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

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

C'era Una Volta

San Francisco $$$$ *****
Amazing Italian restaurant in Alameda. Great food, great service, pretty yellow walls, yadda yadda yadda. A little on the pricey side, but worth every cent (especially when I'm not paying for it).
C'era Una Volta (Alameda)
1332 Park Street
Alameda, CA 945011Alameda, CA

Ala

Belly Timber

Portland $$$ ****

This is an interesting restaurant. Starting with the name, down to the menu, everything about this place is a little odd. For the atmosphere and food, the prices are reasonable. My friend's burger came with an actual beef bone that she was supposed to suck on. I won't be running back, but I will definitely return sometime to see what other strange things they'll do with their dishes.
Belly Timber Restaurant & Bar (Hawthorne)
3257 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97214
Tues-Sun 5pm-close
Brunch weekend 9am-2pm

Gracie's

Portland $$$ *****
One of my favorite restaurants in Portland. I've been here for brunch a few times. Gracie's is located in Hotel DeLuxe, which definitely has a Golden Age Hollywood theme going on. The restaurant is beautiful: lots of gilded gold and long curtains and mirrors. Great service, great food, and always empty (why???).
Their brunch is fantastic and a very good deal considering the service and atmosphere. I always get the eggs, bacon, potatoes, and hot chocolate. Their roasted potatoes are some of the best I've ever had- flavorful, crunchy, and mixed with yams and sweet potatoes. Their hot chocolate is also amazing (tastes a bit like Stumptown), and their toast is from Grand Central (need I say more?).Gracie's at Hotel DeLuxe (downtown)
729 SW 15th Avenue
Portland, OR 97205
Breakfast: Mon-Fri 6:30am-10:30am
Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:30am-2:00pm
Dinner: Daily 5:00pm-10:00pm
Brunch: Sun & Sat 8:00am-2:00pm

Papa Haydn

Portland $$$ *****


Hands down, Portland's most popular dessert place. I haven't tried any of their other meals, but Papa Haydn's desserts are definitely their specialty. For about $8 you can have an autumn meringue, cassata, boccone dolce, chocolate hazelnut torte, lemon chiffon cake. Every time I go, I have to first look at the dessert case and see which one I feel like having that day. Upscale setting. There are two: one in Nob Hill and one in Sellwood.


Papa Haydn
701 NW 23rd Ave (Nob Hill)
Portland, Or 97210
Mon-Thurs 11:30am-10pm
Fri-Sat 11:30am-12am
Sun 10am-10pm

5829 SE Milwaukie Ave (Sellwood)
Portland, OR 97202
Mon-Thurs 11:30am-10pm
Fri-Sat 11:30am-12 am
Sun 10am-9pm

23Hoyt

Portland $$$$ ****I came here once with my friends to celebrate the end of fall break. Located in adorable Nob Hill, this is a dimly-lit restaurant in which, as usual, I felt like the youngest one there. The tables are pretty close to each other, but luckily we were by a couple of nicely-dressed elderly women. I had a tasty scallop dish and finished it off with a chocolate tart. Entrées range from $20-28, and they offer a 3-course meal for a mere $25. 23Hoyt was a nice place to celebrate something special without completely breaking the bank.

23Hoyt (Nob Hill)
529 NW Twenty-third at Hoyt
Portland, Oregon 97210
Tuesday - Saturday, 5 pm

Plumeria Beach House

Honolulu $$$$ *****
This is my favorite restaurant in Hawaii - not necessarily because of the food (although, the food is great), but because of the fond memories I have of it. My family and I used to come here for many of our celebrations - Mother's Day, my going away party, Dad's birthday, etc.

Plumeria Beach House is in the Kahala Hotel, a laid-back, secluded hotel located in swanky Kahala. It's always fun driving past all the beachfront mansions to get there. Once you're at the restaurant, which is on the bottom floor of the hotel, you are given the option of sitting outside or inside. The entire restaurant is open, but you can either sit completely outside, shaded by oversized umbrellas, or inside under a roof. I always choose to sit outside, with direct views of the ocean.
I usually go for the brunch buffet, which is $30 for adults, $15 for children. The buffet is fantastic. A beautiful selection of pastries, meats (delicious bacon, sausages, pork links, ham), eggs (there is also a chef there to make any kind of omlet), pancakes, waffles, fruit, miso soup, rice, potatoes, and cereal.

The service is great and unpretentious. I have never had a bad experience here and look forward to returning this summer.

Plumeria Beach House at the Kahala Hotel & Resort (Kahala)
5000 Kahala Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816

Breakfast 6:30am-11:00am
Lunch 11:00am-5:30pm
Dinner 5:30pm-10pm
http://www.kahalaresort.com/dining/plumeria-beach-house.cfm