The Original, A Dinerant

  Date of last visit:  January 2010


Address: 300 West 6th Ave., (at Oak) Portland, Oregon
Phone:  503-506-2666
Hours: breakfast, lunch and dinner served daily --call for exact hours
Link:  Original Dinerant

General Impressions of the place itself:  spacious, plenty of room to get around so there is no need bumping into tables as you are coming and going,  tall ceilings, glass-window walls so you can see the street.  Sometimes places this big have bad acoustics, making it so you can't hear your dinner partner talk -- but we are happy to report that is not a problem here.  In fact despite the 'big space' there is almost a sense of intimacy in this place; you are far enough away from your neighbors that you feel like you can talk in private.

What we ordered:  Broiled fish sandwiches (wild king salmon on very fresh bread, came with an OK tomato soup--and/or an OK side salad) well worth the $10; Grilled cheese sandwich (came with french fries in a little brown-paper bag standing on the plate--reported to be good (maybe a bit spendy for $9--but good is good); Beef Stroganoff (ok--nothing to write home about); 72 Hour Bar-b-que Brisket (on no--a big D-disappointment the meat was dry and it has very little sauce--on the up side it came with a nice big side of Mac-and cheese that was delicious)  -- And  three scoops of home made ice cream to share  (on purpose we got their most unusual flavors: carrot, pistachio and coconut lime) with caramelized rice Krispies. The rice Krispies were a BIG HIT--the ice cream was ok but not especially special. Oh -- must not forget the Shake-A-Dilly -- was appreciated-- it is a froo-froo gin drink
Things we liked and disliked:  On the up side: The woman who waited on us was really sweet, she could have sat down and joined us; the space is comfortable; the menu is a compendium of comfort foods that all sound so good that it is hard to choose what you most want.  On the down side: the food ought to be better at the prices they are charging. It isn't way spendy--but it is not econo-food either 
Number in our party: FIVE
Total Bill:
Recommended? Jury is Out--we might go back and try one more time..there were so many things that looked good on the menu.  But it was not overwhelming wonderful the first time..so...go try the happy hour and sample the food that way.
With a Five Star Scale - and Five being perfect - we rate this place? First Visit  2+