this uncompromising little jewel of a restaurant actually look forward to winter. The gray rains of November that send top-heavy boats into the Pacific signal the return of crab juniper, and for Winterborne regulars, that more than makes up for the Oregon drizzle. For the uninitiated, crab juniper layers sweet Dungeness with slices of perfumy comice pear atop rice and a filet of sole or ling cod, with a bit of cream for a rich undercurrent. When leaves lie in sodden heaps on the streets of Portland, chef Gilbert Henry starts getting the calls: "Is it on the menu yet?" Alsatian-born Henry, who inherited crab juniper when he took over Winterborne eight years ago, knows better than to mess with a good thing. But he's put his own indelibly French stamp on the short, all-seafood menu. He sautés oysters quickly in hot clarified butter to give them a fleeting bit of exterior crunch while keeping them tender within, then serves the briny bivalves with an astringent horseradish mayonnaise. A bowlful of mussels marinière--plump, pale shellfish simply steamed in white wine with garlic and parsley--can make you believe you're in the Latin Quarter instead of Northeast Portland. Seafood cassoulet spins the classic bean stew of southwestern France with assorted seafood, most recently ling cod, scallops and crawfish tails, replacing the traditional duck, ham and sausage. Every entree comes with soup before and green salad after, the structural elements of a proper meal as defined by Escoffier to prepare the palate and aid in digestion, and diners are never hurried, even though there are only a handful of tables in the elegantly spare dining room. Gourmet magazine recognized Winterborne as a Top Table in 1996, and it's only gotten better. (JD) 3520 NE 42nd Ave., 249-8486. Dinner Wednesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday-Tuesday. Expensive. Yen Ha I don't know how they get away with it. The laws of science would suggest that coal cooking inside a not-so-large restaurant is probably not too good for the breathability factor. But since the health board ain't complaining, I am going to keep on enjoying this Vietnamese restaurant's specialty dish: marinated beef you cook on a Mongolian grill propped right up on your table. A neighborhood favorite as well as one of the most expansive Vietnamese places in Portland, Yen Ha is a place you can keep on rediscovering. The huge menu boasts some of the strangest dishes for the numbed American palate: How do you like your jellyfish, anyway? And if you have trouble deciding based on the written descriptions, take a gander at the barbecued chickens, ducks and miscellaneous parts hanging in the middle of the restaurant. (CBB) 6820 NE Sandy Blvd., 287-3698. Lunch and dinner daily. Moderate.