The Librarian Abroad

Travels, meals, and musings by Mr. Librarian
☰ Menu
Latest Archive 📑 Bookmarked ✉️ Write About The Librarian's Ledger → The Librarian's Regimen → The Librarian's Notebook → Eight Miles West →

Notes from the road and from the table — what was worth the trip, what was worth the plate, and what wasn't.

View:
Sort:
A rack of Bark City BBQ pork ribs and cups of pickles and barbecue sauce in a paper-lined basket, next to a glass of Coca-Cola, sitting on a stainless steel table built around the mechanism of an old bank vault door at The Heist in Portland, Oregon
· 📍 Portland, Oregon

The Best Barbecue I've Ever Had, at Bark City BBQ

Bark City BBQ, inside The Heist food cart pod in a converted bank building in Portland, Oregon, makes the best barbecue I've ever had — five out of five. The old vault door is still built into the furniture.

foodbbqbarbecuetexas bbqribspork ribsfood cartfood cart podfood truckbank vaultbank robberyhistorythe heistbark city bbqtacos fitacarne asadaribeyetacoscoca-colawoodstockreed collegeportlandoregonpacific northwest
An Italian sub from Philly Bilmos in Vancouver, Washington, cut in half on a paper plate, one half still wrapped in white deli paper and the other laid open face-up showing ham, capicola and salami under tomato, rings of red onion and a heavy dusting of grated parmesan
· 📍 Vancouver, Washington

Tiger Sauce on the Italian, at Philly Bilmos

Tiger Sauce, grated parmesan and Italian dressing, on one of the best Italian subs in Vancouver, Washington. A second trip to Philly Bilmos, what Tiger Sauce actually is, and why a shop named for its cheesesteaks earns five stars either way.

foodsandwichessubsitalian subhoagiecheesesteaksphilly cheesesteaktiger saucehot sauceparmesanitalian dressingcapicolasalamiprovolonepepperoncinired onionamoroso breadboar's headdeliphilly bilmosvancouverwashingtonpacific northwest
A Sourdough Jack burger and fries on a red tray at Jack in the Box, next to packets of Frank's RedHot buffalo dipping sauce and honey garlic sriracha sauce
· 📍 Vancouver, Washington

The Cheapest Tacos on the Planet (Possibly Not Beef)

A Friday-night run to the Jack in the Box on NE 117th in Vancouver, Washington — decent fast food, three out of five, the honest kind of meal you eat because you're busy rather than because you're excited about it. The Sourdough Jack earns its keep. The two tacos might be the cheapest food on the planet, and nobody at the company will actually call them beef tacos.

foodfast foodburgerstacossourdough jackwashingtonroad foodlate night food
Dinner on the patio at Chuckie Pies in Lake Oswego, Oregon: a young woman sitting across a round grey table raising a glass of wine, a dark bowl of rigatoni Bolognese in front of her, and a ten-inch Neapolitan sausage pizza on a white plate in the foreground beside a carafe of water and two yellow rolled napkins
· 📍 Lake Oswego, Oregon

The Best Bolognese Since France, at Chuckie Pies

I went back to Chuckie Pies in Lake Oswego for the pizza I had been bookmarking since July, and came away talking about the rigatoni Bolognese instead. Ten-inch Neapolitan pies out of a wood oven, a seriously Italian wine list with a Barbaresco on it, and the best Bolognese I have had since the south of France.

foodpizzaoregonlake oswegoneapolitanbologneserigatonipastasausage pizzawood-fired ovenitalian winepatio
The Black Angus Steakhouse storefront on East 13th Street in Vancouver, Washington, photographed from the parking lot in the low gold light of early evening — a long tan building with a brown shingled mansard roof, a large red BLACK ANGUS STEAKHOUSE sign, red double doors marked 415 under the awning, and tall evergreen trees against a clear blue sky behind it
· 📍 Vancouver, Washington

A Dry Ribeye and a Long Wait, at Black Angus Steakhouse

The New York strip was okay at best, the ribeye was dry and thin — ironic, for the cut that's supposed to be the fatty one — and both landed on the table only a little warmer than the room. Everyone who worked there was kind about it. Three stars: glad I went, and next time I'll ask them to hurry.

foodsteaksteakhouseribeyenew york stripcowboy cookieloaded baked potato soupcampfire feasttri-tipburnt ends avocado dippineapple upside down cheesecakechainsvancouverwashingtonpacific northwestservice
A beef and lamb gyro wrapped in checkered paper, packed with meat, feta, shredded lettuce and red onion under a dusting of red spice, next to a clear container of five stuffed grape leaves and a Pepsi fountain drink with a straw, on a table at Anoush Deli in Vancouver, Washington
· 📍 Vancouver, Washington

A Lamb and Beef Gyro, and a Request for Sunglasses

The lamb and beef gyro at Anoush Deli in Vancouver, Washington might be the meatiest one I've had in this part of town. Three stars: I wouldn't drive across the city for it, but it's a generous, genuinely good gyro from a place that's part halal deli and part Eastern European grocery.

foodgyrolambbeeffetadolmadesstuffed grape leavestzatzikihalaldeliarmenianinternational marketborschtpelmenivancouverwashingtonpacific northwestfourth plain
The Uptown Barrel Room on Main Street in Vancouver, Washington, photographed from the sidewalk in evening sun — a low black wood-clad building with UPTOWN BARREL ROOM in tall white letters across the front under a row of gooseneck lamps, a striped awning, a red neon OPEN sign in the window, and a fenced sidewalk patio of picnic tables under red umbrellas
· 📍 Vancouver, Washington

The Black and Bleu, and the Nicest Ladies in Town

The Black and Bleu Burger at the Uptown Barrel Room on Main Street in Vancouver, Washington is eighteen dollars and the best burger I have had in a long time — a blackened Angus patty under melting bleu cheese and bacon. Five stars, which on this site means worth crossing a city for, and I would.

foodburgersblack and bleu burgercheeseburgerbleu cheesewine barsteakspizzauptown barrel roomuptown villagemain streetvancouverwashingtonpacific northwestservice
The dining room and order counter at Muchas Gracias Mexican Food — deep red walls, a black-and-white checkerboard tile floor, three lit digital menu screens overhead with one advertising birria fries, a Pepsi fountain and cooler at the left, a handwritten New Hours notice taped in the service window, staff in red polo shirts working behind the glass, a doorway marked PICK-UP HERE, and one customer eating alone in a booth
· 📍 Vancouver, Washington

Quesabirria, and a Sun the Wrong Color

The quesabirria at Muchas Gracias Mexican Food on NE 76th in Vancouver, Washington is genuinely good, and the consomé that comes with it is thinner than it ought to be. Three stars: glad I went, and I wouldn't cross town for it — plus a sun turned red by wildfire smoke on the way home.

foodmexicanquesabirriabirria tacosconsométortastreet tacoscarne asada friesmuchas graciaschainsorchardsvancouverwashingtonpacific northwestwildfire smoke
The Applebee's on SE 2nd Circle in Vancouver, Washington, photographed from the sidewalk at dusk — a stone-and-brick building with a peaked stone gable holding a lit red-and-white apple logo sign above glass doors under a curved awning reading "Welcome Back!", and beside it a window etched with the word "Neighborhood" next to a folded coral-pink awning
· 📍 Vancouver, Washington

O-M-Cheese, and a Water Hole That Isn't Anymore

The new O-M-Cheese Burger at the Applebee's on Mill Plain in Vancouver, Washington, earns its name — melted into a skillet of queso, it's one of the best cheeseburgers I've had in a while. The room around it has had a harder time; the old bar that used to be the neighborhood's actual water hole isn't, quite, anymore.

foodburgerso-m-cheese burgercheeseburgerwonton tacosapplebee'schainsmill plainvancouverwashingtonpacific northwest
The front of La Provence in Vancouver, Washington on an overcast Saturday morning — a dark grey façade with LA PROVENCE in tall gold serif capitals, a gold wheat sheaf and fleur-de-lis standing in for the V, red patio umbrellas open below, and every outdoor table occupied
· 📍 Vancouver, Washington

Twenty-Four Secrets in a Bottle, at La Provence

A French bakery on Mill Plain with a line out the door, a mezzanine, and a bottle of house sauce said to hold twenty-four ingredients. I ordered the salmon Benedict, which was very good, and spent the rest of the meal quietly wishing I had ordered the ham one.

foodfrenchbakerybruncheggs benedictsalmonhollandaisehot saucecroissantstrawberry jamhash brownscanelékouign-amannpapillonmacaronspastryvancouverwashingtonpacific northwest

👁 — visits to this page