Tucci’s Q American Bar-B-Que 325 NE Russell 528-8224 Tucci’s Q is the new kid on the barbecue block (setting up shop in what was formerly Doris’ Café on Russell), yet has shown surprising strength coming out of the gate. The menu, while not all-inclusive, hits a majority of the basics–all at a reasonable price. The […]
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Late Day Rendezvous
Make The Hedge House Yours
Hedge House 3412 SE Division 235-2215 I usually shy away from brewpubs for one particular reason: kids. You see, micro-brew loving parents have found a loophole in the alcohol-exclusive system–during the day they’re allowed to swill Porter all day in brew pubs and bring their screaming, bratty kids. This is particularly true at the Laurelwood […]
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Like Your Best Friend’s Mom
Otto’s Has the Answers
Otto’s Sausage Kitchen 4138 SE Woodstock 771-6714 Remember when you were growing up, how your best friend’s mom made sandwiches that always tasted better than the ones your own mom made? Your best friend’s mom always added that one extra special thing that your mom just didn’t love you enough to do. She’d shred the […]
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One Stop Shop
Genies: A Harmonious Blend of Booze and Brunch
Genies Cafe 1011 SE Divison 445-9777 While no one can quite agree on how to identify “the measure of a man,” it’s safe to say that hollandaise sauce is the measure of a good breakfast restaurant. This creamy, lemony, egg-laden creation of heathenous sauce is, when done correctly, guiltless; entirely worth the fat and calories, […]
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Bar Crawl
Shimer and Friends Find Some New Places to Drink
By Katie Shimer & Marjorie Skinner Picture this: About three weeks ago, I stumble through the door of my favorite watering hole on a Friday night (which everyone in the world knows is the Sandy Hut), only to have the friendly doorman tell me: “Sorry, we’re full to capacity, you’ve gotta wait for somebody to […]
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You Won’t Miss the Meat
Vegan Dining Goes Upscale
Calendula 3257 SE Hawthorne 490-8470 I feel the need to get this out of the way in the opening sentence: Calendula Café is owned by Craig Rosebraugh, a former spokesman for the Earth Liberation Front. Of course it doesn’t matter, but in a city where gossip might as well be the gospel, it needs to […]
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Happy Hunting
Prime Cuts with a Clear Conscience
Vegetarian House 22 NW 4th Ave. 274-0160 One of the strangest aspects of a modern vegetarian diet is navigating the dicey realm of faux meat. Accordingly, there are various camps of vegetarians/vegans who either love the art of meat fabrication or consider such tributes a sacrifice on the altar of human butchery. Either way, most […]
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Bargain Chic
Live Richly, Spendthrift
820 Happy Hour Mon-Sat 5-6:30 pm 820 N Russell 460-0820 I don’t like fancy bars. Strike that. I do like fancy bars, it’s fancy drink prices I don’t like. And fancy customers chortling over their fancy jewelry, and fancy barkeeps who treat you like you just rolled in out of the sewer because you’re not […]
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Kill Dave Matthews
Imbibe: Perhaps Too Generous?
Imbibe 2229 SE Hawthorne 239-4002 With plate glass windows looking out onto a semi-quiet stretch of Hawthorne, a sturdy, bordello-style bar, and a couple of pool tables, Imbibe manages to be both urbane and quaint. But with a TV playing sports and a background soundtrack of Dave Matthews, Paul Simon, and other songs lifted from […]
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Barbeque by the Numbers
Mama’s Stares Down the Toughest Critics
Mama’s BBQ 5264 N. Lombard 445-9524 As a former denizen of the Southern United States, there’s a good chance I know more about what makes good barbeque than the average diner (i.e. YOU). This doesn’t make you any less of a human being, and you’re certainly entitled to your opinion–but when it comes to barbecue, […]
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What’s The Bucket For?
My Very First Wine Tasting
by Manu Berelli The Greeks had it right. They made wine so strong, they had to cut it with water to make it palatable. They would guzzle it until they were screaming to Dionysus and falling down. I don’t think they really cared about vintages too much. They just loved that Sweet Premium Wine. I […]
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Sweet, Nice, Reliable
It’s Your Neighborhood Joint
Little Italy’s Cucina 2601 SE Clinton 239-4306 Little Italy’s CucinaÉ sounds cute, doesn’t it? Quaint, even. Low-maintenance and neighborhoody. Mellow, fun. And it is all these things. Plus it serves Italian food, and what could be more desirable in winter? Having scanned the Portland Yellow Pages in a carb-thirsty freakout, I realized there really aren’t […]