Katie Comes to Portland!

Posted by Kelly

Katie and I are good at a lot of things, but one thing we excel at, especially when together, is eating and drinking. Katie came to Portland the first weekend in May for her sister's graduation, but I like to pretend it was all about visiting me! It was so great to have her here and fun to hit up some of our old favorites. Here is a recap of our weekend of eating and drinking (after I picked Katie up from the airport.) We had limited time so we had to make the most of it...

Friday Night

Thai Ginger: Yellow Curry please...

Greyhounds: Best pre-night out drink ever (see recipe below)

Vault: Get the Gluttony (Smirnoff Citrus Vodka, rasberry puree, fresh lime juice) and work the crowd, which is usually slightly older. This place is hit or miss, but in college we started some incredible nights here. This night in particular involved a child actor, dares, and one of the tastiest Gimlets I've ever had.

(child actor in the middle...appearances in Malcom in the Middle, 

Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Nash Bridges, and more...)

Candy: I wouldn't recommend going here unless you've had as many drinks as we had. It wasn't all bad because we danced and bothered the dj, but we weren't impress with the crowd, atmosphere, or horrible red "skittle" drink the bartender made us when we asked for something "delicious." I can't totally dislike this place though because the computers at the tables (and Adam) is the reason I got the job I have now!

Saturday Morning

Kettleman Bagels: If you love bagels, you love Kettleman's. If you hate hangovers, you love Kettleman's. It always hits the spot! I will discuss how much Honey's Heart bagels in a future post.

Sunday Night

Amalfi's (with Katie's fam): I frequent this place with my Mimi and Papa, but it's always fun to go with a different crowd. Really tasty pasta and the BEST BEST BEST blue cheese salad dressing. They make their own and it's garlicky, delicious. Katie and I ordered Citrus Drop's while her mom opted for the Raspberry Citrus Drop. Either way you win!

Mint: We walked in the door to an empty room and the waitress telling us they were actually closing for the night (heads up: they no longer have all night happy hour Sundays) but Katie and I both made the most pathetic whimper noise ever and the waitress felt bad enough to let us get one drink (thank you Mint/820!!) The Bella was amazing and the perfect last drink for a fun, but quick, visit.

(this is an old pic, we din't have sweet potato fries after our pasta, but we highly recommend them!!)

Portland Happy Hour: Mint Revisited

Posted by Kelly
Last Sunday Mary, Adam, and I hit up Mint's all night happy hour and I was reminded why I used to go there every Wednesday night! Great drinks and the BEST sweet potato fries. Delish!

Sunday and Wednesday are all night happy hours which include $6 drinks, sweet potato fries ($3.50), calamari ($6), spicy caesar salad ($6), lamb burger ($8), and daily soup ($4). Change it up and try their Avocado Daiquiri ($6) or go for some of my favorite drinks: Bella, 816, Ad Lib, Guava Cosmo, Ruby...really you can't go wrong.

Photos by Adam Tenuta

Portland Happy Hour: Mint/820

Back in January when I first invested in my fake id we decided to make the most of it (for $120 you got to live it up). One of our many traditions became Wednesday night Happy Hour at Mint/820, despite their refusal to acknowledge our status as regulars. There are many wonderful reasons we frequent this place (especially now that we are ALL legal).

First, DELICIOUS drinks. Some of our favorites (all for $6) include the Bella, Gin Cooler, 816, O...well we could probably keep going, but those are our favorites. And after 3 we're really good to go. This "lets get tipsy Wednesday night at Mint" has really been a lifesaver. It really gets us through the week (homework can be a bitch)!

Our second reason for loving Mint is the Sweet Potato fries (or yam fries with mayonnaise dip). Whatever they are, they are delicious and we generally get two orders which usually prompts the waiter to ask "are you sure????" And, yes we are.

Tonight (august 27) was an especially interesting night at Mint. We arrived, ordered our drinks and our fries, the usge. But shortly after, unlike normal Wednesday nights, the waitress came over and told us a guy (Zach) at a table we couldn't even see would like to buy us a round. There were 5 of us, so that is $30 (but 4 of us have boyfriends so that was a bad investment). Anyway, we took our drinks and decided to thank this generous fellow. SO we asked the waitress to send him over, and instead his two friends, both named Jeff -for real- came to chat, then Matt showed up (what?). But Matt left and finally Zach arrived so we could thank him.

Ultimately we chatted it up for a little, acted friendly, thankful, etc. We told their friend Tommy, who was celebrating his 21st, Happy Birthday! (Our friend's birthday was yesterday so they were like bday buddies). Then the best part of the night: Zach warns to his friend (Matt?) "be careful, they're kind of mean" but actually we're not, I guess they just didn't understand our sarcasm. Furthermore, not only do we all have boyfriends, but Katie happens to be a lesbian when she's tipsy so basically strikeout city for those boys...So then Katie kissed me and we declared our relationship official, which Dena adamantly denied (homophobe city...but not really, more like drunk city), so we decided it was time to leave.

So it was a successful Wednesday Happy Hour. We'll have many more this semester and promise to only to tell you about the really interesting ones. Our love for Mint only seems to grow and we recommend it to anyone looking for some delicious drinks, food, and fun place to catch up with friends!