{"id":218,"date":"2012-07-24T08:25:10","date_gmt":"2012-07-24T08:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vfxpdx.com\/?p=218"},"modified":"2012-12-09T21:30:04","modified_gmt":"2012-12-09T21:30:04","slug":"lunchin-ii-electric-boogaloo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vfxpdx.com\/?p=218","title":{"rendered":"Lunchin’ II, electric boogaloo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Picking up where we left off<\/a>, the lunch post got some of us talking – let’s cruise around town and see what everyone’s up to.<\/p>\n

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Helvetia Tavern, if you can find it<\/strong><\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

SE Division –<\/strong> Bent Image Lab’s<\/a> neighborhood is jealousy inducing for sure.\u00a0 The sweet spot on Division & 26th unlocks the Division\/Clinton strip and is within striking distance of Hawthorne\/Belmont.\u00a0 The quadruple threat!<\/p>\n

I could eat Pok Pok Thai<\/a> every day and not flinch, it’s the best I’ve had outside of Chiang Mai.\u00a0 Also a fan of the beer slushie at the Whiskey Soda Lounge<\/a> across the way – and if there’s a wait at Pok Pok, take full advantage of the Shanghai<\/del> Chiang Mai tunnel (ha ha) – put your name in @ Pok Pok and they’ll retrieve you from WSL when your table is ready, and consolidate the bill.<\/p>\n

But if I had to pick one lunch down Bent’s way, it’s gotta be Dots Cafe; that candlelit black velvet “Vegas” interior and it’s surprisingly healthy food options.\u00a0 But that’s just me – we all know compers fear the light.\u00a0 Update:\u00a0 curse those new owners for opening at 2pm!\u00a0 Hear that rattling at your door at 1?\u00a0 That’s me.\u00a0 Let me in.\u00a0 I will take your food by force if necessary.<\/p>\n

Take it from a bona fide Benter – Jalal Jemison (Head of Compositing) chimes in here and pimps both Sushi Mazi<\/a> ($$ Amercicana Japan Fusion Fun Food) and the quickie Sushi Ben<\/a> (more homey, mom & pop).\u00a0 He also drops mention of Clay’s Smokehouse<\/a> for it’s solid southern BBQ.\u00a0 Mmmm…\u00a0 catfish plate…<\/p>\n

Nick Childs wouldn’t let me off the hook if I didn’t drop a truly FAT mention to Fat Kitty’s falafel cart,<\/a> (btw – I’m mildly surprised the kitty has a website?) and oh will this guy give you much more than the steamy falafel you bargained for!\u00a0 Fully take in the potentially slowest falafel in town and\u00a0 remind yourself it’s not a speed contest…\u00a0 time ceases to exist once the laughs start.\u00a0 You’ll leave with enough deep belly laughter to last you for days.\u00a0 Your face will hurt.\u00a0 He’s both wild AND crazy.\u00a0 Lube him up with some sports talk and see where it goes.\u00a0 Tell him it’s your first time and to be gentle on the Siracha.\u00a0 Just thinking about our guy here makes me laugh out loud.\u00a0 So awesome, words cannot really do him justice.\u00a0 No more spoilers;\u00a0 this is something to experience for yourself.\u00a0 Off early and looking for a happy hour?\u00a0 Night Light<\/a> (they finally bought a sign!).\u00a0 Another gem:\u00a0 the swedish meatballs at Broder<\/a>.\u00a0 Cart land:\u00a0 32nd & Division\u00a0\u00a0 Coffee:\u00a0 Little T’s<\/a><\/p>\n

DUMBO\/OMSI\/Industrial – <\/strong>Hive-FX is nestled in what I’ve dubbed “down-under-the-morrison-bridge-overpass” kinda by OMSI.\u00a0 Dangerously close to Bunk Bar<\/a> and it’s deadly pork sandwich.\u00a0 Compositor Adam Sager gets around town, and knows the spots down there – he’s quick to point to Le Bistro Montage<\/a>, Produce Row Cafe<\/a>, Robo Taco<\/a> and if you’re in a pinch, there’s the cheap & quick Sparky’s pizza<\/a>.\u00a0 Coffee:\u00a0 Water Ave<\/a><\/p>\n

Pearl\/Downtown – <\/strong>our man in the Pearl is Ryan Shanholtzer – long time Portlander who’s digging his, uh, digs over at Wieden & Kennedy these days.\u00a0 In rapid fire succession:\u00a0 The People’s Sandwich of Portland<\/a>, in a cool location in Old Town.\u00a0 The aforementioned Bunk Sandwich<\/a> has the location downtown.\u00a0 Ryan’s also a cart regular – which could be a post all to itself. “If you want unhealthy but delicious an Argentinean cart opened on I think Washington? In that pod by Alder\/Galeria\/Jakes.”\u00a0 Steaks 5th Avenue<\/a>, the cheesesteak cart (been going 15 years strong!).\u00a0\u00a0 I think we all know the carts can be a moving target, and Ryan added, “There was a ramen cart I loved that moved to Alberta and a Pork Sandwich place I loved that also moved. Man, those carts move often.\u00a0 But I guess it’s in the nature of being a cart… ”<\/p>\n

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Tom Burney, pimpin' the Huggie Bites<\/p><\/div>\n

Speaking of carts, my view of Mac ‘n’ Cheese is forever skewed by Compositor Tom Burney and his award winning recipe that was the basis of Starchy and Husk <\/a>– not afraid to say that it was (formerly) best Mac n’ cheese in the city;\u00a0 a bold statement indeed.\u00a0 Speaking of course of the gourmet Gran Torino and it’s butternut squash w\/japanese bread crumb perfection…\u00a0 complete with a side of Huggie Bites (gluten free sweet potato “hushpuppies”).\u00a0 Unfortunately for us all, Tom shuttered his cart after his new location didn’t work out.\u00a0 Fortunately for us all, however, he’s sitting right next to me and pushing sweet pixels again.\u00a0 Maybe if I do some roto for him he’ll whip me up some huggie bites for old time’s sake…\u00a0 eh, Tom?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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I'll take a Gran Torino to go<\/p><\/div>\n

On the flipside of the Pearl, Co O’Neil (Dean of Education @ the Art Institute) hooks us up:\u00a0 “At the high end, I like Irving Street Kitchen<\/a>. Mid-range would be Lovejoy Bakery<\/a>. Low brow would be Cha Cha Cha<\/a> and Fuller’s<\/a>.\u00a0 Ooo! I also like Peem Kaew<\/a> on the park blocks – Thai.”<\/p>\n

Recent grad and Compositor Karch Coon (who we’ve loaned out to NYC temporarily) also had some good Pearl tips:\u00a0 the basement burgers at Life of Reilly<\/a> (ask for Dave), Little Big Burger<\/a> (get 2! and don’t skip the fries), and a nod to the conveyor belt goodness that is Sushiland<\/a> – tip: freshness is a factor, and the earlier in the day the better.\u00a0 Cart land:\u00a0 several<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Coffee: Barista<\/a><\/p>\n

Hillsboro – <\/strong>sure it’s out of town a ways and sometimes leads me to believe that it’s the edge of civilization as we know it, but let’s round things out with a whirlwind tour of the “renowned” Hillsboro cuisine.\u00a0 An oasis or 2 in the desert out there near Laika Entertainment, for sure.<\/p>\n

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A smile @ Sweet Lemon (photo: Kent Estep)<\/p><\/div>\n

The diamond in the rough in all my days out there turned out to be a little Thai Vegan Bistro 2 exits down Hwy 26 (Bethany) named Sweet Lemon<\/a>.\u00a0 Let’s talk muse power – because, no joke – songs have been written about this place.\u00a0 Sing it with me…\u00a0 “Sweet sweet lemon, she’s oh so fine…”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ha ha, the pop genius of Aidan Fraser right there.\u00a0 Walk in and ask for the Alfie special, you won’t be sorry.<\/p>\n

Roundabout that way is also the Fresh Thyme Soup Co<\/a>, which does a brisk biz and never disappoints.\u00a0 If you’re going to be out in the middle of nowhere anyway, you might as well go all the way:\u00a0 a burger with a side of trucker hats at Helvetia Tavern<\/a> ranks as one of the top burgers in the metro area (although I’m partial to Portland’s Violetta and the 10 hour tomatoes m’self).<\/p>\n

Follow the tumbleweed across West Union and you’ll eventually come to Allan’s<\/a>.\u00a0 That’s pronounced “A-yans” for those in the know.\u00a0 Jalepeno margaritas make the rest of your day interesting, and honestly darn near hallucinagenic.\u00a0 It’s ok…\u00a0 we are <\/em>artists after all.\u00a0 Aren’t we?<\/p>\n

Also qualifying in the “where the hell are we?” category is the Rock Creek Tavern<\/a>, a part of the McMenamins mafia and the only McMens venue making our little post here.\u00a0\u00a0 Do not go there if you are in a hurry.\u00a0 No one cares if you have the menu memorized and can order immediately, especially not the wait staff.\u00a0 Out past the airport – ViVi’s<\/a> does a killer noodle bowl.\u00a0 I’ll drop props to Longbottoms <\/a>for the Salmon BBQ plate Wed-Fri, because last time I was in there they gave me a Bronto sized plank of Salmon.\u00a0 Other than that, the sandwiches are usually good and if you can talk them into it, “Dave’s” bagel from the breakfast menu and it’s avacado+tomato goodness is a killer combo.\u00a0 10% discount for Laikans don’t ya know, just flash your badge (why don’t more places do that?).\u00a0 Speaking of salmon, the salmon fish & chips at Baker’s<\/a> in Hillsboro proper is worth the trip.\u00a0 In a hurry?\u00a0 A bowl of Pho at Pho Tango<\/a> gets you in ‘n’ out quick, unless of course you decide to order the Pho Challenge<\/a> – oh yes, this is apparently the Vietnamese equivalent of the old 96’er steak from The Great Outdoors<\/a>.\u00a0 If you can finish off that marathon and evade death by Pho, pause for your photo because you’ll be a Pho King Star! (yes, yes I did)\u00a0 cart land:\u00a0 yeah right.\u00a0 Coffee: Longbottoms<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What gets you going?\u00a0 Drop a note in the comments and let’s do lunch.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Picking up where we left off, the lunch post got some of us talking – let’s cruise around town and see what everyone’s up to. Helvetia Tavern, if you can find it SE Division – Bent Image Lab’s neighborhood is jealousy inducing for sure.\u00a0 The sweet spot on Division & 26th unlocks the Division\/Clinton strip… Continue reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[18,12,13,17],"class_list":["post-218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-keys-to-sanity","tag-lunch","tag-neighborhoods","tag-pdxclusive"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Cfrz-3w","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vfxpdx.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vfxpdx.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vfxpdx.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vfxpdx.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vfxpdx.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=218"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"http:\/\/www.vfxpdx.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":220,"href":"http:\/\/www.vfxpdx.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218\/revisions\/220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vfxpdx.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vfxpdx.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vfxpdx.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}