Happy Hour of the Week
Peaks and valleys
Posted by: John Chandler on Jul 06, 2010 at 09:00AM
7 Comments
This week’s Happy Hour excursion was a bit of a fiasco. I selected Ash Street Saloon based on memories of cheap beer, rib-sticking bar food, a raging punk rock playlist, and a sunny, inviting patio. But as I quickly discovered, memories can be deceptive, if not pathological liars. The cheap beer was intact—pints of PBR were a quarter more than I remembered, but at $1.25 I can’t really gripe. Apparently we’ve hit the bramble patch economy-wise (who knew?). Stiff wells and pints of craft beer are only $2.75, and I think that’s worth a toot or two on the ol’ vuvuzela. In other words, the drinks are a bargain. And that’s where the recommendable aspects of my experience come to an end.
Ash Street’s Happy Hour, daily from 4 to 8, has several food items on special for $3, and if that sum seems astronomical, you can content yourself with chips and salsa or a basket of deep-fried toothpicks masquerading as french fries for $2.25. Among the high-end entrees, the quarter-pound burger is probably your best bet: a serviceable frozen patty dropped unceremoniously onto a cunningly sliced bun with a side of Tim’s potato chips. If you’re seeking a timely delivery of unremarkable starch and protein to anchor an evening’s binge, it will do. The chicken strips rival any I’ve ever tasted—that have been sitting under a gas station heat lamp since the Carter administration.
The creme de la crap though, was the grilled cheese sandwich which arrived charred black and fused to the basket like a greasy barnacle clinging for dear life to the hull of some doomed ship that would never see port. I vowed to never eat food again.
Something had to be done to salvage a lousy day. As luck would have it, I managed to hitch a ride to the Cheese Bar at SE 60th and Belmont, an establishment that does not have a Happy Hour, but really should. The Cheese Bar is the retail space operated by Steve Jones, of Steve’s Cheese, a man who knows his curds. In addition to a massive selection of artisan cheese and cured meats, the Cheese Bar has six rotating taps of worthy beers (I had a spicy IPA from Everybody’s Brewing) and a smart little lunch counter that dispenses deftly rendered salads, sandwiches, and gourmet nibbles. My friend and I opted for the English sampler plate that came with three complementary cheeses, a stack of bread slices, and a chutney that caused my palate to sing an impromptu aria. We also split a superb salad of arugula, fresh peas, golden potatoes, and bacon shavings. This place is crying out for a Happy Hour at the top of its lungs!
The Cheese Bar deserves to succeed. It’s a market and cafe for fans of high-quality cheese and charcuterie—and you will pay for the privilege. I took away a modest wedge of nutty cow cheese from a small farm in Utah (“They only have six cows,” I was informed) that set me back $9. Then again, if you’re of a more frugal nature, there’s always the grilled cheese sandwich at Ash Street Saloon. You may not be able to dislodge it from the basket, but at $3, you’ll have plenty left in the piggy bank for another beer.
Tags: Happy Hour
Yeah, why even eat at the Ash St. when Big Ass Sandwiches is right across the street… For $5 you get an awesome roast beef, horseradish and french fry sandwich. For a buck more, the amazing breakfast sandwich. But you already knew that.
@Aitch: Sadly BAS was closed. :(
I’ve seen many great rock shows at the Ash Street. Like me, it looks a lot better in a dim light.
…they all fell down. That’s for sure. Basically Ash Street screams to poor college kids who really need to stretch their bucks—and really need to focus their bucks on booze. Ash’s only real crime is that they are not closer to PSU. For us older folks, we have enough cheese to afford The Cheese Bar, and do so with gratitude.
Yeah, I was a little surprised when I heard you’ve chosen Ash St. for your next HH stop; I couldn’t imagine it would be up to your everyman-with-good-taste standards. Although, I find that picture of the grilled cheese disturbingly alluring.
I am glad to see you are researching my idea for a Cheese Crawl.
Other Portland purveyors of cheesy comestibles include: Foster & Dobbs, 2518 NE 15th; Blackbird Wine/Atomic Cheese, 4323 NE Fremont; Maxim Deli, 7283 SW Garden Home Rd; Woodstock Wine & Deli Co., 4030 SE Woodstock Blvd. The list goes on, but that’s a start. Some of these places have wine tastings, too. So it could be a combo cheese and wine tour. Also there are a number of artisan cheese makers in Oregon – Juniper Grove in Redmond, Oregon Gourmet Cheeses in Albany, Tumalo Farms in Bend. Perhaps too far for the red double decker bus to drive? But a jaunt out to a couple of these cheese factories would really round out the tour package and make it seem more educational.
I’m with Eric— that grilled cheese sandwich looks intriguing. A cheese plate would always be a welcome item on any happy hour menu. Cheese always seems to hit the spot and goes especially nice with beer. Ash Street’s may need to hire another cook but one thing it got right, beer and cheese always make for a “happy” hour.