Portland No-Host Dinners
Saturday July 12, 2008
6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Join other AALL members for a no-host dinner before the Opening Event. This is a wonderful opportunity to relax before the meeting begins.
Guidelines:
- Each No-Host Dinner group will have an AALL member as its guide.
- Each group will consist of a guide plus up to 11 other members.
- Each group will meet at a prearranged spot at either the Oregon Convention Center or the Hilton Portland & Executive Towers (Headquarters Hotel). [Your Guide will let you know which is more convenient for the restaurant]
- Some groups will be able walk to their restaurants. Others will need to take cabs or use other transportation. Please make sure to have the required round trip fare if taking commercial transportation.
- Everyone should be able to return on time for the Opening Reception at 8:30.
- The price range provided does not include alcoholic beverages, gratuity (usually 18-20% for groups), or tax.
- Some restaurants will not provide separate checks, so diners may need to bring cash and be willing to split the dinner bill evenly. [Alcoholic beverages and/or wine will be each individual’s separate responsibility]
Make your restaurant selections. Since some groups fill quickly, please make at least three ranked selections (1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice).
Send your request to: Kathy Carlson [ kcarlson@courts.state.wy.us ]. If you are making a request for more than one person, please indicate the total number for your request and the names of all those planning to join the group.
Restaurants:
1. Jake’s Famous Crawfish FULL
401 SW 12th Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97205
Website: www.jakesfamouscrawfish.com
Host: Kathy Carlson
Group Size: 10
Cuisine: Seafood
Atmosphere: Casual to Dressy
Price Range: Expensive ($31-$40)
Drinks Available: Full Bar, Beer & Wine
Considered one of the top ten seafood restaurants in the nation, Jake’s Famous Crawfish has been a downtown Portland landmark for more than 110 years. Jake’s features more than 30 varieties of fresh fish and seafood flown in daily, making a true Pacific Northwest statement using fresh Northwest products and served in a traditional and timeless presentation.
Reviews: portland.citysearch.com
2. Masu Downtown
406 SW 13th Avenue
Portland, OR 97205
(503)221-MASU
Website: http://masusushi.com/
Host: Alana H. Carson
Group Size: 10
Cuisine: Sushi
Atmosphere: Upscale hipster chic.
Price range: Expensive ($31-$40), not including alcohol or tip.
Drinks Available: Specialty Cocktails, Extensive Sake, Full Bar, Beer & Wine
Masu is a square box made of Hinoki wood. Originally employed as a rice-measuring cup, Sake Brew Masters used Masu to sample the fruits of their labors. Experts have hailed Masu–with its wide mouth and cedar-rich scent–as the perfect vessel for sake. Today, use of the wooden cups is reserved for only the most revered celebrations. The fortunate who partake of the Masu experience are considered blessed with health, happiness and prosperity.
Taken from Masu website and CitySearch.com.
Please bring cash to avoid duplicate/multiple checks, as they are very busy on Saturday nights. We will meet at the Hilton downtown and walk over (about 10 blocks). I will be arranging a price fixed menu with the owners to make it easier for ordering/dealing with checks. Each person is responsible for their own alcohol which can be ordered separately at the bar for convenience.
3. Berlin Inn
3131 SE 12th Ave.
Portland, OR 97202
Website: www.berlininn.com
Host: Kathy Faust
Group size: 8
Cuisine: German
Atmosphere: Casual
Price range: $8-30
Drinks: Beer and wine
If you like classic German food, the Berlin Inn’s the place for you. In addition to the best schnitzel, red cabbage, and roasted potatoes in town, the menu includes sauerbraten, pig knuckle, fondue, sweet and sour spareribs, spaetzle and much more. The Berlin Inn also has an extensive beer and wine list.
Reviews: www.localnewsdaily.com/features/story.php?story_id=115163441759554200
4. Dan & Louis Oyster Bar FULL
208 SW Ankeny St.
Portland, OR 97204
Website: http://danandlouis.com/
Host: Laura Orr
Group Size: 6 (including host)
Cuisine: Oysters and other Seafood
Price Range: Moderate (to pricey, but only if you devour all those raw oysters)
Atmosphere: Casual (totally)
Drinks Available: Full bar
A wonderful, warm, friendly, downtown Portland restaurant serving oysters, oysters, seafood, and the best oyster stew anywhere. Dan & Louis is a block from the Old Town/Chinatown MAX stop or a short walk from downtown hotels and the Chinese Garden.
Dan & Louis Oyster Bar is 101 years-old this year (just like AALL!) and one of my favorite places in Portland. I have four requirements for our Dan & Louis Dine-Around:
One, you must love oysters (other seafood would be ok too), beer, classic restaurants with tons of personality, excellent food and marvelous employees, and donuts (I’ll explain this at dinner, but here’s a hint: http://voodoodoughnut.com/).
Two, you have to make new friends, i.e. you must not know or have met, in person, anyone else in the group, including me (I get to make new friends too). You can have emailed another person or talked on the phone. Gosh – I don’t want to eliminate everyone!
Three, you must bring at least one joke to the table. It can be a funny, ribald, true, sweet, adolescent, or even about librarians!
Four, you must work in a law library that is open to the public.
(Note: You will be banished to the Portland Church of Elvis if you don’t meet all of these requirements. (Google it, already.))
5. Deschutes Brewery
210 NW 11th Ave
Portland, OR
Website: http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/BrewPub/Portland+Pub
Host: Tami Gierloff
Group size: 8
Cuisine: Great beer, quite good pub food. Menu is here: http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/CEDocuments/Downloads_GetFile.aspx?id=281091&fd=0
Atmosphere: Casual and pub-like.
Price range: Very reasonable ($10 – $25 entrees plus the cost of a pint or two)
The Deschutes Brewery is based in Bend Oregon and this is their first Portland area pub. Located in the heart of the Pearl District and easily accessible from the Hilton (we can take the streetcar for free), we’ll sample micros and enjoy the better than usual pub grub. If there is time we’ll also check out the nearby Rogue Ales Public House.
6. Oba FULL
555 NW 12th Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97209
Website: http://www.obarestaurant.com
Host: Jason Eiseman
Group Size: 10
Cuisine: Latin American and Caribbean
Atmosphere: Casual to Dressy
Price Range: Expensive ($31-$40)
Drinks Available: Full Bar, Beer, Wine, Margaritas
Consistently listed as one of the best restaurants in Portland by Citysearch, Willamette Week, and even the New York Times, Oba is the place to see and be seen in the trendy Pearl District. In addition to the creative Nuevo Latino cuisine, Oba is also famous for it’s margaritas.
Reviews: http://portland.citysearch.com/profile/8463264/
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/view/?dining=30
7. Veritable Quandary FULL
1220 SW 1st Avenue
Portland, OR
Website: http://www.veritablequandary.com/
Host: Laurie Daley
Group size: 6
Cuisine: Northwest
Atmosphere: Semi-casual
Price range: Expensive (entrees between $20-30)
Drinks available: Full bar, extensive by-the-glass wine list
Veritable Quandary (or VQ to the locals), has been around since 1970. It’s fairly cozy, but it opens its windows in the summer and includes dining on a beautiful flower-bordered patio. The menus change daily, and the focus is on fresh, seasonal, local foods. Celebrating the local love of good wine, they offer around 40 choices of wine by the glass, so you don’t have to drink the entire bottle (unless you want to) with your meal.
8. Andina FULL
1314 NW Glisan
Portland, Oregon 97209
Website: www.andinarestaurant.com/
Host: Rob Truman
Group Size: 10
Cuisine: New Peruvian (blend of South American, Spanish & Pacific NW); separate vegetarian menu
Atmosphere: Upscale Casual
Price Range: Expensive ($31-$40); Tapas ($15-$25) an option
Drinks Available: Full Bar (with a unique cocktail menu), Beer & Wine
Andina is considered one of the top restaurants in Portland. Located in the trendy Pearl district, its combination of unique and layered flavors, warm setting and excellent service makes it a must-stop on your restaurant tour. Named Restaurant of the Year in 2005, Andina remains a remarkably well-reviewed hotspot.
Andina’s cuisine has been called “world-inspired South American fare,” blending contemporary Peruvian with Spanish and Pacific NorthWest influences. Dinner can be had Tapas-style – sharable plates of seafood, skewered meats and vegetables, or via the full dinner menu featuring lamb, steak, traditional Peruvian dinners and seafood (octopus, Mahi Mahi, ceviche, oysters, and more). There is also a full vegetarian menu containing many of Andina’s most popular dishes.
Reviews:
Willamette Week
www.foodfinder.wweek.com/editorial/3349/9708/
Gayot
http://www.gayot.com/restaurantpages/info.php?tag=PORES050801
Yelp
http://www.yelp.com/biz/andina-portland
A Few Reservations (vegetarian food blog)
http://afewreservations.wordpress.com/2007/02/20/hola-andina-portland-or/
9. Alexis
215 West Burnside Street
Host: Lauri Flynn
Group Size: 8 (6 spaces available)
Traditional Greek cuisine
Atmosphere is casual
Drinks include wine, beer and full bar
One of my favorite Portland restaurants where you can feel like you are
actually in Greece!
Step out of the Pacific Northwest for a brief visit to the Mediterranean
with us on Saturday night. Hopa!
Check out the menu here:
http://www.alexisfoods.com/old/MainDinnerMenu.pdf
And the reviews are here http://www.alexisfoods.com/old/reviews.html
They do not do separate checks, but can write up separate receipts.