FORREST MARS: DOESN’T MELT YOUR HEART Forrest Mars was born into the candy business. His father invented the Milky Way bar in 1920. But when his dad wasn’t interested in expanding the family company, Forrest struck out on his own. “I told my father to stick his business up his ass,” Forrest recalled in a […]
Uncategorized
Posted inUncategorized
Less Is More
Bar Pastiche Provides Everything You Need
Bar Pastiche 3731 SE Hawthorne 236-4760 As Portland gets bigger, it gets trendier, and more niche restaurants pop up. In the last decade or so, we’ve acquired upscale Vietnamese restaurants, highbrow diners, exclusive gourmet family style dining, martini bars, vegan and raw food options, fancy fondue spots, and of course, a resurgence of tapas. Portland’s […]
Posted inUncategorized
That Perfect Drink
Specialty Cocktails Worth Celebrating
There are occasions, albeit rare, when one prefers a quality alcoholic beverage over a bucket glass filled to the rim with cheap booze. These scenarios range from the final peaceful hour before your in-laws fly into town to the 45 minutes between that painful breakup and your swan dive off the Fremont Bridge. Whatever the […]
Posted inUncategorized
The Cure for Winter
Chase the Blues with Food
It’s coming. You don’t want to admit it in these last mad days of holiday mall-hopping bliss, but another rainy Portland winter is already here. And when it doesn’t rain, you can still look forward to the sun going down at three o’clock. Yeah, you could escape to the local watering hole, and not come […]
Posted inUncategorized
The 2004 Drunk Olympics
Three Mercury Reporters Go for the Gold (Unsurprisingly, They Had to Get Drunk First)
Hockey? Dreary. Running? Lame. Shot put? Please. If the 2004 Olympics taught us anything, it’s that the Olympics are wholly and unequivocally boring. In response to the 2004 Olympics, the geniuses at the Mercury came up with a far better, more compelling challenge of athletic and mental prowess and endurance to pass the long days […]
Posted inUncategorized
Burger King
Skyline is Heaven on a Grill
Skyline Restaurant 1313 NW Skyline 292-6727 Fast food restaurants conveniently sit at nearly every exit on major highways, and on every other city block. So why would someone put a burger joint in the middle of nowhere? If you’ve been to The Skyline, you know that’s a rhetorical question. Tucked at the end of a […]
Posted inUncategorized
The Cure for Winter
Visit Your Local Soup Gourmet
On Friday night I stopped at Safeway and bought shrimp flavored Cup-o-Noodles for dinner. On Saturday I drove to Fred Meyer and picked up a can of Campbell’s chicken noodle. On Sunday I slurped soup at Pho Jasmine, and by Monday I was wondering whether Chaba Thai stills serves their signature sour-sweet squid and pork […]
Posted inUncategorized
It’s a Pizza Party
And You’re Invited!
Stark Street Pizza Company 9234 SE Stark 255-2364 Growing up outside Chicago, I spent most of the time I wasn’t in school tagging along with my parents to a pizza joint or a bowling alley or a bowling alley that served pizza. Stark Street Pizza Company is reminiscent of those old Highland Park, or Highwood, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Queer Across Town
A Compendium of Queer Nights
Portland is special, and dare I say “evolved” in its abundant variety of bars that aren’t necessarily gay but play gay a certain night of the week. These nights feel like parties and are a welcome alternative to the incredibly lame Stark Street gay bar scene. So, pick your pleasure, gay, ‘cuz it’s always Friday […]
Posted inUncategorized
Holiday Recipes from Portland’s Finest Chefs!
Basic Vegetable Soup Stock “Be a BIGSHOT CHEF with one simple FRENCH PHRASE!” promises No Fish! Go Fish! owner Sean Brown. “Mirepoix (pronounced meer-pwah) is a mixture of 50% onion, 25% carrot, and 25% celery, and is the basic building block of many soups and stocks. Toss it out in conversation for major style points!” […]
Posted inUncategorized
Truss That Turkey
Your Basic Guide to Turkey Cooking
If you fuck up the turkey, well, you’re fucked. Ways to fuck up include: poisoning your guests with the turkey, forgetting you put the turkey in the oven because you got drunk and fell asleep in the bathtub, and, of course, failing to do those important turkey things that are really obvious to everyone but […]
Posted inUncategorized
Holiday Drinks from Portland’s Finest Bartenders!
Angel Martini Nobody can quite match the joyful eccentricity of the drinks at the Aalto Lounge. Whether you’re enjoying a celebratory drink or contemplating a fatal flirtation with the other side, they’ve got a brew to help you make it through the winter. Bartender Kevin Cradock donates this delicious martini recipe. 1 part Frangelico 2 […]