Saraveza

This is by far my new favorite bar! I had read about it when it first opened, and then with all the places on my list, completely forgot about it until Armando’s friend recommended it as a great place to grab some Craft beers on Sunday afternoon. Oh how I love this place…

The Atmosphere – Authentic Eastside Portland: vintage with a flare. Everything is beautiful old wood, from the floor to the tables to the bar. The tops of the tables/bar are a clear lacquer covering old colorful bottle caps from various beers. The chairs we snagged were old beauty salon chairs (complete with working height adjustment) and they were SO comfy! I could have melted into my chair and stayed all night. The bar stools looked cushy and have full backs, which is a nice feature. They have awesome old-school beer and random memorabilia throughout the place, including the Spud Mackenzie dog, a huge Schlitz hand, but best of all…they have the fishnet leg lamp from the movie A Christmas Story – how cool is that? They have exposed brick in certain places, and other areas are covered with bumper stickers. This is a very hip/comfortable atmosphere, to say the least.

The Food – Short and sweet menu with some mean options, the majority of which are homemade. They focus on fresh, “from-scratch” items, so I am assuming everything will be good quality. Saraveza specializes in the pasty, which if you are from the Midwest, you should know all about this goodness! It is basically a pot-pie (but so much better), and Saraveza offers a few versions on the menu, as well as a daily special (lamb curry was for this day – yummy!).

We ordered “The Nater” (The traditional pasty. Porter braised beef, potato, carrot, rutabaga & onion) to split, and it was served to us on individual plates, already divided, with portions of their delicious homemade pickled veggies on the side – how cute. The meat was in larger pulled pieces, combined with tender vegetable and potatoes, nothing overpowering the other. They serve with ketchup as well as two other sauces, in case you want some heat.

Just fyi…they also offer a Steve’s Cheese Plate w/salami – are you kidding me? We will be back for this, pronto!

The Beers – The focus is on American Craft and Belgian Ales, and they serve over 200 beers between the bottle/tap offerings. They also have a few vintage coolers where you can just pop-in and grab some of your favorites to go…how convenient!

They list the draft list on chalkboards throughout the restaurant so you can see them from anywhere. We tried: Heater Allen Pils/Big Sky IPA/ Pyramid “Barbed Wire” Imperial Hefeweizen/Brewdog & Stone “Basha” Belgian Black IPA…all were delicious. They also offer a five beer sampler for those indecisive folks.

Service/Pricing – Service was totally friendly, just not exactly speedy. As you might guess, the prices aren’t exactly cheap. I would say it is average pricing for the quality, but the location and atmosphere you get at Saraveza puts it a cut above the rest. I can’t wait to come back and spend a long, rainy afternoon drinking and eating the day away.

*Jayne

Nicholas Restaurant

There is obviously a reason Nicholas’ has a perma-line of Portlanders installed in front of their Grand Avenue location…this place serves the most authentic Lebanese and Middle Eastern food in town. After trying to eat here for the third time (every time there was a wait of over an hour, and I was way too hungry to stand outside in the cold), we finally got wise and changed our plan of attack. We arrived at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon, parked right in front, and were seated immediately. Oh the joy! On that note… exciting news! Posters in the restaurant state that two new locations are opening in March 2010 – look for them!

The menu is stellar and features everything you could crave from Lebanese and Middle Eastern cuisine. I suggest you try the Mezza Platter, as it is a great representation of various foods. You can order the Platter in Vegan/Vegetarian/Meat fashion, or combine the options. The Platters are served with an enormous serving of their amazing flatbread (think pitas) hot and fresh out of hearth oven. We also ordered the Lebanese salad, which was HUGE and full of fresh veggies covered in their light, delicious house dressing. Fountain drinks are bottomless, and taste delicious.

Nicholas’ atmosphere is small and relaxed, and you tip into a bucket when you pay at the counter, not to your individual server. Prices are ridiculously low, which makes this place a top Portland pick for me. Our bill was $28.50 for more food than two people should ingest in one sitting, LOL! It should be noted they do not take credit cards, and they do not serve any alcohol. No word if that will be any different at the new locations, as it would be great to enjoy this food with a glass of wine or nice cold beer.

My belly can hardly wait for our next trip back to Nicholas’ :)

*Jayne

Nancy's Kitchen

I wanted to like Nancy’s, I really did. Although it is located in a mini strip-mall type location on, it seemed like it would be a down-home, wholesome cooking establishment. Unfortunately, it is just your average ma & pa café (no frills inside, plastic diner tables, standard older wall photos, etc.). We should have known when we walked in and saw a relatively all older clientele (realistically this usually equates to bland food and a fuss-free menu) that this might not be the best choice for us. We did, however, have a $10 off coupon, so we stuck around to give it a shot.

The menu is small but adequate (Skillets/Omelets/Pancakes & Sweets). I ordered an egg white omelet with spinach, tomatoes and onion, and Armando ordered the Portland Steak Omelet (thinly sliced steak frilled with peppers, onions and Swiss cheese. Rolled into a fluffy two egg omelet). Mine had absolutely zero flavor, and no amount of salt/pepper was saving it. Armando seemed to enjoy his, although even though Nancy’s served steak dishes throughout the day, they have no steak sauce? This seemed odd and was a total miss on their part. The toast served was standard grocery store quality, and I had to ask for a different kind of jelly besides orange marmalade (all was Smucker’s too – ugh!). We also tried the Freshly Bakes Cinnamon Roll, which reminded me of something out of a Pillsbury commercial. Needless to say, none of the food had any flare whatsoever.

Also, I have to mention this, as Armando was finishing his over fried potatoes that come with the omelets, he found a black hair in his food that was definitely not his. This was, as you can imagine, most unfortunate. We of course didn’t say anything, and Nancy’s is by no means dirty, but I do think I needed to disclose this incident.

Sorry Nancy’s, but two stars from me (and that is only because the staff seemed so sweet – like your Aunt serving breakfast at your Mom’s house). To add insult to injury, pricing isn’t even great here…I have had much better food for much less at many other places in Portland.

So…as resident Portland foodie’s, this is just not for our kind.

*Jayne

BridgePort Brew Pub & Bakery

Every time I come to Bridgeport I am reminded of what a great space they have. The interior is mammoth, with a sprawling dining area across two rooms on the main floor, and another full dining room/bar on the upstairs level. The walls are covered with artwork by local artists, and all is for sale. Some of the display items were very Monet, and just popped with color. Huge lofty ceilings with wooden furniture and metal details throughout give a unique warehouse vibe (and keep with the old-school “Brewery Blocks” sentiment, but the place is completely comfortable. It may be in the Pearl District (which essentially means it is a tad fancier than most breweries), but no need to dress-up, which is the best part. There is also a great patio in front of the restaurant, where you can sit in the Summer and do some amazing people watching.

Go figure, Bridgeport also makes great beers! We ordered a pitcher of the Haymaker, and it was delicious. It satisfied both myself who likes the lighter beers, and Armando who likes the heavier IPA’s.

The best surprise during this visit was the pizza! As a pizza connoisseur, I was impressed by all of the pizza’s being served at the surrounding tables, so we decided to partake. Bridgeport uses all local/natural/organic ingredients whenever possible, and you see the freshness just by looking at the food. The pizza options are stellar as well, everything from meat-eater delights to veggie staples. After debating for a bit, we ordered “The Burnside” – wild Oregon mushrooms, smoked onions, herbs, parmesan and mozzarella, and roasted garlic olive oil. The cheese was gooey, the mushrooms were meaty, and the crust was soft and flavorful from the olive oil (it was in between a thin and thick crust, a nice consistency).

Service was quick and friendly, and our bill was only $24. I call that a bargain! Another great time at our neighborhood brewery.

*Jayne

Widmer Brewery

My first trip here after living in Portland for almost two years, so this was way overdue. An obvious Portland staple, the restaurant is large and inviting. A huge dining room with wooden booths that line the large windows, a full bar and corresponding seating area, as well as another dining room to the right of the bar (so I hear, I didn’t walk through to that area). It was packed on a late Saturday afternoon with all types of people/groups, and had a lively vibe. We grabbed a little table in the bar area and ordered beers (they offer glass and pint sizes, which I appreciate), the Drop Top Amber Ale and the X114 IPA. One of the best parts about drinking direct from the brewery is that they serve select beers that you can’t buy in stores, such as the X114 IPA. I love the Drop Top Amber Ale, heavier than a pale ale but not as tough as an IPA. The X114 IPA was strong but smooth, and as regular IPA drinker, Armando thoroughly enjoyed it.

We ordered a pretzel to snack on, and unfortunately it looked and tasted like a pretzel you get at a fair or a cheap movie theatre, total bummer. I will say that the stone ground mustard was delicious…served with a bratwurst this would be perfect.

No specials on drinks/food on Saturdays, which was a tad surprising considering there are deals every other day of the week. This is Portland’s Widmer after all – give us a break eh? All in all, I would say this is the quintessential place to take out of town guests for a taste of Portland, or a good place to grad a drink on the way to a Blazers game.

*Jayne