East Burn
1800 E Burnside
(503) 236-2876
theeastburn.com
googlemap
get there via trimet
find a bike route
11- close (?) 7 days a week
As a bar, I don't think I can say strongly enough that I love this place. They have 18 beers on tap, and many more in bottles. They have a cute little basement bar that will remind you of the rec room you wish you had had when you were a kid, complete with board games, skee ball, and slot cars. They also have a karoake video jukebox, though I don't have the details on when that gets turned on (or if it ever gets turned off).
The upstairs looks like a dining room, though the Bender Brothers claim that the first floor and basement should just flow into each other. Truth is, they don't really. The dining room still feels very formal, with its cloth napkins. But they do have the cutest little make-out room.
But the best part is the patio. It's rooved, so you can sit outside while it's raining buckets and enjoy the ambiance. They have heaters, so you can stay warm. But big deal, lots of places have a roof and heaters. Okay. This place has two things that really set my heart a flutter.
One, they have tables whose seats... are swings. You know, like swingset swings. Dude! And, they have tables with a fire ring in the center.
The food is good though not great, but the portions aren't all that big, and the prices are a smidge high. Apps are $5-$9, salads $7-$12, sandwiches $7-$9, and entrees $11-23. Fries are homemade, and really not bad.
Yesterday, we went there for lunch. An order of calamari (in rice flour batter, very nice), a steak salad, an order of fresh cooked chips, and a hamburger set us back $33 before tip. The calamari was really the star of the meal to my mind, though the salad was nice (would have been better if the meat had been cooked to order, and the salad actually tossed with the dressing). The chips tasted like kettle chips (and indeed, they weren't hot or greasy. So how do I know they haven't come out of a bag). And the burger was good, though it too would have been much better if it was cooked to order. I mean, why have the waitress ask if the cook is going to ignore it?
A week before, we went in and had a bowl of soup and a spinach salad. The bowl of soup was homemade and really filling. The spinach salad came out on an appetizer plate -- for $8, I was expecting a little more food.
There are a few veggie options, and the web site welcomes you to tell your server of special dietary requests.
Just be forewarned. This place is great to hang out in, they have twenty-something different wines by the glass, they even have a late night menu (though since they don't have a closing time, does that really do any good?) but the food doesn't match the rest of the package.
filled under Restaurants in SE Portland
January 22, 2008 |
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"...but the food doesn't match the rest of the package..." yet? They haven't been open all that long, we all know those opening pains. Nonetheless, thanks for TOFTT!
Excellent! Another spot to place my special request!
Hey everyone. Thank you for your comments! Wanted to let you in on some of the latest changes. Having only been open since Jan 1st we're still tweaking the menu, the layout, etc. I never expected a burger to draw so much attention so perhaps we didn't give it the time it deserved. Since last week, we tasked our chef with taking the burger up a notch. I think you'll like it, but the issue I'm having is the whole made to order thing. We've all ordered steaks or burgers before and had them come out either too rare or too dead. What do you think about just offering two ways...Done or Bloody as Hell? Regarding the pricing... we're not trying to compete for the lowest priced food in town, but feel that we certainly aren't over priced in comparison to similar places around town. We use really good, fresh, ingredients and still need to keep our costs in line. The late night/taproom menu is for after 10pm when we stop serving dinner and reduce the kitchen staff. We're planning to rearrange the main floor dining room to our original plan by breaking up the banquette into booths that will line the perimeter of the room and open in the middle with tables. This will better accomodate our decision to have live music and we hope offer musicians some space that will help fill the void left by the departure of the Green Room (Thanks GR for so many years!). Our dilemma has been what to do with the upstairs after dinner since the TapRoom and patio pretty much take care of themselves. How can we make use of that space? We tried out a DJ last night and that wasn't a good fit, so we think that the live music is where it's at. We want to be your neighborhood spot, so please keep the comments and suggestions coming. We're open for brunch on Sundays now at 10am with a small menu. Try the popovers and gravy and our Vivacious Mary made with house smoked tomatoes and New Deal's Hot Monkey Vodka. Cheers! Mike Bender
Hi Mike,
You've got a bartender that seriously short pours. Two whiskey cokes from her last night, and both were about 1-2 second pours. The other bartender seemed to know what she was doing, but russian roulette at the bar is no good.
Nice space, but the food really is BAD. Time to get a new chef who cares.
Michael, Sorry about the short pours. I think you were a victim of a trainee bartender left unattended, which isn't good, but has been corrected.
Rosa, I appreciate you taking the time to comment and we can't improve if we don't know what needs fixing. It would help me if you could be more specific on you what was not to your liking. Feel free to email me, mike@theeastburn.com
Cheers!
Mike- what a great concept- a new bar/restaurant asking for public feedback? I hope people appreciate how much you guys care- it shows.
I'm now a vendor, but as you know a fan from day one... all I have to say is "...doesn't flow"? How about "perfect place for a date"?!? Romantic dimly lit dinner with wine, followed by some live music, or conversation by a warm fire on the patio...
Wait, not quite there yet? Or humor and drink is more your style? Head downstairs after dinner for some tequila, craft beer and skee ball...
Actually, you know, the flow might be a little better if you had rooms attached. Then we could stay for brunch. Why don't you work on that.
We had a most delicious brunch here this past Sunday... the food was delicious and the service perfect... good bloody mary..
See more at : http://thewanderingfoodie.blogspot.com/2009/02/east-burn-restaurant.html