Andina

Portland $$$$ *****
Andina is an AMAZING Peruvian restaurant in the Pearl District. Unfortunately, it's another one of those restaurants to which I can only come when my (or someone else's) parents are in town because it's quite pricey. But every penny is worth it.
Colorful, loud (every night there is a band that comes in), and packed throughout, Andina is the place to be on a Friday night. We started off with some drinks. I tried the Inca Kola, which I guess is what the Incas drank before they all died out. It tastes almost like ginger ale, but it's sweeter and a prettier yellow color. The rest of my party enjoyed their drinks, including my friend who ordered an arandano, which is a raspberry drink. The bread was also interesting because it was served with three different sauces: a peanut butter and cheese one; a citrus one; and a jalapeño one. I highly recommend mixing the peanut butter and cheese one with the jalapeño one.
Then we had some appetizers. One of them was called "pulpo a la oliva", which is tender octopus slices cupped in fresh endives with Botija olive sauce. ($8.5) The second one was called "a la chalaca", which is sashimi-style fresh fish in an aji Amarillo vinaigrette, served with corn salsa criolla. ($12)
My main course was called "corderito de los andes", a succulent double rack of grass-fed lamb grilled to order, and served with a Peruvian yellow potato and two cheese timbale with a sublime roasted pepper demi-glace. ($27) Delicious! I don't eat lamb often, so this was definitely a treat. It came with two huge pieces of lamb, nicely arranged in a line with alternating slices of roasted potatoes. The cheese timbale gave the perfect kick to the rich meats. The portion was large so I get to eat my leftovers this week. Everyone else loved their meal as much as I did. Other recommended dishes: dorado al rocoto y kion (roasted mahi mahi over a shiitake mushroom, smoked bacon, and bok choy broth, topped with slivers of ginger, rocoto, and scallion basted with smoking sesame oil, served with asparagus-quinoa fried rice); conchas del senor de sipan (quinoa-crusted diver scallops perched on top of wilted spinach and potato-parsnip purée, with golden beet and crabmeat "cannelloni”, and a duet of red beet and passionfruit reductions); and adobo de cerdo (pork tenderloin quickly braised in the Arequipa style, with butternut squash and gorgonzola ravioli, green apple, and a tamarillo-rocoto “uchucuta”).
For dessert, I had "mousse de valle y selva", a tiered semi-freddo of velvety lucuma and espresso mousses, chocolate ganache, and crushed cocoa nib meringue, served with espresso shortbread. Tasted delicious, almost like a tiramisu dish. Another person in my party ordered the plato de crema quemada, which was three pots of crème brûlée, each different flavors: one rosemary, one orange, and none of us could figure out the last one.

All in all, this place is one my new favorite restaurants. It was my first time trying Peruvian food and, I must say, I am quite impressed. I wish I could back more often, but I'll probably have to wait for my parents to visit again (or someone else's parents to treat me).
Andina (Pearl District)

1314 NW Glisan St
Portland, OR 97209
Lunch: Daily 11:30am-2:30pm
Bar/Tapas: Sun-Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri-Sat 4pm-Midnight
Dinner: Sun-Thu 5pm-9:30pm; Fri-Sat 5pm-10:30pm
Happy Hour: Daily 4pm-6pm

Le Happy

Portland $$ ****
This place is very Portland, at least my image of Portland. Slightly grungy with a couple of hipsters working. This place has very good crepes, but I prefer to eat my crepes at cutesy faux-French places like Chez Machin instead of dark, oddly-decorated places. But that's just me.
I ordered the saumon fumé, which was great. It was a huge crepe with salmon, white wine gruyere sauce, and green onions. They have a crepe called Le Trash Blanc, which is hilarious. If I actually liked bacon, cheddar, and PBR (see, I told you this place is so Portland!), I'd order it. Sadly, like other things about Le Happy, it's just not for me.

So in conclusion, you should go to Le Happy because it serves very yummy crepes (and not because of the swanky atmosphere)!
Le Happy (Pearl District)
1011 NW 16th Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
Mon-THu 5pm-1am
Fri 5pm-2:30am
Sat 6pm-2:30am

Everett Street Bistro

Portland $$ *****
I'm actually not in the position to properly rate this place, considering I didn't have an actual meal, but my drink and free bread here have convinced me that I must return for a real meal.

My friend and I came here because she wanted a snack and I wanted a drink. We saw this place, and I had remembered being on its website, on which there were pictures of yummy breads. So in we went, expecting to buy a sourdough roll or something of that sort. It was only about 4pm, so we were the only real customers there. The setting is adorable - very understated yet elegant with large windows that allow you to check out all the cute (gay) guys walking around the Pearl District.
We ordered our usuals: my friend had her coffee, I had my hot chocolate. However, when I asked for a loaf of bread (don't judge me, that's really what I remembered seeing on ESB's website!), our waiter said that's not really what they offer here. So we looked at their menu. Eh. We weren't ready for a full meal. So we said never mind, we'll just have our drinks.
Despite not having a loaf of bread, our drinks were amazing. Their hot chocolate definitely rivals that of First Cup. In fact, I think it's better because it has a lovely aftertaste that I can't quite place my finger on.

The best part was when our waiter came out again and brought us some bread! I know that under normal circumstances, bread is complimentary with dinner (and sometimes lunch). But we had told him earlier we weren't interested in a full meal and just wanted our drinks. And he gave us a nice basket full of bread with olive oil and vinegar anyway. Yay!
So, Everett Street Bistro, we're going to come again when we're craving a large meal.

Everett Street Bistro (Pearl District)
1140 NW Everett Street
Portland, Oregon 97209
Mon-Thu 11:30am - 9pm
Fri-Sun 11:30am - 10pm

Indish

Portland $$ *****
Great food, nice atmosphere, good service, complicated menu. Indish is a tapas restaurant, which just means that everything is separate and they get to overcharge you for something silly, like rice. Nevertheless, everything we ordered was delicious.
My friends and I shared a tandoori chicken breast, pork balchao, bombay potatoes, basmati rice, and crispy grilled chapati. The chapati was definitely my favorite dish. It is a thin crispy yet soft, puffy bread brushed with butter and herbs. Then we ordered the chocolate pudding and mango cheesecake. There was definitely alcohol in that chocolate pudding (so it was good), but the mango cheesecake was a little disappointing.
Overall, this is a wonderful restaurant. Great for a date, especially if you're able to snag one of those loveseat couches. I'll be back.
Indish (Pearl District)
305 NW 21st Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
Tue-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm, 5pm-late
Sat-Sun 5pm-late

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

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

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

Sweet Masterpiece

Portland $$ ****
Wonderful little dessert place in the Pearl District. Friendly service, soothing atmosphere, great desserts. I order the chocolate molten cake every time.
Sweet Masterpiece Chocolate & Coffee Bar (Pearl District)
922 NW Davis St
Portland, OR 97209
Tue-Thu, Sun 9am-11pm
Fri-Sat 9am-12am

Kenny & Zuke's Delicatessan

Portland $$$ ****
Just like Mexican food, Hawaii does not have Jewish food due to its lack of Jewish residents. My friend introduced me to Kenny & Zuke's, and I instantly fell in love. Delicious bagels and latkes for breakfast at a hip, open restaurant near the Pearl District. I've only been there for breakfast, but their sandwiches are supposed to be good (and apparently as big as your head).
Kenny & Zuke's Delicatessan (Pearl District)
1038 SW Stark St
Portland, OR 97205
Mon-Thurs 7am-8pm
Fri 7am-9pm
Sat 8am-9pm
Sun 8am-8pm