Postby SauceSupreme on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 - 1:24am I had a great lunch at Cafe Nell. After splitting a salad of shaved fennel and arugula (which could have been made particularly awesome if only there were some sharp cheese on it like an asiago), we had lunch entrees of grilled trout and chorizo and clams. The chorizo and clams were served with a big bowl of fries, which reminded me of In-N-Out fries and not in a good way, but they improved a bit when I dunked the fries in the liquor of the chorizo and clams. Honestly, why do restaurants serve me a bowl of shellfish without toast to sop it up? The chorizo and clams, though, were very good, but not nearly as good as the grilled trout. Served roughly whole (head but no tail), it was de-boned and stuffed with braised leeks and served on a bed of greens that quite possibly could have been round two of the earlier salad. The grilled trout would have benefited from a touch of lemon, but overall it was excellent.
Cafe Nell is one of the closer options to my apartment and among the better ones. They're open from 8am-10pm Tues-Sat, 8am-2pm Sun and closed on Mondays. The main restaurant area isn't quite my speed; for me it's the awesome bar/lounge area. Concrete floor, subway tile, dark furniture and a full bar.
Postby SauceSupreme on Thu Jan 29, 2009 4:44 pm
http://www.portlandtribune.com/features/story.php?story_id=1233183792567...
Honestly, I've never heard of Don't Order Trout At A Restaurant. Seems made up to me. But then again, I like to order pork knuckle soup and eat Malay burritos of Okinawan goat. I get pissed off when one of my favorite Italian joints doesn't serve chicken livers on Sunday. And my early contender for dish of the year is a Korean blood sausage. So let's just say that me and this writer at the Portland Tribune have, um, different palates.
Postby Tanuki on Thu, 26 Feb 09 - 1:10pm "Don't oreder the trout" isn't really a widely known restaurant wisdom but here is where it stems from...
often farm raised, cheap & tasteless.
Hence, often gets used by restaurants that feel they must derve a non fried fish option but don't care to put any effort or care in.
That said, I never order trout when out but like to put it on my menus when I can get good stuff and do good stuff with it.
Postby Dragondazd on Fri, 27 Feb 09 - 6:10pm Wow, I don't think I've ever had a 'good' trout so I avoid it.
Postby Tanuki on Sat, 28 Feb 09 - 10:30pm I bring in wild caught Tasmanian sea trout from time to time.
Delicious.
Um... I am apparently too stupid to get the quote function to work. The above statement was in regard to the "no good trout" from Dragondazd.
