High and Low

Went out with Angel last night, who has now confirmed she is moving to San Francisco to open a bar. This is terrible and wonderful as I am losing one of my best friends in this city, but gaining a friend (with a bar) in one of my other favorite cities on the planet.

Our first destination was coffee, because I was out of beans. But my roommate had planted the seed in my mind to check out The Chesterfield - a new bar that opened in that unmissable red building on E Burnside across from Hippo Hardware.

I hate this bar.

First off, it is dark and lit with red lights. Call me crazy, but I don't like red bars. Make me feel dirty and evil. But I could deal with the red if there were other redeeming factors. Not so much. The clear colored plastic stools and chairs felt like they would fall apart if I sat on them too long. My cocktail, a gin/grapefruit/salt thing, was ok. Angel's was ungodly. Called a "Passion" it included vodka, strawberry and passion fruit juice. It tasted like an unripe green vegetable. Blech. Served in a pint glass, she walked out of the restaurant having not drained it more than an inch.

Now, I didn't know this when I got there, but the building is sandwiched by restaurants - so we decided to hit up the Rocket on the top floor.

What a difference!

Light colors with a high-class, but hang-outable vibe. A great view of the city. Cute servers (a few of whom Angel happened to know). It was the ultimate cure for the bad taste the Chesterfield had left in both our mouths. Angel got a bourbon cocktail that used black tea concentrate. It was really sweet, and hit you with three different flavors in stages. I had a beer. But a good beer.

The menu looked interesting but a little spendy. I just read a review that said they've got some kinks to work out. But I'd give it a try for a nice date or special occasion. Seriously, I just got such a good feeling being there. Because we had the inside connection, we even got to check out the rooftop garden where the cooks grow a lot of the herbs, spices and vegetables they use. And did I mention the view? Yeah, it's even better from the roof. I was struck by how there just aren't places to get a good elevated view of the city from the East side, which is stupid because that's where you have to be to appreciate what skyline Portland has.

Pub riders: I'm thinking this is a spot on our next sojourn.


Harry Potter Watch: 920 or 1585 holds.

- Thank you for reading.