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

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

Henry's Part Two

Henry's Is a classic place off of Burnside and 12th. Some of us that have been around a little longer may remember that it hasn't always been a restaurant. It's a little intimidating on the outside, but once you get in the lavish bar and wonderful menu are much more welcoming. The prices for happy hour are probably what drew me to Henry's. I told Assassin-x about this place, and this is what started our happy hour extravaganza, That became Manic Mondays.

The Happy Hour at Henry's ranges in from price of $1.95- $4.95 and starts as early as 3pm-6pm for those of you dowtowners needing a quick drink after work. It is also available later for people like me from 9pm-close Sun-Thurs...and 10:30PM-close on Fri and Sat. The only thing like most places is you must order at least one drink. But with the excellent martini menu, and a 2 page beer list...I am sure you wont have a problem.

When Assassin-x and I went we were sure to try a wide variety of food. California rolls, Cesar salad, Hibachi salmon stack, and Spicy Mandarin orange chicken wings. The service was fairly fast, and friendly, the only complaint that I have was the pressure to pay because the waitress was leaving, I like being able to enjoy my meal and my friends without being pressured into paying..but all of that aside it was still good service.

Now for the food.

California Rolls- They were wonderfully plated sushi rolls, of course, severed the typical way, with wasibi, and soy sauce, and chop sticks, for $1.95 I really have no complaints, the perfect starter.

Hibachi Salmon stack- At first this kind of scared me...I was not sure what it was, and do not think that my lovely Assassin-x was to sure of it either, but one bite of it and we both were changing our tunes, the Delicious salmon mixed with a mango sauce staked on rice was divine. but filling, worth the $3.95

Cesar Salad- well it was a Cesar salad..nothing special, no complaints. $1.95

Spicy Mandarin Chicken Wings - These wings were not my favorite. They were good, yes, but not my favorite wings, Maybe its because I am a wing snob, or maybe it was a bad batch. But, I was just not feeling the Wings. The flavor was good, but I just didn't really care for them all that much. I think they needed more spice. When I hear spicy, I expect pow, not so much sweet. but for $3.95 it was still OK.

The atmosphere, is warm, the people are probably mid twenties to early thirties. This is the place to go if you want to have fun after work and have a great martini or a great beer. as the beer and wine list is to die for, and the speciality martinis are very delicious as well. The projector screen is always playing the latest sports game, but lucky for us there is no sound, unlike some other sports bars around town, the music is mellow so you can still have a nice conversation with your friends, or even that special guy/gal if you dare. There is a variety of seating in the bar. All in all Henry's is a great spot for Happy hour.

xoxo

CardxCore