Happy Hour of the Week
A Lucky Strike indeed!
Posted by: John Chandler on Jul 29, 2010 at 11:00AM
7 Comments
A recent broiler of an afternoon found yours truly and his special lady friend parked and panting in the patio at Lucky Strike on SE Hawthorne. It shares the old Masonic Temple that also houses rowdy all-ages venue the Hawthorne Theater, occupying the former India Oven slot. The interior is dark and chummy, and the ceiling is painted a glitzy gold. A contented Buddha statue adorns the corner bar, a homey touch I’ve missed since the closing of Hung Far Low.
The Happy Hour (3-6 and 10-close) menu is a hoot. Under the “Drinks” section it reads, “Well drink, very good version $4.” To put this pronouncement to the test, my girlfriend ordered a screwdriver, which is her well standby. Since she used to tend bar herself, she can be awfully fussy about her cocktails. After an experimental sip, the verdict was in: “This is the best screwdriver I’ve had in years. Certainly the best one I’ve had since I moved to Portland,” she opined.
Any joint that actually takes a measure of pride in the preparation of its well drinks deserves a high five. In my experience, the Happy Hour well drink is about as enjoyable as casket shopping with an elderly relative. A fleeting splash of bathtub gin, a quick spritz from a sticky gun, and presto! You are the proud owner of a beverage fit for a Sterno-drinking hobo. I usually consider it a victory if my gin and tonic doesn’t cause blindness, insanity, or eat a hole in the table. Lucky Strike FTW!
Whilst my lovely inamorata happily lapped up her screwdriver, I ordered an avocado milkshake ($8 for the version with a healthy pour of gold rum in it) and several small plates of chow ($3-5). The shake is actually kind of fun to drink, and it comes with a huge bubble tea straw for power slurping. Imagine a silkier version of mashed potatoes (except with avocados) merrily blended with a dollop of yo-ho-ho juice. It’s a spendy concoction, true, but slugging it down is time well spent.
The better-than-average drinks at Lucky Strike are a bonus, ‘cause its raison d’etre is the sizzling Sichuan entrees. Our plate of green beans ($5) was so crowded with lethal red peppers that it put us in a Yuletide mood. The beans were perfectly cooked with just the ghost of a snap left in them. It’s also fun to share a plate and battle your companion with chopsticks to see who gets stuck with the most infernal beans.
The Guinness pork ribs ($5) are a smoky-sweet sensation, like meat candy on a stick. The Dan Dan noodles ($4) are practically smoldering with chili oil, but even so, the ground pork and scallions are not overpowered. And the Kung Pao chicken ($5) is tangy, hot, and refreshingly uncluttered—just chicken, peanuts, and the devilish Sichuan peppers—with no superfluous veggies (e.g., baby corn). Have I mentioned that the presence of baby corn in Chinese food makes me fly into a white-hot rage? Well, now you know.
Just to prove I’m not totally in the tank with Lucky Strike, I will say that the service is a little lackadaisical, though friendly and gracious. The place seems understaffed, but if the crowds keep queuing up, I would imagine a “Help Wanted” sign will soon be in the works. And in a city where decent Chinese food is harder to find than a yeti in the Sahara, that’s definitely a good sign.
Tags: Happy Hour Cheap Eats
I’m glad LS moved closer in, as I’m now more likely to finally try it. But I’m also bummed, because probably 1/2 of PDX feels the same thing. Nice review, BTW.
thanks for the review! I’ve wondered about this place and didn’t know there were also good eats! Will definitely check it out.
I’d hate to see what would happen if you were served Chinese food with a whole corn on the cob on the side!? Yikes!
@G to the M: You mean adult corn?
Must have more details on that avocado-rum shake. Based on your comments, it clearly tastes better than it sounds. Anything else in it besides pureed avocado and rum?
see you there, BP! ps, in light of the recent unpleasantness, you might want to change your initials.
I thought the service was better than lacksadaisacal, frankly. I believe our guy had the whole patio and the inside space on a day that turned sunny when ye olde weather guy told us to expect sprinkles.
About that screwdriver, it was just a solid old school drink. No hand-squeezed organic blood orange juice chanted over by monks and mixed with a thimbulful of vodka here. Just plain Oj and a reasonable pour of Vodka. I’d guess Wyborova (sp?), but I’m probably wrong. As for screwdrivers being my “well of choice,” um – for the record, I don’t have a well of choice, Igenerally avoid the well if I can, but in this economy sometimes a girl has to do what a girl has to do.