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!

Portland Saturday: Kruger Farm, Captured by Porches, and Grain & Gristle

Before last weekend, Doug and I spent four weekends in a row driving to Seattle. I know. It was a lot of fun, but I have to admit it was so so nice to be back in Portland last weekend. Doug (in true form) took charge of planning our Saturday.

Our first activity: Berry picking!

What: Kruger Farm
Where: 17100 NW Sauvie Island Rd
Honeys Heart: All-you-can-eat berry buffet! (kinda)

In college, a trip to Sauvie Island meant sunscreen, towels, and a cooler filled with drinks. But as it turns out, Sauvie Island actually has a lot more to offer than just a nasty, if not convenient, beach.

During the summer, Kruger Farm opens its berry fields to the public. You pay by the pint, but let's just say nobody's watching to see how many berries go in your mouth versus in your basket.

Doug and I spent a good couple of hours picking lots and lots of blueberries and raspberries. Fresh berries = heaven. For real.

I think the only thing that kept us from filling up our entire pallet was the heat. Good thing Kruger Farm is also home to one of my favorite local breweries: Captured by Porches.

What: Captured by Porches
Where: Kruger Farm, D Street Noshery, and St. Johns
Honeys Heart: beer from a bus- and it's good! 

We first discovered Captured by Porches back when they used to park on Alberta and were immediately smitten. Not only is the "beer out of a bus" schtick pretty awesome, their beer is also really good.

Last weekend, they were serving a rye (forget which one) and their Apricot Blonde.

Love that apricot- so refreshing!

What: Grain & Gristle 
Where: 1473 NE Prescott
Honeys Heart: Home Invasion cocktail

For dinner, Doug choose Grain & Gristle, which we've been wanting to try. An added bonus: it's right next to Pok Pok Noi, so if nothing on G & G's menu sparked our fancy, we could head next door for wings. Woot!

We started things off with some drinks. Doug ordered a beer and I tried the Home Invasion, a cocktial made with vodka, iced tea, lime, and elderflower. It was basically a jazzed up spiked iced tea and I loved it. Perfectly refreshing. Might have to try to replicate this one at home!

We also shared an order of Mussel Frites ($10), which really hit the spot.

As we were leaving, we noticed that G & G does a $25 two-fer meal each night where you get two beers and two entrees for $25. Will need to try that sometime for sure!

And then we went next store and had wings because they were SO CLOSE we just couldn't not get them. Ya know? A good decision on our part I think.