Restaurant Reviews Portland Oregon

10014 NE Glisan

PHO THEIN

Decided to use coupon from the entertainment book 2010 and ventured to a little Vietnamese place called Pho Thein, which is on 100th and NE Glisan.  The restaurant is in a small manufactured home style building and not very pleasing to look at.  As we entered, I first noticed the dirty carpet and stale interior design.  We were sort of greeted by a girl who then handed us off to a man who seated and served us the for our meal.  We ordered salad rolls that were filled with too much lettuce and the lettuce was turning pink.  I must admit they were the worst ones I have had to date.  The peanut sauce was good and helped to make them edible.  Two of us ordered Pho and I ordered Jasmine rice with spicy chicken curry, lemon grass and peanuts.  The food arrived promptly and the phos looked good however my order looked plain and not so fresh.  The lettuce was again pink on the edges and the cucumbers were old.  The main dish tasted better than it looked, but again it did not taste so fresh and it was nothing to blog happily about…ha ha.   Prices were average.  $4 for salad rolls and my dish was $7.50.  So overall,  I would not recommend trying Pho Thein as there are many better places in PDX for Vietnamese food.  I give it a C-.

Taqueria Cha

Another evening to use an entertainment coupon! I was especially excited to use this because it was to a restaurant I have been to twice before and had a great experience both times.  My fiance and I started out and about rather late but to our delicious surprise we were in the clear regarding time and serving issues at Taqueria Cha.  This NW 21st spot located on the corner of Everett invited us with its warm, glowing lighting  and 70′s mod decor.  We arrived at around 9:15pm and had no problem or attitude being served this late.  Love it!  So, I took the advice of our server and ordered the Fish and Shrimp Tacos costing $14.00 and my fiance, Steve, ordered the Steak Tacos for $12.00  (Of course with our coupon this ended up being a buy one get one deal so we were very happy).  As a complimentary appetizer we were impressed with warm blue tortilla ships topped with white Mexican cheese and spicy avocado.  YUM!  For our beverages, we drank a very generous portion of mojito for just $7.50/ea.  They were delish with fresh mint and lime.   Dinner was quite pleasing.  The tacos were served on the most delicate tortillas I have ever tasted and both taco dishes were generously stuffed with the filling of choice.  The sauce was hot and complimented the dish very well.  We loved the atmosphere of 70′s style decor and candle lighting throughout the wall  of booze.   Service was friendly and food was served quickly.

Cons:  Fish tacos were slightly greasy

Pros: Everything else as well as an awesome outdoor dining area!

Grade: A-