It's time to say goodbye to you...

Hey everyone! It's been fun and real since I've posted on here for 2 years but not many post. Sadly I Just don't have time anymore to update one blog and other things.

For sure find and add me on my Instagram which will always stay active :). : Lisavu25

I recently got into tumblr also. Same username . It will mainly be my food blog pictures!!! So come and follow me :)

-L

Night out on the town with my main squeeze!

well hello there everyone! its been a few weeks! Probably even longer. Its been pretty hard lately to find some "me" time and do what i love and enjoy besides working with animals and eating =) Sadly, to say this might be my last post for about 6 months or you won't see a new post from me as often as i usually have been doing. I need to focus more on myself and my future. And that you may ask is what? Besides the main goal i would love to reach is to become a well known food blogger BUT that would never happen anytime soon so my second runner up is purchasing my first home with my main man, my best friend. Its time to put my big girl panties on. =) Enough about me and my whole life story, shit gets boring after awhile when you read about someone elses boring life huh? =p My boyfriend decided to treat us out to a nice fancy dinner on Monday as our last shabang. So what restaurant did I decide to pick!? OX!! freakin love that place! its spendy but SO worth it and so worth the wait.. Got dolled up for the night and headed out way. We drove up to the restaurant and my big cheesy smile became a sad fown like a little child just figured out Santa Claus wasn't real. Saddest day of my life.. MONDAY = CLOSED!? booo... Next up on our list was Andina. Heard a lot about this place from my customers' at work and from my aunt Kristi. So we decided to give it a shot! The wait was only maybe like 15 minutes tops and this was without reservations also!

ADDRESS: 1314 NW Glisan St, Portland, OR 97209 PHONE NUMBER: (503) 228-9535 HOURS: Monday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, 4:00–11:00 pm Tuesday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, 4:00–11:00 pm Wednesday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, 4:00–11:00 pm Thursday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, 4:00–11:00 pm Friday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, 4:00–11:00 pm Saturday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, 4:00 pm – 12:00 am Sunday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, 4:00 pm – 12:00 am WEBSITE: andinarestaurant.com

It was too full to sit in the bar or in the dining room but we got to sit downstairs in their "outdoor" seating. It looks like you're sitting outside downstairs because the doors look like little cafes and designed to look like youre sitting outside in a little cute neighborhood.

For my first drink I got the SACSAYHUAMÁN. It was so good! If you know me, I LOVE sweet and spicy cocktails! Especially FOOD!. This had habanero pepper vodka shaken with pureed passionfruit and cane sugar, served up with a sugar rim and cilantro leaf garnish YUMMMM!!! Second picture is my house made White wine Sangria with pineapples and oranges. Couldn't go wrong with that either!

For my entree I got the ARROZ CON PATO. A Peruvian dish with duck served two ways: crispy duck confit and duck breast pan-seared to order, paired with cilantro-infused rice, a savory-sweet passionfruit sauce and baby carrots. God, what more can you say!? This had my mouth watering till the very end! It was so flavorful.The little bits of peas worked so well in the rice also. The duck was no near dry, it was perfectly moist and had a crispy skin layer on the breast. The duck confit was so tender that the meat just fell off the bone! Gosh, just writing about it makes me crave it again! I was too late on taking a picture of Nate's dish. He loved it so much that he couldn't even save me one photo =( He got the CORDERITO DE LOS ANDES. which is the double rack of grass fed lamb. Grilled to order, and served with a Peruvian potato-two cheese timbale with a roasted pepper demi-glace. That also is to die for!!


I definitely would reccommend this place! Nate and I both enjoyed our dinner here and the service was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! The customer service was wonderful right when you stepped foot in the restaurant till the very end of your meal. And our waiter was so helpful and so friendly. You know when you can sense if they're being fake or actually being sincere? Yea, especially when you've been in the food industry for over 8 years. I definitely will probably go back and try their happy hour also!


And to end our great night we decided to stop by Salt & Straw which everyone knows I can care less about this place but since my boyfriend was paying.. I had no choice lol.

They also have a new 3rd location now! 3345 SE Division St Portland, OR. {503}208-2054 Their hours are still the same: 11 am - 11 pm.

I got their seasonal ice cream flavor. The goat cheese Marionberry habanero. Surprisingly it was really good! It had little chunks of creamy frozen goat cheese and lots of marionberry blended in the one scoop of ice cream and at the very end it had that hint of spice from the habanero. The perfect amount of sweet and spicy. But since i'm a sucker for spice, I think it couldve had a little more habanero in there. But overall, I was actually happy and left satisfied from this overrated ice cream shop =) My tummy left full and happy and thats the only thing that matters =) Until next time friends!

Since i will be absent for abit you can always FOLLOW me on Instagram. Username: Lisavu25 =)

Remember, if you're in the Portland area and need some help or ideas on some yummies feel free to email me and don't be shy =)

♥L

Craving something Mexican?

Por que no

Location: SE; 4635 SE Hawthorne blvd.

Portland, Oregon 97215

Also, they have another location on North Mississippi!

Telephone number: SE; 503-954-3138

North; 503-467-4149

Website: www.porquenotacos.com

I probably go here at least 3 to 4 times a week. It's by my work so it's convenient and it's good! I found a few other places that have better tacos and a little cheaper but they got me sucked in from their drinks!

The one thing I love about them is that it's local, not a chain and everything is fresh. Also, they make their own fresh homemade juices! They usually have at least 3 different ones daily! Today they had a pineapple rosemary and a mixed berry with prickly pear. You can make them into a margarita also! Sangrias are delish here! Perfect on a nice sunny day! When we DO have nice weather here lol which is rare.

Here's the mixed berry with prickly pear margarita that I got with chili salt rim . you can't go wrong with it!!

It's funny when you're a regular or a neighbor down the street. They all remember and I've noticed my drinks has not been as sweet but more stiff lol. Which I'm not complaining about 

I think it's 8 or 9 dollars. But if you go during happy hour you save 1.50 off!

Homemade ground beef tamale stuffed with carrots and other veggies wrapped in a banana leaf. It's topped with salsa and crema.

Tamale a la carte is 4 dollars but for 2.75 more you can get a plate which has rice and beans!

Here's a small por que salad which I added shrimp to.

It comes with organic greens tossed in a spicy chile vinaigrette, topped with avocado, toasted pumpkin seeds, queso fresco, and pico de gallo.

HAPPY HOUR!!!

3-6 pm daily & 3 pm - close taco Tuesdays!

50 cents off tacos

$1 off chips, salsa, and guacamole

$1.50 off margaritas 

$1 off margaritas with aguas frescas (fruit juices)

$1 off rum and aguas frescas

$1 off horchata borracha

$1 off sangria

50 cents off bottled/draft beers

.....and I got hungry again... Lol!

Location: Rose City Food Park

Website: www.rosecityfoodpark.com

You'll find a few food carts on 52nd. NE Sandy Blvd.

It's definitely growing here and it's convenient for me also. Its walking distance from where I am. So it's awesome to walk there on a nice day and eat there! They have a kids area an a lot of seating!

The picture above is from the food cart called Bangkok XPress. I got the number 5. The Phad SE Ew (wide rice noodles stir fried with eggs, broccoli, meat of your choice, and brown sweet sauce.

If you notice above is the picture of the menu and everything is pretty affordable. And it's a good amount they give you also! Definitely try it! They just take a little longer but it's worth it!

Alright... Until next time! Happy eatings and drinking!

LOVE,

L

Uno Mas.

Awh! It feels good to finally write another new post! This place is a little newer to us. We've only been here twice and it's 5 minutes away from our house! Uno Mas is on NE 24th and Glisan.

Address:

2329 NE Glisan street

Phone:

503 - 208 - 2764

Hours:

Monday thru Sunday (11 am - 11 pm)

Website:

Www.unomastaquiza.com

All traditional tacos are 2 dollars each! Or seafood are 3.75 each. It's not too big not too small. If you've had a traditional taco from Mexico you know that's not big. I'm a little girl and 5 tacos finally made me full but I also had 32 oz beer haha!

I've tried a few here since last but I have to say my favorite by far is the tripe taco!!

Left to right:

Tripe, steak, and fried cheese. It's simple yet satisfying. The main ingredient like the tripe for instance is marinated then grilled and finished off with a little bit of chopped onions and cilantro.

Left to right:

Beef tongue and tripe. The beef tongue was actually really good! Wasn't what I thought it would taste like. It reminded me more of shredded pork. Probably the way they had treated that cut of meat. It was soooooo good!

Finally we had to stop by somewhere to get dessert. I'm not a big fan of VooDoo donuts. But it's such a "portland" thing to do when you come to visit here.

Sorry I got hungry before this picture was taken and had to take a bite off one of the arms lol. My favorite is the VooDoo doll that is filled with raspberry! So good!!!

Well, that's it for this week. When I'm not feeling lazy this week I will try to post more for you all :) wish you guys good eats and drink lots for me!❤❤❤

❤L

Wafu

Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't have time to update last night after dinner. Working 9 days straight I don't have time to even think but eat and sleep.

My boyfriend took us out to Wafu a ramen restaurant in portland, Oregon that we have been a few times. Key to my heart is DEFINITELY noodles! :)

Website: wafupdx.com

Address: 3113 SE Division st.

Phone: (503) 236-0205

Hours: Monday - closed

Tuesday - Thursday (5 pm - 11 pm)

Friday - Saturday (5 pm - 11 pm)

Sunday (5 pm - 10 pm)

The bar area is my favorite! There's a whole bunch of lanterns everywhere around the restaurant and that wall you see has different vintage movie posters. 

On the left is my cocktail called "the dirty Shirley." It has schochu, hibiscus, grenadine, a amareno cherry. On the right is Nate's Oakshire Amber beer. My drink was delish! It's basically an adult version of a Shirley temple :)

Starter: salt & pepper calamari, leeks, Fresno chilies, and nuoc mam (fish sauce) for $10.

SO good!! The lightly battered peppery calamari worked perfectly with the salty and sweet fish sauce and to finish it off it was even better with the crunchy greens! YUM!!

My dinner: Aburasoba (dry ramen) has chili, pork shoulder, a fried egg, kimchi, and spicy carrot for $10.

This is the typical dish I get every time we come back. It's not completely dry even if the menu said "dry" there's still a little sauce and moisture to it. The salty, sweet and spice all works really well with it. Just wish the noodles were more the traditional ramen.

His: the Wafu ramen. It has pork shoulder also, enoki mushroom, poached egg, and black garlic oil for $11. Haven't tried it yet but obviously it was damn good if he was silent the whole time eating it and the bowl was empty haha!

Definitely try this little ramen place out! It's delish and everyone there are super awesome and sweet! No complaints and you can't go wrong with happy people that want to serve you and give you a greet experience at their restaurant :) until next time loves!! ❤

❤L

Thai cravings

Alright!! I promised you guys I would be back if I went out again! =) So tonight after working my typical 2 jobs, I was craving Thai food. Since my boyfriend and I are both on totally opposite diets we tend to not agree on the same foods. I need my carbs but he wants healthy and green. We decided to stay in our neighborhood and keep it low key tonight since it is a Friday night and everywhere you go it WILL be crowded!!


If you want a better view of my food pictures, try clicking on them and the picture will load it to a bigger view =)



WHERE: Chiang Mai
WEBSITE: http://chiangmaipdx.com
ADDRESS: 3145 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, OR. 97214 (http://chiangmaipdx.com/location.php ; there you will find the hours of operation also)
PRO: reasonable prices and super authentic.
CON: Trying to find some parking may suck




*This little gem is located on the corner of 32nd on Hawthorne. I honestly have no complaints about this restaurant. They are awesome, sweet and everything I love about a small local business. If you've ever been to an asian household, everyone there will make you feel like you're at home and will feed you till your little heart can't handle it anymore. The service is always enjoyable when my boyfriend and I stop by or even with my friends. The waitress' and bardtenders make you feel wanted there. I love it when I go to a restaurant and they make you feel like you're wanted there than they don't want you there at all. But at the same time not over doing it jus tto make extra tips.


Since it was such a beautiful night, my night isn't complete till I've had my daily booze intake haha. The drink on the left is my boyfriend's sweetened Thai Iced Tea with lime and without milk and clearly you can see my beverage on the right. I love almost all Asian beers. They aren't as strong nor bitter than your average American beer. The "Singha" is your typical Thai beer out there and I think its pretty freakin good and simple. The Thai Iced Tea was only $2 my beer I believe was about 3 or 4 dollars?




To start we got the Thai beef salad also known as the "Num Tok" It came with grilled beef, shallots, mint, and green onion tossed with a spicy roasted rice and lime sauce and served with lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Its a mixture of salty and sweet. I can literally sit there for hours and eat this all night. And for only $9.50, thats a pretty good deal I think. If you have a chance to go here I would suggest you try it. Its simple yet so good.




This is the "Sai Oua" that my boyfriend ordered for $12.
It's a Northern-styke sausage made with chili, lemongrass, ginger, galangal root, kaffir leaf and turmeric slices that is served with a side of roasted peanuts, fresh ginger, shallots, mint, and sticky rice. It toally reminded me of what old asian men would be munching on while gambling lol. Weird right?




Lastly, I got the Shrimp and Tofu Pad Thai for only $9.50
It comes with rice noodles stir-fried with shrimp, fried tofu, eggs, bean sprouts and garlic chives. My mom has always told me when you made her famous Pad Thai ( no i'm not Thai either) that she had put some ketchup in there for more tang and sweetness. You can definitely taste it when you order it. Especially smelling it is pretty easy to identify also.



Alright everyone, another post down another one to come... Thank you for all your support for whoever keeps up to date with my post and actually reads my nonsense foodness. =)



ADIOS!!!!!





♥L

I'M BAAAACCCKKKK!!!!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay. I told myself I would be back in December of last year and it has been WAY over due. A lot has happened within 2 years. From trying to find a new place to live, dealing with the move, taking care of a pup and finally bringing school back into my life. It sure has been a struggle for me but I did it! I even had a chance to finally finish school which is one HUGE weight off my shoulder for sure! Anyways, enough with the nonsense! Back to food it is!! Within those 2 years since my last post, I've been to so many awesome and local restaurants that I can't even start to name off the bat. I'm going to try my hardest to blog every time I've tried a "new" place that I haven't written about yet. Blah blah blah I know, I talk to much right?! "SHOW ME FOOD PICTURES NOW!!" you say! Ok, here it goes.....!!

LAST NIGHT: (May, 8th, 2013)
WHERE: UCHU Sushi & Fried Chicken
WEBSITE: http://www.uchusushi.com/
ADDRESS: 3940 North Mississippi Avenue
Portland, OR 97227
PRO: MONDAY THRU WEDNESDAY (HAPPY HOUR ALL DAY; 12PM - CLOSE)
CON: Crappy customer service (just keep scrolling down =) )






Round 1 on drinks =) I got the Lychee Rain. And it was delish! Even if the Lychee was from a can lol. It was Lychee puree, lemon juice, and Vodka for only $6. The sweetness of the Lychee does pair well with the vodka and the lemon juice doesn't make the cocktail tart what so ever.



On the left: Spider roll
Right: Spicy salmon roll
The spider roll could have been a little more crispier but I had a feeling our dishes had been sitting at the counter waiting for us to eat it but just took awhile to get to us. No other complaints about it. It was delish and cheap. Not bad for a 5 piece for only $5 during HH. I'm not a big fan of sushi, especially RAW. Its disgusting and slimy to me. But I must say the spicy salmon roll changed my mind here. It was the perfect amount of spice mixed with cucumbers, rice, and seaweed. For $4 you'll get 8 pieces!?



Udon with veggies: Ehhh, is all you are going to get with me. It contains Fish based broth with mushroom, seaweed, broccoli, green onion, & fish cake. The noodles were really good and gummy, how it should be. But wasn't impressed with their portion size for dinner. Since it was $8 I was expecting a little more noodles, it was basically full of carrots which wasn't listed as an ingredient.


Dynamite Roll: ($5; remember all these prices i'm listing are HH prices!) It contains Chef ’s choice assorted fish (tuna, salmon, hamachi, albacore) fried in tempura batter with tempura flake, topped with special sauce. Didn't get a chance to try this since my boyfriend downed the little 4 pieces for himself lol. =p



2 piece Chicken Wings ($4; NOT WORTH IT) It comes with 2 sauces. People that know me know me well, I don't cook often but I can damn well identify sauces pretty good. The top was a sweet chili sauce which taste identical to the bottled one and the bottom sauce had to be ranch. The disappointing part was that it takes 20 minutes to cook and another 15 minutes to cool. We waited all that time for 2 pieces?! If my boyfriend and I had known it was only two we would've ordered more than that haha. It was good though, but my ghettoness still comes out here and there and would rather go to POPEYES for some fried chicken HAHA!


The Pink Moon: My night isn't complete till I've had at least 2 drinks into my system =/ . But this time I wanted to try something tart. The Pink Moon had Plum Wine, Vodka, & Pickled Plums. HOLY SHIT! This sucker was strong and pickled, hense the word "PICKLED" lol I'm such an idiot. But it was good! The pickled plums reminded me of those sour plum candies you get from the asian store. And it was only $5!



Lastly, its DESSERT TIME!!


WHERE: SALT & STRAW (ALBERTA LOCATION)
WEBSITE: www.saltandstraw.com
ADDRESS: 2035 NE Alberta St Portland, OR.
PRO: OPEN UNTIL 11 PM everyday
CON: Over priced & over rated to me personally



Freckled Woodblock Chocolate. It wasn't bad nor was it great. It was sweet but not enough chocolate for me. It tasted WAY too healthy for me and I don't like that. I'm eating dessert and it should be soooo bad tasting for me and bad for my body lol. I guess it is the "thing to do" when you visit Portland, same as VooDoo donuts. The main reasons why I go here at times is because my boyfriend is paying for it and hes craving it lol! But 10.50 for 2 single scoops?! I'm sorry, I'll pass.




Overall, I give Uchu a 7 out of 10 in my book. I definitely would go there again but not anytime soon. Their service just ruined it for me. I don't know if its because I've been in the food industry for +10 years or what. But when no one greets you when you walk in or even asks you how you're doing after you get seated to " Oh are you ready to order?" than just pulling out your notepad and stand there with your pen and stare at us if we can read your mind that you want us to order from you or what. But its not right. My first cocktail had literally been empty for over 15-20 minutes no one came to us to see how our food was doing or if out food even tasted good. When our waitress finally realized both our glasses are empty she ask, "are you ready for the check now?" Bitch, I've been waiting for you to order a second one still. I bit my tongue and politely asked her, "no, but i would like to order a Pink Moon then get our check after." Took another 15 min or more just for that drink also. But when she noticed my card she was on it like a hawk spotting a mouse or something. DONE AND DONE. That transaction was done QUICK. I just hope she was having a bad day. Because you sure made my stressful long day at the clinic feel 10 times worse.


Ok, enough of my jibber jabber for the night. This first post back is quite longer than the rest but I hope you guys enjoyed it. I try to write everything that is on my mind and not have to edit much and make it sound super "professional" with big words and crap. Because i know when i like to read about everyones post, I want to UNDERSTAND it than have my dictionary.com handy HAHA!



GOOD NIGHT EVERYONE! UNTIL NEXT TIME.....