Don’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of Filbert’s. Though it opened in November of 2005, the high-end bistro has largely flown under the radar, in no small part because of its location: NW 23rd and Vaughn, well beyond Nob Hill’s chic influence. The restaurant is near a freeway entrance, in an industrial part of […]
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Miami Vice
The Florida Room Makes You a Fiend for Mojitos
It’s rare that an establishment with an “exotic” concept actually works. There are a few; Salvador Molly’s being one extreme and the Alibi being the other. Located in a newly renovated space on Killingsworth that includes a spacious 10-table patio, the Florida Room is every bit the ’50s dive bar in the Florida Keys that […]
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It’s All About the Pizza
Ken’s Artisan Pizza Makes for the Perfect Date
Ken’s Artisan Pizza isn’t the type of place you’d go on a first date. It’s a little too bustling and a little too well-lit to provide the quiet intimacy you need to impress the pants off somebody. Ken’s is more second or third date material: You’ve already slept together, now maybe you can finally relax, […]
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Second Time’s the Charm
Failed Competitive Eater Redeems Himself
When last we checked in with amateur competitive eater Joe Collver, he was squaring off with a 72-oz. hunk of steak at Sayler’s Old Country Kitchen, trying to eat the whole thing in less than an hour. He failed. “I’m more about intensity of spice than quantity,” Collver stated at the time. Pretty sure this […]
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Happy Hours
Tube, 18 NW 3rd, 241-8823, daily 5-10 pm, $2 wells, $2 Hamm’s tall boys It doesn’t sound possible, but cooler-than-thou Tube just got even cooler: A new happy hour menu features $2 vegan eats, including a vegan ham-and-cheese muffin and a grilled soft taco. AH Crow Bar, 3954 N Mississippi, 280-7099, daily 3-8 pm, $1.50 […]
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Leave Me Alone
The Press Club Lets You Dine in Peace
Restaurants are tricky to navigate for the solo diner. Taking a whole table to oneself can be awkward, especially in a really busy restaurant; it’s hard to deny the irritation of a server who knows that one person is going to spend less money, and therefore tip less, than four. Sitting at the bar is […]
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If it Ain’t Broke… Fix It
Somehow, Someway, Acme Gets Better
If I had known months ago that the bar/restaurant Acme was planning significant changes to both ambience and cuisine, I would have protested. It already had a wonderful Twin Peaks-style setting replete with wooden blinds, dark leather booths, and a lovely patio. It had a killer beer selection and stellar mixed drinks. It had a […]
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V for Vendetta
New Boise Bar Friendlier Than it Sounds
Though only in business since June 2, Vendetta is already a hot topic among bar hoppers. However, its biggest strength is evoking a homey, living-room-style establishment for residents of the Boise Neighborhood. One of the owners previously managed the Bagdad Pub, and he’s brought much of its hassle-free atmosphere along for the ride. Arriving with […]
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Sugar and Spice…
…And Everything Cookie
Your mama never made no cookies like these, biznatch! Okay, maybe she did, but these cookies are good too, and come on, you can’t always rely on mommy to bake for you when your wittle tum-tum is hung-gwee. Sometimes you just have to buy your own cookies, sissy! And having read that extremely agro intro […]
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Pine Street Redux
Simpatica’s Brunch is Music to My Mouth
The building on SE 9th and Pine will always be “the old La Luna” to me; I can’t walk past it without catching a glimpse of my 15-year-old self sitting on the curb wearing a Sleater-Kinney shirt and drinking a rum-spiked Slurpee. La Luna is long gone, of course, and so is the Pine Street, […]
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Mad Props
Late-Night Veggie Grub in St. Johns?!?
St. Johns has always struck me as a wellspring of untapped “cool neighborhood” potential. As the migration of young homeowners moves northward, it seems inevitable that the abundance of storefronts lining N Lombard will soon house shops, nice restaurants, and boutiques selling duct tape wallets. The cool factor of downtown St. Johns got a major […]
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Bourdain Noir
Kitchen Confidential Author Anthony Bourdain Likes What’s on Portland’s Menu
“I could say, you know, the mushrooms are awesome, but it was the tattoos that bought me to Portland,” says rock ‘n’ roll chef Anthony Bourdain, through a cloud of smoke from the first of two back-to-back Gauloises. We are in a room at the Heathman Hotel and besides the cigarette smoke, his voice is […]