Restaurant Name | City |
Rating
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Studio One Cafe | Eugene, OR | |
Finding a nice breakfast spot in Eugene is like trying to find
a Jewell CD at a dance party. Although this place is very pricey
and the service is slower than real maple syrup, the food makes
up for it more often than not. They have the best, and maybe only
gourmet breakfasts in town. Your alternatives are Denny's,
IHOP, and Doc's Pad, so you best spend the 2 extra dollars and eat
here. But not on weekends--too many sorority girls.
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West Bros. Bar-B-Que | Eugene, OR | |
West brothers has a very eclectic selection of what I call Northwest
Southern cuisine, and a casual--almost campy--atmosphere.
They have a great "jamaica me crazy" dish of jerked chicken and
coconut rice for about 12 bucks that I try about every month. I
love the mashed potatoes with basil butter, the vegetarian BBQ
beans, and the cole slaw. I'm not really a fan of the tri-tip, but
the lunch menu has some okay sandwiches. There's a brewery in
the basement, but the beer doesn't quite cut the mustard. And
why are all the waiters from Rho Alpha?
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Ye Olde Castle | Burns, OR | |
Family-themed restaurant gone horribly awry on the Eastern
Oregon tip. Since this is in Burns, expect to eat steak. Lots and
lots of steak
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Madison's Bar & Grill | Portland, OR | |
Why is it that everytime I walk in here I feel like I'm in a poorly-themed
restaurant in Phoenix or Tucson? From the wine list to the waitress,
this place feels like suburban Tempe for some odd reason. The
only thing Northwesterly here is the Mt. Hood mural that looks
like it was drawn by M.C. Escher's red-headed step-child, and
i have to assume that they meant it that way. My most recent dining
partner here said it was kind of like going on vacation in San Diego
(even though she lives within a mile of this place), without the
smell of an airport. Everything here is so clean and sedate...I'm
not sure how i feel about that. Although i've never had a drink
here, they have 2 for 1 specials during happy hour and their well
is on the premium side. As for the food, I'd recommend the special--no
matter what it is. everything else has been bland and all-in-all
too much on the pub side of taste. The garlic-pesto chicken with
penne pasta tastes like evian, and any place that uses kraft dijonnaise
as a condiment for their ahi burgers should be forced to french-kiss
a drunk edward james olmos. The vegetarian menu consists of a
gardenburger with sprouts (just like everywhere else on the
planet), and my salad was made by an infinite amount of monkeys
chopping red onions on an infinite amount of cutting boards.
Also, why is everyone but me in this place dressed like al gore
on debate night?
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Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant | San Jose, CA | |
Gordon Biersch is in my top ten reasons why southern california
should fall into the sea. Since i am from oregon and am therefore
synonymously better than everyone below the the oregon border,
i find this place to be utterly vomit-inducing. any waitress
that tries to unknowledgibly explain what an IPA consists of
deserves to work at an in-n-out burger for the rest of her short
service-industry career. this place is a meat market with rotten
meat--take it or leave it.
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Tugboat Brewery | Portland, OR | |
This place doesn't belong in this neighborhood. just across
the street from the 24-hour church of elvis, and just seconds
away from mary's strip club, one would expect a total dive. but
no. this place is cleaner than a mcmenamins. they always have
a live band and the bartender lets you get away with "borrowing"
a beer because there's no atm and they don't accept plastic.
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Arbor Cafe | Salem, OR | |
Although I've never been here during dinner time, I'm pretty
convinced this is the best place in downtown Salem for lunch.
They have a rediculous selection of gourmet-style sandwiches
that all have their own distinct taste. It's a casual-style dining
area, but the food would have you think otherwise. Try the chicken
with the sun-dried tomato mayo served on a soft-as-sharmin roll,
or the what-did-they-do-to-this-tuna tuna sandwich. They
also have an extensive vegetarian menu that makes even someone
from Los Angeles feel like they're merely in Anaheim. Finally,
they have more desserts that the devil himself. Torte, cheesecakes,
fruit tarts, and those multi-layered chocolate cakes that make
you feel drunk on chardonnay. Laid back, casual behind-the-counter
service persons are more often than not happy you came in, and
you can also just run in for a quick latte to go.
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Tad's Chicken 'n Dumplins | Troutdale, OR | |
You have to love a place that has the word "dumplings" in its name.
Well, i guess you don't HAVE to, but you should love this place.
It smells like your grandmother's house on the day after Thanksgiving,
but it feels like you're out in the woods even though you're only
15 minutes from downtown portland. You can sit on the back porch
over the Sandy river and eat good, hearty, comfortable American
standards like--what else?--chicken n' dumplings. This is
what happens when you eat there, and I'm being totally serious:
First, you love the food and atmosphere so much that you think
your roommate/uncle/friend would love it. Second, you decide
to get a doggie bag so they can try it. Finally, you bring it home
to them and they don't like it because now it's cold/microwaved,
and they never eat there. The moral of the story here is to clean
your plate, because it's great when it's hot off the stove. I can't
imagine eating here on a spur-of-the-moment date-type outing,
but it's perfect for when you're coming home from pendleton/boise/the
gorge.
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Dot's Cafe | Portland, OR | |
First off, I'd like to say that the cook looks exactly like Dirk
Diggler from "Boogie Nights." This is mostly an evening munchie
place for the eastsiders that serves food that you could cook
yourself if you spent any time at home. They have grilled cheese
sandwiches with mushrooms on rye, spicy hummus w/ pita, big fat
burgers (that you can sub with gardenburgers if you like), and
drippy brewpub-style chicken sandwiches. Some NW micros are
represented here, complimented by a full bar. If you come here
often enough, you get the odd feeling that all the servers look
like Andy Warhol's Factory drop-outs circa 1974. The Lou Reed
music in the background enforces that impression tenfold. Three
cheers for the smoking section!
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La Cruda | Portland, OR | |
Can you say free salsa bar!?! This cafe-sized intimate americanized
mexican place makes up in fun what it lacks in flavor (and taste,
if you ever see the leopard-skin-coated bathrooms). The whole
place is decorated like an episode of "Friends" if it were filmed
in 1979. The portions here would make David consider dating Philestines.
My fav is the pineapple-chicken taco that comes with a side salad,
guac, and the before-mentioned salsa bar w/ chips. The service
will scare anyone west of the willamette, and they like it that
way. And, although the fajitas are a little bland, there's nothing
in this world that three shakes of the Cholula can't fix. If you
come after 10pm, there's even a smoking section complete with
one-dollar cans of pabst.
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Jake's Diner | Bend, OR | |
This place is a strange cross between a truck stop and a family
restaurant like denny's. They have huge, gut-splitting portions
of standard american faire at normal fam-restaurant prices.
It's a great place for breakfast, as their hash browns could easily
strangle a beefalo--they're that big. They remodeled the place
about five or six years ago, hiding the true "truck-stop" nature
of the dining area and giving it a real restaurant feel.
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Kayo's | Bend, OR | |
Although I don't normally trust inland seafood, this place makes
the mark. They have a halibut dish that almost--ALMOST--tastes
as if you're on the coast. But the best thing about this place is
the general feel of the bar and dining area. It lacks the pretension
that most places in Bend have, and that's kinda refreshing. Also,
they have a great bar with a great bartender.
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Shari's of Bend | Bend, OR | |
Standard and boring, north Shari's is just typical. But I guess
if you're hungry after 2:30 am, this and south Shari's are about
your only choices.
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Shari's of Bend | Bend, OR | |
Standard and boring, South Shari's is just a little more exciting
than North Shari's because people from LaPine eat here. No, just
kidding. The good thing about South Shari's is that they still
have a smoking area.
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Stars Restaurant & Lounge | Beaverton, OR | |
I still don't understand how anyone can actually order a meal
at a strip club. A friend of mine invited me here once, and I saw
him order the chicken strips, so I know first-hand that people
eat the food. Everything here is so expensive--especially what
is normally considered "cheap" beer like bud and pabst. Free
admission coupons can usually be found in local mags and papers
like the willamette week.
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Salishan Lodge | Gleneden Beach, OR | |
This is a great place to come if your grandmother/uncle/brother-in-law
is paying, because the coast offers enough selection of restaurants
deeming this place obsolete. They have standard seafood, but
it's a little spendy because of the view.
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Barley Mill Pub | Portland, OR | |
This McMenamins has a Grateful Dead theme. Other than that, it
is your standard McMenamins pub. The service here is slower and
friendlier than most other places. Like other places in the chain,
the food is a bit spendy, but definitely a meal. And is it just me,
or is McMenamin's beer a little yeastier than others? Happy Hour,
non-smoking, outdoor seating, pool, darts.
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Vincente's | Portland, OR | |
Certainly the best pizza on Hawthorne, with all of their specialty
gourmet ingredients. You can get anything on your pizza here,
from lamb to almonds. They sell by the slice with a great daily
special, or by the pie. They'll even deliver it for a buck. Service
is a little standoffish, but the food is worth the price when they
don't slather it in garlic.
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Long Island Pizzeria | Portland, OR | |
Although they have a wide selection of gourmet toppings and you
can even order online, i've had two bad experiences here. both
times i ordered from here, i was brought the wrong pizza. and,
since it took them over an hour to deliver the wrong one, i wasn't
about to find out how long it takes to deliver the correct one.
The pizza is a little on the greasy side, the toppings don't seem
so fresh, and the service is slow.
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Hawthorne's Cafe & Deli | Eugene, OR | |
good sam'iches togo or outdoor seating in the broadway sunlight-free
canyon. ask them to please go light on the sprouts and you'll be
alright. a little busy on the weekday lunch hour, but oh so convenient
and a great choice if you're in the downtown neighborhood. usually
a very consistent quality.
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