City: Portland, OR

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (503) 227-8794

Address: 319 Southwest Broadway

Description: While many restaurants in Portland emphasize the local and regional, El Gaucho celebrates the exotic, with its Argentine steak, its ostrich filet with Madeira sauce, and its bananas Foster. The dining room is dusky and serene, with contemporary polished decor but nonetheless an ambience from another era. The service is impeccable—both friendly and understated, with a great deal of tableside attention. And the food is equally good. Starters include a good crab cake, short ribs, and Wicked Shrimp—spicy shrimp with a piquant dipping sauce. The Caesar salad is outstanding. Steaks include the Gaucho (accompanied by lobster medallions and béarnaise sauce) and a rib steak stuffed with peppers, rosemary, and garlic. There’s nothing like a waiter in black tie flambéing bananas Foster at your table to make you feel that civilization has not disappeared altogether.