H2O (PDX)

[duckduck]

I have to agree with Kelly Clark of Willamette Week that I wouldn’t really want to be there on a Friday night during the butt-sniffing, tail-wagging hour but weeknights are a totally different story. I find the water walls and live music relaxing. And the bartender on Monday and Tuesday totally rocks. I’ve become a regular.

Overall, the place is clean, the staff is fun and the food and drinks are great.

The vanilla lemon drop is a wonderful balance of sweet and sour with a beautiful fresh sugared rim. Heather’s twist on a cosmo needs a new name because it’s so much better that any cosmo I’ve had anywhere else. The chocolate martini was little light on chocolate flavor but she will adjust anything to suit your personal tastes. All her drinks are well balanced, heavy on kick but don’t have that heavy alcohol taste. Yummy stuff. Always have one more than I meant to.

The food shines. I expected the ample serving of fresh cut garlic fries to be overwhelming but they weren’t. The flavor is balanced and they’re even good as they get cold. You can’t push them far enough away to stop nibbling on them. I was craving red meat one night and the burger hit the spot. You can taste the moo and the cheese is thick enough that even after it melts down you can still taste the fact that it’s Tillamook cheddar. It’s served up on a Kaiser roll with a slice of red onion, generous amount of butter lettuce and nice slices of roma tomatoes. At a time when no one has tomatoes and prices are through the roof, I can see that they don’t cut corners on their produce. They get credit from me for that. The crab and cream cheese crepes (they’re really more like spring rolls) are small but very tasty. The soba noodles were good quality but a little light on flavor for me. The crispy ahi I’ve gone for twice already. I love the tangy asian slaw it’s served up on and the spicy sauce. The mussels in green curry broth are a great value as well as a beautiful dish. If you’ve never tried mussels, at $2.95, they’re a steal. Done to perfection, nice and tender, and incredible flavor. I kept going back for the broth with a shell because I couldn’t get enough.

Dessert have rocked. The crème brulee is not too heavy, not too light, carmelized just perfectly, served up with a little fruit and butter cookies that were just delightful. The chocolate hazelnut torte hits the chocolate spot without being as dry as other places. Nice and moist. The cheesecake was the surprise though. I didn’t expect to be thrilled. Mile high, soft and light and just the perfect amount of lemon. Best I’ve had in ages.

I’ll be back again and again. Weeknights, I’ve found it to be a very comfortable place to sit and write. And there are still many more items on the happy hour menu for me to explore.

Lollypop chicken wings, mild or hot w/celery and blue cheese dip – 3.95

House cut garlic fries – 1.95

Tempura vegetables w/ginger soy dipping sauce – 2.95

Cold buckwheat noodles w/ soba sauce – 1.95

Lebanese hummus and pita w/melted feta – 2.95

Tillamook cheddar cheeseburger – 3.95

H2O house salad – 1.95

Mussels in green curry broth w/ mint – 2.95

Mediterranean crab and cream cheese crepes w/red pepper coulis – 3.95

Soup of the day – 2.95

Spinach risotto – 2.95

Crispy Hawaiian ahi stick w/spicy mango sauce – 3.95

Asian chicken salad w/ mandarin peanut dressing – 3.95

Monday – Friday 4-6:30 pm

204 SW Yamhill

[duckduck]

Can I just say - I have never really understood why people like risotto so much and why some say it is the ultimate comfort food. One piping hot bite of the spinach risotto at H2O and it all became clear to me. I get it now. Perfectly done. Not crunchy, not loose and mushy, but done to perfection. Creamy, cheesy and satifying. I have seen the light. And for $2.95, I'll see it again soon. Good stuff, Maynard!

[JohnStewart]

You sold me. A full bar and cheap good eats..I'll see you there tonight. After all that, the good bartender is working tonight.

[duckduck]

I didn't make it this week. Had a chest cold. How was your experience, John?

[JohnStewart]

It was good...and Heather does rock. She was very nice. I told her about this post, and she had already heard about it. I had the mussels and a asian chicken salad...good food and cheap. Ran the bill up on booze though. It was worth it, the girl makes a mean Ten and tonic. The waterfalls were off (cleaning day), but there were only 4 of us in the whole place. It was great! I'll be back ..maybe see you monday. I think they changed the happy hour time. We were there until 10 or so before they closed the downstairs and we left. Thanks for the tip. Any other good places to go..We're new here

[duckduck]

I'll probably stop in Monday. I've been craving the risotto. Also check out portlandfood.org to check out all the happy hours we've been to. We go out as a group often. I'm kind of the scout for the group and the one who started the Portland Food Group happy hour crawls. Come chow with us!

[duckduck]

I should probably mention that I won't be there until 6ish. I usually slip in at the tail end of happy hour since I work a little later than most folks.

[duckduck]

They did extend the happy hour to 4-midnight mondays, and 4-7:30 tue - fri. Very cool. They added some new items to the menu like fried calamari, oyster shooters and crab cakes. I went for the crab cake last night and it was great! Lots of crab not a bunch of filler. Really, really good. And I watched Heather handle a crowd of 30 and growing on her own and this girl just so blows me away. Great waitress and great bartender.

[JohnStewart]

I didn't make it last monday. But maybe this monday after the ice melts. I went to Dots and the Horsebrass this week. Dots was neat, a little smokey, but they have green chile cheeseburgers!...it made my move worth it. The Horsebrass was cool also. Just very busy. It was Friday night though.

The Lompac has $2 pints on Mondays also, but the food didn't do it for me.

Were there 30 people at H20 on a Monday? Seems hars to believe when we were the only customers the night we went. I will try to keep an eye on this thread to see if you're going out for happy hour.

[duckduck]

Yeah. It's been quiet enough that they gave the server the night off and then Heather got totally slammed. It was some big group where more and more people just kept coming. Heather said in serving she realize that most of them didn't know each other. She was going to try and ask what the group was about. I'll have to ask her about it.