Friday night at 3 Doors Down Cafe

Appetizers:

Pan Seared Sea Scallops, Peaches, Honey Basil Cream Sauce


Potato Gnocchi, English Peas, Prosciutto, Creamy Rosa Sauce

Cocktail:

Gin Fizz

I'm back. Here are Friday's 3 Doors Down Cafe delicious dining and drinking delights.

Since Thursday, June 9, I've been either taking lots of photos, uploading lots of photos, and/or having a time with Flickr with lots of photos, not a totally horrible time with Flickr, but not the most fun I've ever had either. Now things appear to have come around to where I want and need them. Thank goodness.

I was hungry, thirsty, tired when I arrived. I left mellow, satisfied, ready to make it through shopping at Freddy's and then riding the bus on home with my rolling black bag stuffed with necessities like milk and saltines and such.

Here you can see why I left in grand state of existence.

Rhubarb Rita: Blue Agave Tequila, LIme, Lemon Juices, Rhubarb Syrup & Orange Liqueur. This was SO good that I really, really wanted a second one, but I knew I needed, above all desire, to be sure-footed while shopping. I only drank the one.


First appetizer: fromage de chevre mini pyramid, roasted beets, toast points. I smelled the toast when the plate was set down on the table, that's how quick the appetizer made it to me. Imminently spreadable cheese, which is, according to the menu, a classic French crumbly ash-covered goat cheese. Ash-covered? Didn't taste anything but smooth, creamy goat cheese. Thank goodness for goats and their milk and folks willing to make cheese with it. That cheese, combined with the sweetness of the roasted beets and the crispy, easily bitten and chewed toast--my, my. I am a blessed woman. Still wondering about the ash, though, so here's what I found at artisanalcheese dot com: Ash-Coated Cheese--Many goat cheeses, or chevres, are coated with a sprinkle of ash. Originally, the ash often came from oak charcoal, as was the tradition of cheeses from France's Loire Valley. Today, a recognized food grade activated charcoal ash is used which is sometimes salted and generally tasteless. The ash is helpful in mellowing the acidity to promote the affinage and produce a more delectable cheese. It also helps make the cheese surface more hospitable to the growth of molds that add to the complexity of the overall flavor.


Second appetizer: Potato gnocchi, Fava beans, duck confit, chicken stock with olive oil, and sauteed spring onion. Here's the back story: At lunch I called my older son Lamont who is sous chef at 3DD and asked, "Is duck confit on the menu tonight?" Since he is off on Thursdays, he wasn't sure but said there was a good chance that it would be since it had been part of a "3 for $21" special currently running at 3DD. (More about that below--don't miss it.) Oh, joy! Oh, boy! He was right. Suffice it to say that by the time I had finished, that bread to the left of the photo had helped me completely clean the entire bowl. Crunchy skin, meaty flesh, combined with the plump gnocchi and the dense Fava beans. Every morsel satisfied me more than the one before. To tell you the truth, I wasn't one bit sad when I had finished because it was perfect in proportion. Oh, and you can see there in the background that I didn't leave any of my first appetizer, either.

Here's the promised info about the "3 for $21"

On the appetizer menu at 3 Doors Down Cafe

Potato gnocchi, eggplant, mint, plum tomatoes--delicious, every bite, as I ate my dinner on March 4.


Soup of the day, March 4: Cauliflower, mushrooms, chicken stock, celery root and chopped flat Italian parsley. I ordered a cup and wished, when all was said and done, that I had ordered an entire bowl. The bowl is more the size of the one you see with the gnocchi. I'll know better next time. Oh, before I forget, the drink you see there by the edge of the cup is my swell New Fangled Old Fashioned, a bracing drink to enjoy on a Friday after work.

To keep this post on the up and up, I report to you that my older son Lamont is sous chef at 3 Doors Down Cafe. I also report how proud I am of him and everyone who works diligently and professionally to serve their customers at a restaurant I would frequent even if Lamont did not work there. The food and drink and service is that good.

A lot of yummy appetizers at 3 Doors Down Cafe, 37th and Hawthorne

First, let me tell everyone how appreciative Mama is of all the birthday wishes sent her way! Happily she felt good enough to walk half a block to the car, then ride a block and a half to the beauty shop. A couple of hours later, with her newly cut and permed do, she rode home with me at the wheel. Later that night as we sat on the side of her bed for a minute or two, like we've been doing a lot lately right before she rests her head on the pillow and pulls the cover up to her neck, I said, "You got the best birthday present ever!" "A blood transfusion," she heartily agreed. Our next goal is to find out, if at all possible, what's causing the anemia, if it returns to debilitate her.

Please take a look at Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog for a way to help a blogger in need. Thanks!

Arancini, fried risotto balls, with a light, buttery tomato sauce


Dungeness crab cakes, satsuma mandarin orange & micro green salad, caper aioli


Potato gnocchi with Oregon black trumpet mushrooms, thyme, butter


Oregon Mushrooms, Madeira Cream Sauce, Goat Cheese Crouton

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

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

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

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'

Special, created with skill, precision, and love

Grilled, house-made, boudin blanc sausage, creamed corn & sweet onions, from 3 Doors Down Cafe, SE 37th and SE Hawthorne, which is right where I headed last Friday after leaving Wood Village Nite Out.

Surely this photo ought to be in Webster's beside the definition for succulent, the adjective: full of juice, juicy; moist and tasty, toothsome; as in a succulent meal.

Amen. Boudin blanc created by Dave Marth, chef/owner of 3DD.

Hi, Dave.




Leland carved these spoons! He gave them to Mama and me for Mother's Day. Sweet.

Potato gnocchi with Fava bean succotash, my other appetizer, prepared by none other than Flash, line cook, situated right beside my New Old Fashioned--house-made dried maraschino cherries, muddles orange, Angostura bitters, sugar and bourbon.

I made sure I had several glasses of water before ordering the alcoholic beverage, plus I knew Leland would be driving me on home.

What a perfect night!