Dave Knows Portland

Happy Hour at Higgins

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[updated 4/7/2011]

HigginsWith so many new, interesting, innovative, and exceptional restaurants in Portland, it’s easy to forget about the granddaddy of Portland regional cuisine, Higgin’s Restaurant (1239 SW Broadway).

Higgin’s is consistent. The food, drinks, and service are all generally excellent. I’ve been a semi-regular customer (almost exclusively in the bar, which they call the bistro) since the place opened in the mid-90s. I’ve had scores of meals there, and I only regret ordering two or three.

Higgin’s has, in some ways, ruined me for other Portland restaurants. The only other place that has been as consistently good to me (though in only about a half dozen visits so far) is Lovely Hula Hands.

For me, Higgin’s is the gold standard. If I order something in a restaurant that costs as much as something vaguely equivalent at Higgin’s, it better be damned good. If it costs more, it better be awesome. Unfortunately almost every restaurant in town falls short on these measurements. It has finally dawned on me that one interpretation of the data is that Higgin’s is reasonably priced.

At Portland Food and Drink the Food Dude has a new review of this Portland mainstay. He too was struck by a similar realization.

Maybe my memory is failing, but I don’t remember the restaurant being so reasonably priced, or, as I said before, the portions so large. It is easy for a party of two to have dinner with a couple of glasses of wine for less than $100. You will walk out the door with enough leftovers for a good lunch the next day. Compared to some of the other restaurants I’ve reviewed, this is a deal.

Which brings me to the topic of this post: Over the summer Higgin’s quietly started offering happy hour specials, so the prices have gotten even better.

In the bistro from 3pm to 7pm 4pm-6:30pm on week days, drinks are 20% $1.00 off. (Check with your waitron on the drink discount limitations; I know it applies toward cocktails, wine by the glass, and beers – both draft and bottles- but I’m not sure about bottles of wine.)

Each day there are a couple, constantly changing happy hour food specials too. Last night we enjoyed the $8 crepes, which were folded into pockets, stuffed with charcuterie meats and a little fontina cheese, and then breaded and fried and served with a sweet apricot (maybe?) compote.

Just another good reason not to forget Higgins.

Portland Poutine’s first review: The Original

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The Original's poutine (with scotch egg)

I am proud to announce that Portland Poutine has published it’s first poutine review (by yours truly!). Heather and I made a special trip to The Original: A Dinerant two weekends ago to try the poutine, and we were not disappointed. Here’s an excerpt from the review:

We arrived on a lazy Sunday afternoon to take advantage of the Original’s every day happy hour (3pm-6pm, until 8pm at the bar). Four bucks for a platter of poutine is a great deal! It was such a great deal we also ordered the scotch egg with mustard, and the pigs in a blanket made with a kobe beef frank and served with cheddar fondue(!).

Read the whole review: The Original: A Dinerant

And below, enjoy a bonus photo of that kobe beef pig in a blanket with cheddar fondue mentioned above.

Pig in a blanket

Polish Festival 2009

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Update: 2010 Polish Festival details here!

polishfest09

Again this year the Polish Festival lived up to its reputation as one of the best fall festivals in Portland. Like last year’s festival, which also took place during a spate of fantastic weather, the crowd was huge. By cleverly splitting up and tackling a line each, Heather and I managed to quickly acquire a pair of Okocim Porters and a combo plate to share. Placki ziemniaczane (aka potato pancakes), Heather’s raison d’être, would have to wait – the line snaked half a block down Failing Street, and seemed to be barely moving; we learned the wait was 45 to 60 minutes.

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Review: Milk Carton Boat Race 2009

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Boat RaceAfter years of anticipation, I finally made it to my first Rose Festival Milk Carton Boat Race. And to be frank, I was a little disappointed. For one thing, there was no beer garden. Now I suppose this could be because the event is family friendly, and the Dairy Farmers of Oregon, who sponsored the event this year, are more interested in pushing milk than beer. I understand this. But we’re in Oregon, after all: family friendly and beer soaked are not mutually exclusive. So, if the organizers of next year’s event read this, I have two words for you: Beer Garden.

Also, I was hoping for more thrills and spills, as it were. We only saw one boat disintegrate all day, and though many rafts appeared to be always on the verge of tipping over, we didn’t see it happen even once. A large part of why there were so few tipped over and disintegrating boats (which used to be a much larger part of the event, if I can trust my memory of the television coverage I saw in my childhood), is that most of the boats were made with plastic milk jugs, not cartons. There were two or three purists, but the majority of boats were made with rafts of gallon milk jugs duct-taped together. It’s much more difficult to reseal cartons air tight than milk jugs. If more boats had been made with cartons we’d have seen more boats slowly sink as their pilot furiously paddled in a comic manner. Way more fun!

But, all in all, it was a fantastic event, and we had a fantastic time. We packed a picnic lunch, partook of a free root beer float (which must have been the first one I’d enjoyed in 20 years), took lots of pictures, and grabbed a beer at Oaks Bottom Pub after the festivities.

Photos after the jump [Read more…]