Friday, January 15, 2010

Portland: clarklewis and Jade Lounge

Posted by Kelly

So it has been a long and emotional week for many. The earthquake in Haiti, stressful days at work and a second round of sickness have definitely taken a toll. Katie B and I decided we needed a happy hour, or two, to reflect on our weeks and plan some future adventures.

Our first stop was clarklewis on the corner of SE Water and Taylor. This restaurant has a great vibe and their happy hour is an affordable way to enjoy the food and atmosphere. Katie and I shared the burger ($6), greens ($3), cheese and tarte apple plate ($3), and olives ($1).

The olives arrived first. For $1 they hit the "I saw that olive in that lady's martini and I want to eat it" spot.

(it was full, we ate a few before remembering to take pics)

Next came the greens and cheese plate. The salad was just that, greens, so don't plan on any other veggies, but the dressing was great and it felt light and healthy. The cheese plate was slightly disappointing, as I feel they usually are, due to the typically small portion of cheese. Probably it was the perfect amount, we just really love cheese and would have liked more.

So far we were very pleased with our choices. Then we were brought our burger, which low and behold comes with greens. I know it's only $3, but we would have appreciated it if our waitress had informed us of this so we could have chosen something other than the $3 greens to accompany the rest of our selections. The burger was satisfying though. Simple, with a large beef patty, pickled onions, and greens.


Feeling pretty mellow, and still fighting off a cold, we both ordered the happy hour glass of Pinot Gris ($4.50 each).


Deciding it was definitely a two happy hour night, we went to Jade Lounge, attached to an italian restaurant, il Piatto on SE Ankeny and 23rd. The slightly dark restaurant, lit mostly by hanging green lanterns, offers $3 appetizers all night Tuesdays and Thursday. Still in the mood for wine we ordered the Pinot Grigio (house white, $6). Full from our first happy hour, but in the mood to try something at this new place, we ordered the vegetable tempura. Since it was attached to il Piatto, an italian restaurant, I had just assumed it would have similar foods. Instead the $3 appetizer menu was full of Asian food including tempura, salad wraps, spring rolls, etc. The tempura was good and the water came in cool tall pint glasses. Kinda random and kinda heavy, but we liked them. I would like to return with an emptier stomach to try more, and I will definitely be heading next door for happy hour as well. Check out their menu online. Looks great!