Hey, even more food

After work today, on the recommendation of a friend, I went to go check out a tiny plates place called Navarre.

It was tiny (like the plates), but the food was quite enjoyable, and since they were tiny portions, I got to sample a fairly wide swath through the menu. And since they stapled my receipt to the menu I selected, I can recall the miniature wonders I partook of, in no particular order

They were:

Olives: A bowl of assorted olives, swimming in a perfumed press of their brethen's oil. I particularly like the smaller brown/purple-y ones.

Mushrooms: MMMMMmmmMmmm. God, I love mushrooms.

Ken's Bread: Annoying that they charged for bread, but it was moist and tasty and perfect for sopping up delicious leftover sauces. And it was only a dollar (but then, why charge at all?), and I got more than enough. Also, who's Ken?

Country Pork pate w/Prunes: This came with hot mustard and cauliflower, not prunes. Unless they were hidden somewhere. It's possible, I suppose. The pate was more like a slice of cold terrine, and it was good, but not what I was expecting, exactly. It had a flavor I couldn't quite put my finger on, but it was a porky, familiar flavor of my childhood.

Potato Pancakes: These were like fat little hashbrowns. And you know how I feel about hash browns. Crispy heaven.

Trout baked in Parchment: Tender, and simply prepared. As the name implies, the trout was just seasoned, wrapped in parchment and then baked and/or broiled. Tender and good. I was unhappy that the skin stuck to the parchment int he baking process, since I could not partake of the crispy skin goodness, but overall, this dish was pleasant. I don't think I'm a big trout fan, though.

Italian/Spanish Cheese: A few ounces of varied cheese. One was a salty soft cheese with tasty mold shot all through it, one was brie-like one, and one was a smoked harder cheese. Regrettably, I do not recall what they were called or even which were Italian and which were Spanish.

Pain d'Epice with Goat Cheese and Honey: This was a dessert of spiced bread. Good, good stuff. They crisped out the edges of the slice in the broiler and spread the chevre on top and then drizzled honey over that. It was amazingly good.

. . .

In other news, Google Maps is incredibly poor at giving logical directions in Portland. On the bright side, I'm getting quite adept at U-turns.