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2011-06-16T13:35:00.001-07:00

No More Blog

VQ turns 40!

2011-01-10T22:41:00.000-08:00

This January marks Veritable Quandary's 40th anniversary!

Our Proprietor Dennis King opened the doors of Veritable Quandary 40 years ago, and still comes in everyday. To all our guests who are part of our VQ Family, here's to you! Cheers to 40 years!

If you haven't already, come see what makes the VQ stand the test of time.

2011-01-02T16:01:00.001-08:00

Happy 2011!

We are starting the new year off by taking care of some necessary repairs.. Unfortunately it will require us to close down for a week.

We will be closed on Sunday, January 2nd 2011 through Sunday, January 9th 2011.

We will reopen for our normal business hours on Monday, January 10th at 11:30am.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

New Year's Day

2010-12-26T22:37:00.000-08:00

We will be open all day on New Year's Day, January 1st, 2011!

In years past we always close for the day, but in 2011 we are ready to ring in the new year right, with Brunch at Portland's dining oasis! We will be serving our weekend brunch menu starting at 9:30am as usual and our dinner menu from 5:00 'till 10:00pm. Of course, the legendary VQ bar will be open late until 2:30am.

However, we will be closing after Brunch service at 3:00pm on Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 to celebrate our employees at our annual employee appreciation party. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Happy New Year!

Seasons Greetings!

2010-12-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

Think of us as your home away from home as yours may be a little hectic this time of year! Let us help you organize your holiday party or office gathering. Just give us a call at 503-227-7342.

Please note that we will be closing at 3:00pm on Friday, December 24th after lunch service and closed all day on Saturday, December 25th so our staff can enjoy the holidays with their families.

Remember, Veritable Quandary gift certificates make a great gift! Stop by or give us a call anytime!

VQ Tasting Menu is Back!

2010-11-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again- Tasting Menu season is here!
Did you think I was going to say something about the rain? Let's focus on the positive! Each Saturday night Chef Annie Cuggino will be plating 6- 8 course tasting menus for lucky diners. Call for your reservations, seating will be at 7:30pm Saturdays by reservation only! $65 per person with a course-by-course wine pairing offered for an additional $35.
Sit back and enjoy some of the city's finest cuisine and watch the leaves (and the rain) fall.

Good Day, Sunshine

2010-08-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

Summer is in full swing and so is the patio! Come bask in the sunshine before those rainy fall days bring us all back inside. Local draught beers, delicious handcrafted cocktails and fantastic seasonal food abound here at VQ- The only thing missing is you!

Visions of blue skies and patio seating...

2010-05-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

So far this Spring the weather here in Portland has left a bit to be desired, but excellent food and drinks are plentiful! Come join us and watch the rain or marvel at a rare sun soaked day on our lush patio. Father's day is June 20th- book your table now for a beautiful brunch or delicious dinner, or drop in with dad for a quick bite and a beer. Remember the VQ is open 7 days a week and always looking forward to seeing you!

Table for Two?

2010-01-23T15:43:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and reservations are going fast! Please call us soon so we can save you a cozy spot for you and your lucky date. We will be featuring an a la carte menu with some special selections- no prix fixe to commit to- and as always, we would love to see you at the VQ!

Book your holiday party at VQ!

2009-11-06T16:05:00.000-08:00

As this holiday season nears, keep Veritable Quandary in mind for your entertaining needs!

We have the perfect space for groups from two to 20, including private dining for up to eight people in our cozy wine cellar. There is no charge to use the wine cellar - if it's available, you can reserve it!

Our charming semi-private loft space overlooking the Willamette River can accommodate up to 20 guests comfortably for lunch, brunch, or dinner. We can also offer the use of our dining room for cocktail parties of up to 40 people between 3pm and 5pm - perfect for an afternoon office get-together.

Give us a call for more details and date availability. We look forward to seeing you this holiday season!

Wine Dinner featuring Tablas Creek Vineyard

2009-08-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

Join us at Veritable Quandary for a winemaker's dinner on Tuesday, September 15th at 6:30pm. Chef Annie Cuggino will prepare an inspiring multi-course dinner, paired to perfection with wines from Tablas Creek Vineyard.

Cost is $75 per person (includes gratuity). Seating is extremely limited; for more details or to reserve your spot at this event, please contact VQ Wine Director Nicole Rocco at:

info@vqpdx.com
(503)203-9261

Tablas Creek Vineyard

Extreme Makeover: Beer List Edition

2009-08-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

The VQ draught beer list has gone local!

To take advantage of the exceptional brews the Pacific Northwest has to offer, all of our draught beers are now exclusively local/regional. Don't worry, your old friends are still here (some of them now live in bottles). We've just added some new friends from the neighborhood.

Our current selection includes:

Double Mountain India Red Ale
(Hood River, OR)

Terminal Gravity ESG
(Enterprise, OR)

Walking Man Pale Strider
(Stevenson, WA)

Widmer Hefeweizen
(Portland, OR)

Hopworks Urban Brewing Czech Pilsner
(Portland, OR)

Ninkasi Total Domination IPA
(Eugene, OR)

Hale's Dublin Style Cream Stout
(Seattle, WA)

Full Sail Amber Ale
(Hood River, OR)

Our taps are always rotating, so keep checking back to see what PNW delights are up next! All draught beers are $4.50 a pint, so it's easy to sample all the brews our region has to offer.

Go beer!

Summertime, and the livin' is easy

2009-06-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

After a brief blog-hiatus, we're back! Now that the weather is ramping up in Portland, it has been a busy couple of months. While Portlanders are reveling in the sun's triumphant return, our garden patio in full swing and fresh, local summer produce (fresh Oregon berries anyone??) is rolling in daily. This of course means new summer cocktails!

Some of our summer creations:

Skinny Dip
House Infused Watermelon & Cucumber Vodka,
Mint, Fresh Lime Juice, and Club Soda
Served on the Rocks

Summertime Lemonade
Seasonal Berry (currently Strawberry & Rhubarb) House Infused Vodka
& Fresh Squeezed Lemonade
Served on the Rocks

Mango Mojito
Rum, Mint, Lime, Club Soda & Mango Puree, Splash of Lime, Served on the Rocks

John Daly
Paradise Tea House Infused Vodka, Cointreau & Sparkling
Lemonade on the Rocks in a Pint

All of your old favorites are still here, and VQ Sangria is coming soon!

Park yourself on our patio, quench your thirst with a delicious summer treat, and relax. It's summer.

Patio season is coming

2009-03-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

We bring you the first signs of spring at the VQ... flowers blooming on the patio! Our garden is starting to blossom, and we've got flowers ready to plant. It won't be long now...

Best Eggs Benedict in Portland

2009-02-21T13:50:00.000-08:00

And that's in the words of Portland Monthly Magazine, not ours!

In the March issue of Portland Monthly, the editors scoured the city looking for the best of breakfast. We are happy to report that after trying some 60+ restaurants, they decided on our very own Eggs Benedict as their favorite!

Eggs Benedict

Veritable Quandary 1220 SW First Ave; 503-227-7342; Brunch served weekends 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m.; veritablequandary.com

Why We Like It Not that we’ve tasted all the eggs Benedict in town—almost all, most certainly—but just when we’d decided that there were as many bad versions of the dish as there are broken umbrellas in the month of May, we visited Veritable Quandary. Not only did we find the best rendition in town, we found the best Pacific Northwest eggs Benedict we’d ever tasted. That’s right—wedged between a thick house-made English muffin and a poached egg drizzled with hollandaise sauce were tangles of sweet, succulent Dungeness crab meat. There’s spinach in there too, but it’s chef Annie Cuggino’s combination of rich crab, muffin, and buttery sauce that restored our devotion to this breakfast classic.

The Scene Huddle into a wooden booth in the bar area or join the rest of the crowd in back, where light streams in through a greenhouse window and mimosas sit elegantly on stark white tablecloths. In warm weather, the patio is the perfect place to indulge. Expect out-of-towners and regulars as company.

Backup Plan Besaw’s (2301 NW Savier St; 503-228-2619) offers an extensive weekend Benedict menu. On occasion, we also like the old-school simplicity at J&M Cafe (537 SE Ash St; 503-230-0463). —CD

Click here to read the full article, which also includes tons of other breakfast gems across the city.

If you would like to judge for yourself, our Eggs Benedict and Crab Benedict are always featured on our Brunch menu, served Saturdays & Sundays from 9:30am-3:00pm. All in the name of good breakfast, of course. See you soon!

Peanut Butter Pie

2009-02-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

In what we hope will become a regular series on this blog, below you will find the recipe for Chef Annie Cuggino's Peanut Butter Pie. Thank you for sharing, Chef!

This delectable dessert is the holy grail for peanut butter lovers; the perfect balance of rich, light and creamy. We hope you'll try it at home - leave a comment here and let us know how it goes!

Peanut Butter Pie Filling

1 lb. Cream Cheese
3 cups Powdered Sugar
3 cups Peanut Butter
3 1/2 cups Whipped Cream (sweetened & w/vanilla)

Cream the cream cheese and powdered sugar together
Add peanut butter and mix
Fold in the whipped cream
Scrape into a prepared graham cracker crust (see below)
Cool completely
Top with chocolate ganache (see below) - cool again
Serve with whipped cream and peanuts or peanut brittle

Chocolate Ganache

2 cups Chopped Belgian Bittersweet Chocolate
1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream

Bring cream to a boil
Pour over chocolate, stir to melt
Pour over cooled pie

Graham Cracker Crust

3 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
3/4 cup Peanuts (ground)
1/2 cup Dutch Cocoa
6 oz. Melted Butter

Mix all ingredients together
Press into a 10" springform pan
Bake until toasted
Cool completely before adding filling

Extended Valentine's Day Menu

2009-02-08T15:38:00.000-08:00

Since we have received so many Valentine's Day reservation requests, we have decided to offer our special Prix Fixe Valentine's Day menu on Friday, February 13th and Sunday, February 15th as well! See the most recent post below for a copy of the menu.

We still have plenty of Friday and Sunday tables left, so give us a call to reserve yours!

Valentine's Day is coming up...

2009-01-30T14:25:00.000-08:00

Have you booked your table for Valentine's Day yet?

Saturday, Feb. 14th is right around the corner! The Veritable Quandary will be featuring it's regular dinner menu (check out the current menu here) as well as a special Prix Fixe menu available for Valentine's Day only!

(click on image for a larger view)

We have a limited number of tables still available, so give us a call at (503) 227-7342 to reserve yours. We look forward to seeing you!

Chef Cuggino's Tasting Menu

2009-01-22T15:17:00.000-08:00

Good news... the chef's tasting menu is back!

Beginning Saturday, January 31st, guests can reserve a table to enjoy course after course of chef's inspiration. A welcome addition to our winter repertoire, the tasting menu is a great way to sample Chef Annie's cuisine, as well as the local, fresh ingredients that it features. Read what The Oregonian had to say about the tasting menu here.

The tasting menu is available for $65 per person, with an optional course-by-course wine pairing for an additional $35 per person. This menu will only be available on Saturday evenings, so book early! Give us a call at 503-227-7342 with any questions or to reserve your table.

Happy Birthday to Us!

2009-01-18T15:15:00.000-08:00

This Monday, January 19th, marks two very important anniversaries for us!

The first is the birthday of our fearless leader, owner and operator of the VQ, Dennis King!

Dennis King with Chef Annie Cuggino

Dennis has seen the VQ through thick and thin, pouring the very first drink in 1971 and to this day tending to our lovely patio gardens by hand.

We also get to celebrate Veritable Quandary's anniversary this week. Monday marks 38 years strong for the VQ. This restaurant has had so many great times and made so many good friends in those years... thank you Portland! Here's to many more!

Feel free to leave some birthday love for Denny or the VQ in the comment section below, or better yet, stop in and celebrate with us! We would love to hear from you!

Welcome to our blog!

2009-01-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

And welcome to 2009... Happy New Year!

After a banner year in 2008, we here at the VQ are ready to make 2009 even greater. We hope that this blog will serve as a place for everyone to keep updated on VQ news and events.

The VQ is still serving Portland's premier farm-fresh cuisine, seven days a week. Our menus change daily, and you can find the most up-to-date versions here if you are wondering what's on the menu tonight! As a reminder, we are open:

For Lunch, Monday-Friday 11:30am-3:00pm
For Brunch, Saturday-Sunday 9:30am-3:00pm
For Dinner, Daily 5:00pm-10:00pm

And our bar is open every day, all day, until 2:30am!

As we embark on a new year, we would like to sincerely thank all of our loyal patrons for keeping us going all these years; and to those of you we have not had the pleasure of serving yet, we look forward to seeing you!

Here are a few photos of how the VQ weathered Arctic Blast 2008: