Dave Knows Portland

Lovely Lovely Hula Hands

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Missing a Timbers match is not something I take lightly.

A team of wild horses won’t be able to drag me away from the Timbers match Sunday at PGE Park.

So naturally I joined over a hundred of my fellow fans at Slabtown last night to watch the Timbers draw 1-1 in the first leg of the aggregate-goal semifinal series with Atlanta.

However, I missed both goals.

And I only had time for two delicious beers.

Because I left just before halftime.

I walked the three miles home.

I would not make such sacrifices for just any restaurant.

But last night I had a date with some friends at Lovely Hula Hands (4057 North Mississippi Avenue).

Higgins is my favorite restaurant in Portland. I’m always impressed with the food and service and beer selection. It’s been a biweekly stop for over a decade, and for three years I even lived within the block in an apartment I selected partly due to its proximity to the restaurant.

But now I’ve moved to North Mississippi, and once again my decision to relocate was partially influenced by proximity to a restaurant; Lovely Hula Hands is a half block from my front door.

On perhaps one of the last summer-like days of the year we sat at a table in the beautiful airy upstairs space.

Our friendly, pretty, and beauty-marked waitress started us off with a few signature cocktails. I awkwardly ordered a Beauty Mark (sour cherries, Makers Mark, fresh orange juice). My companions had a Talulah’s Bathwater (pomegranate molasses, Sauza, fresh lime, sugar) and a Nik’s ol’ Fashion (Makers Mark, sour black cherries, one sugar cube, dash of bitters, topped off with soda water).

After my three mile walk I was thirsty; I downed my drink and ordered a Dick’s Best Bitter (one of my favorite non-Oregon beers) to go with the meal.

Another friend who’d visited recently had recommended the sea salty Padrón peppers fried in olive oil and the Viridian Farm peaches with Parma prosciutto, browned butter and thyme. We followed his suggestions, but also tried the ahi tuna carpaccio with avocado, lime, cilantro, shaved fennel and jalapeño oil. All three choices were delicious and uncomplicated. My favorite was the super-simply prepared peppers; not spicy at all, okra-like sans slime. The browned butter made the peaches; I forgot the prosciutto and thyme were even there. The ahi was beautiful.

For the main course I ordered the pan roasted northern halibut with pounded basil oil, aioli and a shellbean, peperonata and Romano bean ragout. The halibut was perfectly cooked and lightly browned on top. The ragout was as simple and summery as it sounds.

My companions had the spaghetti with basil pesto, heirloom tomatoes and Parmesan and the Draper Farm chicken breast stuffed under the skin with wild mushroom sausage and served on mashed sweet potatoes. They both were pleased.

For dessert I tried the almond cornmeal cake with huckleberries and whipped cream. Again, simple and perfect. Of course I shared.

A relatively current menu is periodically updated on the website. The menu seems always to include a vegan, a pasta, a fish, and several meat options, plus the ubiquitous burger (I eagerly await the Portland Hamburgers review).

I’ve only been to Lovely Hula Hands a few times, but they have a perfect record so far. The location can’t be beat and the big old building is quirkily comfortable. The food is fantastic and the service is great. If they keep this up for a decade or so they may join Higgins on the throne.

Blogged into existence: The Little Red Bike Cafe

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Little Red Bike CafeThe Little Red Bike Cafe (4823 N. Lombard St) is now open.

A few months ago I stumbled upon the eponymous blog with the stated purpose to document the process of building a restaurant in our beloved hometown of Portland, Oregon.

I too am a native Portlander, and I too aspire to open a cafe/pub/restaurant/bar someday, so I was naturally intrigued.

The first post tells the story of how Ali and Evan realize a restaurant is in their future:

Perhaps it was the morning when the whipped cream exploded all over the kitchen, and all we could do was laugh despite the thick coating on the ceiling, walls, cabinets, and even in- between the stacks of plates. Or maybe it was when the nice woman returned to our booth at the Farmers Market moments after eating a small pint of our creamy roasted red pepper and tomato soup with garlic cheese croutons, only to ask if she could buy it by the gallon (literally). Whatever it was, it wasn’t long before we realized that this could no longer be a part-time job for us, it was our future. Now we find ourselves “self employed,” excited and anxious to build The Restaurant.

Over the next few months Ali and Evan guide us through their search for the perfect location, the quest for a durable ice cream machine, their vacations, their meals, their coffee supplier, and sundry other trials and tribulations related to building a restaurant in Portland, Oregon.

I recommend starting at the beginning, and scrolling backwards (forwards?) through the blog to witness the restaurant blooming, but also make sure to go visit The Little Red Bike Cafe:

Little Red Bike Cafe
4823 N. Lombard St.
Portland, OR 97203
Tuesday-Sunday
7am-3pm.
After-hours “bike-thru” window coming soon…

Almost poutine: Portland’s disco fries

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Gravy (3957 N Mississippi) is known for its breakfast (and the 30 people out front Saturday and Sunday late mornings waiting to get in), and rightfully so.

But Gravy also has a happy hour . . . and Gravy Fries.

I tried them for my first time last night. As I have long been searching for poutine in Portland (which I’ve found), I thought I’d give them a try to see how they compare.

They hold up quite nicely. The pleasant surprise was the shredded cheddar on top. I understand our New Jersey and New York brethren refer to gravy fries with cheddar as disco fries.

The gravy is rich and plentiful, with mushrooms and bits of unidentifiable vegetables. It was a bit too salty, but perhaps one of my companions got to the bowl first with the salt shaker; I will have to investigate.

You can pick at the crispy fries at the top with your fingers, but I recommend a fork (or maybe even a spoon) for the majority of the fries deep in the bowl. After I’d downed the fries, a bit of gravy remained at the bottom of the bowl. I snagged a few fries from a companion’s plate to soak up the goodness.

Only $3 and with a $1.50 pint of Pabst, damn, an excellent deal on Mississippi!

From dismay to delight at Clyde Common

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Clyde CommonNormally after a Timbers game we have few pitchers of No Pity Pale at the Bullpen Tavern.

But after Thursday’s 0-0 draw against last place Minnesota, we decided rather than try to drown our sorrows (which were pretty sufficiently Thirsty-Thursday drowned already) we’d clog our arteries. And Clyde Common was rumored to have my holy grail, poutine.

Alas, no poutine on the menu that night 🙁

But since we were already there and the service had already impressed (on our poutine-craving behalf, the waiter made a valiant, but ultimately fruitless, foray into the kitchen) we did order a Pilsner Urqell and we did try a few appetizers.

We started with the chicken fried chicken livers and the deep fried blue cheese stuffed green olives. I’d never enjoyed chicken livers before, but these were crisp and delicious. The olives were great with the beer, but the blue cheese was difficult to discern over the powerful green olive (a milder-flavored olive would have worked better for me).

We were still hungry, and I suddenly found a Gösser Pilsner in front of me, so we also ordered the fennel sausage, calamari, and deep fried potato cubes dressed with oil and squid ink. This was my favorite; every part was perfect and with the frisée and a few pieces of bread we cleaned our plate.

And then, who should come through the door but two fellow Timbers fans. They joined us at the bar and we shared, with a little help from another Gösser, two orders of french fries with harissa and crème fraîche for dipping.

So even though the Timbers drew with the last place team, and Clyde Common was not serving poutine that night, we had a memorable and pleasurable evening. It was my first visit to Clyde Common, and I will definitely go back. Maybe I’ll get lucky on the poutine-front next time . . .

August 10-12: Crawdads, The Bite, and Bridge Pedal

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The smart set will be watching soccer, but if you get hungry, or need some exercise, there are some options this weekend.

Crawfish FestFriday and Saturday Tualatin is hosting the 57th annual Crawfish Festival.

This event has been on my must-do list for years, but since I am carfree, and Tualatin is miles from nowhere, I have yet to attend. If I *do* somehow get a ride, I hope to be there Saturday by 2:45pm to witness the Crawfish Eating Contest. The record, set in 1970, is an impressive 170 crawfish (tails and claws) in 15 minutes!

There are lots of other things going on at the festival: a pancake breakfast, the Crawfish Festival Criterium, a 5k run, a parade. You can’t go wrong.
Bit of OregonFriday through Sunday the Bite of Oregon will be “celebrating Oregon’s bounty” at Waterfront Park. In years past I’ve not enjoyed this event, but there will be wine and beer, and the Bend restaurant La Rosa Authentic Mexican will be serving up lobster quesadillas. Some of the other items on the menu look good too. There also several stages with live music throughout the weekend.

Sunday morning don’t try to drive through downtown, as it’s the annual Bridge Pedal! If you’ve spent your weekend eating at the festivals above, you’ll need to burn off those extra calories. This is the one day each year you can bike across the Marquam Bridge without breaking your neck or the law.