Andina's (Portland)

I've been told that in recent years Portland has really become a great foodie destination, and I finally got a taste of it when I had to go there for some meetings. We had a team dinner at Andina's in the Pearl District near downtown Portland. It is an upscale restaurant that combines "Peruvian home cooking and haute cuisine." (OK, that's what their website says.) What I found was a delicious mix of fresh ingredients commonly found in Peruvian cuisine, beautifully presented in artistic fashion.

We started off with some cocktails, and the waiter recommended the house specialty, which was a blend of passion fruit juice and habanero-infused vodka (I think that's what he said). The result was a unique and tasty drink that is very dangerous (I can keep on drinking them) and has a very strong kick (definitely not for those who can't take heat!) I started off with the "cebiche de pescado '5 elementos'" for appetizer, which was basically pieces of fish marinated in lime juice, onions, cilantro, pepper, and salt. The dish was very flavorful and the fish was fresh, but for some reason it was quite salty. It would have been perfect if they scaled back on the salt.

For entree, I got the "corderito de los andes," which was a double rack of grass-fed lamb. The lamb came grilled to perfection and the portions were quite generous. The dish also came with two "cheese timbale," which I'm not quite sure what it was but it was delicious. It seemed to be some sort of cheese and potato cake and it complemented the lamb very well. My coworker got the "dorado al rocoto y kion," which was roasted mahi mahi in broth. I tried a little bit of her entree and thought it was just okay though. The fish was a bit over-cooked for my liking and the broth was very lightly flavored. It's probably a good dish for those who are looking for something light and healthy.

As for dessert, I chose the "canutos de quinoa y maracuya," which were cannolis stuffed with passion fruit mousse, and it was so good! The crispy cannolis shell really contrasted with the texture and flavor of the passion fruit mousse. I couldn't put my spoon down until I finished every last morsel! One of my coworkers decided to get the "torta de chocolate," which was very rich and decadent. It was very good as well but I would recommend trying the cannolis because it's something you are unlikely to find in other restaurants.

Overall, the dining experience at Andina's was great and the food was fabulous. I can't wait to go back to Portland to come here again as well as try all the other good restaurants that Portland has to offer.

Texas de Brazil (Denver)

We had a team dinner at Texas de Brazil, which is Brazilian BBQ restaurant, or churrascaria. For those who may not have experienced it before, it is a must-try, especially if you are a meat lover! :-) Basically it's an all-you-can-eat place, where waiters walk around with a variety of different skewered grilled meats that range from top sirloin to bacon-wrapped filet mignon to sausages to chicken wings to lamb chops to pork tenderloin... the list just goes on. But before you even start on the meats, they have this amazing monstrous salad bar that of course is meant to fill you up. However, even knowing this, it was very hard to resist the fresh salads, vegetables, cold cuts, etc. They even had seared ahi which was pretty good but I controlled myself. I have to save room for the meat! :-) At Texas de Brazil, they even have a sushi bar, which is the first time I've seen that at a Brazilian steakhouse. I guess they really try to fill you up. Word of advice: the sushi is not worth it!

With serious discipline, I was ready for the meats after just one round to the salad bar - bring it on! So they give you this little card that is green on one side and red on the other. When green faces up, be ready for all the waiters to attack you offering you different cuts of meat. Once you've piled your plate full of meat, you should flip it over to red. If you don't, you may feel like you are Harry Potter sitting at the dining table at Hogwart's, where food just magically appears and your plate is constantly full. That may sound great, but the meats actually get cold pretty fast and won't taste as good. You also will have trouble telling the meats apart and may not remember which ones were your favorites that you may want to get more of. Trust me, turn your card to red once in a while so you can catch up. And not to worry, as soon as you flip it to green, the meats will magically appear on your plate again.

The house special is the picanha, which is a special cut of the rump that is very popular. For any of the beef or lamb, you can ask for pieces that range from rare to well-done. My favorite was probably the bacon-wrapped filet mignon (how can you go wrong with anything wrapped in bacon? ;-) Normally my favorite at a churrascaria is usually the lamb chop, but the ones I had at Texas de Brazil were a bit gamey. Their lamb chops just could not compare to those at Fogo de Chao, which is my gold standard for Brazilian BBQ. Fogo de Chao was my very first experience, and to this day is still the best (and I've been back many times, despite the fact that they weren't even in CA until a couple years ago). Unfortunately there isn't a comparable churrascaria in SF, but maybe that is better for my waistline anyway... Oh I almost forgot to mention my absolute favorite thing at a Brazilian restaurant - it's the cheese bread! It's another one of those items that is designed to fill you up so you eat less meat, but the Brazilian cheese bread is so good that I am willing to forgo all the meat! Once again though, I think the cheese bread at Fogo de Chao is the best of all the churrascarias that I've been to. OK, I've got to stop talking (and drooling) about Fogo de Chao since this is not a review for them. :-)

Of course, after all the salad bar items and meats, who has room for dessert, right? NO! You have to save room for dessert! Fortunately, we had a large group so we ordered a few to share. The dessert portions are big so sharing is highly recommended. My favorite was the Brazilian cheesecake, which was very rich but heavenly. We also ordered the Brazilian flan, which was quite interesting. It is served in a glass and they pour liquor all over it. Yummmm. Overall, Texas de Brazil was impressive - amazing salad bar, delicious meats, and even better desserts. It's probably my second favorite churrascaria in the country, so if you are in a city that has Texas de Brazil, go check it out! (This holds true unless that city also has Fogo de Chao, then always pick Fogo de Chao. :-)

P.S. My camera was out of batteries so my pictures didn't turn out very well. For beautiful pictures and restaurant locations, visit http://www.texasdebrazil.com/

Samba Room (Denver)

I haven't been to Denver in years so it was good when I had to go there for work. I also took the opportunity to have lunch with a college classmate, whom I haven't seen in years. She brought her husband and her very cute three-year-old daughter along, and we strolled through the Lower Downtown area of Denver before deciding to try out the Samba Room. The restaurant had chic decor and looked like it would be a very hip place after dark, but it was pretty empty for lunch.

The lunch menu was very reasonably priced and they offer "Latin lunch boxes" that ranged from $10.95-$12.95 that included soup, salad, an empanada, entree, and dessert. We started off sharing a three-cheese crab dip which was pretty tasty. The portion wasn't very big though, as we quickly ran out of the dip and we still had a lot of chips left. Then we each had ordered one of the lunch boxes - I got the one with the skirt steak as the entree. The soup and salad were not bad but nothing too special, but the corn empanada was nicely flavored. The skirt steak was a good size and had a little kick to it. We also got a chocolate pudding for dessert that was quite rich. Overall, I can't say I was blown away by the food, but it was lunch and the value was definitely very good. If you happen to find yourself in downtown Denver for lunch one of these days, you may want to pop in for a try.