Neighborhood:
Alberta In the past dozen years, the Alberta-Concordia neighborhood has transformed from one of inner Portland’s last black neighborhoods, first into a refuge for fringe artists and finally into a less hippie, more hipster version of its Southeast Portland relative, the Hawthorne District. (read more) Alberta is still diverse, but gone is the heyday of the Clown House (a communal, bike-strewn freak-out home that once stood on Alberta), and the street’s gift shops and eateries seem increasingly targeted at a less colorful, more moneyed crowd. That’s not to say Alberta is a big co-opted bore à la the Pearl. Food is the top draw here—from the gigantic, Southern-fried breakfasts at Francis (2338 NE Alberta St., 288-8299) to the golden-brown, slightly spendy fish and chips at Halibut’s (2525 NE Alberta St., 808-9600). Alberta also has some of the city’s best taquerias, like neighboring La Sirenita (2817 NE Alberta St., 335-8283) and La Bonita (2839 NE Alberta St., 281-3662). There’s also more Thai food than you can shake a stick at, from bomb-ass red curry at Thai Noon (2635 NE Alberta St., 282-2021) to banana-roasted pork at upscale Siam Society (2703 NE Alberta St., 922-3675). For the full and the dieting, Alberta offers quaint gift shops galore, flush with silkscreened tees and crafty knickknacks. It also has one of Portland’s best new and used music stores, Trade Up Music (1834 NE Alberta St., 335-8800), and the very cool Community Cycling Center (1700 NE Alberta St., 288-8864), where you can cop a refurbed ’80s road bike on the cheap. If there’s a complaint to be made about Alberta, it’s that the entire street all but shuts down at 11 pm (unless it happens to be Last Thursday (artonalberta.org), when leftover revelers from Alberta’s monthly Art Walk often stick around well into the night). Even Alberta’s trendy bars generally close their doors early, making packed houses out of two cool, down-and-dirty watering holes, The Know (2206 NE Alberta St., 473-8729) and The Nest (1801 NE Alberta St., 282-0230). —Casey Jarman.
Featured in Restaurant Guide 2009
Whether you’re dining outside on the back patio or inside this spare, high-ceilinged space that was once a power substation, it’s hard to go wrong when you order in this Thai restaurant. Begin off the appetizers list by trying the grilled sausage in cabbage wraps served with ginger and roasted peanuts—a unique mix of crisp cabbage with tender sausage. The farmers market stir fry of seasonal vegetables goes well with the chicken, one of several options that include a seafood mix, prawns, salmon or tofu. All the dishes are filling, but that’s especially true of the curries—we liked the massaman chicken curry as a velvety and rich mélange. If you’re looking for a lighter menu option, try the lychee salad.
Order this: The pan-seared halibut in green curry and topped with fresh mango.
Best deal: Spicy green beans ($6.95).
I’ll pass: The calamari comes closest to a pass, not because of taste—it’s got plenty of bite—but because there are equally good appetizers for a lot less than $11.95.
HENRY STERN.
