Paragon - Portland

Friends and I came here on a Sat night for dinner while spending a weekend in Portland. Our mistake was that we had not made reservations anywhere on a Sat night in Pearl district so any walk in reservation was upto 2.5 hour wait!! We called Paragon, and they said they could seat us right away. The food was good, but nothing memorable. I had the half roasted chicken. I asked our server that I needed Gluten Free ingredients and if some items can be substituted? First he said he needs to check with the chef, next he said there will be extra charge without asking anyone, and walked away. When he returned, I asked about the response to my question. Once again he said he has to check with the chef (which he hadn 't done already). I mentioned about the dish I was thinking to get and if the gluten items can be substituted, he just responded; we won 't serve you any of it , no effort in checking into it or trying to accommodate for a gluten free item instead. The service was slow and they didn 't ask about how the meal was or check on us during the meal. Not something I would go back to...

This used to be a stalwart of the PDX scene, but has taken a precipitous fall. When we lived here we ate there 3x a month. We used it as our place to meet all our PDX friends on our frequent visits. Start with the no adjustment stance from the kitchen that would not switch out types of potatoes on a meal. Go on to a now indifferent approach to cocktail making. The Manhattans tasted like they were from a can. Go on to the erratic service. (BTW we were the only diners in the dining room on a Wed night) Finalize with the simple fact that the food was just not as good as it used to be. I was even willing to overlook the preceding items if food was still stellar. It was not. It tasted old. It tasted dated. It tasted like 2001.

I know people will disagree with me and I don't care, I will fight you. I ordered the burger after hearing so many raving about it and it came with the rosemary fries. Some folks need more cowbell, I need more rosemary! The burger was made exactly how I ordered it and if you get used to eating good meat, you can taste when it's ..less than, even in a burger. This was delicious and what I wanted it to be. Just a good burger. Sometimes you don't need to do different things, sometimes you just want a good burger! The fries were good but I'm telling you, they could be better. I just think if you're going to dress fries, be it with truffle or garlic or rosemary, you should commit. Dress that up! Make it uncomfortable. It'd be delicious!

My husband and I stopped in for a happy hour drink and a snack. We ordered the HH street tacos to share. You get two small tacos with braised chicken, pico de Gallo, salsa verde, radish, cilantro and cheese. We skipped the cheese since I can't have that due to a dairy intolerance issue. It was quite tasty which surprised me. I ordered the strawberry infused vodka drop cocktail. The drink was sweet and delicious with a sugar lined rim. My husband ordered the bourbon enchinacea cocktail. This was another delicious drink that tingled my taste buds for the better.

I won a gift card from one of those Streetcar scavenger hunts and was excited to try this place. I was bummed to find out it was closing. Bob, the bartender, was super friendly and knowledgeable. I enjoyed getting his insights about the broader logistics of bar stuff since my dad used to bartender. Food-wise I had the crab cake and the Bibb salad. The crab cake was super tasty with lots of crab. I would have preferred pan seared over breaded and fried, but there was lots of lovely crab with little filler. The Bibb salad was super tasty, and the lettuce was super delicate. The bacon and fried shallots added a nice, smoky richness. I wish the Paragon family luck and look forward to seeing what comes next.