On Friday night we crossed the Willamette River to the Hawthorne neighborhood in southeast Portland for some more pub crawling. This neighborhood has a weathered, counterculture feel to it, typified by the Lucky Labrador brew pub housed in an old roofing and sheet metal warehouse. The pub fare – spicy peanut curry over chicken, rice and vegetables – was savory, and the Dog Day IPA was hoppy enough for my taste.He got some bad service at Roots, which led to a scathing dismissal--proof that even one bad evening can affect a pub.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Through the Eyes of Others
Portland beer drinkers spend so much time talking about ourselves (I'm allowed--I have a blog) that it's interesting to get the perspective of visitors. Today's report comes from John Dodge, writing for The Olympian.
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i've always received bad service at Roots, which is unfortunate because i really like the beer. the bartenders have generally all had a holier-than-thou attitude, sort of like Portland baristas.
ReplyDeletemaybe that's one of the reasons they're going under.
OK, I've complained about Roots' service myself, especially when they were open for lunch.
ReplyDeleteBut most of the bartenders there are quite friendly and down-to-earth. I realize Kim is long gone, but she even won some bartender-of-the-year award when they first opened. Jim is stalwart. I don't know any other names, but I can think of other faces behind the bar who have gone the extra mile at various times.
maybe they know you're a world-class blogger.
ReplyDeleteiggir, I'm pretty sure that I'm incognito there. I've never had a blog conversation with any Roots people.
ReplyDeleteBTW, now I've stooped so low as to RTFA, and I'm not sure Dodge's dismissal qualifies as "scathing", it's just a dismissal. It's funny that the Jamaican theme looked Hawaiian to him.
One thing I've heard consistantly from no Portlanders is that Root's service is hit and miss though more often on the miss. I also hear complaints about their beers not being the best quality, especially their herbals. I've had a few of their beers and they were'nt bad, but not stellar. Maybe the dismissal isn't far from the actual reality.
ReplyDeleteRoots is a great place to drink a beer. Ordering at the bar is your best bet, which used to be the only way you could do it, so if you went to a table and sat around waiting for service I could see why you'd be mad. Their Island Red is one of my Portland favorites and the Heather is a beer that I have everyone try because I know they'll like it. If you're looking for a good beer in a laid back place, you can't go wrong here.
ReplyDelete