(PDX) Happy Hour - MERGED

[duckduck]

When I first looked at the menu posted in the window, I’ll admit I was a

little skeptical. The color coded menu (orange for energy, etc.) seemed

a little too new agey and made me expect tofu. (They do tofu and are vegan

friendly but that’s beside the point.) Stepping inside, I felt a little more at

ease. The darkly neon lit, funky, artsy vibe suits me.

Here’s my way of thinking. I see happy hour as a cheap, quick and

casual first date. No real commitment, just a drink and a little nibble

to scope things out and see if I want to pursue it further. You can get small

portions for little $$ that give you the basic idea of the quality of

ingredients that they use and their style of food. In some cases, as in

the case of Aura, you can get smaller portions of items on their regular

menu.

I normally eat my way through a happy hour menu before venturing an

opinion but me experience was too good to put off posting. I started with

orange jicama salad with citrus marinade in a parmesan cup. The first thing

I noticed was nice presentations and ample servings. It was crisp, refreshing

and very good. Next was the cheese fondue that you can order “for you,

for two, or for everyone” and it rivals my own. It’s a must have dish.

It’s well-balanced…good cheese flavor, wine front and center, nothing

gets lost. The bread was lightly toasted and the vegetables were of impeccable

quality and steamed lightly to crunchy perfection. Really good asparagus,

the perfect wine, gooey cheese…does life get any better than this?

I washed it down with one of their neo-classic cocktails May Flowers in

Moscow, a blend of raspberry vodka, raspberry schnapps with fresh lemon

juice topped with champagne. For the last course, cheesecake flan with

fresh ripe fruit. Very nice. Service was quick and very friendly. I’m

looking forward to going back with some friends to try their aura tiers

which are samplers made to share. I’m a happy camper.

Aura at 1022 W Burnside across from Powell’s

Closed Sunday and Monday

Happy hour 4:30 – 6:30 pm tue-sat

10pm to close, except fri and sat

all items $3

house salad

orange jicama salad

fondue for you

spicy 3 cheese burger duo

all night diner chicken burger duo

skewers

blackened chicken

chinese beef curls

vietnamese chicken

cuban mojo chicken

deep south pork

drinks

vodka or gin martini

margarita

lemon drop

cosmo

featured draft pint

featured wine by glass

[ExtraMSG]

Thanks for the nice report, duckduck. I have a question, however:

You're a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal, aren't you? How was the vibe? The place always seemed like it might be a little too LA.

[duckduck]

It's like we've discussed...is there really any place in Portland where you can't wear jeans? I can see maybe on a friday or saturday late night everone dressing a little nicer but early during happy hour it's pretty casual.

[duckduck]

Went back and tried the deep south pork skewers served with sweet potato-vanilla bean puree. Very, very good. Tender chunks of pork, moist and a flavorful and the sweet potato puree was smooth and sweet but not too sweet. I'll be back for more of that!

[Joni]

duckduck...thank you!!! Went there on 1st Thursday with friends and had the fondue for 3 -- fabulous and great presentation! Skewers and burgers were good as well as the $3 drinks! The place is great on the interior too. It wasn't crowded and service was excellent! A must place!

[duckduck]

Glad you enjoyed it Joni! I'm planning on going friday May 21st 4:30-6:30 with some people from the portlandfood.org group if anybody is interested. (hint, hint Trillium! )

[duckduck]

We went back and after an evening of ordering all the plates and drinks we wanted the damage was only $18 per person before tip. Fun was had by all. The burgers were good but a little spicy for some. The proscuitto wrapped sea scallops pan seared with bourbon butter and caramelized apples were wonderful and the chinese beef curls were tender enough, you really don't need teeth to eat them. The surprise of the night was the sake stinger which is kind of like a mojito only better. Oh, and the bathrooms. A must see. Fun place.

[trillium]

Dammit...how did I not notice this until today? There's no way I can get away at lunch times, I take a 20 min lunch most days, but now that I don't have a sick kitty to run home to, I would be totally up for Friday happy hour. I'm still bitter I had plans on the day of the big Thai feast you guys did. Any happy hour plans for this Friday? Have you ever done Canitas happy hour? I remember it ending kind of early, and the price break is on the nibbles not the drinks, but it looked kind of fun too.

regards,

trillium

[duckduck]

We did it that day because I had the day off work. I usually don't get downtown until about 6:15 so it makes it hard to do too much happy hour stuff. I am scoping out the ones that are available on sundays though and concidering a full crawl from one place to another sometime in the future. I'll have to check out Canitas. I was originally wanting to do Portland City Grill but they're so packed. That's why we went to Aura. I'm planning on seeing how busy Portland City Grill is on sundays. Maybe there will be tables available then.

[seattlemary]

Have read lots of threads on here about Portland HH deals. I'll be down there for two days next week - I will have a car so can go to any part of town.

I'm looking for good value and unique food experiences. I like all kinds of food. In previous visits, I was staying the NW area and had fun with HH treats there but it has been a number of years since I've spent time in Portland.

Thanks for your help.

Mary in Seattle

[John DePaula]

I'd try Carlyle Restaurant. I think their HH starts at 3pm.

Also, a great place for cocktails is Teardrop Lounge; really high end cocktails.

[syrah girl]

Carlyle is a nice suggestion, we enjoyed the food here when they used to be open for lunch. Bluehour also has great food in a nice ambiance, love the Gnocchi with Black Truffles here.

We visited the Portland City Grill for lunch with my son, his girlfriend and our daughter this past summer, loved the views, buzzy ambiance and food, the Dragon Roll sushi was pretty good here!

[VeryApe77]

I really enjoy the HH at Biwa - you have to sit at the Bar to get the HH menu, but it's available at all times, which is nice. I prefer to sit at the bar there anyway...

Along with Pok Pok/WSL, probably my favourite restaurant in Portland at the moment...

Edited February 23, 2008 by VeryApe77 (log)