Eleni Touhouliotis (photo by Frank DiMarco)

Eleni is a delightful woman, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that she is not serious.  She is serious about her restaurants, serious about good health, and most importantly, serious about good food.  In fact, it’s not just about food — it’s about life. At her restaurants in Sellwood and in the Pearl, she prepares Cretian-style food with an abundance of olive oil, garlic and fresh vegetables. With a full array of traditional, delicious and healthy options, one can explore the menu, or simply ask for her favorite dish, a kalatsounia (spinach, fresh dill and green onions rolled inside a covering of philo dough). The Eleni’s restaurant website reminds us that the traditional Cretian diet, with its emphasis on fresh vegetables, olive oil and small amounts of meat, is the healthiest diet on Earth. Eleni eats this way at home, and luckily for us, now we can enjoy Eleni’s restaurants as she shares her healthy cooking heritage with us.

When Eleni Touhouliotis left the island of Crete in 1974 and embarked on her journey to the United States, she brought with her a Greek cookbook which had been authored by her cousin. Not only was Portland a new place — without the culture and family of home — Portland was missing a few other important things.  Let’s just say that our ability to find a tasty olive, or fresh flat bread has dramatically improved since the 1970’s. We don’t need to tell you that Portland has truly blossomed into a wonderful place to experience great food. Portland turned out to be the right place for her, she was embraced, and has stayed.

Eleni is known as a hard worker, and has worked in Portland restaurants since her arrival.  Throughout the years, she has served delicious, healthy Greek food in her home.  Finally, the right opportunity came along and she is now sharing the food of her home with all of Portland, sharing her appreciation for the experience of eating together, and sharing good health and strength in community.

Greek food in Portland is now better than ever since she opened Eleni’s in the Sellwood area six years ago (Eleni’s Estiatorio), and a second one, Eleni’s Philoxenia, at 112 NW Ninth Ave.

SAMPLE MENU SELECTIONS

OREKTIKA appetizers

Fasolia Kai Rizi – $9
Scarlet runner beans and black beans sautéed with a combination of three rices, green olives, peppers, onions, garlic and fresh mint.

Melitzanes Yemistes – $10
Grilled eggplant stuffed with roasted zucchini, peppers, onions and garlic.  Baked with feta cheese and a roasted tomato and red pepper purée.

Horta Me Skordo – $9
Raddichio, baby spinach and chard sautéed with roasted garlic, fresh chile and kasseri cheese, sprinkled with dill and fresh lemon.

Spanakotyropita – $9
Spinach and Greek cheeses wrapped in filo dough and baked until golden.

Garides Me Manitaria – $9
Tiger prawns sautéed with mushrooms, green onions, garlic, white wine, crowned with a pinch of kasseri cheese.

Soutzoukakia – $9
Cascade Natural beef meatballs seasoned with fresh herbs, garlic and onion, served in a roasted tomato and red pepper purée.

SALATES salads

Selino Salata – $10
Shaved celery root, gran apple, pistachios and chives in a spicy lemon vinaigrette.

Lahano Salata – $10
Thinly sliced cabbage, shaved fennel and toasted almonds, tossed with olive oil, fresh lemon juice and smoked paprika.

KYRIA PIATE main courses

Makaronia Me Lahanika – $12
Diced eggplant, seasonal mushrooms, peppers, squash, spinach, kale, olives, capers and garlic sautéed in olive oil, finished with fresh herbs and served over spaghetti.

Makaronia Me Kima – $12
Cascade Natural ground beef simmered with peppers, onions, tomatoes, zucchini and garlic.  Lightly spiced with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and served over spaghetti.

Moschari – $18
Braised Painted Hills beef prepared daily with nightly features.

www.elenisrestaurant.com

Eleni’s Philoxenia – Pearl District
112 NW 9th Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
tel:  503 227 2158

Eleni’s Estiatorio – Sellwood
7712 SE 13th Avenue
Portland, OR 97202
tel:  503 230 2165

Dinner Only
Tues – Sat / 5 – 10

• Full Bar
• Exceptional Greek Wine List
• Warm Atmosphere
• Daily Specials

Marco Frattaroli is our food guide

Marco Frattaroli is a funny guy — both funny haha and a wee bit odd.  He is Italian — which explains a lot!  He’s also a gifted food guy.  He’s big on meals that taste good, an expert on ingredients, and exceptional with his cooking techniques.  He’s the perfect guy to ask about where to eat – so we did, and this is our first installment of Where Marco Eats.  Marco is quite opinionated which was the genesis of this column.  He suggested that HE really knew where to go for authentic, out of the ordinary, quality, delicious dining and that he would be  kind enough to share this information with us and our readers. We were delighted!  So we picked a date and headed out for lunch.  Since Marco runs a restaurant and is a parent, he often has to work or spend time with his family at night, so the best time to plan a meal with Marco is lunch.  He likes to eat late — 2ish and he likes to experiment with Asian dining options.  On our first installment of Where Marco Eats, Marco decided to introduce us to Cantonese food at Ocean City Seafood Restaurant. www.oceancityportland.com

Ocean City is an authentic Cantonese restaurant located on SE 82nd along a corridor of great Asian dining establishments. According to Marco, Cantonese food has gotten a “bum rap” in the U.S. because it’s not very spicy or flavorful.  They work with very few spices and very few herbs.  They try to cook by showcasing the primary ingredients. The lobster tastes like lobster and the squab tastes like squab. Most of the techniques and preparations that are used in Cantonese dining are used throughout most of SE Asia.  They use lots of combinations of cooking techniques including frying and steaming.

We decided to order fresh lobster, which was brought to our table, still alive, for us to meet prior to eating.  The lobster was used to make dumplings and salt and pepper lobster.

SQUAB
Before the lobster came out, we enjoyed squab.  The squab is served with all of the body parts including the head and beak.  The head is Marco’s favorite part and he chomps right in.  The squab is lightly steamed and then roasted.  Like most Cantonese food, it is lightly flavored.  It comes with salt that is ground with fivespice.  You can actually eat everything including the bones, but not the beak.

STIR FRY
There are all kinds of delightful ingredients in a Cantonese stir-fry.  There are little fried fish called fish bait, which are fried in hard wheat flour and rice flour.  There is dried squid and fresh squid, sea cucumber — sliced very thin — a little bit of jelly fish, and Chinese celery — a thin, aromatic celery.  So, lots of great flavors and a variety of unknown ingredients too.  Spring onions, two or three types of different mushrooms, and you can ask for it to be prepared a little bit spicy.  Marco explained that stir-fries done well have vegetables that are more delicately cut, thinly sliced — shredded rather than chopped.

Stir Fry

SALT AND PEPPER LOBSTER
Coated in a batter, deep-fried and then sautéed again with chili pepper, spring onion, garlic, salt and pepper.  Very simple and very good.

Salt & Pepper Lobster

XO BITTER MELON
Using the bitter melon, a common melon of Canton, the melon is stuffed with dried scallops.  The scallops are dried and then cooked until they are soft, made into a paste and then stuffed into the center of the melon.  The dish is then topped with a glaze made of house special oyster sauce.

LOBSTER DUMPLINGS
These delicious concoctions are made with wheat flour that is mixed with water.  The dumplings are sealed with a knife and a bit of oil. The lobster is then rinsed with salt water.  It is served with yellow chive.  It’s very light and a little bit sweet.

STEAMED FISH
Our final dish was delightful fresh fish from their on-site tanks, the famous tilapia — a fresh water fish. It has flakey, wonderful flesh and can be fried, steamed, or sautéed. Our dish came with a very light sauce — a sauce that has peanut oil, small amount of caramelized sugar, fresh shredded ginger, spring onions and cilantro. It’s very simple and very good

Steamed Fish

As lunch was winding down Marco began to philosophize on the state of the food world.  Marco feels that if we are eating wild food that we should eat a wider assortment of items so that we don’t deplete one stock of halibut or whatever. Being aware that something was once living and now was providing your nourishment is very important…deep thoughts from Marco Frattaroli.  Check out Marco’s restaurant, Bastas, on NW 21st.
bastastrattoria.com

Alexis Restaurant is a great place for families to gather

Alexis Bakouros came to the United States at age 15.  He was penniless and didn’t speak the language but he is the epitome of the American Dream.  He’s now quite well off, spends his summers in Greece, and lives in a big house with his beautiful wife.  He started his empire washing dishes in a Greek restaurant and soon saved up enough money to start his own restaurant. He then saved up enough to buy the building on Burnside and NW 2^nd.  Then he started a food import business, using his Greek contacts to import olive oil and olives. That business started growing faster than his restaurant business and soon he was buying a warehouse located at inner SE.  He now has real estate on both sides of the river and a food import business that is expanding into big corporate opportunities in Seattle.

He’s a very fun man and is no stranger to enjoying great food and wine. As he sells to all of our local restaurants, he is frequently out on the town and is an expert on who’s doing what in the Portland restaurant scene.  He’s an active member of the Greek community and a family man.  He and his beautiful wife have two children (a boy and a girl) and one grandchild (a boy).  His son, Sotiri, works on the family business with him.  Sotiri is a good local guy who appreciates the opportunity to work with his dad.  Alexis also employs several folks who all think he’s a great boss.  He outfits them with iphones and let’s them drive company cars.  He’s a big sponsor of the annual Portland Greek Festival and active in the Greek Orthodox Church.

Overall, Alexis is a great guy, who is fun to break bread with and he’s never afraid to order a nice bottle of wine.  He’s a wonderful story of hard work and reinvestment in the community. We toast to his success, are happy to consider him a friend while hoping to emulate.

Meat Bread Cheese photo by jonathan shields

Portland’s sandwich culture is booming.  Along with the recession comes the desire to feed oneself for only $5 – just look at the popularity of the food cart business.  And since Portland is a “food town” it makes sense that even though we don’t have much money to spend, we want good food.  Besides the more we save on $5 meals, the more we can splurge on the various wine dinners offered throughout town.  So we set out to learn more about the sandwich business, find out who’s running it and why they choose to spend their time creating simpler delicacies.

Our first stop was Meat Bread Cheese (http://www.meatcheesebread.com/) located on SE Stark near 14^th.  While this location is not far from Crack Head Park, the neighborhood has come a long way in the past few years and it’s no longer scary.  In fact, John Stewart, the proprietor of MBC, has not had a lick of trouble in the last two years since he opened.  John has been in the kitchen for fourteen years and always wanted his own restaurant.  He felt that there were not enough good, cheap food options and his goal was to bring fine dining to the sandwich.  One of the more popular sandwiches is the “Park Kitchen” and yes, it’s named after the restaurant.  The sandwich mixes flank steak, pickled onions, blue cheese aioli and greens on a ten-grain ciabatta bun.  John used to work at Park Kitchen and at the end of the night the staff would dine on what was left over which usually included a salad that they would incorporate into a sandwich.  Another popular item is the Breakfast Burrito, which is served all day (until 7PM) for those who enjoy breakfast in the afternoon.

From there we moved on to popular “deli style” restaurant, Kenny and Zukes (http://www.kennyandzukes.com/), and got to know pastrami dude, Ken Gordon.  Ken is a New Yorker, which is obvious, but with that attitude comes some pretty delicious meat.  He calls his pastrami “meat crack” and started selling it at the Hillsdale Farmers Market while he was running Ken’s Place, in the space that would eventually become Sel Gris.  The pastrami was so popular at the farmer’s market that they would sell out within twenty minutes of being open.  Ken parleyed the farmer’s market success into Kenny & Zukes, which ended up having an ideal location at the base of the Ace Hotel near SW12th and Burnside – they benefit from Pearl proximity without Pearl rents prices.  But the real story of Kenny & Zukes is the pastrami.  Their meat comes from the Cascade Farms Natural Beef Co-op, it then goes down to Carlton to be brined according to the Kenny & Zukes recipe and technique for five days, and then it’s delivered back up to the restaurant in Portland.  From there, they smoke it for ten hours over oak on site.  2,000 lbs. per week on average sold can’t be wrong.

Of course, we couldn’t write about sandwiches without mentioning the old standby and favorite of Menu Guide staffers, which is the deli at City Market on NW 21^st Avenue.  The operation is the former Viande Meats and Sausage crew minus owner Benjamin Dyer.  It’s now call Chop Butchery & Charcuterie (http://chopbutchery.com/) and is owned by Eric Finley and Paula Markus who have manned the counter for years.  They are extremely friendly and knowledgeable and will help you plan dinner or just fix you a sandwich.  Both have been cooking their entire careers and are thrilled to now be running their own show. Their meat is locally sourced and almost everything behind the counter is made on site.  They are best known for their housemade sausage, charcuterie and pâté – however their sandwiches rock with generous portions of freshly sliced meat.  Our favorite is the Italian.

Now. Go. Eat.

I’ve been to a lot of coffee shops in this town, and honestly, I think Portland certainly is a great place to love coffee.  It’s also difficult to stand out, with so many excellent places to experience the wonderful drink.  Heart has done so, by being quietly and respectfully dedicated to the art and science of coffee. This coffee shop is at once a museum and living homage to coffee. At first I was startled by the large roaster in the center of the seating area, but soon realized that Heart shares each step of the way with you, and seeing the roaster is just a part of the experience.  This coffee shop is well appointed with historical pictures, maps and antique fixtures, the décor provides an appropriate context for the discovery (like Christopher Columbus discovery) of coffee.  Set up like a laboratory, you can watch the process of coffee making unfold in front of you. Built in 1953, the roaster noisily brings out the delicious flavor of the coffee bean several times a week.

Heart is located conveniently on East Burnside, and this certainly the place to go if you’re excited about coffee.  For every type of coffee consumer, at Heart you can ask for your espresso skimmed (and they’ll know what you mean) or you can just get a nice cup of coffee from a bean that has been thoughtfully sourced, roasted a few yards away, and artfully brewed to perfection.

2211 E. Burnside; Portland, OR 97214

Hours:
7 AM – 7 PM Everyday

Also try Heart roasted coffee at these local restaurants: Ned Ludd · 3925 NE MLK Jr. Blvd  · www.nedluddpdx.com, June · 2215 E. Burnside St. , The Farm Cafe · 10 Southeast 7th Avenue  · www.thefarmcafe.com Juniors Café · 1742 SE 12^th Ave

Gabe Rucker is an interesting character and thus draws interesting characters to his second restaurant adventure, Little Bird. Gabe attracted national attention when he opened Le Pigeon on E. Burnside a few years ago.  He’s that young, good looking, overly tattooed, trucker cap wearing, scotch swilling total sweetheart who got to be on the cover of Food & Wine.  His food creations are amazing albeit rich and super high in calories.

French style is the name of the game at both Le Pigeon and new shop, Little Bird.  We could not be more thrilled to have a restaurant of this caliber in the SW Downtown area. Business people rejoice that they can grab an amazing lunch, a glass of wine at 3PM or a burger at 5PM.  The location is directly across from Big Pink (the US Bank Building at SW 6^th & Burnside) so it’s on the MAX line and easily accessible from any point in downtown.

Gentle jazz music fills the air and the crowd is eclectic. That evening was a Wednesday night when they do their wine flight specials which is a fun way to explore different types of wine.  The staff is a delightful mix of alumni from top-notch establishments and your experience at Little Bird will include spot on service.

Be sure to enjoy the burger, it’s the same burger you can get at Le Pigeon except the plan is to never run out at Little Bird.

SAMPLE MENU SELECTIONS

APPETIZERS

Steak tartare $12
farm egg, grilled baguette

Potted duck liver $11
duck gelée, pickled plums

Crispy Beef Tongue $10
glazed cippolini, sherry

Escargot $12
garlic cream, gougères

Sweetbreads $11
roasted mushrooms, marrow onion purée

SALADS

Field Greens $7
banyuls vinaigrette, Le Chevrot

Beets $9
mâche, hazelnuts, goat cheese cream

Butter Lettuce $8
roquefort, tomato

ENTREES

Grilled Flatiron $22
truffle creamed spinach, pickled onion rings

Grilled Tombo Tuna $23
fennel confit, grapefruit butter, citrus salad

Grilled Trout $17
almond purée, green bean salad

Braised Lamb Shank $22
flageolet beans, persillade

Coq au Vin $17
potato purée, chicken liver toast

Duck Confit $20
lentils, garlic-scallion pistou

SANDWICHES

Baguette $7
Jambon de Paris, gruyere, dijon, greens

‘Le Pigeon’ Burger $12
fries or lettuces

We wouldn’t label Todd Miller a sentimental man, but he does take the experience and wisdom of his elders to heart. His father taught him to live by the George Bailey (It’s A Wonderful Life) philosophy: If you do a bit for your community, and you’re nice, you’ll be respected and, most important of all, have friends. Throughout his life, Todd Miller heeded this advice and created Life of Riley with this guiding concept in mind.

One rainy night in 2006, when Todd Miller spotted the available restaurant on the corner of 10th and Everett, he knew it was the perfect spot for a neighborhood joint – the likes of which you find in the heart of neighborhoods in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago or New York. You know the spots – the place you can go in, day or night, in chic or workout attire, and not get the “what is s/he doing here” once over from anyone.

Essentially, Life of Riley is the spot where customers check their social labels at the door and get to simply be. (So refreshing!) It’s a unique restaurant culture intentionally fostering the inter-generational, inter-financial co-mingling. It’s a community spot where urban dwellers, regulars, first-timers and tourists are welcome. On any given evening, you’ll see regulars range from 27 to 72 years of age. You’ll see retired couples, recently married couples and art school colleagues in the mix, enjoying an end-of-the day drink or the fine fare.

Life of Riley isn’t comfortable encouraging cliques – it’s for the any and the every person. You’re always welcome at Life of Riley. Always. It’s a restaurant designed to provide quality food, excellent, personable service, where everyone is comfortable and welcome.

Now, about the name…

The idea to call the restaurant Life of Riley came from Todd’s grandfather who used it as his leading principle in his own life. For him, it was important to live an ideal, contented life, a life in which one doesn’t take herself/himself too seriously, where there is time to stop and enjoy the moment, and other people. The point is to live relaxed, and not to take one’s self too seriously. Todd’s grandfather believed in a balanced life well lived, and Todd does, too.

Well done, Todd Miller. Life of Riley is a reprieve from a hectic world. Remember this the next time you walk into this cozy “every persons” neighborhood restaurant: you’re always welcome, all the time.

It’s easy to envy Micah Camden as he’s launched several successful restaurants in Portland, he’s young, smart and good looking.  I first met Micah when he was opening Cobra’s and Matadors with Steven Arroyo of Los Angeles.  Steven was running several successful outposts in the southland and Micah was heavily involved with the opening of C & M in Portland.  Micah has always had great taste in food.  I remember fondly eating Spanish cheese drizzled with honey while sipping on a Spanish white at that jinxed location.

Cobra’s & Matadors failed but Micah had already moved on to do his own thing, with partner Dayna McErlean,  which was to open Yakuza a modern sushi restaurant on N. Killingsworth, where most of his empire is located today.  Yakuza is a very cool restaurant where you can enjoy fresh and inventive dishes and cocktails.  The décor is super sleek and modern with wooden block style tables and Japanese style murals along the walls.  The food is delish and includes traditional sushi favorites as well as one of the best burgers in Portland four years straight.

From there Micah & then chef Naomi Pommeroy (she recently bought him out in 2010) opened media darling Beast to both local & national acclaim, including the Oregonians 2008 co-restaurant of the year shared with Gabriel Ruckers’ Le Pigeon.

After the success of Beast, Micah & Dayna wanted to open a restaurant that would compliment but not compete with the other restaurants. D.O.C is a jewel box of a restaurant serving farm fresh Italian inspired dishes to customers in plain view of the really open kitchen (customers actually enter directly into kitchen before being sat at a table).

From there Micah tried his hands at a short lived British pub called Fats, but alas the concept hadn’t taken off like the other restaurants. He ended up selling the concept and moved on to his current project in the Pearl District with Little Big Burger, together with soon to be wife Katie Poppe. They developed LBB to be a quick, quality & affordable option for people looking for a quality burger on the west side of the Willamette!

If Café Mingo is the plump, reliable older sister where you go to get a “yes” out of a marriage proposal then Bar Mingo is the younger brother where you take your beloved every other Friday night.  Bar Mingo is younger than Café Mingo, more casual and less expensive with the same neighborhood “see and be seen” atmosphere as Café Mingo and Serratto.

The atmosphere is upscale NW where you’ll find yourself sitting next to West Hills types with successful careers.  You’ll want to freshen up before hanging out in the warm, modern lounge decorated with floral accents. The food and wine are the big draws at Bar Mingo. Chef Jerry Huisinga is a fantastic chef and Michael Cronan is a phenomenal restaurateur so there are no flaws their execution. The food is simple Italian. Focused on simplistic flavors. We tried the sausage. It was filling and we also ordered the Lamb meatballs – it was a high protein night – but they do have delicious salads and homemade pastas if you’re not into meat.

What’s interesting about this restaurant is that the price point is really reasonable.  You can eat expertly prepared, simple, exquisite food for $5. Seriously. It could be chalked up to Cronan’s restaurant expertise and economic timing. Wouldn’t put it past Cronan to open a reasonable, upscale lounge just when the public demand for lesser prices without compromising experience would be at an all time high.  After all, he is the Portland restaurant godfather.

We spoke with a couple of frequent diners who told us that they crab salad was a “destination salad” and that they love the mussels. The wine list is excellent and crowd is of mixed ages throughout the night with older people eating early while younger people are trying taking advantage of filling up at happy hour.  Later in the night turns more party atmosphere but the delicious dining is available all night.

Cathy Whims started dancing in college. The dance type was jazz infused with modern dance and ballet. The school was Portland State University. This former Latin major gone dance major was smitten with the grace and performance of dance movement. Cathy remembers her last dance class – the focus was African American literature and dance. The goal was to study the story the literature told through the rhythm and syncopation of the writing.

Even as she embarked on a career as a restaurateur and a James Beard award-winning chef, she always maintained a foot in the dance world. Eventually, Cathy found herself a restaurateur and James Beard award-winning chef. Yet she always maintained a foot in the dance world. Today, Cathy dances, specifically hip hop.

Cathy pointed out that there are actually many parallels between dance and the nightly orchestration of a restaurant. This was a fascinating connection – one I had never pondered. “There is a rhythm in the movement of a kitchen and restaurant floor,” Cathy posed.

She continued explaining that the fluidity of one body moving around another, both in the kitchen and on the floor, is crucial. A well run restaurant, at the height of an evening, runs at top speed, like the pinnacle of a dance. It’s exciting and compelling, a time when required syncopation requests bodies to work around each other in a perfectly choreographed dance to greet and seat customers or deliver piping hot plates. It’s this feeling in the body where speed and control balance during self expression which addicts dancers and waiters alike.

As a dancer, one gets addicted to the feeling of speed and control of self-expression. Wait staff are addicted to being slammed, the busy-ness of a dinner rush, and keeping up on orders. When an evening is not syncopated, both dancers and waiters know the night is bound to go badly quickly. And like a dance performance, an evening at a restaurant is not fixed in posterity; each night requires a re-execution of an interactive dance where chefs and waiters perform while customers react.

Who knew dancers and waiters were kindred souls? And then, there’s the passion.

Cathy does everything passionately. As a dancer, she read through hundreds of books on dance at Powell’s, often until close. Nostrana has not been spared this dedication. As much as Cathy wants to read a novel, it is hard for her not to devote time to reading cooking literature – because there is always room to perfect, right? When you’re at the top of an artistic profession the pressure rises and you have to maintain form – a reminder to self of the passion that once lead to the chosen path, project or profession. As Cathy put it, when the alarm goes off, we all have to reinvigorate ourselves with something inspiring to keep us in the game.

I asked Cathy to choose a musical genre best depicting an evening at Nostrana. Her quick answer was “jazz,” improvisation within a structure which always changes and never repeats.

Cathy closed the interview with the statement, “All good dance art is pure,” which she likened to the food served at Nostrana.  Like good dance doesn’t require ornate costuming, nor does good food. Cathy takes pride in removing all the unnecessary fuss so the fresh ingredients speak. What one sees on the plate is integral, a showcase of only what is there, and what needs be there.

For Cathy, cooking is about keeping a dish true to its origins and ingredients. This approach is an unveiling and a stripping away. Paul Bertolli described the process “Cleaning the Fresco,” also the title of a chapter title in his book “Cooking By Hand” [2003]. In his words it means, “food grounded in a tradition yet enlivened by the act of greeting the process and the ingredients anew.” Boiled down, it means honoring yet advancing food traditions at once.

“It’s quite similar to modern dance and modern ballet,” states Cathy. With this comment she was, literally, off to a show.

Welcome, guests, to Teatro Nostrana. Please follow me to your seats. Tonight’s show? Insalata Mista, Squash Ravioli paired with a glass of Rosso di Montepulciano performed by Cathy Whims. Enjoy the performance.