Portland Restaurant: Boke Bowl West

What: Boke Bowl West
Where: 1200 NW 18th
Honeys Heart: Brussels Sprout Salad

When Kelly and I first tried Boke Bowl East about three years ago, Boke Bowl was the hot new spot in town. It was only open for lunch and it was PACKED. Kel and I went in with high expectations and when those weren't exactly met, we just never went back.

Now, a few years later, Boke Bowl has a second location on the westside and after a few months of driving by it everyday on my way home from work, I realized that I really wanted to give Boke Bowl another shot.

Kel and Adam visited the westside location first, both opting for the Pork Dashi ($10) ramen and though they thought the noodles, veggies, and meat were all good independently, the overall dish was a bit too rich and didn't quite hit the spot for them.

Our first joint HHH meal at Boke Bowl West came after a rock climbing session with Adam and Doug. We ended up arriving just in time for their Dim Sum brunch, which is served on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am-3pm.

Boke Bowl says "this is our non-faithful recreation of the Cantonese-style, tapas-like, small-plate/pushed cart service offered at more traditional Chinese restaurants." I've never had dim sum, so I don't have much to compare it to, but it is a fun concept.

After you're seated, servers come around with a few different carts. They share their offerings with you, all of which range from $3.75 to $5.75, and you can opt in or wait for other plates to come around.

We tried a few different plates including Potstickers, Spicy Wings, Baos, and Sui Mai (dumplings), but our favorites were the Chinese Greens with Oyster Sauce and a special crawfish and spicy pork stew with rice.

Everything was good, but even with the plates we liked best, we were all left with the same feeling Kel and I had after our first Boke experience: one of slight disappointment. Like, why aren't we more excited about this? Why does it feel so overpriced? It certainly wasn't bad... we just wanted more from the experience.

Still, I wanted to give Boke one more chance so when my friend Kendall wanted to meet up for lunch in NW, I suggested we grab food there.

The server at the front counter was very friendly on this visit. He told us the warm Brussels Sprout Salad ($10) with cauliflower, citrus slices, tofu croutons, and Thai vinaigrette was his favorite item on the menu, so we decided to split that as well as an order of three different steam buns ($9).

The server knew what he was talking about. That salad was my favorite thing I've eaten at Boke Bowl- east and west. The combination of perfectly cooked Brussels sprouts and cauliflower with bright touches of citrus and savory bits of tofu croutons was just delicious. If I go back, I'll definitely order that.

Our Brisket, Miso Mushroom, and Fried Chicken buns were reasonably tasty too, but that salad was hard to top.

So, after each giving Boke Bowl two more chances each, how do Kel and I feel now? Pretty indifferent, I think. I would go back for the Brussels sprouts and... that might be about it. Guess Boke just isn't for us.

Portland Happy Hour: Aviary

What: Aviary
Where: 1733 NE Alberta Street
When: Mon-Fri,  5-7 PM, "Classy Mondays" all night in the bar
Honeys Heart: Bread and Bagna Cauda 

Arriving 15 minutes early to meet a friend for happy hour at Aviary left me three options: Sit in my car and probably look at Instagram, walk around Alberta, or just go in the second they open (at 5pm) and drink wine. I obviously went with the last option. 

The restaurant was empty. Granted they had only opened 30 seconds before, but I felt like the first one at the party and it's awkward because no one you know is there yet. Oh well! Happy hour is in the bar so I made my way to the back. 

I was the only customer, so bartender Corey had plenty of time to put final touches on the bar and hand me menus and offer suggestions. Corey turned out to be a critical part of our quiet Aviary experience. He was super helpful with happy hour menu suggestions, wine picks, and ultimately partaking in our poor driving stories - he didn't share his own, but he did laugh and act like ours were interesting. He also learned how instead of saying "another" to me when my wine glass is empty (which I will almost always say yes to) that he should say "you're good, right?" Good job, Corey! 

Starting out with generous $5 house wine pours was not only appreciated, but gave us time to ponder the menu. Sarah (friend from college, not sister) and I ultimately settled on the tempura green beans ($6) with a curry sauce. Be sure to mix it all up to get the sauce on the beans!

We also kicked things off with the Brussels sprout nachos ($5). Brussels sprouts are so hot right now and I'm digging it. These were odd - not sure Sarah was a huge fan - but I still liked the concept. The Brussels sprout leaves acted as the "chips" with a mole sauce, cojita cheese, and a couple other things. 

Last minute I added a $2 oyster and was pretty happy about it. That's a good price and it was tasty. 

After another round of wine and sufficient holiday updates, we decided we were still hungry. Corey recommended the slaw dog ($5) and at this point I think we were doing whatever Corey recommended food/drink-wise so we went for it. The dog is house-smoked, accompanied by a pickle, and topped with a papaya slaw. I loved that the bun was classic and soft - super good!

After some additional catch up, mostly covering the latest from the Bachelor premiere (that's important, okay), and maybe another glass of wine, we ordered the pulled pork sliders ($5). Sadly I forgot to document, but this has the papaya slaw as well with some sriracha and was a generous portion. Definitely a little spicier and heartier. 

We might have also thrown in the bread and bagna cauda ($2). I mean, only $2 and the description sounded pretty great. Bagna cauda is a warm dip from Italy made with garlic, anchovies, olive oil, butter, some kind of cream, and I heard something about tomato oil (or something). Regardless, I would recommend it. If you order something off their dinner menu this is complimentary so keep that in mind! 

Aviary also features a $6 happy hour cocktail which that night was bourbon based. The trotter n eggs ($5) was also highly recommended.

Overall we had plenty of food and three drinks each totaling $26 each (plus tip). Not bad! I don't know that everything was incredible but it was really satisfying and unique compared to many hh offerings. There are definitely items I would go back for. Plus everything was fairly priced and the service was great!