Gastro Monkey // 美食家

Normally I like picking places before I get to a city. Occasionionally I trust someone enough to choose for me (I have trouble finding people who eat the way I do 😅), which is what typically happens in Portland when I visit my brother. This time however, we went with convenience. Sometimes after my nine hour drive, I don't want to get back in a car. I just want to walk. He lives pretty close to a lot of restaurants, bars, and random shops so it works out in our favor.  A few blocks away is Rose & Thistle, a Scottish pub. It doesn't look huge from the outside, but it's spacious inside. I imagine they can get pretty busy. According to their website , the rose is for Portland and the thistle is for Scotland. At the same time, with a little research, I found that there is also a poem titled " The Thrissil and the Rois " which is a Scottish poem by William Dunbar about the wedding of the King of Scotland to a Princess of England. Try reading that after a few pi...

Monday through Friday, I pass the Pasty Shack. It looks like it's been in the neighborhood for quite some time and appears to be the kind of place I like going to. Of course that meant that eventually I would have to stop and give them a try. Two years later, I finally do. Many people online said that the Chile Verde Pasty is the best one, but I wanted to try the original one first: the Cornish.  The Cornish is advertised as having top grade beef, potatoes, onions, and special seasonings in their special pastry shell. The pastry shell is flaky and thin, but I think it works. The filling however, was as other reviewers had stated. The beef was pretty dry and chewy. If they stew it longer, it could be tender and more flavorful. As it is, it's dry. I fixed it for my tastes with liberal doses of Tapatio. The potatoes were good. I personally would have preferred more onions though.  Service is great though, and management is friendly and nice. I do plan on going back on a ...