Portland

A few weeks ago (before the dollar tanked) we went on a mini vacation to Portland Oregon. Someone at the gym recommended a place for us to try, said it was one of the best meals he'd ever had. As I haven't been to Portland in almost 15 years, I figured I'd give it a try

The Ox

Argentinian inspired BBQ, all wood fired. Prepare yourself for an epic meal
Apologies for the poor photo's, my phone is old and the camera seems to be crapping out.

First thing I noticed upon arriving at the restaurant, that there are outdoor tables and a separate bar right next to the restaurant. I initially thought it was outdoor seating, but in fact it is the waiting area for the restaurant! The place gets so busy that a bar opened up next door just to feed and drink all the guests waiting to get into this place! This is a good sign :-)

Luckily we were the 2nd people in line, so no waiting for us.

We are lucky enough to get the chef's table, a bar area that overlooks the wood fired grill, we get to enjoy the action!

The place surprises us with a creamy butternut squash soup with caramelized apples.

 Wow! What a great way to start off the meal! The shot of soup is rich, and very flavourful, the apples add a nice cool touch to the soup.

Fresh bread with Chimichurri & salted butter

 Crisp warn fresh bread, the chimichurri is great and goes with everything including the bread.

Grilled corn, poblano & cheese empanada

One of the best empanada's I've ever had, perfectly fried with a very creamy filling, the peppers add a nice kick! Just look at  that tasty filling! Yum!

 

Did I mention yum?

Baked ricotta with confit mushrooms served with toast

Bland. Seriously disappointing, the cheese is flavourless, as are the mushrooms. The toast is burnt too. Best to avoid, not worth the price.

Sautéed Mushrooms, Foie Gras, Wilted Spinach, Spring Onion

This is the small size version of this dish... Wow! Look at the size of this thing! The Foie gras is properly served rare (there's quite a bit of it too!) with fresh mushrooms. My idea of a salad!

The main course, Grilled house Chorizo & Grilled Skirt steak

The sausage has a very meaty flavour with a nice spicy kick, Debbie really enjoyed it. The Skirt steak was amazing! It was so buttery and flavourful! Melt in your mouth good! I eat a lot of steak, but this was incredible!

Without a doubt this was a fantastic meal, worthy of the trip. The next time we're in Portland (not for a while due to the weak dollar) we will be hitting this restaurant again!