Andina on Urbanspoon

Before my dad took me to the airport last night we stopped at Andina in Portland. We had talked about Peruvian restaurants and that we had never been to any. Then I was reading his AAA magazine and Andina was mentioned - so I called for a reservation.

They brought out bread with a triple dipping sauce tray. One was a satay-like dipping sauce with a peanut base. The second was a sweet one with passionfruit as its base. The third was a green jalapeno, cilantro-y concoction. Each one was a little spicer than the prior. Of the three, I preferred the last one.

I'm still bad at remembering to take pictures of food before I do my blogs. So I missed the appetizer. It was Causa, a traditional preparation of potato mixed with fresh key lime pressed into a cake, with savory fillings and served cold with avocado. We chose the MIXTA NIKKEI - spicy tuna, crab salad and crispy shrimp. It was a new flavor experience for us. The potato with lime as the base, topped with the crab salad, tuna chunks, and then fried shrimp. Only the shrimp was hot, the rest was cold. Not a favorite, but still a nice new flavor experience.

Dad had the LOMO SALTADO - wok-fried Cascade Natural Beef tenders with onions, tomatoes, soy sauce, garlic, and ají, served with rice and fried yuca. He said it was unimpressive and similar to fajitas.



I had the CONCHAS DEL SENOR DE SIPAN - quinoa-crusted diver scallops perched on top of wilted spinach and potato-parsnip purée, with golden beet and crabmeat "cannelloni”, and a duet of red beet and passionfruit reductions. The picture is of one of the three "mounds" that I had on a long rectangular plate. Again, nice, but nothing exceptional.



We did, however, thoroughly enjoy our desserts. I had the FLAN DE QUESO DE CABRA - creamy goat cheese and lemon mousse, served with fresh raspberries laced with basil and habanero. The goat cheese was not too strong, although by the time I finished it, I had had enough of the goat cheese flavor. Don't you love the plate decoration? They took more time with the chocolate and syrup swirls than any other restaurant I've seen.




Dad had the CANUTOS DE QUINOA Y MARACUYA - crisp quinoa studded cannolis stuffed with passionfruit mousse, served with mango-lemongrass sorbet and caramel. We both loved this one.

Andina is on the corner of NW Glison and NW 13th in Portland.

I've been making these muffins for a couple of months now. They are very healthy because they are made with whole wheat flour, oatmeal, flax seed, and wheat germ. I eat one every morning with some butter and head off to work. You know, I lost five pounds once I added breakfast to my routine! I had skipped it before. But they say you need to kick start your metabolism with breakfast and boy did it work! Luckily I had the great gift of my dad bringing down bags of frozen berries from Oregon. He gave me a pound of black currents, mulberries, and two pounds of blueberries! So of course that makes the muffins all the better.

Easy Oatmeal Muffins

1 c buttermilk
1 c quick oats
1 egg
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/4 c honey
1/4 c sugar
1 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c wheat germ
1/4 c flax seed
2 teas. baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/c berries of choice

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and grease your muffin tins.
In a small bowl, combine oats and buttermilk and let soak for 5-10 mins.
In a big bowl, beat together oil, egg, honey. Add and combine the oatmeal mixture.
In another bowl combine the remaining dry ingredients. Add them to the oatmeal mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the berries. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for about 20 mins. until the muffin is set and a toothpick comes out clean. It is important to watch and not overbake because these muffins can dry out quickly.
Broadway Soul Food on Urbanspoon
I had to share with everyone our experience at dinner. I had
organized a dinner with my other dinner group for Sunday at
6:30. I had called to make the reservation about three weeks before
saying I wanted the Sunday after Thanksgiving at 6:30 for 20 people.
They took the reservation with no problem. I have never been to
Broadway Soul Food so I did not know that they aren't even open on
Sunday nights. I called at 5:00 to confirm and they said they
were waiting for us. I get there to find out that the restaurant is
closed and they are opening it up just for our group!! And, in fact,
they haven't been open since Wed because of Thanksgiving. So they all
came in on this Sunday to open up at a time they don't normally open
up, just for us!!! I had no idea and was so stressed because many of
our group flaked on us. But the staff were totally gracious, took
great care of us, and even threw in the banana pudding dessert for
free!!! I cannot say how incredibly impressed I was by this. They
could have called or told me about their hours or their holiday
schedule, but they honored their commitment.

Needless to say, the food was great and everyone was very happy. I had
the smothered pork chops with sides of corn and greens. I will say
they are heavy on the pepper. Pepper is heavy in the gravy, in the
mac and cheese, in everything. So don't add pepper. LOL. The greens
were good and not overly bitter like some greens can be. The banana
pudding was slices of banana and vanilla wafer cookies folded in
vanilla pudding.

Anyway, please do eat there and tell them that you heard how wonderful
they were. We were short our attendance, so I promised them I would
spread the word via my email groups.


Broadway Soul Food
3515 Broadway
916-453-8990
Dad's on Urbanspoon


Note: change of ownership, but still same sandwich recipes.

Got a hankering for some great sandwiches made with the freshest and best ingredients? Take a stroll down S Street to Dad's. The Englands, Sam (dad), Zak, and Ali, opened Dad's in 2004 and they are doing a brisk business.
Perhaps you like roast beef—so try the Get Away, which is piled high with meat and fixed with cream cheese, red onion, lettuce, horseradish sauce and brown mustard on focaccia. I like hot sandwiches and highly recommend the Blue Collar Dream—Harris Ranch tri-tip, pepper jack, roasted red onion, red pepper, mushrooms, tomato, black olive, with garlic spread, brown mustard and pepper plant sauce on a roll. Wow! Some other combinations are titled Honky Tonk Hero, Bikini Kill, Hot Blonde, and Bad Breath Special.
Zak and Ali have been in the food service industry for a number of years. Sam had been working for many years as an Operations Manager in the dried bean biz. The kids approached Sam to retire early and join them in opening the sandwich shop.
The shop opened last June and started with just making sandwiches to order. After a while they began to see what people liked, discovered some interesting combinations, and came up with some set sandwiches to make ordering quicker. Some of the sandwiches are named for/by certain customers.
Zak says that all of their ingredients come from farmers' markets, specialty bakers, and small suppliers. Each day there are two soups made from scratch. Fridays are clam chowder and Wednesdays are chili. There is always one made vegetarian.
Currently the hours are Monday thru Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday they stay open until "beer-thirty", which means whenever they feel like closing. Seating is very limited, especially when weather does not permit outdoor seating. It is recommended that you call in your order to reduce your wait on-site.
Dad's is at 1310 S Street. Call your order in to 488-DADS.