Salt & Straw

Oh Salt & Straw...words cannot express how much I love thee. Oops, I didn't realize you were here. How embarrassing! But hey, if you have ever tried the delicious gourmet ice cream found at Salt & Straw, you would be able to understand my love affair for this innovative ice cream parlor. First of all, I should note that this place has been featured on Unique Sweets, so that's already a +1. After seeing pictures of their creamy concoctions, I knew I had to stop here when I was in Portland. Unfortunately, it seemed time wouldn't permit me to try Salt & Straw, but then all of a sudden while we were driving down Alberta, my friend was like, "What's that long line for?!" and I was like "OH MY GOD. IT'S SALT & STRAW." I guess God just wanted me to try this amazing ice cream.

We jumped in our car and stood in line with the other dozens of ice cream enthusiasts. I would say it took us about 30 minutes to get to the front of the line, which is probably the longest I have ever waited to eat ice cream. But it was amazing. Unfortunately, I couldn't get that many quality photos because of the dark dusk lighting, but trust me, this little ice cream shop was adorable. Unlimited samples to try any flavor, just be aware of all the people waiting behind you.

I ended up getting the Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper which was surprisingly amazing. It is well known that strawberry and balsamic vinegar go together like PB&J, but the black pepper just threw me through a loop. It was not overpowering, but you could definitely taste how it contributed to the overall flavor. Very nice. My friend got the Black Currant Sorbet, and my other friend got the Pear and Bleu Cheese. Everything was so creamy and delicious, it was definitely worth the wait. All of their ice cream is made fresh and is homemade, what more can you ask for. Also, where else can you say you tried black pepper in an ice cream?

Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper
(kids size)

La Cucina Ristorante Italiana

I finally did it! I finally went to La Cucina! After reading Grant Shindo's review of the place, I knew I had to go one day, and what better time to go than my birthday! Ahhh, yes I am now two decades old...time sure flies when you are in school.

Anyway, my family, Gavin, and I had a reservation on a Monday night at 5:30pm. Of course we pre-ordered the famous osso buco dish upon making a reservation here, as fellow Yelpers had recommended. Also, as a word of caution, be prepared to be at this restaurant for at least an hour and a half. There is one waitress/hostess, and one chef. However, this is my ideal dining situation because I feel like a good dining experience consists of great conversation and tasty dishes. No one should be in a rush. That being said, our entire experience took about 1 and a half hours.

Upon being seated, our herb/olive oil/balsamic vinegar dip was already waiting on the table with filled water glasses. Our waitress brought us our complimentary, fresh-baked bread. It was the absolute BEST complimentary bread I have eaten before, but it was warm, crispy, and fluffy. I had to have some serious willpower to not eat more than I should because I knew my osso buco would be coming soon enough.

My family and I decided to try the Crostini al Porcini and the Caprese for appetizers.

Crostini al Poricini [$8.00] 

Caprese [$8.00]

The crostini was definitely the popular appetizer of the night, I am pretty sure every table ordered it! Just as expected it was amazing, the mushrooms were so succulent and complimented the crostini nicely. The caprese was also very good, but I probably wouldn't get it again.

For the main meals we got the osso buco (veal shank), ravioli aragosta (lobster ravioli with vodka sauce), aio oio (spaghetti with garlic, parsley, olive oil, anchovies, chili flakes, capers), trenette norcina (homemade italian sausage, onions, mushrooms).

Osso Buco [$26.00]

Aio Oio [$12.00]

Ravioli Aragosta 

Trenette Norcina

I cannot remember the prices of the ravioli and the trenette norcina, and there isn't an updated menu on the internet, so my apologies! However, I know they were between $15 and $20. The osso buco was as amazing as everyone had said, definitely worth it and would highly recommend it to anyone that can afford it. The aio oio is definitely the thing to get if you are on a budget. It is probably the cheapest main dish on the menu, but it packed with lots of flavor. Simple but delicious. The ravioli sauce was great for dipping the complimentary bread in..mmm... The homemade sausage in the trenette norcina was amazing, and I don't even like sausage! Overall, we got a good variety of dishes. All homemade from scratch.

Because it was my birthday, my mom arranged for them to have a little birthday candle atop their famous creme brulee cheesecake! It was amazing! We also got their tiramisu which was also amazing. I am not necessarily a fan of cheesecake or tiramisu, but both desserts really impressed me and I had to stop myself from eating it all. The torched sugar on top of the cheesecake perfectly replicated the texture of real creme brulee.

Creme Brulee Cheesecake [$8.00]

Tiramisu [$8.00]

I apologize that the pictures DO NOT do this place justice. The dim lighting made for poor pictures, but you can get the idea of my experience. If you can afford this place, I highly recommend it. Prices are kind of high, but it is definitely fair. I loved it, my family loved it, and we will definitely be coming back. Thank you so much to La Cucina for making my birthday memorable for all of us.

Cart de Frisco

I regret that I didn't have a blog when I ate at this little cart because I wish that I could have posted my initial feelings. The story behind Cart de Frisco is that it is a little food cart (literally a cart, not a truck) that is parked outside of the University of Oregon gate near the Duck Store on 13th. When I attended the UO during my freshmen year, I had always noticed that this little cart was either closed or had a line. They would also participate in the ASUO Street Fair! Sadly, I never had the opportunity to try this deliciously messy food of the heavens until my most recent trip to the good ol' Eug.

So you're probably wondering "why Frisco?" Apparently frisco sauce is made red wine, olive oil, butter, thyme, and salmon bones! I am sure that everyone makes their sauce different, so I am not exactly sure how this specific cart makes theirs.

I went with my friend Carmen, so I knew we had to do the split technique so that we could try more things. I ordered the Chicken Sandwich and Carmen ordered the Frisco Noodle. You can customize how spicy you want your dish to be so I chose spicy and Carmen chose mild.

Chicken Sandwich [$6.50] 

Frisco Noodle [$6.50]

The prices were phenomenal! As you can see, both of the dishes were $6.50! Carmen and I only ate about half of everything! That's ridiculous, if you ask me. Everything was super tasty and hardy. My favorite dish would have to be the sandwich. I'm sorry, but nothing compares to the euphoric feeling of sinking your teeth into a delicious burger/sandwich and having the sauces just get all of your face and drip down your elbows. There wasn't THAT big of a difference between mild and spicy, but that can change daily. The only thing that could be improved is the flavoring of the noodles in the Frisco Noodle. The container that the food was in was so small that there was no way I could have mixed the sauce from the chicken onto the noodles without it getting everywhere. But that is just my first world rant, I should be happy that they gave me such a large portion!

Anyway, would highly recommend this place, especially if you are on a budget. It is superb as far as campus food carts go!

Addi's Diner

Last Sunday, we finally took a highly anticipated trip to Addi's Diner in Springfield, Oregon! Last year,  I heard a lot of good things about Addi's and their outrageous pancakes that I knew I had to go. Unfortunately, I never got around to it last year, so I finally got to go! Yay!

First off, Addi's Diner has the ambience of an old school 50's diner. Decked out with an old cash register, license plates on the walls, and even old parking meters on the tables.

The prices here are unbeatable! Especially for the $4.25 Hot Cakes!!! It will literally take four people to finish this pancake! It is amazingly huge, so the five of us decided to get our own dishes and just share the infamous pancake. I got a very uninspiring biscuit with gravy. I knew I wouldn't have room in my stomach for a full fledged meal and the pancake, so I went very simple. Other people's meals looked really good though! One of the tastiest things that was ordered was the Chicken Fried Steak with gravy, fried potatoes, and two eggs (sunny side up).

Chicken Fried Steak with 2 eggs and Fried Potatoes [$8.75]

My friend also got the strawberry lemonade which was pretty good. It was REALLY sweet, but the fact that there were actual strawberries in it made it forgivable. The best part was by far the fact that it was refillable!

Refillable Strawberry Lemonade [$2.00] 

 Now for the main event! When the pancake came, our jaws literally dropped. The thing was monstrous!

Hot Cake [$4.25]

Apparently if you finish one by yourself, you get a free t-shirt! Love this place, and I would return without a doubt. Friendliest service on the planet and one of the fluffiest pancakes I have ever consumed. I could have taken a nap on that thing! Alas, we were not able to conquer this monster even between the five of us (probably because we all had our own dishes anyway). Springfield always struck me as somewhere I don't want to be because it appears very dangerous, but I would risk my safety just to go get this pancake again.

Bún bò Huế Restaurant

Hey guys! So today we roadtripped it up to Portland from Eugene which took about two hours. There was some drama this morning. I LOST MY CAMERA BATTERY. The frustrating part was that I was holding it in my hands and then I got distracted (by lord knows what) and then when I remembered about my battery, it was gone. It's somewhere in my friend's apartment, but I ended up giving up because we needed to get on the road. We stopped by a Best Buy in nearby Springfield and I picked up a new (generic) battery! It cost about $54 (ouch!) and I got a little leash for my lens cap too which was about $7. I was so flustered, I almost had a panic attack due to all of the events that took place prior.

Anyway, after spending sometime at the local mall (Clackamas) we went to a small restaurant that has been getting rave reviews from the locals in the area. This Vietnamese restaurant is known as Bún bò Huế. Bún bò Huế is a Vietnamese soup that contains vermicelli noodles and is known for it's harmonious balance between spicy, salty, sweet, and sour flavors. 

Upon seeing this sketchy little restaurant on the corner of SE 82nd, I was honestly a little skeptical about the food. "Will I get diarrhea from this?" was my initial concern. My friends and I decided to go with the Bún bò Huế, for obvious reasons. 

Between the three of us, we were given three lime wedges, basil, bean sprouts, cabbage, and a heaping serving of a mysterious red tasteless veggie.

 Each bowl was adorned with cilantro and other spices along with thin flank steak, pig feet, this pork bologna, and congealed pig blood. I didn't eat the pig blood, but everything else was amazingly tasty. This was my first experience with Bún bò Huế, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. It was also extremely affordable and the service was very friendly.

Bún bò Hue [$7.50]

Bún bò Huế [$7.50]
with vegetables added

The ingredients were pretty fresh, the only downside was that the basil looked a little sadder than what I am used to. I would definitely recommend this if you are craving a hot bowl of some tasty Vietnamese soup on a rainy Oregon afternoon.

Little Big Burger

Currently, I am in Eugene, Oregon visiting my old friend. If you didn't know, last year (2011-2012) I attended the University of Oregon! I missed my friends so much that I HAD to come back and visit them. Slowly but surely I have been meeting up with all of the friends and we partake in my favorite activity, eating. On this particular day, my friend Keith and I went to "Little Big Burger." Now this place prides itself on it's fresh ingredients and slider sized burgers.

Burger flippin' goodness

As you can see in the background, the menu is extremely simple. You can either have a cheese burger (with Tillamook cheddar, bleu, chèvre, or swiss), hamburger, or veggie burger.

Menu

I got the cheese burger with chèvre, and it was amazing! I never had chèvre in a burger before, so I knew I HAD to try it. Apparently, you can request to get your burger "pink" or else they just prepare it well done, but I forgot to mention it because I was too excited about getting my burger. Nonetheless, it was still deliciously juicy and just the right size for me.

Cheese Burger with Chevre [$3.25]

Some may think that it is really expensive for what you get, but I believe it is fair priced. It's true you can probably get a bigger burger at McDonald's for cheaper, but would you really want to? I'll take quality over quantity any day. Plus, when you think about it, gourmet burgers usually run about $6-$9! This burger is more than half the size of a gourmet burger and still about half the price. I'd say it's a good deal.

Now arguably the most exciting part about eating at "Little Big Burger" are the truffle oil fries. Even if people don't like the burgers here, they definitely cannot resist the beautiful aroma and taste of the fries!

Truffle Oil Fries [$2.75]

I really enjoyed my experience at "Little Big Burger," but I had a feeling I would. The owners (or employees, not sure what they were) were SUPER nice! They let us sit and talk for like a good 2 and a half hours. While I was waiting for my friend I even just sat in their restaurant without buying anything for a good 20 minutes and they never bothered me. I would definitely recommend this spot if you are craving a good little burger and are near the University of Oregon campus! Don't forget the fries!

Oh yeah, they have their own special brand of ketchup they use too! It is a little tangier than regular ketchup. It's not for everyone, but you should try it!

Available for sale, too!