Do a positive and a negative always equal a wash? My experience at Touché.

Last night I decided that I wanted to try a place that had been on my “wanting to try” list for ages. A place that was supposed to be eclectic but classy, urban but not hipster, upscale but not pretentious..

1425 NW Glisan St.

Portland, OR 97209
(503) 221-1170

As you walk into the rustic house turned entertainment hall, you are greeted by a velvet red curtain and a winding banister staircase. A neon sign reading “billiards” was positioned on the wall above the staircase which was promising for later, but as it was our stomachs would not hear of any more delays of fulfillment at that time (parking ended up being a little difficult for a driver who was on the wrong side of town) into the restaurant we go. Brushing aside the heavily draped curtain we walked to the hostess stand where we proceeded to be seated almost instantaneously. The walls were a muted orange and red, accented by an equally muted green. There were oversized dipper-esque chandeliers lining the ceiling and a very out of place disco ball near the semi open kitchen. Exotic plants and other décor littered the room. All in all, the design and ambiance was very fitting, and very enjoyable to be a part of at that moment.
While the menu boasted Mediterranean and Italian fare, Latin music, which went from a comfortable volume to almost blaring at times, played in the background.
After hearing the specials and a variable discussion we placed our order. From the menu, or order looked like this:

WARM FETA CHEESE
Imported from Greece, wood fired and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and fresh oregano. 8 (this also came with a side of warmed pita)
ZAREH'S FATOUSH SALAD
Grilled spiced chicken breast topping a salad of tomato, romaine lettuce and grilled bread tossed in a special yogurt and tahini dressing. 10.5
PIZZA FOUR SEASONS
Four separate sections of artichoke hearts, mushroom, pepperoni and prosciutto, with mozzarella. 14

(also accompanied by drinks of course)

This was when the experience went a little downhill. As we waited for our appetizer, the people at the bar which was situated approximately 15 feet on our left (and we were sitting next to the windows in the dining room) started to get quite rowdy and obnoxious. The music, for some reason, was turned up to an almost unbearable level and it started to become a little difficult to hold a conversation. All the while time is ticking and we are starting to wonder where our food is. Approximately five minutes later our server, who was very attentive and was filling my water constantly, came over and told us there was a mix up with our cheese dish, and that it would be up momentarily. He also informed us that due to this it was going to be on the house. Ok, that does make it a little better, but explain the mix-up to our already grumpy stomachs.
Once the dish arrived it was definitely worth the wait and it didn’t take long before the small bowl didn’t show any signs of cheese nor pita. Things quieted down, but we again, started to wonder why our main dished had yet to arrive. We waited for so long that the appetizer actually started to settle in and we thought about asking for the check for the drinks and calling it a night.
It wasn’t busy, there were plenty of open tables. I saw servers standing around and honestly, I didn’t see an explainable reason as to why we ended up there for an hour and a half for one meal which consisted of a chicken salad and a pizza.
Eventually our dishes were served to us, and they were both very good. A person couldn’t have asked for better; it’s a shame that a place that has such good food can be overshadowed by a bad experience service wise. I think Touché does deserve a second chance, but next time I will stop by for lunch on a day when time is not an issue.

After dinner we did wander up to the Billiards room to possibly play, but moreover just to explore. This crowd was very different from the crowd in the dining room and was more reminiscent of the rundown club scene than any of what was boasted downstairs. There were not that many tables and I believe that during the week it would be an enjoyable experience, but on the weekends, it’s much too crowded.

Another Night on the Town.

I know it is not right to complain about being tired being that I knowingly decided to go out for drinks rather than go home and get some rest before getting up at 5 am to come to work, but I am so tired!
Even the coffee that I have had today has has no effect on my lethargic demeanor. At least I can say though that I had a good enough time last night that I actually feel like it was sort of worth my suffering today hehe.
My friend L was running extremely late due to circumstances outside of her control and I was sitting at Henry's sitting at a table examining the happy hour menu and waiting for the server to come take my order. Normally I am ok with this, but on this occasion due to the fact that the place was so packed I felt somewhat bad that I had this table all to myself. So I told her that if she didnt hurry up I was going to be compelled to give her spot to someone else; which was what I ended up having to do.
A.. younger.. gentleman, after noticing I let someone take two of the chairs that was at my table, decided to make conversation by pointing out the ever so observant fact that I was giving away all my chairs and I decided to make him my victim. Hehe. It worked and I had a nice conversation for the next little while, well more like hour, while I waited. And it was an interesting conversation at that... talk of checking surfboards and bicycles onto airplanes when he flew company business keeping in mind that his "company" he works for is the US government hence it is people like you and I that are paying all these excess weight and baggage fees just so this kid could go and have a good time while he was on "business".. yeah... I let him know my views on that. And walking your dog at a school that you don't even go to?? I will never understand why people do that.. It is a campus, not a nature hike.
Finally!! She arrives and it was like a switch went off and my attentional focus went from him to all her and he ended up going away... I didnt mean to be mean, it just happened! :D

The remainder of the evening went as follows:
I had a gay man wanting to borrow my shorts
I have learned you can never have too many olives
Or cherries for that matter
A half a cherry is only ok only if you know what happened to the other half
Chicken Wings and Crab Cakes are no where near the same thing
An Irish pub is an IRISH Pub; don't expect anything more!
We have a great story to scare even the most "honest" bartender away

Come two am we were kicked to the curb and we found our way back to my car. I was in a talkative mood; she needed a bathroom. Its not that I didnt believe her (I mean, she didnt just use the bathroom not ten minutes before or anything) I just couldnt stop talking! And talking.. And talking :)

Like right now! I could keep going and going... but I think I will drop off now........ oh yes. Who needs a conclusion?

Friday Night Drinks

One benefit of working the AM shift is the fact that I am free on Thursday and Friday nights to do whatever I please past the hours of 9pm. Most of the time I do what I am supposed to and go to bed, tonight, however, I needed a drink.
I met up with S (yup, the same one that stood me up last week; proof that I always seem to give people second chances) at Old Chicago in SE and took advantage of their ever-so-extravagant happy hour menu. You see, he always asks me where I want to go and me, not knowing any good bars in areas aside from Down Town Portland have no idea where to go. I didn't particularily feel like going to McMenamins again so Old Chicago it is. He orders a Black Butte Porter and I order a Hefeweizen (I have been taking a break from the darker brews…… for some reason) and we decide on fries and some buffalo wings (really it was more like just chicken because we swear that they forgot to add the sauce). The waitress is less than attentive, I ask for some ketchup to go with the fries which never seemed to materialize and she came back and asked us if we wanted more drinks maybe twice. My second round beer was so bad (an IPA with a bitter aftertaste reminiscent of the bitter beer commercials I remember seeing when I was younger) that I only ended up drinking maybe a quarter of it.
So we are sitting there, chit chatting away when we realize that the time is past 1am and being that I do have to be up at 5am I had to be getting home. Around 1:30am-ish I am driving in Vancouver and get over to the lane that I need to be in to exit when the car in front of me slows way down. “What the hell?” was the only thing that came to mind. So I go around him. The next thing I know this guy gets up on my tail, swerves to my right, passes me, cuts me off and flicks a cigarette at my car in the process. Um.. again, what the hell??? I’m thinking that he must be drunk and I really didn’t want to piss him off so I just get over and pass him doing the speed limit. This apparently didn’t sit well with him because he again speeds past me then slows down then speeds past me and slows down yet again. Its one thing if I knew who he was but I don’t know anyone that drives a car like that. I take the exit to get onto SR500 and he follows continuing his crazy tactics. “Where is a cop when I need one??” I’m thinking. At this point I am starting to get worried so I decide that I should probably not let the guy follow me home so as he speeds past the Van Mall exit I hit the breaks, cross both lanes of the highway and take the exit. I see him brake almost to a complete stop on the overpass above, obviously noticing that I was gone. I got back on SR500 going the opposite direction and took the back way home.
What the hell?? I have never had anyone do anything like that before, but it was quite fun loosing him on the highway. Hehehe. Hey, if I don’t want to be caught, I won’t be caught!
I was home, in my own bed by 2am (yes, that’s right!) and was cursing the day when my alarm woke me 3 hours later….

Triple Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte Anyone??
(*hint* *hint*)

Sipping Martini's at Midnight (least that was the plan)

Sometimes in life we get second chances. This was a second shot at a great birthday celebration for K.


So, we started off at Henry's Tavern for a quick drink and something lite to eat. After circling the bar many times we finally located a decent location to sit, right at the bar. I went and found a cozy location for our coats to hang as they pushed the three seats together in preparation of the night ahead. A Mango Mohito, Raspberry Drop, some other fruity martini which I don't remember the name of at this moment and we were good to go. Really, nothing much exciting happened here aside from the little incident with the female bartender. So I will move on quickly, as we did from this bar. (There was a little run in with an old friend outside the bar, some things never change. I am glad that I did.)

Next up: Blitz

This cozy little bar is found in the Pearl, and was the reason that I opted to not do the little black dress that evening. We went there with the intention of meeting up with a bartender friend for some free drinks. Up to the bar we sit, they order drinks, I, being responsible and not wanting a repeat of the weekend before, opted to not have anything at that moment.
We ended up getting there rather early, it was around 9pm, so there wasnt much going on but the bar started to fill up quickly. There were these two guys that were sitting across the bar from us that in my opinion, if you put them together, would make a great representation of Michael Moore, that wouldnt stop staring at us. Not one of us would make eye contact with the guys but stare on they did. Next thing we know we all have shots of tequila in front of us and the bartender informs us that the guys across the bar had purchased them for us. We sat there dumbfounded. I was about to pick up my shot, walk it across the bar and give it back to them with a resounding "No Thanks" when someone convinced me otherwise... Oh I think it would have been funny! But no, not this time. So on the bar our drinks sat until the guys finally gave up and left the bar. Once they were gone there was no point in passing up free alcohol so a lime and some salt on my wrist later and I was good to go.
So a little while later J's cousin arrives and say that we should go to this club downtown. This dance club where there will be food and we'll have a good time. Ok, that sounds good. I am getting tired of sitting at this bar anyways (even if torturing all the men around me was quite entertaining) and since yet another female bartender was giving us trouble with us trying to order food I was all for getting out of there.
We're told that this dance club is called Ground Zero and is on 5th and Couch. I had never heard of this place before, and when we drove past it and there was no line I was kinda worried. When we got to the door and went inside I... Well....... This is what we found:

Ok when I think of a DANCE CLUB I mean PHYSICAL dancing! Not on an arcade! Not only was it horrible, but there was no way that I would trust food from this place. It was the low of the evening that is for sure and if we didnt make it out of there soon it was gong to be a repeat of the original birthday weekend! J didnt know that this was what this place was going to be so she says that we'll leave in 5 minutes. 5 minutes was all we'd have to spend in this place. Ok, so I can deal with 5 minutes.
I had a quarter in my pocket from a tip I got from a friend at work today so I plunged it into a speed boat racing game and got 7th place. I felt like I was at Chuck E Cheese with E. That's right. Ok, by this time it had been 5 minutes and I had it. My stomach was at the point to where it was so hungry that it was protesting and decided that to teach me a lesson it was going to eat itself. So I grab a very drunk K and we went out to find some food. You see normally it is me that is the tipsy one and she is the one leading me on. Not this night. Arm in arm we walk, me the protector, I fit well in this position (just ask anyone.. hehe). Where to go, where to go, where to go.......... we look up, almost in unison.....

Portland City Grill
Somehow we always end up at this place.
Tonight we ended up at a nice window booth, eating teriyaki chicken spring rolls and eventually, after waiting for them to make us a piece of chocolate hazelnut cheesecake from scratch we enjoyed that as well.
All in all the evening was great. I went home with a smile on my face and woke this morning feeling quite refreshed. Altho next weekend I do believe that I am going to be laying low... Going out three weekends in a row has gotten to be quite tiring... but I really cannot wait until the next time the three of us go galavanting about downtown portland after hours... hehe