Restaurant: NostranaLocation: 1401 SE Morrison, Portland, ORDate: September 28nd, 2009Ordered: Insalata NostranaCost: $9.00I ate at Nostrana for a work meeting. It's got a great location in Southeast Portland with a good parking lot and easy accessibility. The inside is clean (but not sterile-feeling) with windows that make the place light up naturally.Looking over the menu I hit on an instant problem that I often face when dining out: I don't speak whatever language they choose to use, so I often have little idea what I'm facing. I ended up going with the Insalata Nostrana, mainly because I could figure out that it was a salad.The food arrived and I was quite pleasantly surprised. It was a wonderful salad with a house dressing that made it an entirely enjoyable meal. I'm not sure it's a place that I would frequent (a $9 salad was one of the less expensive items on the menu) but I was quite satisfied with what I had.

Restaurant: Bocci's on 7thLocation: 1728 SE 7th Ave, Portland, ORDate: September 22nd, 2009Ordered: Soup & SaladCost: $6.75Bocci's, for me, is just a quick walk away from work, so I went there recently on a recommendation. I found a small, cozy restaurant with a personable and enthusiastic staff waiting. Sitting down at an empty table, I looked over the menu and - looking for a light lunch but finding mainly pastas - ordered the soup (a minestrone) and salad.The order arrived quickly and I ate the bread and salad first while the soup cooled down. It was a good, small salad - exactly what I was looking for. The soup, once cooled, was also fairly delicious.I don't have much to say about Bocci's; it was a good and I'll definitely go again (if nothing else, due to proximity.) It's worth checking out if you're in the neighborhood.

Restaurant: Nicola's PizzaLocation: 4826 N Lombard St, Portland, ORDate: August 13th, 2009Ordered: Nicola's Sausage and PeppersCost: $11.99Looking at it from the outside, Nicola's seems like a somewhat run-down establishment, unimpressive in every possible capacity. Yet, inexplicably, the first time I saw it I thought, "I want to find out what's in there." I wasn't sure what to expect; I figured some bar & grill-type pizza joint or some such. Was I in for a surprise!Walking into Nicola's is like opening to the door to a beat-up car and a well-kept, fine leather interior with all the latest comforts inside. There's a definite Italian theme (or perhaps just a theme that says "Italy") and it's a clean, pleasant, family dining establishment that actually has some class. The menu is mostly pastas and pizza - kind of like the Olive Garden, but smaller, quieter, and with fewer birthdays. I ended up ordering "Nicola's Sausage and Peppers", which was essentially spaghetti but with large chunks of italian sausage and peppers mixed in. And it was good. VERY good. So that's all I have to report on Nicola's: it's a surprise, and a very good one at that. You can bet I'll be adding it to my "list of local restaurants to revisit"!