Thursday, September 27, 2012

Portland Happy Hour: Jo Bar

This blog post is looooong overdue. Well, lets be honest, any blog post from me is long overdue. If Katie hadn't moved back to Portland and maintained our blogging excellence Happy Hour Honeys would be the embarrassment of the Portland food blogging scene. All I can say is thank goodness.

I'll be better and my blogging self improvement plan will start by sharing a happy hour I meant to blog about in June. Dana, Katie, Jen and I headed to Jo Bar to celebrate Jenna's year in Portland and her new adventure moving back to Seattle with her then soon-to-be, and now, husband!

What: Jo Bar
Where: 701 NW 23rd Ave
When: HH 3 - 6pm

An appropriate send off always begins with cocktails. The cocktail menu isn't online and it's been a while, but they were all good and all at hh prices. I would recommend their Moscow Mule. That was definitely a group favorite!


Though this cocktail was prettier... I think a delicious combination of spicy and sweet. Look for mango and a pepper vodka perhaps?


Following a round, or two, of cocktails we picked some items off the happy hour menu.

Fondue ($6) served with apples, bread and green beans. I definitely liked the veggie dipper addition. I think this rotates based on what they have in the kitchen since the menu said it would be asparagus. 


Katie and I were both there so obviously the Mac & Cheese ($4) was ordered. This wasn't just pasta and cheese, but also bacon, chicken and bread crumbs. I was definitely failing at a pre-wedding diet.


The Mushroom Pizza ($7) was probably my least favorite thing if I'm remembering correctly, but that could also just be because it was the most expensive item and I am feeling poor. Hard to say. 

 

Jen kept us healthy by throwing in a Cobb Salad ($5) will all the fixings. It was a good compliment to our otherwise carb loaded and cheesy selections.


Final addition was Sweet Potato Chips since they were only $2. I wouldn't say they are a must, they're more of a why not? I would order them again.


I really enjoyed the happy hour and the pricing was reasonable, especially compared to Jo Bar and Papa Haydn's dinner menus. Adam and I actually stopped into Jo Bar for a late late lunch one day and I would definitely not go back for the regular menu, since the hh is a great deal. When I go back, if I go back, I'll be hitting up hh for sure!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

5 in 5: Pix/Bar Vivant, Luce, Horse Brass, Casa Naranja, Clarklewis

Hey guys, remember when I lived in Boston for a while and was like "wah I miss dance so much." Then remember when I moved back to Portland and I got back into dance in like a pretty major way and now I don't have time for anything else? Including blogging?

But it's okay because I have a solution. It's a new blog thing called 5 in 5 (so good at naming!). The idea is that I'll post about 5 restaurants/bars/happy hours in one post and describe each of them in only 5 words (or less!). Maybe. We'll see what happens.

Wait guys, I also decided to tell you why I was at each of these places because you're really interested in my personal life (obvs.) K, bye! 

Pix Patisserie & Bar Vivant
Occasion: Super pumped that Pix was adding a tapas bar to its new location.
The Five: Give it a few months.



Luce
Occasion: Bon Appetit told me to.
The Five: Bon Appetit is for rich skinnies.


Horse Brass
Occasion: Doug has been drooling over their draft list for a while now.
The Five: 'Ello, governor!


Casa Naranja
Occasion: Erica and Anna came to visit!!
The Five: Not good for hangovers (swings!).


ClarkLewis
Occasion: Birthday!
The Five: Order the tagliatelle. Seriously. 

 

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Kelly's Wedding Weekend! (and Portland Restaurant: Serratto)

Two weekends ago, we celebrated a very special event: Kelly and Adam's wedding!


Anyone who knows Kelly and Adam will not be surprised to hear that their wedding weekend was full of love, laughter, dancing, drinking, and general merriment making.

And while of course I had an amazing time at the wedding itself, one of my favorite parts of the weekend was our girls lunch and mani/pedi session following the rehearsal.


Kel chose Serratto as our lunch spot and I think it was a great choice! 

What: Serratto
Where: 2112 NW Kearney
Honeys Heart: Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Serratto serves Mediterranean cuisine with a focus on local ingredients. The day we were there, they were proudly displaying a huge platter of giant heirloom tomatoes- yum! 

Serratto also has a great ambiance- bright, airy and elegant. Perfect for a celebratory lunch with the girls!

Here's a sample of what we ordered: 


Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($11) on brioche with bacon, avocado, lettuce and tomato. 


Caprese Salad with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and olive oil.


Pizza Margherita ($10) with fresh mozzarella, tomato, garlic and basil.

Cobb Salad ($12) with romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, bacon, avocado, tomato, blue cheese, sliced egg and blue cheese vinaigrette. 

 Simple and delicious!

After our tasty lunch, we headed out to get mani/pedis at Oasis Nails & Day Spa. $30 mani/pedis + a complimentary glass of champagne = another great choice, Kel!

I'll also share a look at some of the special little details from the rehearsal dinner which took place later that night. 



 Mason jars, striped straws, giant balloons, custom water bottles. So cute! 

Congrats again, Kelly and Adam! Cheers!