Biwa

This was my second time to Biwa, and I am happy to give a glowing review! This place is a delight across all aspects. It is situated in a basement space, so walking down the steps gives an instant cozy vibe. To me, this is about as Manhattan as you can get in Portland, from a design perspective. The space is small and intimate, giving it an authentically Japanese feel, as you would imagine such places in Asia could be similarly situated. There is a certain sophistication and elegance in the clean lines and uniform wooden slat-style furniture/seating; very minimalist. In the main area, tables are lined along both walls, creating as much of an aisle for the wait staff as possible. There is a smaller secluded section to the right of the bar, and it appeared this may be the area for larger parties/reservations. Biwa is consistently crowded, so everyone has successfully learned to deal with the lack of space.

The regular bar seats as you walk into the restaurant are a great place to eat (especially when you don’t want to wait for a table, or want Happy Hour!), but the prime option are the four seats to the right of the bar, which are tucked away and sit lower to the ground, as well as offer a larger counter area for all of the food you will undoubtedly order. Total score if you can snag these. Either way, the bar area is fun to sit and watch the chefs and wait staff (you should see them make some of the cocktails – that is serious business!).

Everything on the menu is meant to be shared and enjoyed while drinking, as it clearly states at the top: “Izakaya – Meant to be shared and enjoyed with Sake. Izakaya are Japanese taverns.” The menu is separated into multiple sections: Cold (salads and cold appetizers), Hot (hot appetizers), Basic (standard Japanese fare), Yakimono (from the grill, traditional casual food), Soup & Noodles and Set Meals.

We went with the following (in order of appearance):

Sapporo Draft (2) – For some reason Sapporo just tastes fresher from the taps here…strange?
House Red Wine (2) – Nicely chosen by Biwa, hearty and smooth at the same time.

Seaweed salad - Mixed seaweeds & lotus lightly dressed

Tsukemono - Assortment of Japanese pickles

Lamb “Genghis Khan” skewers (2)
Beef hanger steak (3)
Note: All skewers simply include meat separated by onion slices. The meat is cooked to precise tenderness, and served piping hot and juicy.

Gyoza - Handmade (wrapper, too!) pork dumplings

Spicy kimchee greens – this was the special for the night, and included kale, tofu, and hard-boiled egg served in a spicy red ginger/garlic broth…amazing.

Rice - Kokuho, Kina’s pop grows it

And as if we hadn’t gotten enough just yet…

Chicken breast skewer
Oyster mushrooms – Fantastically seasoned, these were wonderfully meaty mushrooms.

There is literally not a critical thing could say about Biwa. Everything we ordered was of exceptional quality (unnecessary to add too much in my individual dish comments). This is a place you go and just order with no reservations, and just trust that every dish will exceed your expectations. The space is incredible, the food is perfection, and the prices are more than reasonable ($69 for all the deliciousness mentioned above…yes, you read that right!). Until we meet again Biwa…I can’t wait!

*Jayne

Lincoln

Another great restaurant located in the N. Williams area, Lincoln serves high-quality NW cuisine in high-style fashion. The restaurant is impressive as soon as you enter, with exposed wooden loft ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, and a sophisticated design. A deep red wall color is combined with dramatic light fixtures and understated fabrics/décor. The theme is consistently kept across the interior, creating the illusion of an even larger, unified space. Lincoln offers booth and table seating options throughout the main dining room, and there is a beautifully crafted full bar with plenty of seating to the right of the entrance (they also have adorable 2-seater tables lining the window in the bar area). Lincoln also has one of my favorite restaurant design features of an open kitchen, and offers minimal counter seating where you can dine and watch the chefs hard at work.

The menu is small and focused, with just a handful of options under each section of Starters/Salads/Entrees/Sides.

Starters – We chose the Thyme flatbread with pork cretons, chicken liver pate and dried plum conserva. This was the most spectacular dish of the evening, with the pork cretons stealing the show. Mixed with the sweet plum sauce and all spread on the warm, semi-salty rosemary flatbread bread…this was decadence.

Salads – We chose the Arugula with dates, blue cheese, celery and blood orange. A light, almost summery appeal, and for someone who doesn’t care for blue cheese, this salad more than satisfied my need for greens.

Entrees –
Armando chose the Hanger steak with blue cheese butter and onion rings. The meat was tender and cooked well, however, the portion was on the small size. The plate was mostly filled with a mound of onion rings. In this instance, less of the fried and more of the meat would have been ideal.

I chose the Petrale sole with speck, braised fennel and leeks. I did not expect this to be breaded (I should have asked, this was not their fault), but it did come covered in a light mixture of sorts. It was beautifully served on top of tender leeks, though I can’t say that I remember much of a fennel taste from this dish. The speck was an interesting accompaniment to the fish, and overall I enjoyed the quality of this dish.

Sides –
We ordered none. There was no need after our Starter and Salad, plus you are served a side with most Entrée selections. I should note that the Side options were impressive, so you may want to plan your ordering to include one (if you can skip the first two courses, good luck)!

Drinks – They offer nice selection of wine, and we chose the 2007 Elk Cove Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. I am never disappointed with a local Pinot, and this bottle complimented our meal nicely.

At this price point in Portland, competition is fierce. I struggled with my decision to give Lincoln three or four stars (this is when ½ stars are in need, but I like the challenge of the decision!). As an overall package, I decided that I have to give Lincoln four stars. Though it is not the best of everything, it does have some stellar elements to be admired: undeniably fresh and locally sourced NW ingredients (morphed into some fantastic menu items), an up-and-coming location, great ambiance, good overall customer service, and pricing that is in line with the Portland foodie ring.

As it claims, Lincoln walks the fine line between casual vs. upscale, comfortable vs. stuffy, and modern vs. old charm…this is indeed my kind of place.

*Jayne

EaT: An Oyster Bar

EaT is best described as just plain fun. From the laid-back, old school Cajun décor to the ridiculous assortment of oysters, cocktails and beers, this is a great place to relax and enjoy a night out. It is situated in the N.Williams patch of what I call “N.W goodness” – right down the street from Lincoln/Pix/5th Quadrant, and more. The area is lively and easily accommodates a night of progressive dining, as we did this fine evening!

The interior of EaT is spacious and filled with vintage chrome tables, wooden tables, longer tables for large parties (situated across from the bar), and some seating at the bar as well. There are old bar signs throughout, very eclectic, and they also have a flat screen TV for you sports junkies. It looks like in the Summer you would have access to the patio directly next door (can’t wait to check that out). We sat in a table next to the floor to ceiling windows and enjoyed the afternoon, it was perfect.

Service was friendly and attentive. We were warmly greeted as we walked in, and our waitress was helpful in choosing both beers and oysters. The menu here is solid, both for food and drinks. They have four rotating taps (decent light and heavier choices, all served in 10oz pours, which is SO much better to me than full pints), more beers offered in bottles/cans, and a full page of bourbon/whiskey choices. And then you have the oysters and food choices…what an assortment!

Drinks: Started with drafts (C-Note/Trumer Pils) and moved on to cans of Rainier – oh how I have missed you! They even offer coozies to keep your beers cold, which is so awesome… I am a total Midwest girl and we love our coozies.

Food: This was so fun to choose…we started with a dozen oysters, a mixture of all four types they were offering (sorry, I have no idea what the difference is between them all). They were served neatly arranged on a tray of ice, perfectly chilled, with lemon slices. Multiple types of hot sauce and full bags of good old saltine crackers fill all of the tables at EaT, which is a down-home touch that we appreciated. Next we each ordered an oyster shooter, mine the “Standard” and his the “Kentucky”. These were nicely spiced and went down surprisingly smoothly! Finally, we ordered some of the baked oysters, and of course these were phenomenal. We ordered 3 of the “Rockefeller” (Fresh Spinach, Watercress topped with Parmesan) and three of the “Bienville” (A rich Mushroom Béchamel with the Trinity). Both options were hot, creamy and decadent – a must try at EaT.

Another plus for EaT is that the pricing is so reasonable! Our bill for everything we ordered was $45…try beating that price for the quality of oysters we happily slugged down :)

You could enjoy this place with anyone – significant other, parents, large groups – overall just a great Portland spot. Another fun fact: we found out from the waiter at Lincoln that the Owner of EaT is a Southern transplant living out his dream with his restaurant in the NW – how great is that? EaT is highly recommended by me!

*Jayne