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Restaurant Reviews
On Friday night, Bart and I went to Tacqueria Nueve, 28 N.E. 28th, one of the two rising stars listed in the Oregonian's Diner pullout. The place was full and there was a long wait, even at 9 p.m. (They close at 10 p.m.) We finally got a table at about 9:45 p.m. We started with appetizers: grilled shrimp with a guacamole tostada and a nopalitos (cactus) salad, which really was a tostada. Both were excellent. "They were like nachos, but really good," Bart said, as he sipped his creamy Hale's. After consuming those two items, I couldn't wait to have our entrees. Bart ordered the chile rellenos plate and I just ordered a carnitas taco, which on the menu, was annotated as being wild boar. Very exotic. We got the food and were slightly disappointed. The carnitas was extremely dry, but still edible. Granted it was the end of the night, but still...The chile rellenos came with rice and beans. The cheese inside was good, but the chiles should not have come sitting in the pool of pineapple sauce, which was too sweet. May have been better if the sauce came on the side. The overall atmosphere and ambience was all right, but the decor and environs were bordering on tacky. The furniture and some of the accoutrements were stereotypical of a Mexican restaurant.
Rating=2 out of 4 stars


Other recently visited restaurants:


Delta Cafe
Still one of the best bangs for your buck. Great southern-style home cooking with large portions that will send you home satisfied and ready for a nap. Kitschy/hipster atmosphere. My favorite is the fried chicken. Rating=***


Mint
Fairly new restaurant that presents a nueve latino menu. The drinks are creative and spectacular except for the blood orange concoction that I tried recently. Great modern/minimalist design inside with good music too. Very nice mood and ambience. The food was excellent, but not many vegetarian options. The sopes were delicious and so was the red snapper. Rating=****


Pambiche
Portland's only Cuban restaurant. I love everything about this place! Always a huge wait since it's so small, but well worth it. Lunch seems to be the real value since all the same things are offered as at dinner, but a few bucks cheaper. Highly recommend the pork and the tostones. Rating=****


Cafe Castagna
Right next door to Castagna, its more upscale, expensive sibling, Cafe Castagna was impressive and enjoyable. Fresh ingredients and a very nice space. Had a great chickpea, chard, and chorizo soup! Rating=****


Still dying to try: Fratelli, Mother's Bistro, Caprial's, Fusion, Paley's Place

Portland has technical difficulties with its star

Rasheed needs to turn his rage into something more productive for the hometeam.

Psychoexgirlfriend.com scares me.

I refuse to buy a PDA. However, if this really does come out from Apple, I may reconsider.

Time passes so quickly. I can't believe it's already Thursday.

I finally saw Memento this weekend, opening weekend here in Portland. I meant to see it in NYC when I was there, but never got around to it. I have been dying to see this movie since I heard about it back in December. I really enjoyed the story and thought I was on top of things until the very last scene, which completely confused me. One local reviewer commented on how the movie made him seem to lose his own memory. I felt the same way. I found myself going over the entire story in my head several times after, confirming or refuting the actual sequence of events. The only solution would be to see the movie a few more times.

I want to see Radiohead in concert. Now.

After perusing megnut and kottke.org, I realized how in agreement I am with them concerning listening to authors read their work. While on spring vacation, I read AHWOSG and was mostly amused and touched by Dave Eggers' story. Sometimes though, I was also impatient with his flashbacks and intertwining of the past with the present. I have heard reviews of his readings, and have only heard positive things about him. I think if I were to attend one of his readings, my opinion of his book would change immediately, as well as inspire me (like megnut said) to do more of my own writing. The last authors I saw, who inspired me, were probably Chuck Palahniuk and David Sedaris. Extremely bright, charming, and witty individuals.

Portland, Seattle most wired U.S. cities
We just need PDX set up for wireless access now.

Portland suspends Wallace for inappropriate conduct

It may be too late in hopes of salvaging Portland's playoff chances. I think some blame does need to be headed towards GM Bob Whitsett. The Blazers look to be going downhill fast, and that's too bad because the team is so talented.

I can't believe that I was actually in NY last week. Time passes so quickly! Last Sunday I was actually at Twilo and Body & Soul. A full day of dancing. Some of my favorite places: The Tea House (in Takashimaya), Cafe Habana (NoLita), SoHo (Moss specifically), the view from the Empire State Building, the Andreas Gursky exhibit at the MoMA.