La Rambla

Long time no see!  I have moved to the town of McMinnville, Oregon.  I am no longer working as a concierge.  Instead I am co-managing a small pizza shop with my husband Brian.  It's a big change, but a good one so far.  

Here in the midst of wine country, there are a handful of quality restaurants using the fresh, local meats and produce this area is known for.  So far we have tried Cuvee, Thistle and La Rambla.  Didn't have my camera at the first two, but here are some shots of our lunch at La Rambla.  It's a Spanish tapas place.

First up was this partially-devoured chef's choice meat and cheese plate ($12).  It came with housemade chorizo, serrano ham, a hard cheese, a bleu cheese and some candied walnuts.  We had this with some good bread and olive oil.

Next up was the manila clams with chorizo, sherry, garlic and herbs ($7).  I could eat these all day.  We used the clam shells to scoop up the rest of the juice left over in the bowl.  

These were one of the best things we ate here:  Piquillo Peppers stuffed with northwest crab, goat cheese, harissa ($12).  Tons of crab spiked with the spicy harissa wrapped in a roasted pepper.  Mmm, mmm, good.

The Willamette Valley mushrooms with garlic and white wine ($7) were nothing special.  Needed more salt and more garlic or lemon or something.  Also they were white or crimini mushrooms.  We were hoping for something more wild.

Fried green beans ($6) with aioli.  Scrumptious.  A tempura-like batter.

Spice-rubbed Tri-tip with romesco and marinated onion.  These were good, especially with the pickled onion.  I loved the romesco with the smoky steak.  

Our last dish was the chorizo empanadas with a roasted red pepper cream sauce ($8).  I was really too full to enjoy this.  The flavor was bold and a little too salty.  

I thought I'd show the pics of the room.  I really liked the lamps and the paintings.  And the signboard outside.

Overall we liked our meal at La Rambla.  They have a bunch more tapas and even a burger I'd like to try.

La Rambla

238 NE Third Street

McMinnville, Oregon

503.435.2126

Toro Bravo

It is seriously sad that we don't head here more often, when it is a mere 6 blocks from home. And we've only been once, I think. We walked down last night just after 5 and snagged seats at the counter.

We started with drinks - Borio (?) for him (a tequila cocktail) and a Sage Seville for me (like a gin mojito with sage instead of mint). Tasty and balanced for both.

We started with the Singing Pig salad which featured grilled asparagus, chopped egg and hazelnuts, and the sherry chicken liver mousse. Both were big portions for the price. We were expecting maybe a votive of chicken liver mousse, but it was a very generous cup. Served with quartered ciabatta bread slices and crispy baguette. The salad was served in a mixing bowl with salad tongs. I tossed it around a little and served us up a big scoop each and still had enough left in the bowl for seconds. I love egg in salad so this was a winner for me. It was very lightly dressed in a mild vinaigrette.

Next we ordered the oxtail croquettes and drunken pork with fresh shell bean stew. I thought the oxtail croquettes were a ripoff for $14. Three, two-inch croquettes? Oxtails are from the tail of a cow, right? They were rich and crispy, though, with a great spicy aioli. I'm glad we tried them, and because the first two dishes' portion size was so generous, this one being skimpy didn't really matter. Actually, maybe that was why we expected a little more on that plate, because of the size of the first two. The drunken pork came out next. Tasted like a smoked pork chop chunked up with great northern beans and a tomato-pepper stew.

We passed on dessert and Brian had one more drink instead. 3 drinks + 4 dishes = $67 before tip. Not bad considering we can spend $30 for breakfast in the area pretty easily. I think we'll probably pop in more often now.


Toro Bravo
120-A N.E. Russell Street
Portland, OR 97212
503.281.4464
torobravopdx.com