Dave Knows Portland

Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour Returns to Portland

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Farrell'sAnother generation of parents can soon terrify its children at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour.

According to KPTV, Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour is returning to Portland.

There’s no timeline yet, other than “as soon as possible.”

The first Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour opened in Portland in 1963, followed quickly by numerous franchises (58 by 1970). The heyday of the chain lasted through the 70s and into the early 80s. (You can read the whole story here.) A new Farrell’s recently opened in Mission Viejo, California.

Alas, as I’ve written before, I don’t have particularly fond memories of Farrell’s:

In the 70s and early 80s in Portland, if you were a parent with a sensitive child who didn’t like to be the center of attention, Farrell’s was the place to bring him on his birthday to thoroughly embarrass and humiliate him.

Bright lights, banging drums, sickening quantities of ice cream, and teenagers disguised as members of a barbershop quartet: a recurring nightmare and also my childhood memory of Farrell’s.

Read the rest: Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour – a 30-something Portlander’s flashback (#2)

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.

Dave Goes: The best block in Astoria

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The 1400 block of Duane Street (my favorite block in Astoria) houses both Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe and the Fort George BreweryMan (and woman) can’t live on storm watching alone.

Saturday morning Heather and I drove up 101 to Astoria. My favorite block in my favorite town on the coast is the 1400 block of Duane Street, which houses both the Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe and the Fort George Brewery.

I ordered the Americano on my first visit to the Blue Scorcher months ago, out of fear their normal coffee wouldn’t be up to snuff (I’m eternally disappointed with the coffee at coffee shops). And that dry Americano was one of the best Americanos I have ever experienced. It was rich and aromatic and tasted like coffee should taste. Was it a fluke? The Americano I experienced this past Saturday was not quite as good as the first one, but it was still damn good (though to be fair I did not order it dry this time). I’m still afraid to order the coffee though . . .

We wandered around town for a bit after finishing the paper and our coffees, and then settled in at the Fort George Brewery (right next door to the Blue Scorcher) for lunch.

Fort George brews fantastic beers and serves respectable pub fair, but one menu item is particularly notable: the house made sausages. Less greasy and salty than you’d expect (they taste almost healthy), and especially delicious. The flavors of fennel and oregano; roasted garlic, basil, and white wine; and mushrooms (the sausage du jour was flavored with bolete mushrooms) really come through (and stick with you all day!).

FortGeorgeSausage

Due to previous experience, we knew the shared sausage sampler appetizer was enough for both of us.

Heather enjoyed a Cavatica Stout, while I savored both the fall flavored Drunkin’ Pumpkin, and a fantastic Belgian Trippel.

FortGeorgeBeer

All in all a very pleasant few hours at my favorite block in Astoria on a stormy Oregon coast Saturday.

Kenny and Zuke save the deli

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Kenny and ZukesIt’s easy to be a fan of Portland’s Kenny and Zuke’s – what’s not to like about thick cut house-smoked pastrami, fresh baked bagels, and sundry other masterfully crafted deli classics?

[For those readers unfortunate enough not to have visited Kenny and Zuke’s, check out these photos for a mere inkling of what you’re missing.]

Writer David Sax is a fan too, as he demonstrates in a recent Gourmet story, Meet the New Deli. I blogged about the article previously: Gourmet Magazine visits Portland again, tries the pastrami at Kenny and Zuke’s.

As Extramsg explained in a comment on that post, David Sax also has a new book out called Save the Deli, in which he highlights the best delis across the country and laments their disappearance.

Extramsg also pointed out Kenny and Zuke’s opened after the book was mostly written, so though it doesn’t make the book, it’s exactly what David Sax had been wishing for, as was evident in the aforementioned Gourmet magazine article.

Which brings me to an interview with David Sax by Dana Joy Altman posted on the Huffington Post yesterday; David Sax has even more nice things to say about Portland’s favorite new-style Jewish deli:

The most interesting one I saw is Kenny & Zuke’s out of Portland, Oregon. It’s two guys, one was a food blogger, the other one owned a restaurant. One said to the other, “Hey, there’s no good pastrami in Portland, whaddya say we make a good pastrami and sell it at the farmers’ market and see if it sells.” So they did and it sold out in ten minutes. The next week they came back with twice the amount of pastrami and they sold out in twenty minutes. They were smoking it in a barbecue smoker and curing it in barrels. So, then they started to do a Deli Brunch at his restaurant and it got so big they decided to do it full time.

They opened up their deli two years ago and it’s doing incredibly well. They bake their own bread and bagels every morning in house, they smoke their own pastrami in a smoker with oak that they split with an axe in the basement and even though Kenny is from New York, they don’t call themselves a New York-style deli. They’re a Jewish delicatessen.

Read the rest of the interview at the Huffington Post: Real Food Rehab: Save The Deli.

You can follow David Sax’s book tour (he’s blogging his adventures) at the Save the Deli website. And of course Save the Deli is available at Powell’s and at the library.

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