[Patrick is letting me do a Snap Judgment! Woo! I get to eat somewhere and write about it based on a single experience! Consequence-free judging, here I come!-AH ]
I feel proprietary about NE/SE 28th Avenue—I’ve spent a lot of time drinking and eating there over the years, and new restaurants are cause for both interest and concern. Spints? Can’t get excited about it. Tapalaya? A contender for worst restaurant name in Portland (the decor’s pretty terrible too), and it sure didn’t help that it replaced Taqueria Nueve, but I overcame my biases after a few $2 martinis and some fried pickles during happy hour one Sunday (their fried chicken is excellent, too).
Yesterday we had lunch at City State Diner, which just opened in the storefront that formerly housed Wine Down. The interior is completely unrecognizable: Where once the space was cozy and old-world and a little fancy, now it has an industrial diner chic (chique?) thing going on: booths, gray walls, counter seating. The menu is full of gussied-up diner classics; as such it does not acknowledge the existence of vegans, but has maybe heard of this “vegetarianism” thing the kids are into. (A forest mushroom scramble; really good, thick pecan french toast; veggie sausage). I had a flawless turkey Reuben on white rye; it came with a side of vinaigrette-based slaw (too sweet) and slice of sweet pickle that tasted housemade. Ned’s sandwich came with three preparations of pork (sausage, mortadella, and… pork loin?)—I’ve never before seen Ned defeated by a sandwich, but he had a hard time finishing it. Also on the menu: Fancy mac ‘n’ cheese, a variety of scrambles and sandwiches, with prices hovering under $10. Cocktails: Yes. Hibiscus margarita, a couple kinds of Bloody Mary, around the $6.50-8 range. The service was cordial but very slow—the place just opened, they’re clearly still figuring a few things out (like, on our visit, how to use the espresso machine). They’re open from 8 am-10 pm daily; breakfast is served all day. I’ll just go ahead and call it: This place is going to be successful. Welcome to the neighborhood.
Who runs City State? I liked Wine Down. Took a date there before they closed, and the waiter told us that their landlord had refused to renew their lease – because he was going to open his own wine restaurant in their space. That sounded despicable to me – but this doesn’t sound like a wine restaurant. Still…who owns it?
We had breakfast there this past Saturday, which was their second day being open. Things were a little shaky, but the menu shows promise and the staff was incredibly nice (we liked the fact that they asked us after our meal if we could recommend anything they could work on). The breakfast potatoes were fantastic and perfectly seasoned; they’re the type of thing you’ll crave while nursing a hangover. There were only two other tables seated during our visit, but I told my husband, “This place is going to be packed in a couple weeks.”
Not sure why you can’t get excited about Spints. If you enjoy beer and food it’s a pretty solid combo.
Reymont, rumor I heard was that it’s the Bonfire dude’s that opened City State.
@Reymont, AMA Yeah, I saw a lot of Bonfire faces (3, I think) when we were in there. Not sure what exactly the connection is, but there is one.
@GC Just didn’t feel particularly comfortable there, I guess. Nothing against the place, other people seem to like it.
@portlander4life oh yeah, those potatoes were really good. And you’re totally right about the imminent busyness.
My wife and I dropped by on the morning of their quiet opening and ended up being their first paying cusomers. We found the food excelent and as vegetarians we noted a decent selection of offerings for us many involving baked tofu. I had the tofu between their fresh, home-made buscuits with a home-made ketchup. . . Yum! The staff is very freindly but I cant reasonable comment on the service as they were still tyring to figure out what was on the menu and how to work the cash register. I agree with Ms. Hallett that it will be a hit (and with her take on Spints).
Had breakfast there today. It’s June 27th, so they’ve had some time to figure things out. I like the plain, clean diner look. The service was good. The food was great. I had the “pancake of the day” with eggs and meat. The bacon was thick and flavorful, fried crisp. The scrambled eggs were perfect. The pancake was flavored with coconut, and delicious. My sweetie had a scramble with grits, and really enjoyed it. I was given to understand that they really know how to prepare grits (I take that on faith. Grits aren’t my thing). It’s a hot, sunny day (yay!) and we both had iced tea, and the servers kept the glasses full, even offering more after we’d paid our bill.
Yup, this place will soon be packed.
@Reymont @Alison – Yes, it is the same owner as Bonfire Lounge.