Reviews

The Waypost: Restaurant/Bar Review

June 12, 2014February 10, 2017

When we moved to NE Portland, we were a little sad that we were losing our neighborhood bar, C Bar. The food was great, the beer list was awesome, and it was about a 10 minute walk from our old house. Little did we know that the Waypost was down the street from our new house.

Actually, we did know. But we didn’t realize what an amazing little spot it was. When you walk into the Waypost, it feels like you’ve just walked into your friend’s living room. Except that their living room has awesome infused liquors and music/entertainment/activities all the time, and the bartenders are always super friendly, and people are easy to talk to, and it’s simply comfortable. The owner hails from Tucson, AZ, and has brought a touch of that desert vibe to the northwest in this little space.

Speaking of bartenders, let’s talk about Antonio. Antonio is the bartender you’ll see probably the most often, as he shakes up drinks, introduces bands, and hosts songwriters workshops. He’s also just the friendliest guy. We visit the Waypost frequently, but even if we haven’t been there in a while, he greets us like old friends. He’s always up for a chat, especially when it comes to conversations about what liquors they’re infusing and cocktails they’re creating. Listen to his suggestions.

One place where the Arizona influence is perhaps most evident is the menu. Tacos abound! They’ve got some delicious chicken and carnitas tacos, but they also have breakfast tacos (yum) and Colombian tacos (YUM). They serve weekend brunch too, and it looks delicious, though I haven’t tried it yet. As far as drinks go, I always rely on their house infused liquors. In the fall, they have a tasty pumpkin infused bourbon, which is great on its own or in a hot toddy concoction. On a recent visit, Antonio made me a cardamom gin & tonic. The cardamom was powerful without being too strong, and I loved how refreshing and spiced it was.

There are a wide range of events happening at the Waypost on a regular basis. Music? Check. On our most recent visit we saw Wildish, a band we’ve enjoyed a few times around Portland. Wednesdays are trivia (it’s really fun, but pretty hard). They have games in the front room. One night we happened upon a group of violas and violins playing classical music. I love that the Waypost welcomes all kinds. It’s cozy and friendly, and I definitely recommend a visit.

Restaurant Review: Bollywood Theater

June 4, 2014February 10, 2017

If you live in Portland and you have not yet discovered the pure joy that is Bollywood Theater, you are missing out, my friend. Troy MacLarty opened the first location on NE Alberta (right next to Salt & Straw) a couple of years ago, and they expanded last year to another location on SE Division. It is seriously difficult not to order the whole menu full of very reasonably priced, fun, unique dishes that are packed with flavor.

Since I’m in SE fairly often these days, I decided to visit the new location for lunch one day with a coworker. The wonderful thing about Bollywood Theater (aside from the food – I’ll get to that) is that as soon as you walk into the building, you are inundated, just like you would be in India, but only about a fraction as much. There’s a lot to see – brightly colored walls, hanging photos, old light fixures. It’s perfectly kitschy and brings back memories of my trip to India 8 years ago. The new sprawling space on SE Division boasts lots of tables (compared to the NE Alberta location), and even a little market where you can buy ghee, cardamom pods, and various other Indian ingredients.

My coworker had never been before, and after glancing over the menu we decided to share the bhel puri and the kati roll with paneer. I also got a mango lassi – rich and creamy, perfect for washing down the spicy chutneys and dipping sauces. When the bhel puri arrived, it looked like a party on a plate, and offered everything you could want in a mouthful of food on a warm spring day: crunchy puffed rice and peanuts, juicy mangoes, filling potatoes, and incredibly flavorful chutneys with the perfect amount of heat.

The kati roll with paneer has been a favorite of mine at Bollywood Theater since they opened – almost like an Indian burrito, stuffed with the creamiest house-made paneer I’ve ever tasted. The paneer was accompanied by egg, onion, chutneys, and rolled (or stuffed, really) in paratha, an Indian flatbread. One kati roll is large, and I can only ever eat half of one by myself, so it was the perfect dish to share.

They have some more traditional fare – thali meals, pork vindaloo, and samosa, but I recommend trying some of the items you haven’t seen before. A few months ago I had some incredible roasted butternut squash, topped with spiced yogurt, pumpkin seeds, and spices. Next time I’m going to get the dahi papri chaat. With a menu this authentic and flavorful, I want to try every last dish on the menu.

Müller Yogurt Review & Costco Giveaway (Sponsored)

May 16, 2014February 10, 2017

Last week, I received a box of Müller Corner Yogurt. Why you ask? Because, these awesome little snacks are going to be available at Costco locations in the Portland area. So I thought I’d give them a try, and let you know. And if you read all the way to the bottom, you can see how to enter to win a year’s Costco membership so you can taste these bad boys for yourself! The things I do for you guys.

Müller is a company with a cool history: it was started by Ludwig Müller in Germany in 1896. Müller was the town cheesemaker AND the mayor. That’s right. Can you imagine if your mayor made cheese? Your city would probably be a lot happier. Because who doesn’t love cheese? Anyway, over the years they’ve grown and changed, and now make yogurt. Which, really, is a lot like cheese.

These yogurts brought back some fond memories for me. As you can see in the photos, these yogurts have those fancy little separated corners of whatever filling that you pour into your yogurt. This brought back some fond memories for me, because when I was younger I was always trying to get my mom to buy me those yogurts with the separate containers on the lids that had mini Crunch pieces or granola or sprinkles or whatever. I love stirring something crunchy into my yogurt to bring it a little texture, and the candied almonds definitely brought the crunch. The yogurt is creamy, but not quite as thick as Greek style yogurt, and tastes good all on it’s own too. Though I’d recommend jazzing it up with the corners. That’s what they’re there for, right? Jonah and I love eating yogurt cups with our breakfast or as an afternoon snack, and Müller corner yogurts were a welcome addition to our pantry.

At your Portland area Costco, you can now buy a pack of 12 Müller Corner yogurts with three flavors: choco balls, strawberry, and candied almonds. If you don’t have a Costco membership, but would like to try it for a year for free, comment below with your favorite afternoon snack, or maybe a favorite snack from your childhood, and like Serious Crust on Facebook. A winner will be chosen on May 23rd, so check back!

This is a sponsored post. I was given a box of Müller Corner Yogurt for free, and all of the opinions below are my own.

Restaurant Review: Fogo de Chão

May 6, 2014February 10, 2017

Fogo de Chão, PDX // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — Photo credit: Eater PDX.

Last week, Jonah and I were lucky enough to attend the complimentary media preview dinner of Fogo de Chão, the Southern Brazilian steakhouse that has just opened in downtown Portland. Taking over what used to be the Niketown on SW 6th, Fogo de Chão has transformed the space into an elegant dining room with space for 250 diners. At the center of the dining room is a beautiful salad bar with some neat pillar sculptures on either side.

In case you don’t know, because I certainly didn’t before reading about this event, here’s how a Brazilian steakhouse like Fogo de Chão works: you are seated at your table, and each diner has a little disc that is green on one side and red on the other. Green side up tells the gauchos to continue service (aka bombard you with beautiful cuts of meat), and red side up means you need a break (otherwise you’ll explode from a serious case of “meat baby”). In addition to unlimited amounts of perfectly cooked steaks, there was also a salad bar full of various kinds of green salads, chicken salad, potato salad, pickled cucumbers, grilled vegetables, hearts of palm, scalloped potatoes, rice… the list goes on and on.

Upon arriving, we were directed to the bar, where we chatted with one of the bartenders while he made us each a caipirinha, the national drink of Brazil. We were then seated, and hit up the salad bar before sitting down and flipping our discs to green. As soon as we flipped them, there were gauchos everywhere! Seriously! How were there so many of them?!

We started with a slice of picanha, a bacon-wrapped filet mignon, and some other slice of steak I can’t remember. The gauchos are incredibly kind and very skilled with their knives. The discs went back to red, and we dug in. Every piece of meat was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The fat was melty and soft, and the meat was perfectly tender. While we were digging into the meat extravaganza on our plates, we were given a basked of pão de queijo (pão bread!), caramelized bananas, crispy fried polenta, and garlic mashed potatoes. My favorites of these sides were certainly the caramelized bananas and the pão de queijo – I have serious weaknesses for both.

The caipirinhas kept flowing, the gauchos kept coming with more skewers of meat, and then there was dessert: caramelized pineapple and chocolate molten cake. We met Ron, one of the managers, and spoke with a few of the servers and gauchos. My favorite part of the evening by far was the service – everyone was so kind and friendly. It truly seemed like the servers were having as good of a time as all of us diners. We were very well taken care of and attended to, which was lovely.

Now, down to the nitty gritty: dinner at Fogo de Chão will run you $49.50 per person, but keep in mind that the price comes with all you can eat salad bar and beautiful cuts of meat. If you’re a vegetarian, all-you-can-eat salad bar is $26.50. Dessert and drinks are separate purchases. I recommend the caipirinhas 😉