Thad Westhusing

I have shopped for wine at Portalis during the day, but had yet to come in on an evening when I could try out the wine bar side of this Ballard establishment. Tonight was such an opportunity, where I was joined by a friend for a very enjoyable food and wine experience.

Portalis offers a great space to either shop for wine, enjoy a glass at the bar, or sit down at a table for something to eat. We arrived at around 6 pm with the place about half full, but by the time we left every seat was filled with folks enjoying a glass/bottle of wine and dinner.

Overall, the food, wines, and service were excellent. And it was especially nice that we arrived on a night when they were running a special “retail price” on all bottles of wine served at the bar ($12 off). As a result, rather than ordering wine by the glass, it made sense to have a bottle and take whatever was leftover home.

The wine bar menu is skewed toward more inexpensive Old and New World wines, with just a handful of local Pacific Northwest producers. The retail shop has a broader selection of Oregon and Washington wines, which you can purchase and have served in the wine bar for a corkage fee of $12.

To start things out, we chose a bottle of Toffoli NV Prosecco ($17) from the Veneto region paired with a tart ($12.50) of carmelized onion, asparagus, and garlic herb cheese along with a charcuterie plate ($11.75) featuring the house pate’. We followed this with a bottle of Pelissero 2005 Nebbiollo Langhe ($23) paired alongside a dish of gratin ($8.75) with goat cheese & fresh herb marinara.

The service throughout our stay at the bar was very attentive, with our server, Erin, offering small tastes of any wine before ordering. The plates of food were delicious and small enough to encourage you to order several differenct dishes. I prefer ordering a variety of dishes and pairing them with several different glasses of wines – it makes for a more adventuresome and enjoyable experience.

My only complaint is that there weren’t more local wines being offered by the glass at the wine bar. I can understand why, as it probably takes some effort to go beyond the usual line up of inexpensive European, South American, and Australian wines offered by distributors. Plus, there’s always the economics of serving a bottle that is priced reasonably enough to offer wine by the glass that a consumer will be willing to order.

Regardless, I will definitely return to Portalis Wine Shop + Wine Bar to enjoy some wine by the glass and various plates of food from its diverse menu. I recommend you give it a try as well.

It’s been years since I ate at Flying Fish, therefore today’s lunch was met with some anticipation. When this restaurant first opened back in the late-90’s, it was the place I always brought visiting family and friends to due to its great food and service. Boy, have the years not been kind to Flying Fish.

I arrived at 11:30 am, when the restaurant opened, but was met by staff who acted like we had intruded upon their opening routine. In fact, the manager or whomever this person was looked at us and said something to the effect that we would have to wait as they were still trying to open.

Well then why have your opening time as 11:30 am? If you need more time to get your act together (which was clearly the case with these folks), then maybe you should move your start time back to Noon. There’s nothing worse than arriving at a restaurant and being received like you are an interruption to their routine.

When finally seated, we were escorted to a crammed, corner table for two, passing a number of open tables (we were the only ones in the restaurant). I had to ask if we could sit at a table nearby that offered a more comfortable setting. It was unbelievable the treatment this guy provided.

Unfortunately, the lunch I had did not meet the bar. It was a far cry from the Flying Fish standard I once enjoyed. I ordered the halibut fish and chips, which arrived sodden with grease, crumbling from the saturation of oil that had permeated everything. The only consolation was a decent side dish of cole slaw that offered a nice bit of spice.

What a disappoint from start to finish, in terms of quality of service and food.

The environment at Crow is open and well designed, with plenty of bar and chef counter space to enjoy your meal if you prefer not to be seated at a table. I really liked the energy and ambiance of this restaurant.

We started with a bottle of 2005 Novelty Hill Semillon paired with grilled asparagus with prosciutto, parmesan and balsamic and a mediterranean platter with grilled pita, dipping sauces & feta cheese.

These appetizers were the highlight of my meal, for I really enjoyed the fresh asparagus, while the med platter offered an incredible medley of tastes. Unfortunately, I think the Novelty Hill ’05 semillon was on its way down, as it just no longer seemed like the fresh, young white wine it might have been years before.

For the main course, I ordered the pan roasted chicken wrapped in prosciutto with green beans. Based on our server’s recommendation, we chose a bottle of Belle Pente 2006 Yamhill-Carlton District Pinot Noir, which ended up being a wonderful wine to follow the struggling semillon.

In fact, the Belle Pente pinot ended up trumping my overcooked chicken, which when combined with the flavorless, rubbery green beans, didn’t make for a memorable dish. I should have sent it back, but with the wine so enjoyable, I let the whole matter slide.

Overall, I would definitely return to Crow, for it offers a great environment, attentive service, and a diverse menu of food and wines to enjoy.