Jim & Patty's Coffee: 5015 NE Fremont Portland, Or

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
Ratings: Atmosphere **(2.5), Service *****(5), Food ***(3.5), Drinks *****(5), Originality ****(4)
Cost:$
Drink Recommendation: 16 oz. Soviet Mocha
Food Recommendation: Gingerbread with whipped cream

Generally I don't approve of walking in a door of an establishment and immediately running into the counter. It's bad fung shui. It stops the flow of energy into a space. But there is always an exception to the rule. At Jim and Patty's Coffee Shop on Fremont in Portland. Pushing open the lime green front door and immediately running into a counter full of energetic, smiling, informative and eager employees is a delight, to say the least. This quaint, family owned coffee shop's cup flows over with a friendly chatter, bubbling in from all corners. Filling your senses with warm smells of freshly baked goods and intensely creative coffee concoctions.
Earning their four stars in creativity Jim and Patty's Coffee Shop goes, with mochas, like no other mocha makers have gone before. First of all lets talk about the sizes. You can purchase coffee from sizes of an 8oz to 24 oz. 24 oz.... I have never seen such a thing, but Jim and Patty's Coffee sells them like hotcakes or rather coffee cakes. They are known for their generous portions of sour cream coffee cake. Soft, moist, rich and always fresh, topped with a brown sugar and hazelnut crumb topping. Not being a big nut on desserts fan, i opted for the gingerbread. I was blown away. $2.50 (for the gingerbread) and a 16 oz coffee, coming to the total of $5.90.
Continuing to reach above and beyond......Their coffee collaboration style can only be achieved by a very brave barista; pushing boundaries and taking names.......Such as the Adult Mocha, made with bittersweet chocolate and soy milk. The breava made with freshly squeezed Orange Juice and chocolate shavings. Or the Mocha Loca which has a splash of hot sauce, giving it a slight kick of spice. Then there is my favorite the Soviet Mocha. I was scared at first. The description of bittersweet chocolate mixed with sour cream and a shot of espresso sounded unappetizing to say the least. But in true blogger fashion i pushed forward exploring the unknown, the scary, the unappealing, so you don't have to. The barista saw my concern and assured me that it was excellent. A quick few minutes later it was done. It was handed over the high counter top by Patty herself. I carried it over to my table, closed my eyes and took my first sip. I was pleasantly surprised. it was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! So creamy, well blended to the perfect combination of sweet, from the chocolate to a mellowed-out tangy cut of the sour cream. I enjoyed every sip.
To think of putting freshly squeezed orange juice, hot sauce or sour cream in a mocha, you would have to be off your rocker. Off their rockers, Maybe? But true geniuses, mixologists and Rock Stars, definitely! My hat is tipped to Jim and Patty's Coffee shop for taking a big, brave leap forward in the ever drowning sea of boring coffee drinks. Congratulations and thank you for making me be excited about coffee again.
Caffeine Cowboys and Mocha Maidens this one is for you!

Cha Cha Cha (Mexican Taqueria) 1208 NW Glisan Portland, Or

Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 5
Ratings: Atmosphere ***(3), Service ****(4), Food ****(4), Drinks ****(4), Originality ***(3)
Cost:$
Drink Recommendation: Horchada
Food Recommendation: Pico De Gallo (Made fresh daily)

I used to live in Mexico. There was a taqueria on every corner. They were small holes in the walls. Poorly lit, with booths lining every wall. People jammed in, to eat a late night snack, of freshly made tacos and cervezas. There was always a wafting aroma of spiced carne and cilantro. Bandera Music played in the background from an old jukebox and you couldn't help but notice the smiles on everyones faces. The simplicity of these taquerias were something to be admired. The bare minimum. Good cheap food and happy customers.

Cha Cha Cha has taken this same simple concept and turned it into a hip, friendly place to enjoy a fresh, cheap meal. The minute i walked in the door i was greeted by a smiling counter worker. He allowed me time to look over the menu. I scanned over a list of true Mexican tacos and burrito specialties. I was impressed by the wide variety of tacos filled with meat, cheese and veggies in a corn tortilla shell for nothing more than a $1.50. (In Mexico you couldn't walk down the street without running into a taco stand. They would offer simple tacos of any sorts for no more that 8 peseos (about $1.00).
When i was ready to place my order, i did not feel rushed or intimidated. I ordered the Enchalada Verde Platter. It was described as my choice of two enchaladas (chicken, beef, cheese or veggies), Spanish Rice, Beans, Guacamole and fresh Pico de gallo, topped with salsa verde. All for the reasonable price of $5.95. To drink I ordered Horchada (Rice milk, sweetened and topped with cinnamon). Whenever I get the chance, I order Horchada. It's sweet, creamy and refreshing. With the tip, this meal only costed me $8.00.
I took a seat by the window. The clean cut wooden table and chairs pushed up against magenta covered walls, complimented the art deco, latino feel of the room. A well balanced blend of hip, latino, Trance Music played in the background. I sat back and was transported back to the days of living in Mexico. Not more than 5 minutes later my food arrived accompanied by a smiling waiter. He gently placed it in front of me and politely asking if there was anything else i needed. There wasn't. I was ready to dig in.
The typical latin colors of red, green and brown swirled together to make a wonderful presentation on my plate. My first bite was a fork full of hot black beans intermixing with cold Pico de Gallo made with juicy cactus. The Chicken in my enchaladas was cooked to perfection, wrapped in warm corn tortillas, smothered in salsa verde and creme fresh. It was the perfect platter and portion for lunch.
When i was finished, I got up to put my empty plate in the bin (as you do in most restaurants in Portland) and walk out the door, but not without the friendly staff thanking me and telling me to have a good day.
Service, Atmosphere, Food, Drinks came together effortlessly to create an enjoyable lunch experience.
If you want to lick your lips with a flavor of Mexico.... Latin Lovers this one is for you!

Sweet Basil (Thai Cuisine) 3135 NE Broadway Portland, Or

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Ratings: Atmosphere *****(5), Service ****(4), Food ****(4.5), Drinks ***(3.5), Originality ***(3)

(*note: I am adding a half of a point for food and drink. This is my review i can do what ever i want!)


Cost: Lunch:$ Dinner:$$$
Food Recommendation: Lovely Ginger Lunch Special Combo

Drink Recommendation: Thai Ice Tea

Other Suggestion:Lunch is from 11:30-2:30 pm. The prices for lunch are very reasonable. Go on a sunny and warm day. Ask to sit on the deck.

On the busy street of Broadway, tucked into a tree lined cul-de-sac, sits Sweet Basil. My favorite Thai restaurant in all of Portland. Walk into the pink house by the way of the white wooden steps and they will lead you into a sunny dinning room. There you will be greeted by Golden Fat Buddhas sitting high on their shelves, green plants, crisp white linens and a smiling Thai wait staff. To those of you that like to be surrounded in loveliness, sit outside. Be prepared to be transported into a fairy's land. Modestly they will seat you on a red wooden deck, over grown with thick green grape vines; that shade you from the sun while providing a sweet amuse busche. The wet smell of tart grapes mixed with a sweet Thai iced tea is enough to send your senses into a tail spin.
I order the Lovely Ginger Lunch Special for $7.95.
This lunch platter comes with a Thai Salad, crispy green lettuce with a their house dressing. Pad Thai Noodles, wonderfully cooked noodles with a crunchy sweet and spicy peanut sauce. Thai Rice cooked to perfection that adorns your plate in a shape of a star or a crescent moon. And Finally the Basil Chicken. Slices of chicken in a sweet and spicy Thai Basil Sauce accompanied by snow peas, mushrooms and bean sprouts. The crunchiness of the fresh vegetables mixed with the soft and warm chicken, mingeling together in my mouth, is an amazing experience. These plates look more like art masterpieces than a reasonably priced meal. I highly recommend Sweet Basil. I am forever spoiled. The Bar has been raised.
My friends have reminded me to mention, in this review, that the entire staff is beautiful. Not that this sways my rating but i do think that it adds to the wonderful and unforgettably sweet atmosphere of Sweet Basil. Enjoy!

PIX PATISSERIE: 3901 N. Williams Ave. Portland, Or

Over all Rating: 3.0 out of 5
Ratings: Desserts (food) ****(4), Drinks ***(3), Atmosphere ***(3), Originality ****(4), Service *(1) that's a very generous 1*
Price:$$$

Dessert Recommendations: Queen of Sheba Truffle Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream Moist chocolate almond cake with bittersweet chocolate center. Warm slightly for molten chocolate center.Ind. $6.5.
Drink Recommendation: Regular Latte in a regular coffee mug. Nice and creamy.

First a little background........
Pastry chef Cheryl Wakerhauser (a.k.a. Pix), is known for her eccentric and distinctive style that intertwines flavors and textures. After a short-lived career studying to be an astronaut, Cheryl trained at the pâtisserie of MOF Philippe Urraca in Southern France. In 2001 she moved to Portland and set up shop at the Portland Farmers Market. The next year, the first Pix Pâtisserie opened its doors, bringing European flare and innovative edible art to Portland with an assortment of elegant pastries and handmade chocolates.

Pix is a dessert lovers dream. I am a dessert lover. I typically eat my dessert before my meal. I am an adult and i can do that if i want. Most of the time it looks so good i can't wait. Pix, for me was a dream come true, until i went there. It is a quaint store front, dressed in deep red velvety wall paper, chandeliers and chrome table tops. I felt like i was transported into a cafe in Paris. The atmosphere is nice, quiet, relaxing, not intimidating at all.
We are immediately drawn to the illuminating refrigerated glass case by the bar. The desserts proudly showed their colors of deep yellow, purples, pinks and dark chocolates. Desserts tied in bows, sprinkled with gold flakes, topped with ice cream. We wanted them all, but at the costly price of $5.00 to $8.00 per piece, we could only decide on one each. So we stood there, salivating on the case. We decided and looked up to place our orders. There was no one behind the counter so we checked out the coffee selection, looking for any direction on what to do next. Who do I need to talk to to get one of those in my mouth? We stood there looking around. Soon excitement turned into frustration as three workers simply kept their heads down and kept walking past us. Finally we spoke up. Excuse me can I get....... She walked away before i could finish my sentence. maybe she didn't see us? Maybe they thought we had been there before and knew the protocol? What was the protocol? Another server walked by, trying not to make eye contact. Excuse me..... She piped up and said once you have made up your minds, you can find a seat and we will be right out.
O.k. We were siked. Yummy desserts and creamy coffee was on its way. Just find a seat and she would be right out. We sat at a table outside. It was a beautiful day. There wasn't that many customers, we figured she would be right out to us. A different employee came out and plopped 3 glasses of water in the middle of the table; nearly spilling them. I said, "we know what we want. Whenever you are ready." She replied in a monotoned, unenthusiastic voice that another person would be out to take our orders and walked away. I started to feel as if we were more of a bother than a valued customer. I almost felt like they didn't want our business. Maybe if i gave her a brief synopsis on the way economics worked, she would be happier that we were there.
It had been at least 25 minutes since the time we walked in the door till finally the waitress came to our table to take our order. We ordered the Tarte au Citron, A French classic-luscious lemon curd in a crisp, buttery pâté sucrée shell.Ind. $4.25. The Amélie Orange vanilla crème brûlée sits atop a glazed chocolate mousse with caramelized hazelnuts, praline crisp, and Cointreau génoise.Ind. $6.5 and Incognito Cheesecake gone wild! Lemon mousse, cheesecake, ginger streusel, raspberries and candied lemon.Ind. $6.5, 1 coffee and 2 Hazelnut Lattes. This is their house specialty, they infuse the hazelnut in with the chocolate. We were getting excited again. Amazing desserts were definitely in our future. 15 minutes later our coffees came out. How long does it take to make 2 lattes and a coffee? none the less, the server did make an excellent presentation placing the cream and sugar in the middle of the table. One napkin to the right of each of us, then placing a fork and a spoon on top of that, then our lattes were placed in front of us. They were too rich, served in a Chimay beer glass (similar to a wine glass, but bigger and thicker). I don't know if this is how they usually serve hot drinks or they were out of coffee mugs, but the glass was too hot to hold on to and it was too full to hold it by the stem. Poor choice in glassware. It made for a very unpleasant drinking experience.
By the time our desserts came out the coffee and lattes were cold. There was no presentation in telling us which dessert was which. No suggestion on how to approach these delectables. Nothing. She basically threw them down and walked away.
Half way threw our pleasurable dessert experience, the waitress does a run by. You know, walk by real fast, throwing the check on the table and speeding off before we could ask for anything else. So there we sit, half finished with our desserts, my friend wanted another coffee and we could have used a few more napkins. But this waitress did not care about any of that. I was raised to be a server. Rule #1 you never even think about throwing down the check until you are absolutely sure that your customers would like to leave. The longer they stay, the more they are likely to purchase, thus increasing your overall check and your tip. So instead of getting another coffee, maybe one more dessert, we had to stop eating, rummage through our purses to pay the check. This is by far is one of the rudest things you can do as a server. You are basically telling your customer that you do not want them to be there anymore.
We were so annoyed with Pix's service that we finished our desserts and cold coffee, paid the tab and left. We spent a total of 2 1/2 hours on dessert and coffee. 45 mins was actually spent on eating. Pix is a typical chef owned restaurant. Amazing food but really lacking in the front of the house.
It is expensive. The food and atmosphere is really nice. Service needs a lot of work, but overall if you have a few hours and money to burn, then by all means Pix is your place.
Enjoy dessert lovers!

Let me explain.....

Rating each establishment.
I will review the following key points with 1-5 ***** stars.
5 being the best and highly recommended. 1 standing for at least they tried.

Restaurant:
Feng Shui: Over all atmosphere and appearance , General Flow of the place, placement of tables
Cleanliness: Clean tables, vacuumed rugs, silverware, water glasses
Atmosphere: Lighting, General feel of the space

Service:
Response Time: a good server should approach their table within 1 minute (at the most) of them being seated
Appearance: Uniform, smile
Table side manners: Proper placement of glasses, silverware and food. Up selling. Offer choices, bringing and picking up the check, enthusiasm

Food:
Presentation, Portion size, Taste, Texture. Overall, Cook Time, Location, Available Parking, Easy to find, Desserts

Cocktails:
Presentation, Response time, Taste

Originality: Theme, Concept, Originality in food or drink ideas

Price: will be rated with $$$$$

Overall Rating:
Everything taken into consideration

My recommendation: Drinks, Dishes, Desserts

Portland, Oregon

Let me start off by saying that Portland is a wonderful town. You've got your joggers and your bikers. Your Organic Farmers and your Artist. There's always something going on; a show or a performance, a street fair or a protest. And Portland.... I admire your laid back attitude; something east coasters definitely do not have. But I am not here to comment on the city's activities or it's attitude on walking to work. I am here to tell you about it's restaurants.
They have every kind of ethnicity that you could ever crave. From Thai to Egyptian, Ethiopian to Indian, Vegan to Organic Fast Food Burger Joints. Portland goes all out with their types of restaurants and that's about all they go all out on.....
Generally all the restaurants are going to cost a pretty penny. I have been told that this is because everybody uses organic and local, which is great and I fully support local farmers. But it can tend to get very expensive. Service, over all, is probably the worst I have ever experienced but if you can stand to wait an hour for your dessert, the food is generally brilliant. Thinking positive....Portland is big for it's micro breweries. Everywhere you go they sell beer. From the corner breakfast bar to the local coffee shop. It's a nice little twist with your breakfast burrito......