JJ Bistro & French Pastry

Honolulu $$ *****
My family used to be regulars at JJ when it was just starting a few years ago, but now we only go about once a year. Since opening, JJ has doubled in size, hired new workers that I don't recognize, and has become renowned throughout the island. Fortunately, its chocolate pyramids taste the same.
Yes, that's right. CHOCOLATE PYRAMID - JJ's specialty and the reason why this place exists. Sure, JJ also has a small French menu for lunch and dinner, and, sure, there is a huge glass display of their other amazing desserts. But the chocolate pyramids are a must. These pyramid-shaped mousse cakes are for chocolate lovers only. There is a chocolate cookie-like texture layering the bottom. The rest of it is pure rich chocolate mousse, and the entire thing is covered with cocoa powder. Yum. The regular size can feed 2 people and is $4.50. JJs offers bitsize ones (but why would you only want one bite???), 1/2 a pyramid, and larger-than-life sizes that you should probably bring to a party so you don't die of chocolate right there.

JJ Bistro & French Pastry (Kaimuki)
3447 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
Mon–Sat 9am–9pm
Sun noon–9pm

town

Honolulu $$ ****
Unsurprisingly, town (yes, lowercase "t") is owned by the same guy that owns Downtown @ the HiSAM. town is located in Kaimuki, one of my favorite underrated neighborhoods in Hawaii, because of its array of eateries and unpretentious charm.
The atmosphere of town is quite different from that of Downtown. While Downtown is bright and airy, with lots of light wood tones and artwork hanging on the walls, town is darker with a more industrial feel (think stainless steel tables, concrete floors, dark woods). However, both have quirky light fixtures, and both are very appealing.
Similar menu as Downtown, but at town, since it's located in Kaimuki instead of in the middle of downtown, you can actually see the tomato plants growing outside (all their food is organic and many of the menu items are grown right in their garden). I ordered a grass-fed hamburger on potato bread and french fries. The hamburger was pretty good, nothing to get excited about, but the fries were great, just like the ones found at Kua'aina. Thinly-cut and salty, just the way I like it. Large portions - I took home more than half of my lunch. Even Chelsea brought home leftovers, and she NEVER has leftovers!
Overall, I prefer the food at town more than at Downtown, but the atmosphere is nicer at Downtown - plus you get to go to the free art gallery. Regardless, I always enjoy my lunches at these two places.

town (Kaimuki)
3435 Waialae Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816
Mon-Thu 6:30am-9:30pm
Fri-Sat 6:30am-10pm

Downtown @ the HiSAM

Honolulu $$ ****
Oh how I love museum cafés. This particular one is called Downtown (because surprise! it's located in downtown) and is located on the first floor of the Hawaii State Art Museum, conveniently nicknamed HiSAM.
My friend and I came here for lunch yesterday. Reservations are a good idea because it was pretty crowded. Clean, modern, bright wood tones, with art all over the walls. Typical museum café food: sandwiches, soups, and salads. I got the black forest ham and sharp cheddar panini. It came with a salad. The panini was great (crispy bread and lots of ham), but the salad was kind of disappointing. Oh well, I don't like vegetables much anyway. Our waiter was fun. My friend and I shared a flourless chocolate torte - delicious! I wonder what they use if they don't use flour?? Hmm I won't ask too many questions. It was quite filling.
Everyone else there seemed to be downtown workers on their lunch break, which makes sense considering its location. The panini cost about $10, and the torte was about $3. After eating, make sure to go upstairs to the free art galleries!
Downtown @ the HiSAM (downtown)
250 Hotel Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Mon-Sat 11am-2pm, First Friday 5:30pm-9pm

Screendoor Restaurant

Portland $$ *****
This is a lively Southern restaurant in the southeast. My friend and I came here for brunch on Saturday. According to online reviews, the food is great but the wait is long, so we expected to be waiting for about 45 minutes. Nope- after only about 5 minutes, we were seated right by the window.Screendoor is crowded, and crowded for a good reason. To start off, we ordered the biscuits and hot chocolate. The service is kind of slow, but I guess that's what to expect when the restaurant is packed. These were the best biscuits I've ever tasted! Warm, soft, with sugar on the top, and it comes with apple butter. I ordered my usual brunch: eggs, bacon, roasted potatoes, and toast. The eggs and bacon weren't as good as Gracie's or Mother's, but the potatoes were delicious. The best part was the portions: they were HUGE! My friend had ordered the banana french toast, which came with 4 slices, and she had only been able to eat one! I brought home over half of my meal for leftovers.
Since Screendoor is a Southern restaurant, there are some pretty interesting dishes, such as the fried chicken and waffle and, of course, grits. When you come, try to come with a small party so you're seated quickly.

Screendoor Restaurant (Southeast)
2337 E Burnside
Portland, OR 97214
Dinner: Tue-Sat 5:30pm-10pm, Sun 5:30pm-9pm
Brunch: Sat-Sun 9am-2:30pm
~$15 for biscuits, eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast, hot chocolate

Montage Restaurant

Portland $$ ****
Fun, loud restaurant with good food and even better prices. I've been here twice, the first time for their famous butter cakes alone, the second time for actual dinner. Depending on when you come and how large your party is, you will probably have to wait (they don't take reservations). As soon as you enter, you can tell this is one of those places that help keep Portland weird. The waiters wear dressed-down white tuxes, the music is loud, the walls are red, and there's definitely a religious theme going on with their artwork. Well, religious with a twist. My favorite painting is the huge Last Supper painting covering one wall. The space ship in the background should give you a sense of the restaurant's atmosphere.

The best deal would have to be the steak: $16.75 for a juicy steak, garlic mashed potatoes, carrots, and a small caesar salad. If you're lucky, you'll have leftovers, with which your waiter will create an aluminum foil sculpture for you to take home - mine was a swan!
Besides the aluminum foil sculpture, you also want to take home leftovers because you want to save room for the butter cake. Words cannot describe this butter cake. Some people like the soft, weightless center the most, others like the more textured edges. Regardless of which section of the cake you'd prefer, you will fall in love with this cake. Another great thing about this place is that it's open late (for Portland)!

Montage Restaurant (Southeast)
301 SE Morrison Street
Portland, OR 97214
Lunch: Tue-Fri 11:30am-2pm
Dinner: Sun-Thu 6pm-2am, Fri-Sat 6pm-4am
~$20 for flatiron steak, garlic potatoes, vegetables, cornbread, salad, butter cake

Veritable Quandary

Portland $$$ *****This is my new favorite place for lunch. Just as its website states, Veritable Quandary is a "dining oasis in the heart of the city." My friend and I came here for lunch on a rainy day. We were seated in the middle section of the restaurant, which looks a lot like a greenhouse, with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the greenery outside. The rain droplets sliding down the window panes and the thick white clouds encompassing the entire sky only added to the magical experience.
About two other tables were occupied the entire time we were there. I ordered the VQ Burger, which had white cheddar and aioli and came with wonderful peppered fries. My friend and I shared a tiramisu and hot chocolate for dessert. The food was delicious, the portions were huge (both of us brought home half our lunch), the atmosphere was relaxed and secluded despite its proximity to the busy streets of downtown, and the service was excellent.
My friend and I are definitely adding Veritable Quandary to our list of places at which we are going to become regulars.

Veritable Quandary (downtown)
1220 SW 1st Ave
Portland, OR 97204
Mon 12am-2:30am, 11:30am-2:30am
Tue-Wed,Sat 11:30am-2:30am
Thu-Fri 9:30am-2:30am
Sun 11:30am-12am
~$18 for burger, fries, tiramisu, hot chocolate

50 Plates

Portland $$$ ***

Oh dear... where do I start? 50 Plates is a perfect example of a place that focused a little too much on presentation and not enough on the actual food quality. My friends and I decided to try this place because it looked interesting. And interesting it was.As soon as you walk in, you see a map of the United States using each state's license plate. Like the restaurant itself, this was a cool idea. The whole concept of 50 Plates is that each dish is from one of the fifty states. Ironically, this concept was nowhere to be found on the menu, and to this day, I still have no idea what state my "Dirty Rice" Beignets represented.The atmosphere was modern and dark. As soon as we were seated at a table a little too close to two women who seemed to be on the verge of their mid-life crises, we were told that water was free. Wait a minute -- our water was FREE? Isn't this America? We soon learned that this feeling of ridiculousness would be the common theme of our dinner.Our waiter (who, according to one of my friends, is quite cute) brought us two jars of sparkling and still water, which were much appreciated. The bread (also free!) consisted of too-chewy sourdough rolls and tiny biscuits.I had read online that we should order many "Smaller Plates" instead of individual "Larger Plates," so we shared seven plates: Chicken Nuggets, "Dirty Rice" Beignets, Castroville Artichoke Rolls, Oregon Dungeness Crab Jalapeno Poppers, Cheesy Poofs, Roasted Mushrooms "Sam Ward", Patrick's Fries, and something else that I don't remember. The roasted mushrooms dish was the only one we really liked. The chicken nuggets, artichoke roles, cheesy poofs, and fries were pretty good, but the portions were small.
One of the best things about 50 Plates was the ending: while paying our bill, we were given literally a spoonful each of delicious chocolate ganache. Why couldn't the rest of our meal be this tasty? The bill came out to about $13 each, which wasn't a bad price for dinner in the Pearl, but nowhere near as good enough to make us ever want to come back. As my friend described it, we had just eaten at an overpriced fast food restaurant. I will say, however, that my friends and I had a pretty fun time critiquing it.
50 Plates (Pearl District)
333 NW 13th Ave.
Portland, Oregon
Mon-Wed 11:30am-10pm
Thu-Sat 11:30am-11pm
~$14 for sharing 7 smaller plates

Two Brothers Cafe & Grill

Portland $$ ***
My friends and I came here not even sure about where the Balkans was. And we're still not entirely sure. But we did have some pretty good Balkan food here. Start off by ordering a Cockta - Balkan Coke. Tastes better than Coke, but with no caffeine (so what's the point?). We shared cornbread & honey and the meat platter, which came with a nice variety of sausages, pork chops, french fries. The place could definitely work on its atmosphere, but the waitress was endearing.
Two Brothers Cafe & Grill (Hawthorne)
829 SE 39th Ave
Portland, OR 97214
~$10.50 for shared mixed plate, cockta, cornbread

Pambiche Cuban Restaurant

Portland $$ ****This is a fun Cuban restaurant located in lively Northeast Portland. It reminds me of Saburo's because you write your name on a list and wait for about 45 minutes before you are led to a cramped table in a loud, crowded room. Of course, it's crowded for a reason. Our waitress was great, and my Cuban sandwich and Mexican hot chocolate were delicious. Definitely a place for a night out with the girls.Pambiche Cuban Restaurant (Northeast)
2811 NE Glisan St
Portland, OR 97232
Sun-Thu 11am-10pm
Fri-Sat 11am-12am
~$15 for sandwich, hot chocolate

Mother's Bistro and Bar

Portland $$$ *****I was actually a little disappointed in this place - not because it was bad. On the contrary, I loved Mother's. There was so much hype around Mother's (Bill Clinton once dined here, my friends' recommendations, and online reviews), so my expectations were probably unfairly high. However, while eating there, I couldn't help but compare it to another one of my favorite brunch place, Gracie's; and I'll have to say that I prefer Gracie's.
Nevertheless, Mother's is a wonderful restaurant, and I will definitely be returning, maybe for lunch next time. I came here with a friend for brunch. I had eggs, bacon, and a hot chocolate - the same thing I always order at Gracie's.
Since I like lists, I will make one comparing Gracie's and Mother's:
Things better at GRACIE'S: hot chocolate, roast potatoes, toast, décor
Things better at MOTHER'S: eggs, location
Both had great but different atmospheres - Gracie's had a swanky Golden Age Hollywood feel to it, while Mother's had a cozy (surprise, surprise) motherly feel to it. Both were about the same price and both have reinforced my love for brunch.
Mother's Bistro and Bar (downtown)
212 SW Stark Street
Portland, OR 97204
Brunch: Tue-Fri 7am-2:30pm, Sat-Sun 9am-2:30pm
Dinner: Tue-Thu 5:30pm-9:00pm, Fri 5pm-10pm, Sat 5pm-10pm
~$15 for eggs, bacon, toast, potatoes, hot chocolate

Eleni's Philoxenia

Portland $$ ****

Nice Greek place in the Pearl District. Dark, loft-like space, with lots of mirrors and candles. You can also see into the kitchen, which is a nice touch. I accidentally ordered an appetizer instead of an entrée, but my three meatballs were surprisingly filling, which explains why I didn't realize my mistake until I got my check - $9 instead of $12. Not a bad deal. There is also another Eleni's in Sellwood with a much different atmosphere.
Eleni's Philoxenia (Pearl District)
112 NW 9th Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
Tue - Thurs 5:00 - 10:00 pm
Fri - Sat 5:00 - 11:00 pm
~$12 for pasta

La Carreta Mexican Restaurant

Portland $$ ***

Definitely the least sketchy place still open in Portland when you're hungry at midnight. It's a lively place, even late at night, with bright walls, Mexican pop music, and friendly service. The portions are huge.

La Carreta Mexican Restaurant (Southeast)
4534 SE McLoughlin Blvd
Portland, OR 97202

Saint Cupcake

Portland $ *****Saint Cupcake is a cute pink-and-teal cupcake shop in the Pearl District. It offers bite-size and regular-size, allowing you to try the many flavors that change daily. My favorites are the chocolate with cream cheese icing and the chocolate with hot fudge.
Saint Cupcake (Pearl District)
407 NW 17th ave @ Flanders
Portland, OR 97209
Tue - Thurs 9am - 8pm
Fri 9am - 10pm
Sat 10am - 10pm
Sun 10am - 6pm

Higgins Restaurant & Bar

Portland $$$$ *****
This is the best restaurant I have been to in Portland.

That being said, I've only been there once, and I could only afford to go there once because my friend's parents were visiting and paid for my meal. (Don't you just love parents?)
Cozy, elegant French restaurant located on the edge of downtown. I forgot our waiter's name, but he was fantastic. All I remember is that he's Scottish and obviously loved his job.

Another great thing about not having to pay for your own meal is that, for the first time in months, I could actually have a multi-course meal. My friend and I shared the oyster appetizer, while her parents shared the charcuterie plate. For my entrée, I ordered the special, which was the cod laid on top of a cloud of mashed potatoes and roasted carrots, drizzled with an apple vinagrette. De-licious! Dessert was amazing as well, but that was to be expected since I always love dessert.
Hopefully another friend's parents will come because I am dying to return to Higgins!

Higgins Restaurant and Bar (downtown)
1239 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97205
Mon-Fri 11:30am-12:00am
Sat 4:00pm- 12:00am
Sun 4:00pm-12:00am

Via Veneto

San Francisco $$$ ****
Proof that spontaneity often leads to good results. My friend and I were shopping on Fillmore and unsurprisingly became hungry. We wandered around, crossing the street and changing directions randomly. Finally we found our way into this cheerful little restaurant. Pale yellow walls, Italian food, and a smiling host - yes, this place will do.
The food was decent, but the service and atmosphere were great. The restaurant seems to be run by a boisterous Italian family, but I happened to appreciate their little bickering in the background. The owner walked from table to table, making conversation. When he found out we were from Hawaii, he pointed to the man a few tables away and told us that he was also from Hawaii. A few minutes later, he brought the man over. We discovered that the man and I lived only a few streets away from each other. Small world!

Via Veneto (Pacific Heights)
2244 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA 94115

Poleng Lounge

San Francisco $$$ *****
I have never seen so many young Filipinos in one restaurant at one time. This is definitely where most of the Asian population of USF hangs out at night. The most interesting Filipino menu I've ever seen, offering courses such as: Sizzling Sisig (Pork medley with coconut vinegar, onions, peppers, and fresh calamansi), Bo Luc Lac "Shaking Beef" (Tender marinated sirloin stir fried with nuoc mam red onions and peppercress), and Walu Kinilaw (Butterfish cooked in sugarcane
vinegar, lime juice and coconut milk, with thai chiles, toybox tomatoes and cilantro). I would highly recommend the crispy adobo wings, but everything was good and relatively cheap.
Poleng Lounge (Richmond)
1751 Fulton Ave
San Francisco, CA 94117
Daily 4pm-1am