Taking a Break

Enjoy the city. Have fun on your own. for the Manic Monday girls will be taking a break for the next week or so while our very own Assissasin X is away to Amsterdam making a movie. But as soon as she is back we will be back and reviewing the town all over again for I am sure that you are dying without us, not knowing where to go for your happy hour needs.


Be back soon
XOXO
Manic Monday Girls

Jake's Crawfish is Weird

To be quite frank, I didn't really like this place in terms of service, dining experience, food or drink. Perhaps our evening was ruined from the start, because we planned on going to go to Dragonfish for sushi, though they closed thirty minutes after Happy Hour started on a Monday night.

Plan B was to go to Jake's Crawfish. When we arrived, no tables were available so we ordered drinks from the bar. I decided to sample some house wines in the mean time, and wasn't too impressed with the selection. Any of the wines I could have bought a bottle at Safeway for the same price as one 8oz glass at Jake's.

Once a table was free and we could sit down to order, we selected the items that we thought would be specialties of a seafood restaurant, such as fried frog legs, salmon cakes, and fish and chips. Everything was deep-fried, which tasted good, though difficult to digest. I tried a frog leg (they looked good) though I couldn't eat them. Even the next day the thought of the taste from the frog legs made my stomach churn. I suppose it is an acquired taste. The salmon cakes were my favorite, delicious, filling, and satisfying. The fish and chips were good, crisp fries, and two large pieces of nicely deep-fried cod that was tender, though not mushy. This meal was good, though I guess I wasn't in the mood for it that night.

The restaurant is casual with large open windows, a bit depressing for some reason, and the service was less than average in my opinion. The bartenders made me uncomfortable and seemed confused, and the waitress was a middle-aged woman who was obviously too smart to be a waitress, wasn't very good at waitressing, and made it uncomfortable to order food from her.

For whatever it is worth, Jake's Crawfish has good Happy Hour prices, though I had a much better experience at both Henry's and Ringside.

...asn-x

Jake's Famous Frog legs?

This past Monday we went to one of the most established downtown restaurants Jake's Famous Crawfish. If you are a local Then you know about it right away, and it's impossible to miss on SW 12Th, with the snazzy set up and often times in the summer there is the giant inflatable crab that sits a top the roof of the building. We walked into a packed bar, which I must admit was a first for our Mondays nights, but even though it was packed we were still greeted by a very attentive bar staff. We actually had to take seating at the bar first before an actual table opened up for us. This Monday night was also special because not only was it myself and my lovely assassin, no we had a guest with us, who was joining us for the evening. so we really needed to make tonight memorable.

After ordering drinks from the bar, a table finally opened up and we were able to take a table in the far end of the room and go over the menu in more detail. The choices were amazing. The prices were even more amazing. Here's the dirt about Jake's. The majority of the food starts at $1.95 this includes the usual stuff wings, burgers, salmon cakes, and even frog legs. It then goes up by tiers to $2.95 for things like fish and chips and $3.95 for things like a tuna sushi roll. Keep in mind though that there are no drink specials, and you must spend at least $2.50 on your beverage in order to get the happy hour pricing for your food, but with the amazing bar menu, I really do not think that you will have a hard time with this. One thing that we really loved about Jake's was they even had a happy hour dessert menu in which you can get a mini creme brulet for $1.95.

And now for the food.

Frog Legs- I know that these are considered a delicacy for many people. well maybe I am just not that elegant of a person to consider them marvelous and wonderful in all of their glory, or maybe "gasp" Jake's just doesn't make the best frog legs in town. I am willing to wager however that it is the first, that my palate is just not in favor of the frog, I think that i kept picturing consuming little Kermit the whole time, so that made things even more difficult. Everyone always says oh it tastes like chicken. Well I really have to disagree. they tasted nothing like chicken, the texture, was rather smooth, and had a very gamy taste to it, the breading however was very good, just the meat I did not really care for, but for $1.95 I am very glad that I tried fried frog legs. I can now check this item off of my list of exotic foods.

Fish and Chips- I have to admit that I really was not expecting a whole lot at first when we ordered this it was just fish and chips, but when we got this and tried it, it ended up being my favorite dish of the evening. There were two huge pieces of cod, not just a regular cod either, a very fresh cod battered in an excellent flaky batter, that was golden brown. The fish was excellent it literally fell apart in my mouth from being so tender. for $2.95 it was an excellent find.

Salmon Cakes- These were another wonderful dish, the salmon was obviously very fresh, and the flavor was rich. The portion was perfect for sharing. you get two large salmon cakes, and a nice helping of tartar sauce for dipping. The breading is wonderful as well. All this for $1.95 you really cannot go wrong.

Our experience at Jake's was really quite exceptional the atmosphere was great, it was busy the entire night. The clientele varies here, if I had to guess I would say that the majority of the bar crowd would probably be in their late twenties to early thirties, but of course with this type of place anyone is welcome. Overall I would say that the service was great, especially considering how busy it was. If you haven't been to Jake's for happy hour, then you really must check it out.

xoxo
CardxCore

The disappointment at Dragonfish.

As you know last night we were supposed to go to Dragonfish to enjoy in a what would have been a wonderful Happy hour evening full of sushi, sake, friends, fun and laughter and the usual Manic Monday antics. Due to Dragonfish's Happy hour not begining until 10pm the Manic Monday girls fashionably late as usual arrive at 10:35 Pm to a half full bar, but much to our dismay were greeted by a not so friendly bar staff saying that they were closing early tonight, because they were slow. Dissapointed to say the least but not letting this ruin our night we trekked forward down the street to Jakes for an amazing night in Manic Monday tradition, look for the review in days coming. All we have to say about our experience about Dragonfish, is granted it was an awful first impression, we are very willing to give them a second chance, because that is the kind of girls that we are, but keep in mind one more strike and you're out.

xoxo

Manic Monday Girls

Manic Monday @ Dragon Fish

Hey everyone!

Tonight we will be eating and drinking at Dragon Fish for happy hour and lots of fun. Come on down and have loads of fun with us. Then let us know what you think with your comments on our reviews...a great way to get people involved in the PDX community.

Dragonfish

909 SW Park Avenue

Happy hour

10pm-close.

xoxo

Manic Monday Girls

Ringside...a Fight to Remember.

Ringside is a Classy steakhouse that is in the NW end of Burnside, that has been around since the early 1940's. Offering a variety of choices, from steak to seafood. When driving by it's very easy to miss it, unless you know that it is there, but that is probably what makes this place one of downtown's, best steakhouses. But we all know that it is not the steak nor the seafood that made me and my lovely Assassin-x come down to Ringside this past Monday evening after work. It was of course their lovely happy hour selections.

When you walk into the bar you are greeted by a very warm welcoming staff, this is exactly what I would expect from a restaurant that has been in business for so long. Seating in the bar is spacious and comfortable. This is the perfect place to come after work with a friend, or with a date. This is really not a suitable place for a large group of people, as the accommodations are spacious they are not meant for say, taking the girls for drinks before hitting the bars downtown. This is definitely more so the place you go for a relaxing evening with friends.

The Really wonderful thing about Ringside is that all of their food is the same price, like most places though they do require a one drink minimum to enjoy the happy hour pricing. but with a full bar, and a huge wine list, you would have to be the most difficult person alive to not find a drink you would enjoy here. all happy hour items are the low price of $2.25. so it really does make it nearly impossible to pass up this treat.

Now for the food.

Steak Bites- These have to be literally the most amazing things that I have ever tasted in my entire life. The meat is so tender and juicy and served with a wonderful Creamy Horseradish sauce for dipping adds an excellent kick, these perfectly portioned steak bites really allow you to sample the restaurants steak if you are on a budget, or if you simply do not have the appetite for a full steak.

Garlic Bread- Granted Garlic bread is just garlic bread, so I was not really anticipating much from this, I mean really how great can it be, well it was spectacular, perfectly toasted and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top to really accent the flavor really made for the taste.

Cesar Salad- This dish was both a hit and a miss with me. it was a hit because it was so elegant. yet it was a miss for the exact same reasons. it was greatly flavorful and there were dried anchovies on top which were very gourmet and new to me which i much enjoyed. The parts of this dish which i did not enjoy was how it was presented, as a whole plate of leaf lettuce, this made it very difficult to eat,and even more difficult for sharing, but it was still delicious, just difficult to consume.

Red Hot Chili Poppers- Divine. Simply divine. These were similar to jalapeno poppers but made with a red chili pepper instead, and this is what made the flavor so unique. Another factor that made this tasty treat so wonderful that acted as a great balance to the spicy pepper was the sweet pepper jam that was served with this. the great mixture of sweet and spicy made this dish an excellent end to a great night.

Over all I must say that Ringside is a perfect place to go for a low key happy hour night. the bar has nice dim lighting with mellow music and is fine to watch the game with friends, I would say that the average age of clientele is probably a little older, more so 40s and 50s. This is not the place to go if you want to pick up on someone, but more so the place that you want to go to relax and enjoy wonderful food and drinks at a great bargain.

xoxo

CardxCore

Ringside, Portland, OR

RINGSIDE

2165 W Burnside

This place is popular and can be very busy on the weekends. Ringside's name comes from being a place for boxers to go after a match back in the day; hence, the photos of them on the wall. The restaurant is upper class and too expensive for someone with our wages, which is precisely why CardxCore and I chose to spend Happy Hour in the bar. If you can afford it, though, enjoying a lovely evening dining out at Ringside would make anyone happy.

The environment is very pleasant and satisfies the palate with an expensive wine selections, tender steak bites, garlic bread and ceasar salad. The other items on the Happy Hour menu are average appetizers, and the jalapeno poppers are exceptionally good, made with red hot chili peppers.

The service at Ringside is consistently good. Admittedly, I frequent this place at least once a month and have always had a very good experience. The wait staff knows what they are doing. For example, the drinks come first (standard)...a moment to relax...then the salad and garlic bread...subdues the wait...then the steak bites...time to savor...then the jalapeno poppers...to satisfy the appetite.

Drinks from the bar come with a pretty steep price, ranging from 30.00-2000.00 for a bottle of wine and they don't offer specials on mixed drinks. Quite simply, this isn't the place to get wasted; rather, it has the potential for being romantic with someone special, or simply a casual place to dine during Happy Hour with a friend before hitting the scene...

...asn-x