Portland Cooks is a feast for the eyes. If you love Portland restaurants, and are followers of Portland chefs, this new cookbook by Danielle Centoni should be on your must-have list. It’s designed for the home cook and the Portland restaurant aficionado alike.

Portland Cooks—80 Recipes

Portland, Oregon is a destination for foodies from across the nation and many of your favorite restaurants, or those on your list to try, are in this book. It’s a collection of 80 recipes from Portland’s greatest chefs and bartenders with gorgeous pictures of the latter and their creations.

Full of beautiful foodie photographs and recipes… the new Portland Cooks book. Photo Design: Natalie Olsen and Photography Leela Cyd

As the book’s author explains, “Some recipes are an adventure, requiring a trip to the Asian market while others are a snap to pull off on any given weeknight. But above all, they’re all designed with the home cook in mind.”

Portland Cooks—The Restaurants

You’ll also learn about Portland restaurants and bars. Some of my favorite restaurants are included, of course. I’ve enjoyed two of chef Seamus Foran’s dishes. These are the ones I order each and every time I go to Acadia… the New Orleans BBQ Shrimp and the Bread Pudding. And, they are both in the book along with Foran’s smiling face.

A look into Chef Seamus Foran’s kitchen and his signature BBQ shrimp dish. Photo Design: Natalie Olsen and Photography Leela Cyd

Another fav of mine, Bollywood Theater (not a theater but an Indian street food restaurant) will entice you to experiment with Indian spices. Chef Troy McCarty’s Roasted Beets with Coconut Milk, Curry Leaves, and Indian spices looks amazing. While I almost always get the chicken curry at his Alberta Street restaurant, I’m enticed by the full-page photo of the dish!

Chef Troy McCarty’s Roasted Beets. Photo Design: Natalie Olsen and Photography Leela Cyd

More recently I reviewed the amazing Q Restaurant and Bar for Wander and after you read my review, you’ll understand why I couldn’t wait to see what dish the author chose from Chef Annie Cuggino’s repertoire. And there it was, on page 167, Bacon-Wrapped Dates, a most elegant and delicious appetizer. And, on the next page, her Osso Buco recipe.

Chef Annie Cuggino whips up pure magic at Portland’s Q. Photo Design: Natalie Olsen and Photography Leela Cyd

Portland Cooks—Why You’ll Want This Book

You’ll get a good sense of the Portland dining scene while leafing through this hard-bound book. From cozy neighborhood cafés to late-night cocktail bars, the book celebrates the innovative culinary professionals who have put Portland on the foodie map. If you are from Portland, or travel there often, you’ll see familiar names… Gregory Gourdet, Maya Lovelace and John Gorham.

Portland Cooks will hold your attention. I love reading about the chefs and their restaurants. And the book will give you a solid reason to visit Portland, Oregon. And if you have already visited, you can have a little taste of Portland at home with your own copy of Portland Cooks.

Many of the chefs in the book have a stack of Portland Cooks in their restaurants and are autographing copies. If you are out of the area, you can get this beautiful 8 x 10 inch hard-bound book via Amazon for $20.99 using this link.

Note: As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with a copy of the book  for the purpose of review. While it has not influenced this review, the writer believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest.