Portland Restaurant: Hey Love (and a quick throwback)

What: Hey Love and Elephants (again) 
Where: E Burnside 
When: 5pm - 2am
Honeys Heart: Decor and cocktails

In between Katie coaching dance, me trying to figure out this whole dating thing, and us kindly inviting Doug to join us when we go places he wants to try too, Katie and I still try to prioritize checking out new bars and restaurants just the two of us. Recently we decided it would be fun to do a "back in time" bar crawl where we started somewhere we might like to go now, as mature 30-something year olds, and travel back in time through the night to places we frequented in our 20's (aka only places in NW).

Our list included Elephants, a toast to The Gypsy (from Muu-Muu's), Vault, and Life of Riley. Disclaimer: we did not make it to all of these places.

Elephants circa 2014- those are the strongest drinks of all time

To begin, we checked out a recently opened restaurant/bar called Hey Love in the newly-built Jupiter Hotel addition. With its tropical vibe and elevated tiki-style drinks, it was a great start to the debauchery to follow.

Hey Love's description of itself: "a community meeting hall, an afternoon study spot, an exceptional cocktail lounge, a hidden garden, and a house party - all wrapped into one." And to be fair, we met there, studied the menu, drank cocktails, commented on the plant-life, and returned at 1am to a wedding party and a DJ playing old-timey jams without a dance floor. We liked the vibe. 

Our bartender, a friendly woman with bright red hair, big earrings, and a colorful top, offered a warm greeting and suggestions of her favorite cocktails. We started with the Companion Fare ($11) and one of two rum slushy options. The one below featured strawberry and some fresh citrus and while both slushies were delicious (obvs we had to try both), they aren't sustainable additions to our daily drink repertoire as they lean a little sweet.

Recognizing that we had plenty of drinking ahead of us, we decided to try some of the tropical-inspired comfort foods. The Macaroni & Cheese Pie ($7) was an obvious choice for us and was made even more satisfying with wagon wheel pasta and the accompanying sauce.

After another round of cocktails, we ordered the pork cheek sliders to be safe. Good, but I don't think about them like I think about the mac. 

We wrapped things up, saying again "oh my gosh, we just love this place" and requested a Lyft to Elephants.

You might remember our first ever Elephant's post in April of 2009 where we raved about their incredibly cheap happy hour, then in October of 2009 when I explained my preference in bartender (sorry bartender Kelly), then in 2010 when Katie and I were SO funny and Kelly and Steve chased us out of the restaurant, then in 2011 when we copied their three citrus margarita recipe (we'd seen it made a few times)... and that's probably not every time they were mentioned. Point is, this stop was a MUST.

On our way there, we debated whether or not we would stay if bartender Kelly wasn't bartending. We decided we'd skip it since it just wouldn't feel the same without his adoration of us. As we walked up to the door, Katie saw him through the glass and immediately goes, "oh shit." We walk in, a bit enthusiastically, and from behind the bar we hear "oh shit." Bartender Kelly shared our sentiment, and probably a little bit of fear, of where this night was going.

We had a couple real strong cocktails and for old times sake, I put the bar stools up.

We left here to have shots at Muu Muu's and toast to The Gypsy's old location, now home to a new building full of retail space and apartments. Then went to Low Brow for lemon drops and went in very drunk search of somewhere to dance. We failed. As you can imagine the night went downhill and we should let the past live fondly in our memories.

Portland Restaurant: Short Round

What: SHoRT ROUND
Where: 3962 SE Hawthorne Blvd
When: Daily 11am - 12am
Honeys Heart: Grilled Mussels + Wings (for today)

As covered in a previous post, I rarely cook in my transitional housing (new apartment and healthier lifestyle coming soon). Luckily, I have one friend who at least makes me workout before we indulge in a happy hour or bottle(s) of wine.

Maggie and I met for a Barre3 class and then booked it from NW Marshall to SE Hawthorne in record time for happy hour at Short Round. Side note, we have decided Barre3 classes are too full and the consequential foggy mirror grosses me out.

Anyway, Fish Sauce's sister restaurant opened last summer and is serving up Saigon street food with a daily happy hour from 3-6pm and 9pm-midnight. We arrived at 5:55pm and managed to put in an exhaustive food order and two drinks by 5:58pm. Our bartender was on it, and I appreciated the assist versus semi-ignoring us to avoid the end of happy hour all together.

We started with a Gin Gimlet ($6) and Whiskey Sour ($6). When summer time hits and Maggie and I meet here - it's between our digs so I anticipate a second visit - I will be into trying the fresh Watermelon Margarita frozen cocktail ($8).

For food, we ordered seven things and the variety and corresponding price tags made it possible to get a true sampling. In order of how things came out...

First up, Chao Tom* ($3), the fried sugarcane shrimp.
*lets just note that the proper Vietnamese characters are not included

The Grilled Mussels ($5) were a bartender recommendation and I think they were one of our favorite items. We were doing some serious catching up and I wasn't paying nearly enough attention, but there where cheese and peanuts involved, and that sounds like a weird combo, but we were into it.

Bo La Lot ($4) beef wrap betel leaf. Perhaps our least favorite, but I'm glad we tried it.

I love the texture of sticky rice. so the Banh Tet ($3 - pan fried sticky rice cake with pork belly and mung bean) was simple but satisfying.

Another bartender recommendation, the wings ($4). I'm not typically a wings kind of gal, but if I had to choose I would go Asian vs buffalo. Plus, these were crispy and drizzled with just the right amount of sauce.

These Cha Gio ($2) are pretty self-explanatory. For $2, why not?!

And lastly, the Chicken Banh Mi ($7) with a side of sweet potato fries. My fav Banh Mi is at Lela's so in order of Banh Mi's, I probably would skip this for more mussels, wings, or to try some of our bartenders other highlighted dishes, i.e. the Soy Sauce Geoduck ($7) or the prawns.

Verdict? I would definitely go back. The industrial space has the owner's mom and mother-in-law in the kitchen. Something I didn't know at the time, but makes it more charming. And for five drinks plus all this food, our grand total was $64. It's in the budget!

Buzzed with the Happy Hour Honeys: Episode 1

Adam suggested like five years ago that we start a podcast, so in true Happy Hour Honeys fashion, we procrastinated for a few years, got tipsy, finally recorded something... and came to the realization that we're kind of annoying (but also kinda funny?).

Anyway, here's our very first episode. And yes, we realize that Toro Bravo has paella all the time. And that Katie's enunciation gets a bit too pronounced when she's trying not to sound too drunk. And that Kelly really should have apologized for all that shushing.

Cheers!

Vancouver, BC Trip: Gastown & Downtown

Katie filled you in on part of our Memorial Day weekend in Vancouver, BC and covered most of our favorite spots, but these are still worth mentioning and checking out if you're in the right part of town!

Before we dive into the eating and drinking, on day two we rented bikes and cycled the seawall. Look how good we are at biking. Those Revocycle classes are paying off! This was definitely a fun activity and a good break from our otherwise food and alcohol-filled itinerary! 

What: The Diamond
Where: 6 Powell Street, Vancouver, BC
Honeys Heart: The Athenian

Our first night in Vancouver meant walking from Chinatown to Gastown, one of Vancouver's most historic neighborhoods with a mix of old and new with lots of trendy nightlife. After an extremely sketchy block of East Hastings Street, we made it to The Diamond. While we waited for a table, we went in this little side bar off of the main room that had a more limited menu and a sort of 80s/90s, minimal vibe. Katie and I wanted fancy cocktails off the menu in the other room and oddly they didn't cross over so we waited while Adam and Doug got started.

Once in the main room, the cocktails were organized by boozy, refreshing, delicate, proper, notorious, and overlooked. Under the boozy category (surprise, surprise) I chose The Athenian ($11) with an olive oil washed gin, rosemary, roasted pinenut, and Bianco vermouth. This is the second olive oil gin cocktail I've had, the other was at P.R.E.A.M., and I really liked both. This was one of my favorite cocktails we had in Vancouver.

From the "notorious" category Katie chose the Felix London Dry Gin ($11) that was a lovely combination of London dry gin, maraschino, lemon, violet, and sparkling wine.

Once Doug and Adam finished in the small bar, they joined us and Adam was drawn to The Tokyo Drift with Geikkekan sake, blanco tequila, watermelon juice, and apricot liqueur. It was a little sweet, so pretty much up Adam's alley, but also refreshing and juicy!

What: Peckinpah BBQ
Where: 2 Water Street, Vancouver, BC
Honeys Heart: 

After The Diamond, we headed to a recommended restaurant down the main street, checking out the steam clock on our way which shows off every quarter hour with whistling and shooting steam from its five whistles. Our intended destination looked pretty good, but the menu was a little pricey with main dishes ranging from $18 to $30, so instead we turned back to a BBQ spot we passed by a few blocks earlier. Adam and Katie got the pulled pork sammie, while I chose the beef brisket sammie because I'm suddenly a brisket fan. Doug varied from the group and ordered the rib ends which looked pretty delish. It was definitely a better price point, but to be honest, it was no Smokehouse 21.  Before we left Adam had to try to fried Oreos with vanilla ice cream off the special board. Personally, I prefer a regular Oreo, but it was fun to try.

What: Alibi Room
Where: 157 Alexander St, Vancouver, BC
Honeys Heart:

Before heading back to our Chinatown apartment, we made one last stop at the Alibi Room, and per our standard for the night we waited for about 10 minutes. Who knew Vancouver, BC was such a happening place? After being seated, Katie and Doug got another beer, Adam chose the highest alcohol content cider, and after much debate (I struggle with my beerducation), I settled on a rosé. The space was warm with an exposed brick wall with wood tables and accent pieces, similar to most places we went in this area. Our waiter seemed pretty over his job, but it was overall a nice stop with a pretty big beer selection if you're looking to please both beer and non-beer drinkers.

What: Meat & Bread
Where: 1033 West Pender St, Vancouver, BC 
Honeys Heart: Vego Sandwich 

On our way out of town, we tried the last spot on our list: Meat & Bread. We stopped downtown and were a little early so we walked around their convention center with a green roof lookout point (where there were def snipers, there must have been someone special coming by...) and checked out the sculptures and sea planes.

Meat & Bread opened at 11am and we were almost the first in the door. They have their signature porchetta sandwich as well as a corned beef, vego, and daily special. Adam, Doug, and I went for the prochetta, while Katie opted for the vego. I liked Katie's more, but the pork was perfectly roasted with little crispy bits. In hindsight, I wish I had tried the special which was a greek-style lamb sandwich. I would definitely recommend this for lunch, it would also be awesome to get to go and eat at the waterfront on a nice day.

Our international (so fancy) Memorial Day weekend was a success! I think the only place we went that we really didn't like (besides Portland Craft) was a pizza place for a late night bite, Uncle Fatih's. It was legitimately bad and there were so many sesame seeds on it. Hard to mess up pizza, but they did it. There were a few places we would have liked to check out like Granville Market, Earnest Ice Cream, and Brassneck Brewery, but all-in-all we had some pretty awesome food and drinks!

Portland Restaurant: Accanto

What: Accanto
Where: 2838 SE Belmont Street
Honeys Heart: Buckwheat Crepes

For the past three years, my sister Sarah has flown from NYC to Portland to run the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, and of course to see me. It is a tradition for us spectators to have "first breakfast" while we watch her run and then all head to brunch after. Usually Sarah's friend Isabel (we missed you!) takes part in the fun, but this year our parents were in town and Sarah's boyfriend Jon joined her from NYC. With a group of six to coordinate, I thought it best to make reservations and Accanto's brunch menu had the best variety for our group.

According to their website "Accanto is all about fresh, seasonal Italian food, wine and cocktails. Simple yet sophisticated, with the warmth and welcome of a true neighborhood corner café." I would say this is a pretty accurate description of the flavors and feel.

Of course we started with cocktails. Sarah earned us all a drink, right? (Thanks, sister!) While she went for the Morning-Groni ($7) with gin, Campari, grapefruit, and sweet vermouth, I opted for the bubbly breakfast cocktail special. A combo of St Germain, bubbles, citrus, and bitters drew me in. Adam threw a curve ball and ordered a green chartreuse cocktail which isn't on their website so I can't remember all the ingredients, but overall the three of us were happy.

The other three in our party ordered the Belmont Bloody ($7) with a serrano chile infused vodka and after seeing all those veggies and that crispy fried prosciutto, I questioned my original choice. It was pretty spicy though... but you just can't really beat how a bloody mary also doubles as a pre-brunch snack.

To get started, we ordered the Ricotta Donuts ($6) sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with lemon curd, which might be my favorite sweet treat spread.

Dad went for the Duck Hash ($15) which somehow, even though I was sitting next to him, I didn't steal a bite of, but the combination of asparagus, green garlic, potatoes, poached eggs, duck, and hollandaise looked pretty delicious and seemed to satisfy.

Jon and I, who had been making similar dining decisions throughout the weekend (great minds...), both opted for the Buckwheat Crepes ($14) with spring vegetables- which on that day included peas and mushrooms, gruyere, sunny eggs, prosciutto, and a side salad. I might be biased, but we made the best decision.

After some serious contemplation, Adam finally settled on the Smoked Pork Biscuit ($12) with cheesy eggs, smoked pork loin, bacon, and red onion jam served with potatoes. Their buttermilk biscuits have a perfect crispy edge and soft, flaky middle. I may have ordered one as a side too.

Mom ordered the omelette off the special's board, which I also didn't try. What the heck?! But Sarah did and they both seemed pretty happy with the cheesy, veggie combo.

Sarah's option is last because it's the least exciting, but still noteworthy because those biscuits are so dang good. A Buttermilk Biscuit ($5) with honey butter and jam is definitely meant to be paired with other sides to make a meal. Sarah decided to combine that with two poached eggs ($4) and call it good.

Their dinner menu also looks worth checking out. We'll be back!

Thailand Trip 2014: Where to Drink in Bangkok

In my last two Thailand posts, I shared some general observations about visiting Thailand and documented the best things we ate. We also did a fair amount of imbibing throughout our honeymoon (duh, we were on vacation) but after we left Bangkok, our options were significantly more limited. That's why I'm going to share our favorite places to drink in Bangkok... and add that if you're anywhere else in Thailand, hope you like Chang!

Mikkeller Bangkok

Doug and I visited Mikkeller's San Francisco location last summer, so when Doug realized that they also have a location in Bangkok in addition to their flagship locations in Denmark, it was a given that we would visit. (I'll also again recommend that you read this NYT Magazine piece about the founder of Mikkeller and his twin brother who owns another of our favorite breweries, Evil Twin Brewing.)

Let me tell you, Mikkeller Bangkok is not easy to find. If it hadn't been for this guy's very helpful blog post, a readiness to walk down lots of dark residential alleys, and the promise of air conditioning on a 90°F night, we never would have found this place.

I can only imagine what it must be like to come to Mikkeller when you've been in Bangkok for longer than two days (like we had been). It was like a little slice of hipster USA.

There were 30 taps featuring house brews and guest taps and between the two of us, we ended up trying a good amount of their selection. Mikkeller brews just a handful of their own beers in Bangkok: a pilsner, a brown, a pale, and a wit. The best was their Sukhum' Wit. It was a good balance of sweet and light, perfect after our long, humid trek out to the tap room.

However, the best and most unique offering was from Danish brewery To Øl. The chalkboard in the bar called the beer "Split N' Lick" Oreo Imperial Stout and after a bit of research (yay wifi!), we concluded it was the Goliat Imperial Coffee Stout that was being poured through a randall of Oreos. This heavy dark beer exploded with sweet, chocolately coffee flavors and was so, so good. Any Portland breweries want to attempt to recreate this? Cuz we'll be there ASAP.

Khao San Road

A couple of years ago I had a gig writing hotel blurbs for Travel + Leisure. One of the cities I covered was Thailand (go figure) and I distinctly remember writing about a backpacker-friendly B&B in the Khao San district. I remember thinking that it sounded like a really cool area, if not a little sketchy. I don't know why then, when Doug and I were actually in Thailand, that it didn't come across my mind that we should check out Khao San Road until our last night in Bangkok.

I can't believe we almost missed this place! What started in the 80s as a street that housed a few cheap guesthouses for backpackers has turned into a bustling neighborhood with bars, cafes, massage parlors, and food and clothing stands every few feet- and lots of lots of tourists.

Khao San Road proper was just crazy- basically Thailand's version of the Las Vegas Strip with way less fancy hotels and and way more dive bars, some with signs like this:

We much preferred Soi Rambuttri, a horseshoe-shaped street that runs parallel to Khao San Road. It's a little quieter and has lots of bars with tables that face out to the street so you can enjoy your drinks while people-watching.

Soi Rambuttri is also where we found this fun little VW bus-turned-bar (apparently a popular thing to do in Thailand, as we would come to find out) which featured cheap cocktails and it's very own chihuahua.

Cheap Charlie's on Sukhumvit Soi 11

Soi 11 is like Khao San's much tamer, more refined little brother. The street is a favorite of expats with some tourists and locals thrown into the mix too and it's super easy to get to as it's just a block or so down from the Nana BTS stop.

There are lots of little bars and clubs nestled along the road but our hands-down favorite was Cheap Charlie's. Cheap Charlie's is a cozy little shack of a bar with a few bistro tables and stools scattered around its perimeter. It's been open for almost twenty years now and the drink prices certainly reflect its name. We're talking 60 baht ($1.80) for a Chang and 70 baht ($2.15) for a vodka soda.

Charlie's doesn't serve any food but there are lots of street food options on Soi 11, including stands selling delicious pork satay, boat noodles, and pad see ew. 

Octave Rooftop Lounge and Bar at Bangkok Marriott Hotel Sukhumvit

Bangkok is known for its bevy of opulent rooftop bars whose prices tend to hover more around US prices than Thai prices. We knew we wanted a fancy night out, but also didn't want to blow our whole daily budget on a round a drinks. 

After doing some research, I came across Octave Rooftop Lounge and Bar at Bangkok Marriott Hotel Sukhumvit. With its great happy hour specials and panoramic views of the city, it seemed like the perfect choice.

Happy hour is from 5-7pm and includes 2-for-1 drinks. That meant that Doug and I had to get the same cocktail, but that was a small price to pay.

We started out with two Thai Mojitos (350 baht or $10.75) made with Thai rum, lime juice, mango, and Thai basil.

For our second round we tried the Shining Sun (375 baht or $11.50) made with pisco, tamarind, pomelo and lime shrub, mango, pineapple, and a dash of absinthe.

These were the best cocktails we had in Thailand and while they were definitely on the pricey side compared to most spots we had been frequenting, the views from the bar were worth it.

That's it for my Thailand recaps! Whether or not I actually get to one about Kuala Lumpur remains to be seen... but don't you want to know all about a Malaysian speakeasy, the most delicious iced coffee/tea hybrid, and Doug's near-death experience? Okay, fine. I'll work on it.

Seattle Weekend: Mamnoon, Canon & Ma'Ono

When we last left off, Doug and I had enjoyed lunch at Paseo, a round of beer and bocce at Von Trapp's and a cocktail at Sun Liquor. Now: dinnertime!

Doug and I rely on Eater PDX's 38 Essential Restaurants and Heatmap lists quite a bit when choosing restaurants to try in Portland so Doug figured why not take a closer look at Seattle's too?

He ended up choosing Capitol Hill's Mamnoon, described by Eater Seattle as follows: "Mamnoon has created its own scorching hot rep with its Lebanese/Syrian cuisine. While the menu can be unfamiliar to those who have not tried this type of food, the entire thing is pretty much rock solid. You can't go wrong with any of the dips or salads - great starting points as you work your way down to more adventurous entrees." Sounded good to me!

What: Mamnoon
Where: 1508 Melrose Ave, Seattle, WA
Honeys Heart: Muhammara

Let me just start by saying that Doug made an excellent choice. Mamnoon was everything (and more) that we wanted Levant to be. Similar to Levant, the prices are pretty up there, but this time the expense felt way more justified.

As Eater recommended, we started off with some dips and veggies off the mezze (small plates) menu. Our favorite by far was the Muhammara dip ($10) made with walnuts, pepper paste, pomegranate, and cumin. I love walnuts and their nuttiness combined with the spiciness of the pepper and the sweetness of the pomegranate put this dip on a whole new level. I might have licked the bowl. Might.

We also tried a hummus with fresh peas (the menu changes frequently so I can't tell you much more than that) and Arnabeit Makli ($8), which is fried cauliflower. The hummus was very refreshing and I think based on Mamnoon's cauliflower and Bollywood Theatre's equally delicious take, Doug has a new favorite veggie.

For our main course, we had the Kefta ($22), minced lamb with onion, pistachio, and baharat. Just like everything else, this was delicious- but we were pretty full on pita and dips by the time it arrived.

If we ever go back (which I hope we will!) we might just stick to mezze and not go for a larger plate.

After dinner, it was time to head over to see 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT Theatre's co-production of Little Shop of Horrors, the reason we were in Seattle for the weekend in the first place. Little Shop is my favorite musical and I'm lucky enough to have seen it on Broadway and in the West End- so I had pretty high expectations.

The show was sooo good. Great singing and amazing props, especially the Audrey II puppets. I think Doug is definitely a Little Shop fan now too.

After the show, we decided to stop for a drink or two at our favorite Seattle cocktail bar: Canon.

What: Canon
Where: 928 12th Ave, Seattle, WA
Honeys Heart: Whatever float is on the menu

Similar to my favorite cocktail bar of all time, Drink in Boston, Canon makes delicious craft cocktails, has great hospitality... and there's usually a wait to get in. It's worth it though!

The menu is extensive and you really can't go wrong, but my favorite menu option is the rotating float. The first time I ordered the float, it was a Chartreuse cocktail topped with vanilla ice cream. It was pretty much amazing.

This time, the float was the Movie Night Float ($10) made with bourbon, fernet, rootbeer and topped with popcorn ice cream. At first I was like, "meh, that sounds kinda gross." But then I got it and was like "OMG, best thing ever." Seriously, order the float. You'll thank me for it.

After a few drinks, we made a quick stop at Dick's for a late-night snack (Doug made me!) and then headed back to our AirBnb apartment for the night.


The next morning, we headed over to West Seattle for a late brunch at Hawaiian-inspired Ma'Ono, also on Eater Seattle's Essential 38. 

What: Ma'Ono
Where: 4437 California SW, Seattle, WA
Honeys Heart: Bottomless Mimosas 

The wait was 20 minutes for the two of us, so we decided to grab some Bottomless Mimosas to help pass the time. This was probably not the best idea as we were still recovering from the effects of our Canon cocktails the night before... but oh well.

Once we were seated, we had a very difficult time picking out what we wanted. Everything on the menu looked both delicious and overwhelming at the same time.

Eventually Doug settled for the French Toast ($14) served with fried chicken nuggets and sausage gravy. Ma' Ono is known for their fried chicken so the nuggets seemed like a good way to get a taste of the restaurant's specialty.

I went for the Loco Moco ($14), a big bowl filled with wood-grilled chuck, Portuguese sausage, fried egg, brown gravy, rice, grits, and grilled pineapple. This was an unusual choice for me since I usually choose a sweeter or at least lighter brunch option, but in my hungover state, it sounded perfect.

In the end, while both our dishes were good, we ended up with a ton of leftovers plus the feeling that Ma'Ono would not make our own personal Essential 38 list. Contrary to all our other stops over the weekend (Paseo, Von Trapp's, Sun Liquor, Mamnoon, and Canon), I think this would be the only spot I'd be hesitant to return to.

Also, yes we ate and drank A MILLION things that weekend. That's why a month later, we have put ourselves on a Paleo diet. Yep, happening. Nope, not excited.

Till next time, Seattle!