When I was there, there were six booths, and about six people milling around. There was gorgeous bread, with someone who appeared to be trying to will me away, and a cheese booth, where the vendor spent the entire time on his cellphone. Unlike other farmers markets, there were no samples, no friendly chatter from vendors, really just not a whole hell of a lot to make you want to buy anything.

CLOSED 9/6/2007
for more information, see this OregonLive Breaking News story

Remember Jellyfish? It's gone, and now Alberta Street Oyster Bar and Grill is in its place. Not that anyone would confuse the two.

I know nada from oysters, so I brought someone who does. She was impressed with the oyster selection, and the fact that you could order a half dozen and get one of each type. She started her meal with the Bloody Mary Oyster Shooter with fresh grated horseradish, which was well received.

ASOBG has a good selection of wines and drinks, and they have beer on tap as well. Out of a halfdozen or so taps, I recall Laurelwood's Motherlode Golden, Alameda's Porter, and Rogue Dead Guy. There is also a bar happy hour menu which I've been assured kicks ass. The atmosphere is lovely and darkish, and the service some of the best in the city.

First and second courses looked much more intriguing than entrees, so she decided to get the steamed mussels, pan-fried veal sweetbreads, and fries. These were all very good. The mussels came in a tomato-saffron-chorizo broth. The sweetbreads came in a raisin sauce with chestnuts. I had never had sweetbreads before, but they were tasty, I have to admit. And the fries were quite good.

I ordered the Dungeness Crab Napoleon with Spicy Black Bean Puree, Avocado and Blood Orange Reduction. It was the highlight of the evening for me: huge chunks of crab, avocado, and the intriguing blood orange sauce—sublime! I can't wait to make an excuse to have that again. That was followed with a burger on ciabatta with bleu cheese and bacon, which should have been great, but wasn't. It was cooked to order, and all the components were good, but together, it didn't gel. There was too much ciabatta, the cheese and bacon were lost in the taste of the hamburger, and I lost interest quickly.

Dessert failed to stand up to the first course either. The apple upsidedown cake was good, but its spotlight was stolen by the ginger ice cream, redolent of Ting Ting Jahe. I almost didn't order the donut holes with coffee pot de creme and vanilla froth because of the word froth—am I the only foodie who irritated by turning food into foam?? The donut holes were really disappointing, with the coffee pot de creme the best part.

It would be easy—really easy—to drop a lot of money here. Our total, with a shooter and a beer, was $59.

K7AAY, aka John, writes (5/18/2006)

It's fusion, but in a good way.

Bernie's, on rapidly gentrifying Alberta Street, is an alternate history restaurant, taking the basic theme of working class food from the Old South and raising it to astronomical heights of culinary achievement. Sadly, no Sundays, no Mondays, and no lunch, but for a moderate cost, you'll find crisply fried okra, black-eyed peas not boiled into oblivion, and tasty greens.

$3 happy hour features fried green tomatoes, mac and cheese, and po boys from 4-6 pm and 10-close Mon-Sat

Where else you gonna get a decent mint julep in Puddletown, annyhow?

WARNING: Impossible on 4th Thursdays due to Culture Vultures.

Press

• Portland Monthly

Micha writes (10/2001),

"Limited ale selection although they pour Fat Tire Amber Ale which sits well with me. Their Indian chicken tandoori pizza is really tasty, although they use some weird pre-packaged crust. Also good salad with "African herb" dressing - that's what the waitperson called it. No idea what's in it. Lemon and then a lot of things which are not lemon."

Mirfy adds: "Andrea does a great job of having a good red wine available by the glass!"

For many of my friends, the allure of the place is the garage door. Binks is about as big as a gas station, but it's certainly an enjoyable hangout spot, with good salads, and pizza made to order. And, they have one of the best jukeboxes in Portland!

Helser's appears to be about to implode due to its popularity. But it's popular for a good reason: a good breakfast at a fairly reasonable price. Cheap eaters will want to get there before 9 (probably, quite a bit before nine, as it seems to fill fairly early), and order off their early bird menu. The scotch eggs are insanely good, as are the occasionally offered potato pancake sandwiches. And while I'm still waiting to find a place that does french toast as good as my own, this is the best I've found in a while. Decent coffee, and the opportunity to start the day with alcohol are other bonuses. On nice days, there are tables outside as well.

Mash Tun is just a little brewpub, just a little off Alberta, behind Office. It has a nice little bar, a small room, and a nice covered patio which easily doubles the space. In addition to brewing a few house beers, they have a nice, concise selection of craft beers and imports, and they offer food: not the best food, but the sort of stuff that can prolong your drinking.

Now, brewpubs or taverns that offer undistinguished, inconsistent food isn't that unusual, of course—it sadly seems to be the law (with exceptions like Widmer). But how many of them offer vegan options next to their more meaty third-cousins? I can think of only a handful of places, but Mash Tun is one.

On tap, they have 2 house beers, 3 imports, and 7 craft beers. They also have a handful of things in bottles and cans (brother, clap your hands). None of this is terribly cheap: for imperial pints, the house ales are $4, craft beers are $4.25, and imports are $4.50, with non-tap options ranging from $2.25-$4.50.

I haven't been so crazy about their house beers, but they are very drinkable. The tap selections rotate, so there is always something good on. Last night, for example, there were 4 or 5 different craft beers that I would be very happy to drink. Nice!

In recent times, the place has changed up a little bit. You can still smoke at the bar, or outside, but you have to vacate outside by 10. The jukebox is still there. But the pool table has been replaced by table-tables. I don't know about the wi-fi, but I hope it's still there. We got there shortly before 6, and the place was pretty full.

The new food menu is about a month old, and made up of appetizers, a small collections of soups and salads, and pub grub (which means sandwiches). No more of their wildly erratic fish and chips. Appetizers range from $2.75-$7, with all of the usual deep fried subjects. Tots and fries can come cheesy if you like. There's also vegan red lentil puree & tempeh things, and nachos.

They offer house, caesar, spinach, and a roasted beet salad, a soup de jour, and a chili con carne, $2.95-$7. And for sandwiches ($7.50-$10), they have a burger, and a variety of other things that are served on rolls. Vegan options include a vegan burger & a BLATO (fakin-lettuce-avocado-tomato-onion with veganaise), and there's falafel and roasted eggplant for veggies.

We tried to order cheesy tots, but alas, no tots this evening. So we ordered a cheesesteak and a meatball sandwich, both with their hand-cut skinny fries. And both sandwiches were very edible. The cheesesteak had a nice balance of cheese to meat to cooked yellow onion, and came with a side of good, but not great marinara. The meatball sandwich was dosed in both marinara and melted cheese, but the meatballs were plentiful, tender and tasty. Unfortunately, neither of the rolls the sandwiches came on had been toasted, and the fries are soggy and greasy. Why do some taverns insist on hand-cut fries?

So. Nice patio, nice ever-changing selection of beers, and deep-fried appetizers rock... unless they're fries.

There are also some pleasant tables out on the sidewalk.

The menu lists giant tiger prawns, halibut, salmon, true cod, catfish, and chicken tenderloins as fried options, and ahi (is it fried? is it roasted? is it grilled? is it poached? Who knows?), crab cakes, an unfried combo, chowder, corn on the cob, shrimp cocktail, and key lime pie. It seems initially quite straightforward.

All of the entrees come with skin-on fries, and all come as a half or full order.

Every time I come into Halibuts, I think, mmm, I'll have the halibut ($9/$14). Now, should I get a half, or a full? I can never remember if a half is enough food, but then, at $9, it seems like it should be. And then I get the half with its two small pieces of halibut and think, shoot, I should have splurged.

This is the thing: it would be helpful to know that a full order of prawns is 8 pieces, and a full order of halibut is 4 pieces. But the menu doesn't specify and most of the staff seem to not want to chat or explain: they just want to take your order.

Half baskets range from $5-$10, while full baskets are $3-$5 more. $6 will get you a very small bowl of very good clam chowder (though, at that price, it ought to be).

We've had the halibut, the prawns, and the true cod. All very good. The batter is tasty, and the result isn't greasy. This is probably the best fish and chips in town, though that comes at a price.

When we were in recently, the owner stopped by our table and started with the, oh, you got half orders schtick. "For ten dollars, you get 4 prawns", he says. "For four dollars more, you get four more shrimp. It's a no brainer."

Unfortunately, we've heard this speech from him every time we come in. Unfortunately, his menu claims a full order is $5 more, not $4. Does he not realize that it sounds like he's telling his patrons they're cheap while he's bragging about his food?

They have some beer on tap,

• Anchor Steam
• Fish Organic IPA
• PBR
• Widmer Hefeweizen

There are plenty of other places that do fried fish well. And have beer on tap. Alameda Brew Pub and Corbett Fish House come immediately to mind. And I think that's where I'll be spending my money, the next time I'm jonesing for fish.

Other Press:
• Metroblogging Portland
• Portland Food and Drink

I'll admit, I've been a little, um, reluctant to try Russell Street BBQ, the barbecue joint where Doris Cafe was. I have all sorts of wonderful memories of meals at Doris, back in the olden days when Doris was good, and children respected their parents... My friends assured me that there was good fries, and a fried chocolate pie, and Citysearch assured me that the mac and cheese was good. So what was I waiting for?

Russell Street is all about the groovy ingredients and a dining room that's kinda kitchy-generic. Many smiling pigs. Rubbed, smoked, grilled tofu. They have Laurelwood beers on tap, as well as a decent list of bottled/canned beers. So we ordered our beer and an appetizer of hush puppies.

This is when I should have known that this was not going to be a good meal. Our waiter forgot one of the beer orders on the way from our table, right next to the kitchen, to the kitchen. Sweet tea, however, was refilled on a hourly basis.

We each ordered the meatapalooza, a selection of three meats and two sides. Between the three of us, we covered a bunch of the bases: pulled pork, pork ribs, brisket, beef ribs, and smoked sausage; macaroni & cheese, cole slaw, greens, fries and potato salad. In spite of asking for one plate saucefree, they all came doused in sauce when they came some 40 minutes after ordering. Maybe 20 minutes after ordering, our waiter came back and—wait for it!—asked what one of us had ordered. Which makes me think that perhaps he had forgotten to turn in our order.

While they gave us lots of food, this was nothing to write home about. The brisket came chopped—what is that about? The smoked sausage, a quarter pound link from Yoakum, Texas, tasted like a giant hot dog. I like hot dogs, but, umm.... The ribs, unexceptional. The sauce, eh. The fries were good, but not the best in the neighborhood. The mac & cheese was nothing to write home about. The greens were salty and had a bitter edge, almost an off flavor. The cornbread was southern style, and cakey. And where was the white bread?

I asked for a box, so the waiter boxed my food, then dropped the boxes on the floor, and asked if I still wanted them. I don't know why that bothered me so much. I ordered the fried chocolate pie. Yes, it's deepfried, so it ought to be good. And it's filled with bittersweet chocolate ganache. And it was deepfried, and it was filled, though it seemed filled with Hershey's syrup. I'm sure it was more than that, but that's what I tasted.

So. Food, okay though underwhelming. Service, laughably bad. Will I go back—nah.

This used to be a favorite taqueria for east-siders. However, now that it's no longer the only taqueria on Alberta, but also not the only taqueria on the inner eastside, give it a miss. The food is unexceptional, the service is awful, and the place is filthy! You'll do much better for the same money at La Bonita or Don Pancho.

Thai Noon is the oldest Thai restaurant on Alberta Street. When you consider that Alberta was all but deserted a dozen years ago, you know it hasn't been there so long. But it appears to be holding its own against Thai newcomers like fancy Siam Society, and newbies Halo Thai and Monsoon.

They don't have the hugest menu, and like a lot of Thai food in Portland, it's sweet without the balance of heat. However, they're fast, generous, and consistent, and just about everything on the menu can be ordered vegetarian.

Tonight we ordered chicken salad rolls ($2 for $3.75), which came immediately. They were premade, but not old, and they actually did have a bit of spice to them.

We had barely finished these when our noodles came. Their pad thai may not be the best in town, but it's sure not bad—a generous portion dotted with protein. Pad Kee Mao was also large, and yummy even if it wasn't hot and spicy enough.

You can get a cocktail ($4.50-$8) from the connected My Thai (groan!) Lounge, most with super cheezy names. There is also beer on tap: Widmer Hefeweizen, PBR, Bridgeport IPA, and Black Butte Porter.

There is a special Specials sheet that comes, along with the menu, which also has specials. Seven appetizers range from $3.50-$7, two soups (tom yum and tom kha—$7.50-$9), and three salads for $6.25.

Entrees include a dozen curries and stir-fries, three noodles, and two fried rices, for $7.50 vegetarian, $8 with chicken, beef or pork, and $9 with shrimp. You can swap in organic rice for $2 more. And the eight menu specials include a couple salmon dishes ($7.50-$12).

Finally, there are lunch specials (M-F 11:30-3) too—10 different entrees served with chicken or tofu for $5.50.

But I've been motivated to get over there lately, now that I am completely infatuated with grits, and I know Tin Shed's got 'em. Unfortunately, I was a little undercaffeinated, so I didn't take a lot of notes.

The inside is a nice, but small and crowded space. The outside, under a giant roof, and backed by a giant fireplace, is almost twice the size of the interior, and really pleasant on a nice day. That patio is a great place to dogwatch, as many folks bring theirs with them. Inside or out, you serve yourself coffee and water.

They have a big new breakfast menu that debuted 4/29/2006. We ordered Huevos Ranchitos, Roll Over, and two sides of cheese grits.

Now, we habitually order the You Gotta Have it, which is eggs any style, meat, toast or homemade biscuit, and potato pancakes or grits. I love potato pancakes (really, I just love carbs), so that's what I always end up ordering. It's good, solid, great biscuits—what's not to love?

Huevos Ranchitos is just like the ranchero version, except there is no ranchero sauce, there are 2 layers of tortilla, as well as jalapeno-stewed black beans and rice, scrambled eggs, homemade salsa, sour cream, and green onion (they own stock in green onion). It was tasty but it would have been better if everything if the things that should be hot: like beans, rice, and eggs, actually were. The rice was all clumped as if it had come out of the cardboard carton in your fridge. The beans were not spicy at all, but they did have a nice cumin flavor.

The Roll Over starts with a layer of potato pancakes, then a layer of scrambled eggs & sausage, then a layer of bacon gravy. I expected this to be a conflict of interest, what with the sausage and bacon, but it tasted great. However, nothing on my plate was consistently hot either. The gravy was the warmest element, but it had hot and cold spots (ooogh).

The grits were most disappointing. They're plain grits with grated cheese added almost as an afterthought, and the grits were so not hot that the cheese wasn't melting. Butter, also not melting. I finally sent them back to be nuked.

To their credit, we complained, and they comped us for one meal. We saw some other plates going back to the kitchen, so maybe someone was having a bad bad day?

Unfortunately, we had a really lackluster dinner there recently as well.

Other reviews

• Portland Blog

Vita Cafe is all about groovy for breakfast and lunch. The cover of the menu expresses their earnestness forthrightly: common meals, fair price, organic and local, free range, hormone free, dairy-, egg- and wheat-free.

Vita was the sister cafe to SE Belmont's Paradox Palace Cafe. Now they both have new owners and it will be interesting to see what the future brings.

The Vita is back, and you'd never know they were ever gone. We went in early on Sunday afternoon and the place was packed. Folks were even sitting outside in the sprinkles.

Vita has made its name for being vegan & carnivore friendly. You can get any number of animal-free dishes, or you can get a groovy hamburger. Breakfast can consist of eggs and potatoes, or tofu & rice, or really anything in between. Vegans and vegetarians love it: the food is plentiful and cheap, and you can have it with beer, wine or liquor.

Breakfasts range from $3-$9, and include corn cakes, scrambles, french toast, heuvos rancheros, & biscuits and gravy. 15 of the 24 breakfast items can be made gluten-free.

We ordered a couple old favorites: biscuits & gravy, heuvos rancheros, and NW corn cakes, plus a cup of black bean soup with homemade herb and onion bread.

The black bean soup was excellent and flavorful: a basic rendition, but a very nice one. The bread was a hit, with its slightly sweet crust and herby-oniony filling.

The heuvos rancheros were particularly creative. Fried tortillas curl up on the plate, covered by what tasted like vegan chili, eggs (or tofu), salsa, guac, and a cilantro-y vegan creme. If you were looking for something closer to authentic, well, you'll be disappointed, but the contrasts between the smooth and crunchy, the spicy and the bland, was very nice.

Biscuits with almond gravy has always been a favorite, and they just didn't taste as wonderful as I remembered. Maybe my tastes have changed? If I wasn't working from sentimentality, they probably would be fine, though the biscuit was a little heavy.

But the NW Corn Cakes do stand up to memory. Corn cakes, as big as a pancake, covered with toasted hazelnuts, and served with organic maple syrup. Yum.

Most folks around us were having lunch, and that looked good too. The fishwich, a deep fried square of tofu with lettuce, pickles and vegan tartar sauce, was very popular, as was the free range, hormone-free beef burgers and fries. Mac and cheese, made with vegan cheese, also appeared to be a big hit. Lunch prices top at $8, and dinner at $12 (with most entrees ringing in under $10), and nicely, the full up-to-date menu is online.

They have four beers on tap. And they have a Wednesday special, 5pm-close: $2 well drinks, $2 drafts, $5 cocktails, and $5 food specials on the fishwich, mac & cheese, grilled cheese, tofurky sandwich, or thai pasta. And, from 5-7pm, they have a $1 kids menu.

Definitely recommended for vegetarians and vegans.

I like this place a lot. Comfortable chairs, pleasant space. Four taps, many bottles, lots of liquor. The downstairs is non-smoking, the upstairs, smoking, and downstairs, you'd never even know that there's a smoking section. Upstairs also has a tiny pool table. The wide-open downstairs affords lots of people watching. I'm told it gets loud when it's full, but I have yet to see it full.

The food is very good, though some of the flavorings are not conventionally Levantine. My one complaint was this evening's shorba, my favorite, a red lentil soup redolent of cumin and lemon, was also newly redolent of onions. Sigh. Our hummus was heavily tahini-ed, and for those spoiled by Karam and YaHala and Nicolas, the pita is not fresh and pillowy and full of hot air. That didn't stop us from inhaling it, natch. But the entrees are pure pleasure, with all the sandwiches coming on a Bosnian roll called lepina. Baba's burger is a painted hills patty with feta and my new favorite thing, lemon aioli—the combination of beef, garlic, salty feta and lemon is so nice. Chicken jemila is a chicken breast marinated in sumac, encrusted in zaatar, and nestled in the lepina—yum. Timman u Marag, a chickpea stew, with a side of laban (youghurt and cucumber)—yum. It's clear that they are taking care on some of the details: the tomatoes served were romas, gorgeous, and with some tomatoey flavor. All in all, good food and a tremendous value in or out of happy hour.

is Art on Alberta from 6 to 9 pm, in the 1100-3000 blocks of NE Alberta. Fifteen-plus venues display their art.