Restaurant: Vincente's Gourmet PizzaLocation: 1935 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214Date: December 2nd, 2011Ordered: Pepperoni Pizza & Salad (Lunch Special)Cost: $5.50I had the opportunity to walk into Vincente's Gourmet Pizza for lunch the other day. It's on the corner of Hawthorne and 20th, just across from the Cinemagic Theatre. I went in on a bit of a lark as I saw a sign that said, "Slice of Cheese & a side salad: $5". The waiter then explained that it was really a discount on the slice of cheese; for $.50 more, I could have the pepperoni.The good: the pizza was reasonably fantastic. Flavorful, covered in grease (which I wiped off with a napkin), and with excellent cheese, it was delicious. I ate it quickly and, as pizza goes, I'd definitely eat it again.The less-than-good: the side salad I ordered was the Caeser salad. It was watery, the dressing was runny, and just lacked any sort of real taste. It was as if they grabbed some Romaine lettuce, dunked it in water, put dressing on it, sliced it up, threw a few croutons on it, and served it to me. Not at all exciting.But man, the pizza was good. For $5.50 (only $5 if you just get the cheese pizza) it's still worth it; I'd just get a different side salad.

Restaurant: AprisaLocation: Corner of SE 8th & Division, Portland, OR 97214Date: February 24th, 2010Ordered: Taco SaladCost: $5.40Several of my coworkers and I decided to try Aprisa one day, as it's within walking distance of where I work. It's a surprising-looking place; it's entirely a drive-up restaurant that's roughly the size of a single-wide trailer. A cute-looking little place, but it doesn't scream "restaurant". I ordered my favorite, taco salad. It came in short time, as ordered. The water I asked for, while ordering, however, didn't come as ordered and I had to ask for it. Notably, my friend's burrito, ordered without cheese, was delivered (with verbal assurance) without cheese. Or so he was told; it actually came with cheese, as he later, unfortunately, found out. My taco salad, once I got a chance to eat it, wasn't all that great. It wasn't terrible, and was perhaps nicely authentic, but it wasn't all that great. The ingredients tasted fresh, but the proportions all seemed wrong. Still, if you're in the mood for authentic mexican food, it's a place to try.

Restaurant: NostranaLocation: 2030 SE 7th, Portland, OR 97214Date: October 9th, 2009Ordered: BLTCost: $6.50I have fallen in love!Well, I've fallen in love with a sandwich. Nosh is a sandwich place just a few blocks away from where I work and it's a favorite of the staff here. They've got to be putting something in their BLT because it's so darn delicious. I've taken to eating them several times a week. I think about the BLT when I'm not eating it. When I'm out for a walk... I'm really just daydreaming about the BLT. It's that good. Seriously. So give Nosh a try. Try the BLT. (The other sandwiches are good, too, I hear.) You'll probably even run into me there.

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: Genie's CafeLocation: 1101 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97202Date: September 16t, 2009Ordered: BLTCost: $7.50I ended up at Genie's in SE Portland having lunch with a friend. We went there with no idea of what to expect, only that "it came recommended". We sat down in the eclectic restaurant - and I say "eclectic" meaning "a bit of Portland hipster with a splash of Portland hippy thrown in for good measure" - and I perused the menu, immediately deciding on my old favorite, the BLT. A short while later my BLT arrived with the side salad (note: no honey mustard dressing!) The salad was good enough, with delicious bleu cheese dressing, but the BLT was phenomenal. It was just the right amount of thick, juicy bacon without making me worry about having a heart attack on my way back to the office. The bacon was cooked "just right", the bread was nice and soft (versus overly toasty), and the lettuce and tomato were present but not overwhelming. Basically it was everything I look for in a delicious BLT. I was happy.That recommendation that Genie's came with? It stands.