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Photo of Aimee F.

"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you. ~Ray Bradbury"

Review votes:
29 Useful, 12 Funny, and 14 Cool

Compliments Thank You (1) You're Cool (5)
Location

Portland, OR

Yelping Since

March 2009

Things I Love

spicy scallop hand rolls

Find Me In

my kitchen, on my bike, with friends I adore

My Hometown

Stumptown

My Blog Or Website

http://www.ecogrrl.com

When I'm Not Yelping...

I'm laughing too loud

The Last Great Book I Read

Ecopsychology

My Favorite Movie

Cool Hand Luke

My Last Meal On Earth

the met in seattle with good friends and luscious lobster tail

Don't Tell Anyone Else But...

i no longer have a crush on harrison ford cuz he now talks like a grandpa

Most Recent Discovery

sleeping in past 8am

Current Crush

tall drinks of water

Recent Reviews

96 Reviews

Filter by: Location   Category
5250 NE Halsey St
Portland, OR 97213
(503) 546-1833

New Deal Cafe  

Category: Breakfast & Brunch
Neighborhood: Northeast Portland

4 star rating
 2/8/2010  
I love the Daily Cafe!!!  Oops, New Deal.  (Bummer on the name as these guys are Way Cooler than the 'Daily Cafe' in the Pearl.)  

I used to work nearby and go here at least twice a week, and now only make it every few months but they still make one of the best mochas in town.  I LOVE their sandwiches but I gotta say, the fried egg sandwich today was something I could have replicated, poorly, at home.  Everything else they do is so darn deelish, that I will still give 4 stars, but seriously, take that bugger off the menu until you can make it something lovely - it was bad diner greasy.  Taters were OK but bacon was overcooked and barely could taste the cheese or spread on the bread.  Bummer dude!  I'll be back at lunchtime though, fo sho.  PS the environment is great - not overly crammed with hipsters on laptops like my inner NE neighborhood, instead a nice mellow vibe for everyone while still maintaining good ingredients, unique clientele, and again, that nummy Stumpie.

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3808 N Williams Ave
Portland, OR 97227
(503) 281-1222

EaT: An Oyster Bar  

Category: Cajun/Creole
Neighborhood: Mississippi

3 star rating
 2/4/2010  
OK I'll start this off by saying I hate oysters, so this review is a non-oyster review.  We found that the Asian pub was closed down and that Lincoln wasn't open yet for happy hour so, in the rain, found ourselves at Eat.  (and no, I'm not going to respect the weird capital & lowercase letters), whatever dude.  Original waiter came, seemed very cool.  Ordered our drinks and dinner, then it was served and the rest of the evening was all waited on by a different person.  No comment from the original person (who knows, was he the bartender?) that he was no longer helping us.  Anyhow, the shrimp po'boy was freakin' awesome.  Seriously, awesome.  However a quart of french fries is really not necessary - I'm always suspicious when places overwhelm you with fries - they're not needed in that quantity and after eating a certain number you've forgotten your great po'boy as your mouth is officially salted/greased out.  Hurricane cocktail unfortunately was  not good - reminded me of something you get at Red Robin.  My friend had the bread pudding, and loved it.  Although serious bummer putting raisins in it because I would have ordered that too.  One other comment - the layout and table setup is pretty cold and uncomfortable.  There were a bunch of tables in the upstairs area but set up in a way that you felt you'd be on top of the other patrons (no, and not in a good way), so we sat downstairs and it was cold.  Also, take advantage that you're the only one open on your side of the street and have a happy hour menu!!!  All in all, props to the po'boy but there was nothing too special to make me return.  Meh.

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1001 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 790-7126

Heathman Restaurant  

Categories: French, American (New)
Neighborhoods: Southwest Portland, Downtown

4 star rating
 Update - 2/1/2010  
How dramatically different the service was this time.  While I didn't want to return after my last trip, my girl Shirley Nanette was singing so we couldn't help ourselves.  I walked in and there was no table by the fire like usual, and when I asked the waitress about the different setup, she immediately offered to bring over a table for myself and my friends so we could sit by the fire.  She even switched out the chairs from stools to ones with backs for my friend with the bad back.  She was wonderful, attentive, and a true professional. Exactly how my old memories of the Heathman were before that last awful experience.  Yay Heathman!  

Oh yes and the cocktails were lovely, but Shirley, as usual, stole the show.  Sigh...

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1 Previous Review: Hide »

  • 1 star rating
    11/29/2009

    One of the worst restaurant and service experiences on record.  Went with a friend to see Linda Lee Michelet sing in the tea room.
    * Linda's email said reservations recommended, they said no reservations allowed.
    * People were piling their bags on other tables and chairs even though the place was packed. Why was the staff allowing that?
    * They have this circular thing in the middle of the room and tables around it and crammed so many tables in there that the CUSTOMER has to move the table out just to squeeze onto the seating. Plus it blocks all view of the entertainment.
    * 10 min later a waiter finally came and 10 min later the cocktail finally came, plopped on my table while he talked to another table.  I didn't see the food listing and when I asked for a menu, he grabbed the drink menu, tossed it on my table and said 'it's in there, first page.' and walked away.
    * A table in a less crowded area came open and I asked if we could move to that.  "Nope that's reserved".  I said I was told no reservations and he said, well we do in 'extreme' circumstances then walked away.  Within moments the manager came over to me to explain this was an 'extreme' circumstance of a birthday.  Later it turns out the birthday girl was a friend of our waitress.  Got it.
    * Finally got a table with actual room to get in and out of our chairs.  When we ordered we asked about the small size happy hour entrees, and then placed our order.  Had to ask twice if there was dairy in the dips as my friend is allergic. Waitress didn't know the first time and had to send her back to ask. When it comes to allergies, it is NOT okay to say 'I don't think it does but I'm not sure' and consider that OK.  Note: menu has no descriptions so we had to ask her about 5 or 6 items.
    * Got the deviled eggs (ok), charcuterie (good), and the Mediterranean plate (pita wedges and 3 watery dips, no sides included).  The pitas were BLACK they were so burnt, and not just a few.  For politeness sake I tried to put some dip on one and well, we all know what burnt bread tastes like.  So we called the waitress and explained, and she came back - no joke - with cold uncooked pita.  Our chins dropped.  We called her back and asked why she brought us uncooked pita.  She actually said (serious) "the first way is the way it comes, the ovens are very hot".  Really?  A cook at the HEATHMAN can't put a pita on the grill and not keep it from turning black instead of a nice brown?  Really?  Then she sent over the first waiter and he got in my friend's face and said 'so you want it raw or you want it charred?' and we explained hey, we know pita can be grilled without it being burnt and got the 'this is how we serve it', and my friend said, surely there's got to be a way to heat bread and not burn it and not give it to us cold out of the package.  And mind you the whole time we were trying to keep a sense of humor because the situation was so silly.  
    * We asked for water.  They said, sorry we are not serving water because of the e-coli outbreak in Portland, and our bussers are running over to Safeway to get ice.  Then silence.  I finally said don't you guys have bottled water to offer guests instead then?  Yes.  Are you charging for it?  Yes, and you have to get the extra large bottles.  (seriously?  you deny customers water unless they pay for it?  how about sending bussers for cheap distilled water at safeway too?) .  
    * Now this part isn't really the Heathman's fault but being part of the overall experience but LLM is good at singing Peggy Lee, but not Norah Jones and other jazz standards.  And she spent half  the time wandering around in the lobby while the band played instrumentals!  Plus it was advertised as a holiday music show and she sang half of one - literally starting in the middle.  Backup singers were shouting (no mics) and one even shouted a whole song.  When she did sing, she walked around and reeked of too much perfume (imagine grandma's powder puff accidentally inhaled) - it literally was so strong.  Total bummer.
    * So we finally got our food right and were satisfied there, with exception that we were charged for large plates.  Then I asked about a coffee drink and because of the ecoli that meant no coffee either (ahh, this'll be good news for the older decaf crowd in the room...).  So I'm saying, what kind of hot drinks can you recommend to the waitress, and it was really my own brainstorming while she stood there.  The waiter came over again and I asked if they ha/d any hot cider cocktails and he suggested the hot apple pie and I said cool.  So then the waitress brought over a glass of hot cider, no alcohol.  Because she was pretty much useless the entire night, we asked the waiter and he said it was supposed to have alcohol in it, and so he went to the bar and got me the right drink (tasty), no charge.  His sense of humor improved over the night so it ended positively, but we did not stay for the rest of the show after 3+ hours like this.  Bummer.

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1239 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 222-9070

Higgins Restaurant  

Categories: French, American (New)
Neighborhoods: Southwest Portland, Downtown

5 star rating
 2/1/2010  
It had been a long time.  Now, I remember.  Higgins is the best restaurant in Portland.  No question.  Greatest food, greatest service, greatest atmosphere.  No attitude - everyone gets treated like gold.  On a birthday treat, I was blessed with an evening at Higgins (quite the friend for giving me this gift!).  After a struggle of a year in '09, I can't think of a better way to start a new year.  First - a great cocktail (obviously quality vodka here y'all).  Then, after being near-vegan all month, I threw caution to the wind and made up for lost time with the Whole Pig Plate.  Really, that's the name of it.  But it's not like the Farrell's Pig Trough or something you might see at Busters BBQ, folks.  This was luscious samplings of pork tenderloin, ribs, kielbasa, house-cured bacon, and house-made sausage.  With a few baby red potatoes and sauteed cauliflower, I really thought I would drop dead from the melt in your mouth taste.  Their ingredients are local, sustainable, and - this is where I turn into a potty mouth - f***ing fantastic.  (and even after that much oink, I felt great the next morning).  The waiter was terrific - professional, personable, sense of humor, and attentive.  My friend had the vegan entree (and she's not vegan or vegetarian), the chickpea fritters with curried vegetables and something involving dates, and said it was amazing.  We both skipped the elegant dessert ideas and instead had the cinnamon ice cream with little cookies on the side - o happy day.

Excellent, intimate, wonderful - and yet half the price of a El Gaucho or Mortons.  Happy Birthday To Me.  Thanks Higgins for reminding me after 2 years away why I adore you.  You give my hometown a good name.

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2601 NE M L King Boulevard
Portland, OR 97212
(503) 460-6657

Goldrush Coffee Bar  

Category: Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Northeast Portland

2 star rating
 1/26/2010  
You know I love ya Jerud but the your staff seems to care less about the customers.  The girl behind the counter barely acknowledged me when I came in to order coffees (and greeted her), gave a 'look' when I handed her my coupon, didn't say thank you when I paid and neither girl behind the counter said thank you when the drinks were finished. And I was the only customer in the place!  They just kept on their own conversation with each other.  Needless to say I put my tip back in my pocket once I got the drinks. Jerud's got a great little place on MLK & Russell and the coffee is tasty, but after this experience I won't be back.  There are just too many cafes in NE Portland where the baristas are actually nice and I'm thanked for my business.

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1011 N.W. 16th Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 226-1258

Le Happy  

Categories: French, Creperies
Neighborhood: Northwest

4 star rating
 1/24/2010  
Fantastic.  Went to Le Happy last night for a birthday eve dinner with a friend and was seriously satisfied.  Only reason it's not a 5 star (yet) is because we went to Pix for dessert after, so I haven't tried their dessert crepes.  Savory crepes were seriously good.  Shared the salad crepe and the roasted chicken crepe and a bottle of Cab.  Nice.  Salad crepe was strange though, as I assumed the description on the menu meant these items were INSIDE the crepe, when it ended up cheesy goodness inside with the greens, pears and hazelnuts on top. Hmm. Flavor was GREAT, though.  Roasted chicken one was good although I think more chunkiness to the chicken (seemed pureed?) would have amped it up.  Great great atmosphere - I love bustling little hole-in-the-wall places with art on the walls and happy customers of all ages. The service was awesome as well - seated quickly, cool host, great waiter, all attentive without stalking the table :)  Will most definitely be back!

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3495 Cedar Hills Blvd
Beaverton, OR 97005
(503) 641-4181

New Seasons  

Categories: Grocery, Fruits & Veggies
Neighborhood: Southwest Portland

5 star rating
 1/17/2010  
I gotta say, I'm a NoPo grrl but today I got to go visit a good friend's place of employ and really dig the New Seasons in Cedar Hills, even if the area it resides in makes me want to kill myself.  (Sorry but Cedar Hills Blvd isn't the bastion of cool in it's big-box, non-local obsession, but I'm glad the folks out there have this one store to represent PDX nicely).  Anyhoo, I digress.  This store rocks.  While my friend was peeved that I complimented it because it reminded me of the Pearl Whole Foods (which, even if you hate the chain, they have a good layout that's easy to get around), and is way roomier than my Arbor Lodge N.S. - although my store is cozy and sweet and lovely :)  Ok, really?  I wish we had gelato and sushi at my N.S. - jealous!  Anyhow, if I ever revisit this area of PDX (I stay out of strip-mall-territory as much as I can), this is where I'll chill.

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2715 NE Alberta St
Portland, OR 97211
(503) 493-4430

Binks  

Category: Pubs
Neighborhoods: Alberta Arts District, Northeast Portland, Concordia

4 star rating
 1/17/2010  
Starting with a 4 and hoping on my next visit to turn it into a 5, only because I've still yet to eat at Binks.  Great ginger whiskey toddy.  Super nice staff.  Comfortable atmosphere.  Free pool, nice fireplace, chill but fun place to be without all the posturing you see at many bars.  Good alternative to the Bye & Bye and more cocktail ideas without getting foo-foo.  Of course I'll be back.

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913 Lloyd Center
Portland, OR 97232
(503) 335-0811

Stanford's Restaurant & Bar  

Category: Restaurants
Neighborhoods: Northeast Portland, Broadway District

1 star rating
 Update - 1/14/2010  
Yikes.  After another business lunch stuck at Stanford's, I won't be returning.  I ordered the minestrone.  I swear, they dumped a pile of hamburger on top of it, I was flabbergasted.  It was gnarly.

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  • 2 star rating
    1/9/2010

    Well, it is what it is.  Chop salad is acceptable.  Never been terribly impressed with the other entrees, and their cocktails are pretty awful, but in a pinch for lunch it will do, although their pricing is a bit higher than I would expect for the quality - average lunch entrees $12-15 and nothing's written about their ingredients being local or sustainable, so I don't get it.  Service is bare minimum.  They really get a lot of their business I believe because it's the only real restaurant at Lloyd Center - what would happen if something tastier came along...?

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1411 NE Broadway Street
Portland, OR 97232
(503) 287-0505

Chai Yo Thai Restaurant  

Category: Thai
Neighborhoods: Northeast Portland, Irvington

4 star rating
 1/14/2010 1 photo  
Yum.  I forgot about this little gem - great lunch hideaway and great Thai food.  The service is terrific and while the menu has great offerings, I'm a sucker for a classic pad thai.  Even if you aren't a veggie, try it with their tofu - long tasty strips of it that are SO good, rather than those awful flavorless cubes you see at the cheapo spots.  MMM.   Everything tastes fresh and good and comfort food-y.  Plus the lunch menu is inexpensive and okay, I am a sucker for pretty food presentation!

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6 Compliments

  • You're Cool

    haha, totally an oasis in the suburban wastelands. :)

  • Thank You

    HA! Funny you mention it. I go to 611 a few days a week. I'm headed there… More »

  • You're Cool

    So glad you love Kingfish! It's a fave spot of mine too :) Lucky you used… More »

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