26. Enat Kitchen 27. Toro Bravo 300 N Killingsworth St., 503-285-4867. 11:30 am-9 pm Monday-Saturday. $.
5pm - 10pm Daily
S
And yet the food at Portland’s best Ethiopian restaurant is opulent. As you should at most Ethiopian restaurants, order a family-style platter. Enat’s platters are gorgeous and overflowing with colorful piles of stewy vegetables and meat on a massive sheet of spongy injera. Nestled between each you’ll find another bundle of the bread, ready to be unspooled and used as a fork, napkin and salve from the occasional bite of crispy jalapeño. Enat’s injera is so silky it’s tempting to just bite straight into a roll instead of pinching it around the slowcooked vegetables.
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Feast Moroccan style! Featuring Belly Dancing (Wed. - sun.) ReseRvations Recommended
201 NW 21st Ave 503.248.9442 marrakeshportland.com
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This is a restaurant where you can happily go vegetarian or vegan without missing much. The berbere sauce on the dinch wot potatoes is warmly spicy, richly earthy and the tiniest bit sweet. The kik wot split peas are creamy and deeply comforting, and the refreshing ground chickpeas are so fluffy they’re almost the texture of scrambled eggs. Wash it down with one of Enat’s malty Ethiopian lagers—we recommend the Meta—which pair well with the rich food. And when you think you’re done, there’s still one last treat: Even after soaking throughout the meal at the bottom of the platter, the baselayer injera is still sturdy enough at the end of the meal to mop the platter clean. S H A N N O N
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At Toro Bravo, there are both kisses and a kissing room. The “kisses” on the menu at chef John Gorham’s decadeold tapas bar are little bites like the tease of a lover: the beestung smoke and honey of a bacon-wrapped date, or the rich undertow of a foie-stuffed prune.
[ O L D RO M A N C E ]
Y INJE
serviNg NorthWest siNce 1989
N G O P
Enat Kitchen feels like eating in someone’s home. The food is served on wide, ceramic platters. A TV in a corner plays Ethiopian music videos at a low volume. The long tables and chairs are inlaid with fabric cushions. And there’s often someone who stopped by and sidled up to the bar to chat with an acquaintance.
[ A RO U N D T H E I N J E R A ]
120 NE Russell St., 503-281-4464, torobravopdx.com. 5-10 pm SundayThursday, 5-11 pm Friday-Saturday. $-$$$.
G O R M L E Y.
But the Northeast Russell Street space, tucked demurely under the Secret Society ballroom, also sports a “makeout room.” Adorned by a painting of foolish romantic Don Quixote, the closet-sized, wallpapered nook has its own mythology: If you’re caught making out there, your next cocktail is free. But as WW ’s 2007 Restaurant of the Year, your private ecstasies will likely be reserved to the small plates, whether a $12 half-plate of the dry-aged, almond-garlic-chili coppa steak that made Gorham’s name in this city, or crisp patatas bravas that come on as the world's most delicate dirty fries. Croquetas are breaded-bechamel depth charges that burst into lovely warmth, while Toro’s rich romescomanchego-bacon burger is one of the best we’ve had in the city—which should come as no surprise if you’ve tried the burgers at Gorham’s world-beating Bless Your Heart (see page 64). Amid two Tasty restaurants, Middle Eastern fare both fancy (page 52) and fast casual, and massive event space Plaza del Toro in the central east side, Toro remains Gorham’s signal achievement as a restaurateur—amid ups and downs, multiple chefs and multiple remodels, it’s still one of the most singular dining experiences in Portland. I’ve fallen out of love with Toro in the past: Consider the affair rekindled.
M AT T H E W KO R F H A G E .
PRO TIP: The $40 family platter easily serves five and comes with every vegetable option on the menu. For a decadent meal that serves two or three people, order one veggie combo and one beef combo.
Enat's injera is so silky it's tempting to just bite straight into a roll. Shaun Daley
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