Restaurant: Dante'sLocation: 350 West Burnside, Portland OR 97209Date: November 6th, 2010Ordered: 1 slice Pepperoni PizzaCost: $3.50Dante's is a bar just on the west end of the Burnside Bridge that has many faces; it's generally not a kid-friendly place with a choice of entertainment for every adult. When I was there this last weekend, it was for a friend's birthday party and there was a Rolling Stones tribute thing going on, which meant loud rock music. Lots of fun, I assure you.At some point in the evening I started to get hungry, and I eyed the pizza that was being made in the kitchen on the corner of the building. Giving into temptation, I ordered a slice of pepperoni. What was given to me for the bargain price of $3.50 was a delicious slice of New York-style pepperoni pizza that was bigger than my face. It was quite possibly the largest slice of pizza I've found in Portland (though Rocco's, just up the street, might be close) and it was dripping in flavor.Did I mention the slice was large? It handily eclipses the paper plate beneath it!The trouble with Dante's is that it isn't a restaurant destination, per se. If you're already there for an evening's entertainment, the pizza will not be a bad choice. Otherwise, however, please note that the kitchen has an outside-facing order window and, if you're hungry in Portland late at night, it's a damn good place to walk past and grab a slice! I'm pretty sure I'll be there again.

Vilfredo Pareto argued that, in an optimal (or “Pareto-efficient“) system, it is impossible to make anyone better off without making someone else worse off.  As a matter of public policy, then, a Pareto improvement makes at least one person better off without making anybody else worse off.  Without assigning a value judgement to the outcome, a desire of public policy is, at a minimum, to achieve a Pareto improvement with every decision.

It is in this light that I consider the tenure of Mayor Sam Adams to be a complete and utter failure.  In no particular order:

• His drive to ban plastic bags from being used by stores and charge customers extra to suffer using worthless 1950s-style paper bags – or bring their own bag.  News flash: it’s a common practice in this city to either re-use these plastic bags (as garbage bags, among other things) or recycle them.  Banning them only makes life in this city that much more expensive, a task Sam Adams and his merry band of likeminded yes-men and yes-women have excelled at.

• His renaming of 39th Avenue to César Chávez Boulevard, which I’ve posted out previously.

• The installation of speed bumps on NW Germantown Road.  This shortsighted move satisfies a few local residents, making them, in Pareto terms, better off.  However, the rest of the city who uses that road – one of the few arterial roads allowing access that direction – now has to suffer with more brake wear and suspension wear on their cars, a more jarring travel in any sort of vehicle, a less enjoyable road, and less responsive emergency access.  I would say that most of Portland was made worse off by this decision, just another in the long line.

• The drive by Mayor Sam Adams to boost water and sewer rates – already among the highest in the nation, as pointed out in the article – to pay for more bike lanes.  I’m pretty sure this isn’t legal use of tax fees; instead, perhaps we should use the extraordinarily high sewer rates to fix the problems with the Portland’s sewer system.

… and here’s another interesting fact.  I was at a Central Eastside Industrial Council meeting a few months ago and someone mentioned that commercial occupancy in downtown Portland had been in a notable decline for almost a decade.  While I’m sure bike lanes make it more accessible to those people who don’t have to otherwise travel during their workday, it’s a benefit to a decreasing number of people while everybody in the city has to pay for it.

The aforementioned reasons are what stick out in my mind.  I can’t find anything that Sam Adams has done that benefits more people than it harms.  He truly has embraced the selfish idea that “the wants of the few outweigh the good of the many”.  Instead of focusing efforts on trying to help Portland thrive in a challenging economic environment, he and the city council have focused efforts on pet projects and headline-grabbing agendas, guaranteeing that my city will have that much more work ahead of it when he’s finally out of office.

Restaurant: Aroy Thai CuisineLocation: 506 SW 4th Ave, Portland, OR 97204-2102Date: September 21st, 2009Ordered: Pad ThaiCost: $6.95I ended up at Aroy Thai Cuisine almost by accident, but I'm going to say that I'm glad I did. From the outside the restaurant is almost invisible; but for a small sign and a door tucked away from the street one wouldn't even know it was there. The inside presumes even less; it comes off as quite literally "a hole in the wall", with very modest furniture.Let me also say that Aroy Thai Cuisine is definitely focused more on flavor than on presentation. When my Pad Thai arrived it was not impressive looking - not by any stretch of the imagination. The lime was literally a slice of lime, and the two shrimp that are traditionally included were buried within the meal.But, and this is the most important part, it was delicious. Truly, honestly, good - and I wolfed it down faster than I'd have preferred to. It was a tattered book on a forgotten library shelf that you pick up, almost by accident, and find a magical story within. So rest assured that I'll be going back. Maybe I won't go when I'm looking for atmosphere, but when I'm hunting for that hidden gem, you'll find me there.

Restaurant: The Sultan CafeLocation: 1500 NW 18th Ave, Portland, OR 97209Date: July 2nd, 2009Ordered: Lamb GyroCost: $6.99Through extremely good fortune, I was introduced to The Sultan Cafe by a coworker. Upon entering, I went up to the counter and ordered the Lamb Gyro from a friendly Turkish gentleman that I'm guessing was the owner. I paid, and we managed to find seats despite how crowded the place was. So far everything seemed good, but I wasn't overly impressed. Then our food arrived, and I took a bite of my gyro. That moment changed everything. Even thinking about that bite is making my mouth water and crave yet another gyro from The Sultan Cafe. It was that delicious!I don't know what they did to it, but the lamb was so soft, tender, juicy, and flavorful that it literally was the best thing to happen to my mouth in months. My only regret is how quickly I devoured it because I wanted it to last longer. I will definitely be going back to the Sultan Cafe, time and time again. I'm not sure I want to order anything else there, though, since that gyro was so amazingly good. It's a conundrum, that's for sure!

Restaurant: Signal Station PizzaLocation: 8302 N Lombard, Portland, OR 97203Date: May 11th, 2009Ordered: 1 slice Pepperoni PizzaCost: $3.50On a whim today I walked past Signal Station Pizza and gave in to my craving. I walked into the former gasoline station (the pumps still warn of "leaded fuel") through the open bay door and ordered pepperoni pizza. The gal behind the counter warmed it up and handed it to me.The pizza itself was large and New York-style. It was decent, but something about it seemed a little off. I love supporting the little local restaurants, and I'm sure I'll be back, but it just wasn't the best pizza I've ever had. I'm not sure if the crust was too flavorless or the toppings a little bland, but it just seemed to lack that certain something that pizza ought to have.I don't want to say bad things about the place, though. The gal behind the counter was helpful and friendly, they deliver pizza around St. Johns on a bicycle on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and it's just got a lot of personality. I'll definitely give it another shot.

Restaurant: Thai CottageLocation: 8620 N Lombard St, Portland, OR 97203Date: April 10th, 2009Ordered: Pad Thai Cost: $8.50Finally had the chance to try Thai Cottage, another local hole-in-the-wall Thai place near my home. It's a small restaurant, with probably only about 8 tables - but it's these little places that so frequently turn out well.In an incredible act of originality, I ordered the Pad Thai. I'm going to say that the presentation of the meal was amazing; it really looked like they put some thought into it. In terms of flavor, the meal was also quite delicious. If I were giving Ebay-style feedback here, it would be "A++++++ would eat again!!!". I enjoyed my meal thoroughly. With the pleasant ambiance of the place, it was easy to feel relaxed and just enjoy it. What was doubly impressive was the dessert they brought us after the meal. It was a slice of pineapple with a small bowl of a sugar/salt mix. The whole Thai Cottage experience was filled with "yum" and I would definitely go back again!

Restaurant: McMenamins Barley Mill PubLocation: 1629 SE Hawthorne, Portland, OR 97214Date: March 27th, 2009Ordered: Falafel WrapCost: $6.75, though I ended up with several drinks attached to that.So I ended up at the Barley Mill for dinner for a friend's birthday, and hadn't yet eaten dinner. After pondering the menu, I decided to try something new - and hopefully relatively healthy - and ordered the Falafel Wrap (with the salad instead of the fries). I can safely say that it was delicious.It was also reasonably priced. However, since this was a McMenamins the usual caveats apply. Food and beer are both good, but anything with alcohol in it is vastly overpriced for what you get. Furthermore, on mixed drinks (such as a whiskey and coke) they are notoriously stingy with their portions. Consider this to be fair warning!Back to the food, though. The wrap was big, it was delicious, and I felt like I'd eaten a healthy, hearty meal by the time I was done with it. I would highly recommend the Falafel Wrap for anyone stopping by the Barley Mill; you won't regret it!