They’ve visited Langbaan so many times that two prime counter seats await their arrival, along with glasses of bubbly. Meet the pair of best friends who celebrate all their birthdays at the Thai tasting menu restaurant. Langbaan might have moved from Southeast to Northwest Portland, but these two are among its constants, having eaten there regularly since their first visit in 2015. They now go once a month and are coming up on dinner no. 50. 

How it started “By the second bite—the kanom krok scallop cup—I knew I was never going to be able to stop thinking about it,” says Jessica Miller. “I always joke that I think about food probably as much as a teenage boy thinks about sex.”

How it’s going At Miller’s 50th birthday last year, the staff served up the golden treatment, literally, with gold flakes scattered over nearly every dish. At her 51st, pastry chef Maya Erickson made her an entire crêpe cake that was no longer on the menu. For one of Reme DeBisschop’s birthdays, she and Miller brought several bottles of their wine club stash to share with the staff. But one meal topped them all: after missing their regular celebrations in 2020, then-chef Brandon Hirahara and crew crafted a 15-course dinner just for them, served outdoors. 

Favorite dishes DeBisschop acts as Langbaan’s historian, diligently noting the theme of each tasting menu (currently $125) and the dishes they’ve liked the most. Langbaan owner Earl Ninsom was so impressed by her chronology that he took a photo for his records. A 2016 theme, “Adventure Trip Bangkok,” included a lobster-and-deviled-egg crêpe. Another top dish: chicken liver mousse with crisp chicken skin, dill, leek, citrus ash, and Thai chili jaew sauce. 

Backstory Miller’s been the instigator of their dining adventures since 1992, when they met at the University of Oregon. She took DeBisschop out for Korean food and sushi, a needed break from the cafeteria’s baked-potato bar and cereal station. Even today, Miller is the pair’s restaurant scout, keeping an eye out for new restaurants and making reservations at old favorites. How else did they bond in college, other than through food? “Probably smoking pot,” says Miller, a hobby that happens to neatly overlap with eating. (Other shared interests include Ducks football, the Blazers, and the New York Liberty, which recently drafted two Ducks players.)

Will they ever stop their birthday tradition at Langbaan? “Never,” says Miller. “Aside from the obvious, the food, I feel like all of the people there are friends. We’ve established such a great relationship with them. They make us feel so incredibly welcome.” 

Superfan is our column featuring the biggest enthusiast of one local restaurant.