Hot Spot Bars

Voysey

March 2, 2020 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

This week we checked out the elegant speakeasy cocktail bar Voysey! This basement bar can be found by following the red light down the stairway at the back of Loyal Legion. If you don’t have a curious mind, you may not have even known this plush cocktail lounge existed.

Voysey is run by veteran female bartenders and bar managers serving up their own personal cocktail recipes as well as fun twists on some of the classics. As a result, everything on the menu is very thoughtful. If you are not in the mood for cocktails the menu is simple – 5 beer choices and 5 wine choices with a little something for everyone.

There are lots of cozy seating areas and a strong vintage vibe. Pink and red lights add to the ‘old-world’ vibe of the space. The bartender who served us was incredibly friendly, checked in on us just often enough to keep our drinks full, and was super knowledgable about all things cocktail.

We will definitely be going back to check out more of the drinks! If you want to keep current with what they are doing, check them out on Facebook!

Have you been yet? Had you even heard about it? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Blank Slate

February 10, 2020 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

Hot Spot of the week is awesome craft cocktail bar Blank Slate. I visited this place on a whim after hearing that they would be projecting the Oscars on the big screen complete with specials on oysters and champagne. Over the course of the evening, it became clear that this is the bar that I have been missing in my life.

We started the evening with cocktails, a Negroni for me and the Winter’s Cup (Sloe gin, rosemary, soda, deliciousness) for my friend. Both were absolutely delectable and made me want to try every drink on the menu. I will have to return for that chance, as I needed to take advantage of the bubbles special next. I ended up choosing the Spanish Cava, which was bright and crisp.

After enjoying a round of a half dozen Kumamoto oysters (they were wonderful), we ordered the rest of our meal. While the menu at Blank Slate isn’t extensive, it is well-curated and perfectly executed. We were excited to see that they use Fressen bread, so we ordered the Soppressata sandwich and the Mushroom toast. We LOVED the attention to detail that went into these dishes. Even something as simple as a thin spread of high quality butter on the Fressen pretzel roll elevated that Soppressata sandwich to drool-worthy heights. The trumpet mushrooms on the toast were perfectly roasted and they made use of a phenomenal finishing salt to make it just *that* much more delicious.

The decor is worth mentioning as well. I loved the wallpaper, a black background covered in greenery and white flowers. Hanging plants in the windows and a beautifully designed bar make this place feel simultaneously chic and cozy. Our service was the same, attentive but also warm and friendly. I felt welcomed like I was a regular, which I fully plan on becoming.

Have you checked out Blank Slate? What did you think of this awesome NE bar? Let us know in the comments! If you would like some info about Blank Slate, you can find it here.

Do you know a spot we should feature next? We want to hear about your favorite places in Portland!

Shalom Y'all

February 3, 2020 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

Our Hot Spot of the week is the delicious Shalom Y’all! Shalom Y’all is the Israeli street food focused offering from the wildly successful John Gorham restaurant group. It is located in a cute brick building in inner SE Portland. They serve lunch, dinner, happy hour, and even brunch on the weekends, so you can stop in and check them out any time!

We were pretty impressed immediately upon walking in the door by the beautiful design of the space. The black accented bar was a beautiful contrast to the clean, white subway tile and the hanging plants scattered around the space added a lovely, natural feel.

We started with drinks, as always. There was a lovely Spanish Cava on the happy hour menu that I jumped at. It was crisp and dry with nice, small bubbles. My dining companion opted for the Turkish Delight Slushy, which contained limoncello, ceylon tea, and orange blossom water. It was like summer in a glass!

Like most of the Gorham restaurant collective, Shalom Y’all is designed for sharing. As small plates for the table is my favorite way to eat, we happily obliged and ordered several dishes. One of our favorites was the Labneh with fried artichokes. The house made yogurt cheese was properly tangy, and the fried artichokes were crispy and tender simultaneously, and smothered in a hearty pile of garlic.

We also loved the Hummus ‘Pitryot’, which was topped with sauteed maitake mushrooms (YUMMM) plus dill and paprika. The Chard and Feta Safayech was amazing as well. It was almost like a spinach pie inside of a grilled pita with a wonderful tzatziki on the side. Both the Labneh and the Hummus were served with warm, fluffy pita that our wonderful server was happy to provide more of after we quickly devoured the first few.

While many of the dishes at Shalom Y’all are vegetable focused, the presence of hearty additions like fried artichoke to the dishes will leave even the omnivores satisfied. We can’t wait to come back and try so many more delicious items at Shalom Ya’ll! Check out their menus and hours here.

Have you tried any of the restaurants from John Gorham’s restaurant group? Which was your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

Lechon

January 20, 2020 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

Our hot spot of the week is Lechon! We headed to this fabulous wood-fired South American tapas restaurant recently to finally check it out. Located in SW Portland, this place will blow you away. The flavors, the decor, and the presentation were all spot on when we visited recently, and we are excited to go back!

Check out this incredible jellyfish tank!

Most of our group opted for bubbles to drink (surprise, surprise) but another of Lechon’s great drink options is the Old Fashioned bar, where you can choose your spirit, sugar type, and bitters to really customize your cocktail. We found the wine list and beer options were also well-curated, so we had many options of bottles to share.

When it came to the food I have a confession: We devoured everything so quickly that I completely spaced on snapping many pictures to showcase how lovely and delicious the food was. That being said, the food really was wonderful! Their take on Peru’s quintessential dish, Lomo Saltado, was easily the best version of it that I have ever eaten. Considering I lived in Peru for over 2 years, that says a lot!

We also loved that there were options from so many South American countries! Argentine asado, Peruvian ceviche, and even some dishes that can usually be found in Spanish tapas restaurants, like Patatas Bravas. These worldly dishes were blended seemingly effortlessly with others more familiar in the Pacific Northwest, like in the Dungeness Crab Astoria.

Now, normally I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but as a group we decided that we had to try the banana caramel pie and the pina colada pisco cake. They were both totally delicious and left us scraping the plates for any remaining morsels.

We are so excited to go back and try everything else on the menu! Their happy hour looks fantastic, and maybe next time I’ll even remember the pictures. You can check out the menus and location here.

Where should we check out for our next hot spot? Let us know in the comments!

Capitol

January 6, 2020 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

Our Hot Spot this week is hip cocktail and karaoke bar, Capitol on NE Broadway and 14th. We have been wanting to check this place out for a bit, as it is right down the street from our new Northeast office. We finally got the chance to this last week, and we weren’t disappointed!

First off, we LOVED the decor. We were immediately smitten with the high dome-like ceiling, the beautifully lit, symmetrical liquor display, and the funky and brightly colored accent wall. There are delicious cocktails and a solid selection for happy hour. With all that Capitol has going for it, you will probably find us there for a post-workday cocktail quite often.

We started out with the True Blue. This cocktail was a gorgeous shade of robin’s egg, and included a mixture of tequila, lemon juice, and coconut. We liked that it was not too sweet and that the coconut gave it a creamy feel on the palate. Next, we tried the Something To Believe In, with Brokers, Aperol, Cocchi Americano, and Pisco. I feel like the resurgence of amaros in the cocktail scene has been fantastic, as it has lead to fun and interesting cocktails like this one.

Next, we moved on to one of the best bargains of Capitol’s happy hour- the scoots. For a measly $5, you get to choose a shot of liquor paired with a beer back. We loved the variety of choices they had and decided on a Balvenie and IPA and a Glenfiddich 12 with a Hazy IPA. You say ‘$5 for a scotch and tasty beer’? I say ‘Yes please’! However, if Whisky isn’t your thing (I don’t get it) there are also options of tequila and more.

Finally, let’s talk about the karaoke. We haven’t tested out the karaoke side of things yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Apparently, they have free/open karaoke in the evenings at 7pm. In addition, they have private rooms to rent out if belting out a tune to strangers isn’t your cup of tea. Personally, I like doing my best Paul Simon impression in the privacy of a room where only my friends can laugh at me.

If you would like more info about Capitol, check them out here: http://capitolpdx.com/

Have you tried out the Hot Spot of the week Capitol yet? Let us know in the comments what you recommend!

As always, we love to hear about new places to check out. Send us a message if you think you have a good Hot Spot to be featured!

Straightaway Cocktails

December 2, 2019 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

We headed out to try the relatively new tasting room for straightaway cocktails this week. You may have seen some of the cans of white wine spritzer on the shelves of your local new seasons and that had me very curious!

straightaway cocktails building, Portland Oregon

We sampled both the cocktail flight and the spritzer flight, both of which come paired with a little snack. The cocktails were all delicious, perfectly strong, and less sweet than you would imagine for a pre-made cocktail.

Straightaway Cocktails has 6 pre-mixed cocktails tat you can sample or buy. These 6 classic cocktails are the Lintik, a gin martini, a cosmo, a negroni, an old fashioned, or a paper plane. Each cocktail has a unique twist on to give you a little surprise, as an example, the martini also has a dash of orange bitters. My favorite of the bunch was the cosmo, not just because I am a vodka girl, but also because it had a really nice dry citrus bite to it. Each cocktail comes with it’s own pairing snack, which for the most part, were wonderfully flavored popcorns. We tried a mexican chocolate popcorn with the negroni and they both really complimented each other.

The Spritzers are served on a tray with a nice amount of kettle chips. These help you get that salty element you crave while drinking a white wine spritzer. There are 4 choices; the last word, the apertivo, the fiore, and the negroni. They are all made with sparkling pinot gris, a liqueur, and some bitters that vary drink to drink.

The staff was incredibly kind, knowledgeable, and very excited that we were in to visit. We were given really great pairing notes and information about where all the delicious snacks and flavors were sourced from. You can’t get a full sized cocktail in the tasting room, but just doing the smaller platters was a ton of fun! they have a small shop inside the tasting room so you can bring a bottle home with you. I bought a sample pack just in time for the holidays.

Have you tried this awesome new distillery yet? Check out the menu and website here! Let us know what you think in the comments!

Cascade Brewing

November 26, 2019 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

This week we went and checked out Cascade Brewing! This sour ale brewery has so much variety we will have to go back multiple more times to try everything on the menu.

I love sour ales, so if you don’t this is likely not the place for you. They do typically have 3 or 4 non sour beers on the menu, but they are no where near as good as the sour ales. My favorite thing about Cascade is that they use fresh, local ingredients and truly experiment with their beers. I tried the Brunch Line, which is very Portland. Its a sour wheat ale that is aged in white wine barrels with willamette valley chardonnay grapes and orange zest. It does taste a bit like a mimosa.

We went during happy hour and were able to try both the pretzel with beer cheese, and the smoked albacore tuna melt. The pretzel was perfectly salted and toasted to perfection. The albacore sandwich isn’t your grandma’s tuna sandwich. With both cheddar and gruyere cheese, the sandwich was delicious and well balanced.

We will absolutely be heading back to cascade brewing for some beer very soon!

If you want to see the current offering of beers, you can see the menu here. or check out the full website

Do you have somewhere that you want us to feature? Let us know in the comments!!

Belmont Station

November 11, 2019 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

For our Hot Spot this week I visited Belmont Station over the weekend during a beer release event and we had the best time. This small bar is heaven for anyone who loves beer.

There are 2 sections to Belmont Station, one side is a very diverse bottle shop. They have all your favorites, some of their own favorites, and rare beers you have never heard of. They take very special care of the nearly 1,400 bottles to ensure they stay fresh. For anyone that appreciates beer, it would be very easy to spend a long time perusing the selection at hand.

The other side is the taphouse. You can choose a beer from their 34 draft tap list. They tend to serve beer mostly from the Pacific Northwest, but they also usually have on a European beer and a couple from elsewhere around the country.

The “beertenders” were incredibly knowledgeable, very friendly, and quick to get to you. All the beers we tried were perfect fresh and tasted brand new. I would definitely recommend checking out this incredible beer destination.

Want to see what they currently have on tap? Head over to thier website here

Have you been yet? What is your favorite beer or experience so far? We hope to hear from you in the comments!

Do you also love our Hot Spot Belmont Station? If you want to check out our other hot spots you can do that here

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