Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Martini, Appetizer, Entree, 3 Doors Down Cafe, 37th and Hawthorne, Southeast Portland

Please scroll down to find today's dahlia, Fascination, from Swan Island Dahlias.

Yummy, satisfying, from sip to bite, first to last.

Martini
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Ketel One Vodka, muddled basil, shaken, topped with a cherry tomato, blue cheese, basil bite. I've never had anything quite like this. Cool yet peppery. The topper's textures and tastes, a delight.

Appetizer
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Potato Gnocchi, Creamed Corn, Mama Lil's Hungarian Peppers. I could eat this once a week, easily. To tell the truth, I have been doing so, happily. Those little pillows, those gnocchi, my goodness, but they're addictively good. And that sweet corn along with the spicy peppers. Oh, my.

Entree and a Glass of Wine
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Coffee & Cocoa Rubbed Carlton Pork Loin, Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Chard with a side of Roasted Beets. Such juicy and tender pork satisfies anyone who takes a bite. The veggies make it seem like a meat-and-two-sort-of-dish, but there's a sophistication to it that rates it higher than that. And then the beets. If one could eat a ruby, surely it would taste this sweet with this exact texture and density. The wine, Gruner Veltliner, a white, went very well with my entree.

Today's dahlia, Fascination. Facts from Swan Island Dahlias--Bloom: 3" Deep Lavender, Bush: 2'
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