A ROTATING GUIDE TO RESTAURANTS WE LIKE Navigator: Northwest | Southeast | Northeast | Downtown/Southwest $: up to $15 per person, beverage and tip included $$: $25 and under $$$: $35 and under $$$$: above $35 WW reviewers have visited these establishments recently and can recommend them. The restaurant world is squirrely; please call for reservation information and hours. Northwest BAOBAB Baobab is a simple and unpretentious place in the small, comfortable spot where Square Peg--and before that a garage--used to be. The restaurant is filled with artifacts from Senegal, the country that sits on the extreme western bulge of the African continent. The menu is small--several starters, a handful of entrees and a couple of desserts--but includes a range of Senegalese cooking. African 422 NW 8th Ave., 241-0390. $$ PARAGON Chef Peter Dougherty is handy with the fresh, hot and now ingredients, and the menu has some seasonally rotating aspects. The staff is knowledgeable and accommodating, and the dining room is upscale but comfy. American 605 NW 13th Ave., 833-5060. $$-$$$ LUCY'S TABLE Seek out Lucy's Table for contemporary cooking with Mediterranean inflections. The dimly lit room, with pretty amber lamps, soft velour curtains and crisp napery, is a warm and slightly formal setting. International 706 NW 21st Ave., 226-6126. $$$ TAPEO Ricardo Segura has brought a little bit of Spain to his storefront restaurant, and the best way to start your exploration may be with an order of tostaditas de boquerones. Homemade bread is thinly sliced, toasted, spread with a tapenade of farga and manzanilla olives and topped with a shiny, marinated anchovy that will forever change your notion of the maligned little fish. Finish up with the best flan in town. Spanish 2764 NW Thurman St., 226-0409. $$$ HOYT STREET CAFE Ah, an oasis of humility in the flagrantly upscale Pearl District. Breakfasts, such as the design-your-own omelette, done-to-perfection fritatta and the Belgian waffle, are created with care. Lunches are good and hearty, focusing on piled-high sandwiches made with damn fine bread. Eclectic 1131 NW Hoyt St., 226-3451. $-$$ Southeast LA CATALANA Strong tastes pervade the dishes at La Catalana, the first among Portland's tapas restaurants. Don't miss specialties like the shellfish-packed paella and the kickass potato pie with aioli--you'll never look at scalloped potatoes the same way again. Save room for the caramelized crema Catalana or the house-made lemon ice cream. Spanish 2821 SE Stark St., 232-0948. $$-$$$ 3 DOORS DOWN CAFE 3 Doors Down is a treasure: a tiny, stylish bistro unassumingly tucked between a strip of shops off ever-frenetic Hawthorne Boulevard. An all-time fave is the penne with vodka sauce, with a slow-simmered gravy of plum tomatoes, cream, chili flakes, vodka and Italian sausage. Space is tight, and the cafe doesn't take reservations, but the staff is one of the friendliest around and will take care of you as quickly as possible. Italian 1429 SE 37th Ave., 236-6886. $$ ASSAGGIO Assaggio means a taste or a sampling, and the entire menu here is set up around this gracious concept. The highlight of the entree list is a variety of three pastas, selected daily by the chef. If you're not in the mood for small portions, any of the 16 freshly prepared dishes makes a perfect meal all by itself. Italian 7742 SE 13th Ave., 232-6151. $$ J&M CAFE Breakfast at J&M is a savory way to wake up. The high-ceilinged, airy interior is as comforting to the nerves as the carefully prepared dishes are to an empty stomach. If you skipped dinner the night before, you can feast on the black-bean-heavy breakfast burrito, the potatoes (a cheesy pile with salsa and sour cream) or J&M's signature platter of bacon and eggs smothered with fontina, cheddar and Parmesan. American 537 SE Ash St., 230-0463. $ DOTS CAFE The epicenter of collegiate cool, Dots is the place to scratch your itch for decorative kitsch and observe Trendus hipstera in its natural environment. Like the thrift-score decor, the menu at Dots hasn't changed over time. And why should it? Simple burgers, sandwiches and Mexican food keep the kids coming around. American 2521 SE Clinton St., 235-0203. $-$$ Northeast CHEZ WHAT? Chez What? is a quirky place to load up on cheap eats with friends. Breakfasts lean heavily on hearty egg-and-potato combos; a standout is Gigi's eggs, which come scrambled with red onion, garlic, mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, spinach, dried tomatoes, feta and scallions. Lunch and dinner choices are equally filling. Burgers, both beef and veggie, can be enhanced by the gnarly mix of grilled onions, garlic, mushroom, peppers and jalapeños. Save room for dessert, a changing menu of candy-bar-based concoctions. American 2203 NE Alberta St., 281-1717. $ PAPARAZZI PASTAFICIO The earth-toned interior at this upscale Italian restaurant is a soul-soothing oasis augmented by unpretentious, familial service. The menu mostly draws on the food of the Mezzogiorno--southern Italy's sun-kissed realms. The thin, fast-cooked and rib-sticking pizza scarfed by the ton in Naples leads the antipasto roster; a respectable set of husky risottos and gnocchi augment the joint's pasta/ravioli core. Try something that includes shrimp--the little guys have been delectably fresh and firm recently--and if you order a full dinner, the Caesar salad is far more interesting than the mixed green. Italian 2015 NE Broadway, 281-7701. $$$ RUSTICA ITALIAN CAFFE Rustica is a good spot for appetizers and wine before movies at the Lloyd Center or for full-blown leisurely meals. The solid offerings are everything you would expect from a neighborhood Italian place, and more. Italian 1700 NE Broadway, 288-0990. $$$ WINTERBORNE Winterborne is a cool oasis in the desert of contemporary restaurant hype, a throwback to an earlier world of tranquility and tradition. It is, of course, an old Portland fixture, where dependable, though hardly innovative, fish and seafood dishes have satisfied customers for years. Its new, decidedly French approach is worth bringing the restaurant back into the forefront of your mind. French 3520 NE 42nd Ave., 249-8486. $$$$ CANNON'S RIB EXPRESS There's barely enough room for three people to stand at the counter in this tiny rib joint, but that doesn't stop a line from forming around dinner time. Smoke pours from the 55-gallon drums out front, and you can taste it in the meaty pork and beef ribs. Southern 3328 NE Killingsworth St., 288-3836. $ Downtown/Southwest HOUSE OF ASIA More than its snazzy decor, House of Asia is distinguished by a dining-room kitchen, an open, stainless-steel fortress in which the native Cambodian chefs can showcase their flair. Knives chop-chop with an even, rhythmic beat just steps away from the tables; flames--controlled and otherwise--jump 6 feet into the towering oven vents; meats are evenly sautéed with that quick flick-o'-the-wrist exclusive to well-trained cooks. It's pretty sophisticated for a walk-in mini-mall joint, and the food, which covers many regions of Asia, is also surprisingly refined. Asian 7113 SW Macadam Ave. (inside Zupan's Macadam Village), 452-5002. $$ COUVRON Since they opened Couvron in 1995, chef Anthony Demes and manager Maura Jarach have established it as a French restaurant worthy of a growing number of local and national awards. Demes regularly outdoes himself with vertical, rococo creations Jean-Paul Gaultier would admire. The service is impeccable, and every dish here is an event worth experiencing. French 1126 SW 18th Ave., 225-1844. $$$$ PORTLAND STEAK AND CHOPHOUSE The tony decor, intimate booths, low lighting and hyper-attentive service make this the kind of place where power brokers and expense-account people can get comfy. But even better, the food is outstanding and unapologetically retro. Whether it's porterhouse, New York, sirloin, chicken, veal or fish, the portions are large and of fine quality. American 121 SW 3rd Ave., 223-6200. $$$ PLAINFIELD'S MAYUR Although meat dishes are served at this Indian restaurant, it is vegetarian heaven. Condiments are from the Bombay region, but the dishes have been selected from a fine-dining tour of all India. Start with the dahi wada, fried lentil balls in a pale-green yogurt sauce, and the tomato-coconut soup. Share if you must, but finish with the cardamom-rose ice cream with saffron noodles. Between courses, watch naan being thrown onto the side of a 1,000-degree Fahrenheit oven, visit the upstairs gallery or steal a look at the downstairs wine room. Don't be afraid to ask questions, as the servers here are courteous, regal and knowledgeable. Indian 852 SW 21st Ave., 223-2995. $$$-$$$$ RED STAR TAVERN AND ROAST HOUSE Rarely does homey food enjoy as grand a stage as the hearty spit-roasted meats and fried okra at Red Star Tavern and Roast House. There's no whiff of Delta Cafe whimsy here, and not all the cuisine is influenced by the bayou, but chef Rob Pando's Louisiana leaning is evident. Red Star's actual menu is oddly chatty--appetizers fall under the heading, "To begin, think big, start small..." and, moving on to salads, "Next step, it's a doozy..."--but once you've experienced the étouffée, it doesn't really matter. American 503 SW Alder St., 222-0005. $$$$   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published April 5, 2000