On the last evening of March, Portland, Ore.’s Dining Month, my husband, mother-in-law and I headed to the Hawthorne District on the city’s Eastside to try another of Portland’s many great restaurants offering special three-course, $29-per-person dinners this past month. Our Portland-dwelling daughter, Jenny, offered her recommendation for 3 doors down, a friendly spot focusing on Italian cuisine in a surprisingly open, uncluttered, high-ceilinged space with minimalist décor that read soothing and not stark or cold. We arrived on a warm, sunny evening, slightly late for our 5:30 reservation due to downtown traffic, but we were warmly greeted and immediately seated. Mom and I decided we’d opt for the three-course meal; she chose the vegetarian soup of the day — cream of parsnip   — while I chose the baked Roman polenta with whipped ricotta and pea purée.  The polenta boasted a wonderfully crispy outer crust encasing the creamiest polenta I’ve ever tasted. The third option, a roasted golden beet, radicchio and chevre salad didn’t make the cut, at least on this visit. Harry decided to order from the main menu but also started with the soup: hot, smooth and subtly flavorful. Our main course options included a cioppino featuring seafood in an herbed tomato broth with grilled crouton, duck confit l’orange or a vegetarian dish of cauliflower with pine nuts in a rosemary cream sauce over strozzapreti pasta. Mom ordered the cioppino,  a large bowl heaped with mussels, crab, fish and scallops swimming in a broth she found tasty but not too spicy. I went for the duck, served with hedgehog mushrooms and spinach on a bed of a chewy, couscous-like Sardinian pasta called fregola sarda.   The dish was beautifully balanced, the duck moist and not too rich. On Jenny’s advice, Harry chose one of the house specialties from the main menu, ordering the sweet Italian sausage in vodka cream sauce over tortiglione pasta.   It was, as she’d promised, out of this world, with large chunks of perfectly seasoned sausage in that heavenly sauce. Only two of us ordered dessert, and it proved challenging deciding between three excellent options: Hazel chocolate layer cake with chocolate ganache and an espresso/Kahlua frosting, rum raisin arborio rice pudding or traditional cannoli. Because I’d had chocolate cake just the night before and as a nod to fellow Global Traveler contributor John Wroblewski, I opted for the cannoli. Beautifully presented,  the filling was not too sweet, though I found the pastry a bit thick and a little tough. Mom’s rice pudding came heaped with whipping cream — an overly generous accompaniment to a wonderfully creamy dessert rich with flavor and raisins. 3 doors down café & lounge is open for dinner and happy hour six nights a week (closed Mondays), located on 37th Avenue just (you guessed it) three doors down from Hawthorne Boulevard. It’s a revitalized neighborhood full of nifty shops and eateries, so parking can be challenging. The restaurant offers an impressive wine list and offers a host of cocktails (I enjoyed a thoroughly refreshing “Amalfi,” featuring vodka, Limoncello, lime and thyme); spirits, wines, beers and ciders on tap; and “zero-proof” beverages to wet your whistle. Our servers offered friendly yet professional and prompt service, and we determined that a return visit is certainly in order. — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor