Portland, OR
This is what happens when you've taken photos of food and you forget what they are when you finally have time to post them! I apologize in advance; there are 2 dishes below that my family has ordered but I've forgotten what they are now! Well, I can make out what they are but I've forgotten their actual names. I knew I should have taken a photo of the special's menu!
Anyway, continuing on with our trip in Portland... For our last night, we headed to Mother's Bistro for dinner. Urbanspoon had pretty good ratings and I've read a food blog that mentioned this place as well so we decided to give this restaurant a try.
There was a short wait when we arrived, then we were led to our table situated in a quiet corner. It was quite dark inside, the room only lit by the chandeliers and candles on the table. The restaurant had large picture windows though so I think it will be much brighter inside during the day.
I had a hard time deciding what to eat! There were a couple of entrees that I wanted to have so W, being the wonderful boyfriend he is, ordered my #2 choice (meatloaf) so I could sample some of it while I ordered my #1 choice.
Mom's Meatloaf & Gravy
Ground beef and sauteed aromatic vegetables, served with gravy, smashed red potatoes and seasonal vegetables
Being a restaurant that is dedicated to serving homestyle comfort food, I wanted to try the meatloaf. From the bites that I had, the meatloaf was moist and flavourful. The side of zucchini was really good. It was well seasoned and the middle was soft while the edges were still crisp.
Chicken & Dumplings
Slow-stewed chicken with herbed dumplings
The only dumplings I've ever had in my life were of the Chinese or Japanese variety so this was something completely new to me. This was a very hearty and homey dish. It reminded me of Chinese congee (rice porridge)because of the thick consistency. The chicken came in large chunks but they were stewed until they were soft so it pulled apart with ease. This was a very filling dish due to the ample amount of chicken and the doughy dumplings. Unfortunately, I did not really like the dumplings because they were kind of bland and quite heavy/doughy. In the end, I had to doggy-bag half of it to go. It made good leftovers though!
Grilled Flank Steak
With roasted red potatoes and seasonal vegetables
My dad had the one of the specials of the night which was the grilled flank steak. This was also one of the dishes I've forgotten the name of. I tried a piece of the steak and it was tender and not dry at all.
Roasted Free-range Chicken
Half a natural chicken served with pan juices, smashed red potatoes and seasonal vegetables
My mom tried the roast chicken meal. The meat was still quite juicy and I could tell my mom liked it because she was spending a lot of time picking the meat off the bones.
Smoked Salmon Linguine
My sister had one of the entrees on the special's menu as well. This was a creamy fettucini pasta with smoked salmon as the protein.
Jambalay Risotto
Slow cooked arborio rice with andouille sausage, prawns, onions, roasted red peppers and cilantro
My brother-in-law went the exotic route and tried the Jambalay risotto. He commented that it was quite spicy but he still polished off the whole plate!
Complimentary cookies
Chocolate chip, raisin, walnut
We were all too full at the end to order any desserts but we still received a complimentary plate of cookies to end the meal.
Our server was very patient and nice but when he came to take away our paid bill, he kind of stood there looking at us like he was expecting more tips.... That made me feel a bit uncomfortable. Our server was good but we paid the amount that we felt was adequate for the service we received in this environment. Aside from that awkwardness, the evening at Mother's Bistro was enjoyable.
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