BRANDON @ Caffe Mingo (503) 226-4646
807 NW 21st Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97209

Why he’s dreamy:
Sugo di carne, the house signature dish of penne pasta tossed with Cascade Natural beef braised in chianti and espresso. Yum. Semolina gnocchi “alla Romana” baked with butter and parmesan and topped with salsa rossa sends us swooning. From artful antipasti to sublime salads, fresh pasta or fish du jour, we have never (repeat, never) had a bad meal at the hands of this adorable chef and his kitchen compadres, which include at least one other hottie chefboy and a totally crushable chefbabe. Some of the best service in town adds to the romance with liberal wine pours and perfect meal pacing.

*special note*
This irresistable cutie holds the dubious distinction of being CG1′s original chef crush and the inspiration for this entire website!

KJELL @ Lucca (503) 287-7372
3449 NE 24th, Portland, OR, 97212

Why he’s dreamy:
Winsome wood-fired, supermodel-thin-crust sopressata pizza. Not to mention that crush-inducing little mozzarella en carozza (cut into triangles a la mom’s grilled cheese) that arrived with our antipasti plate. So cute it charmed us to pieces! And not everyone can pull off a newsboy cap while slinging dough, but Kjell (pronounced like cello without the o) manages smashingly.