Where: 720 SE Grand Ave
When: Happy Hour is daily 4-6pm and 10pm-midnight
Honeys Heart: Dumplings & Moscow Mules
It's crazy that we haven't written about Kachka yet since it's possibly number one on Katie's list of "Favorite Portland Restaurants", but we finally have pictures and recently had a pretty great happy hour.
This June, I was recruited to run the Helvetia Half Marathon with Doug with the primary goal of beating Katie's best half marathon time (just some friendly competition between husband and wife). I will say we did pretty well, and earned ourselves a whole day of bar crawling... and as supportive spouse and primary drinking partner to us both, Katie obviously partook in this reward.
After beers at The Commons, a gin and beer tasting at Loyal Legion, and a quick beer at Bithouse Saloon, we went to Kachka just minutes after they opened for happy hour at 4pm and luckily got one of the last tables in the lounge.
Despite having been on a beer kick, Katie and I started our happy hour with a Moscow Mule ($5) and Doug went big with a Yorsh ($7), i.e. a pint of beer with a rotating vodka. I will say the vodka was perfectly chilled and Katie might have downed the last half of it before we left.
For food, we got an array of items because our friend Alex, who also ran the race, was there and had never been to Kachka. Plus, his fiance is a vegetarian so he has to take advantage of a meal with meat eaters!
Because we had worked hard and needed to replenish with some carbs and fat, we ordered the Bread and Whipped Salo ($2) which is just what it sounds like - cured fatback mixed with garlic and coriander and bread. A sprinkle of salt and this is uber satisfying.
For another shared dish, we got the Sprat Snack ($5) with tiny hot smoked fish, parsley mayo, and rye bread. These little cured fish aren't my favorite to look at, but they're salty and definitely satisfying with the mule or a beer.
Alex, on a meat kick, ordered the Golubtsi ($8), which is a pork and beef-stuffed cabbage roll. I wouldn't say this was the easiest for sharing but the combination of the roll in the sauce and cream definitely was a comfort food dish.
So far, I haven't had something I didn't like at Kachka, but I crave the Siberian Pelmeni ($9), dumplings filled with beef, pork, veal, and onion.
Even though the happy hour is a good deal, the dinner menu apps aren't a bad price and a favorite lives on that menu. The Herring "under a fur coat" ($9) is "a seven layer dip. but Russian. and actually a salad" aka it's layered herring, potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, mayo, and eggs.
