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Happy Hour

New Late Night Happy Hour!

Cheap Date: The Secret Society offers a new late-night happy hour to pair with a show at the Wonder Ballroom

Posted by: Emma Hall on May 07, 2010 at 02:00PM Speech Bubble 0 Comments

Secret Society’s famous Moscow Mule.

JUST IN: The Secret Society now has a late night happy hour. We feel giddy with insider info just thinking about it, and we’re stone cold sober.

This 1907 historic building (at 116 NE Russell St.) was a real members-only space for most of the last century, but now anyone in-the-know can afford to drop by and enjoy a vintage cocktail. For seven days a week from 10 PM-close (12 AM Sun-Thu and 1 AM Fri & Sat) stop by and get some delicious food and $1 off fancy drinks. Every week there will be a rotating “Late Night Special” of fanciful drinking food—this week it’s Pulled Duck Confit Sliders with Rhubarb Sauce and Crispy Potatoes for only $8. Also, don’t miss the flatbread of the day, such as a recent concoction that included a parsley-pimento salad, chopped hard boiled egg and anchovy fillets, served with pimento anchovy oil for dipping ($7). The menu changes each Tuesday.

Next door to the Wonder Ballroom, The Secret Society is a great place to grab a drink after a show. Consider these rocker n’ booze pairings:

May 15: Kaki King
Listen to the talented Kaki King, the first female to be named a “Guitar God” by Rolling Stone Magazine, as she slap bass-es her way into your heart. After the show, head over to the Secret Society and try the popular Moscow Mule. It’s an old 50’s drink (possibly the first vodka cocktail) made with vodka, muddled lime and ginger beer, served in the traditional copper cup. Can’t get much classier than that.

May 30th: Nada Surf
Don’t miss Nada Surf, the alternative rock band hailing from the early 90’s when they make an appearance in Portland later this month. The band’s anthems are a great way to ring in the start of summer, and you can continue the celebration at Secret Society afterwards. Order a Monkey Gland (gin, OJ, grenadine and absinthe), an aptly named drink to sip on while you still have the goofy guys of Nada Surf’s lyrics stuck in your head.

June 8th: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Witness Krayzie-, Layzie-, Wish-, Flesh-n- and Bizzy Bone, members of one of the biggest-selling hip-hop groups of all time who are still rocking after 15+ years. After singing all the lyrics to “Foe tha Love of $” (you know you remember them all, well maybe not Bizzy’s), drop by the Secret Society for a classy high-roller drink like a Manhattan or Old-Fashioned.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Cheap Date, Cocktails

Random Notes

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Barbecue, beer, and $5 well spent

Posted by: John Chandler on Apr 27, 2010 at 01:00PM Speech Bubble 7 Comments

Namu Killer Korean Barbecue at SE Hawthorne and 33rd Ave. (Below) A lip-smacking order of short ribs sizzles on the grill.

ITEM Sunday morning found me staggering down Southeast Hawthorne in search of a Hangover Helper breakfast, but the waiting lists were sapping my will to live. As luck would have it, I was soon ordering several tons of meat at a brand-new Korean Barbecue cart called Namu, situated at SE Hawthorne and 33rd, right in front of House Vintage. Owned and operated by a friendly Hawaiian headbanger named Gary Evans, along with his friend Clint Colbert, Namu only has a few entrees but they’re all worthy and my hangover was soon smothered in healing barbecue sauce. The pulled pork sandwich ($5) is a huge, drippy mess of tender Sweet Briar Farms pork served with cabbage and a breathtaking homemade honey horseradish on a toasted bun. It’s a sweet and smoky sensation, as good as any I’ve had in the area. The toothsome and tangy Korean beef ribs ($7) are marinated in ginger, green onions, garlic, brown sugar, and soy sauce, and come with a scoop of rice and peanut sauce. Do not overlook the kim chee, cucumber salad, and sesame spinach that garnish this massive meal. The greens are deftly prepared and really pack a peppery bite. And for my non-animal-eating readers, you can get all of these lovely shrubs in a $4 rice bowl spiked with peanut sauce. The cart has only been in operation for a few weeks, but it’s a wonderful and welcome change of pace from the taco wagon brigade. Namu is open daily from 11-7 and orders can be phoned in at 503-828-4260. Tell ’em the Bar Pilot sent ya!

UPDATE Stopped by Namu last night for the veggie bowl. It’s a spicy, satisfying safari of flavors. And proprietor Gary Evans wanted the world to know that the cunningly crafted Namu cart was built with the invaluable assistance of Alpine Design.

ITEM Congratulations, it’s a beer! Apex, a new beer bar that I first mentioned here is now open for business and awaiting discriminating swill seekers of all shapes and sizes. Located at 1216 Southeast Division Street, it’s another former industrial space with garage doors that roll up when the weather cooperates. More importantly, they’ve currently got 30 taps running (owner Jesse McCann is shooting for 50) mostly in the $3.75-$4 range, though some of the hard-to-find Belgian varieties teeter toward the $9 mark. Still feeling the pinch? Not to worry, they also have Hamms for the financially embarrassed.

ITEM Be sure and tune in for the latest installment of Happy Hour of the Week (coming soon), as intern Joseph Manuel spends all of the money he had saved to pay back his student loans at retro video game parlor Ground Kontrol. On the last Wednesday of each month you can play all the Street Fighter II, Galaga, NBA Jam, and Frogger you want for a dinky $5 cover. Constant button-pushing can build up a powerful thirst, so take advantage of $2 Pabst tall boys.

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Tags: Food Carts, Cheap Date, Craft Beers

Cheap Date

Hungry Tiger Too

A festive evening sans bankruptcy

Posted by: Emma Hall on Feb 22, 2010 at 03:00PM Speech Bubble 5 Comments

Yes, I forgot to take a photo before I chowed down on the deliciousness that is vegan corndogs. Ah, well.

OK, it’s official, the recession sucks. Even so, there is a part of your life that should never be adversely affected by the economy: Your game—as in dating game.

Yes, our pocketbooks could do with a bit of fattening, but that’s no reason to abstain from high-rolling on occasion. Portland is loaded with places to wine and dine your sweetie without resorting to Taco Bell. In fact, I was recently able to fill up on food and even wrangle a modest buzz—with my date—for 10 measly dollars.

Wednesday nights at the Hungry Tiger Too (207 SE 12th Ave) are a tightwad’s ticket to financial security. Starting at 7, you can scarf as many vegan corndogs as you want (my max is four) and pints of PBR (my max is way more than four) for only $1 each!

Nope, I’m not a vegan (favorite food = cheeseburgers, medium rare), but the house-made vegan corndogs at Hungry Tiger are alarmingly tasty, with a perfectly crisp cornmeal shell lovingly wrapped around an I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-pig-parts wiener. Deeee-lish, and you can gracefully avoid the horror of finding out that your current romantic interest gets his/her svelte figure from a no meat/eggs/dairy diet, and now has nothing to order on the menu—and will spend the remainder of the evening smoldering with resentment.

The simple beauty of a $1 pint of PBR.

Wednesday nights at HT2 can get crowded so I recommend getting there no later than 8 or 9 in order to secure a table. Then sit back and enjoy the floorshow as the bar fills up with bearded dudes in American Apparel hoodies accompanied by stylish waifs rocking their best ragamuffin rags. Sure, you’re already on a date, but statistics show it probably won’t amount to anything. Might as well keep your eyes peeled for a future prospect.

There are also (free) board games on the premises like Cranium and Trivial Pursuit to further aid you in getting to know your companion. Do you really want to go home with a moron, a sore loser, or worse, a cheater?

My only gripe about Hungry Tiger Too’s hospitality? The music on the night I was there was cornier than the cuisine. In other words, the kind of songs one can appreciate at karaoke, but not blasting over the speakers while trying to interrogate your future mate. Can we please bury our ironic fascination with Journey, Def Leppard, and Bryan Adams once and for all? Please?

Of course, this friendly joint has other rotating specials besides cheap-date night. If you can’t make it out on a Wednesday, the next best choice is Sunday, when staving off a hangover from the previous night’s revelry is the order of the day. I suggest something from the fortifying “Mama’s Cure Alls” section of the menu: a bloody Mary for $5, the Wake Up Little Suzy (Irish coffee) for $6, or the “Sunday Mornin’” for $6.50. It’s a restorative take on the mimosa that includes a packet of E-mergenC mixed in with the champagne and OJ. Trust me, it’s good for what ails you.

Then again, if you’re feeling ambitious and need to get a head start on tomorrow’s hangover, you can opt for one of Hungry Tiger’s $10 Sippers: a huge, aquarium-size drink that (at least in theory) you really ought to share with a friend or three. And if you don’t happen to have a breakfast buddy, just gaze imploringly around the room. Surely someone will offer to help you slay your monstrous cocktail. Like I said, it’s a friendly place.

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Tags: Beer, Cheap, Cheap Date

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