CombatCritic's TravelValue™: Portland, OR: Four QC Concerns During Our First Visit Led Me To A Mediocre Rating

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Monday, May 20, 2019

Portland, OR: Four QC Concerns During Our First Visit Led Me To A Mediocre Rating

Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House
210 NW 11th Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
Pearl District
Phone number (503) 296-4906
Website: deschutesbrewery.com
Prices: $$$$

Needing some chow before the play we were going to see at The Armory, which is just next door, we decided on Deschutes because of its proximity and Portland's inclement, crappy weather that particular evening.

The place was packed on a Sunday evening around 6pm, a surprise because downtown Portland is not normally particularly busy on Sunday nights in our limited experience. We were told it would be a 30-40 minutes wait, too late to eat and still get to he theatre in time, but we happened upon a table in the bar that was just being vacated by a very nice young couple ... we're in!

I ordered a Clearly An Imperial Ale (IBU 70, ABV 6.7 - $5.75), but was not particularly hoppy about the snifter it came in. I guess I should have read the small print, but my eyes, along with a few other of my body parts, are not quite as good as they used to be. DRAT!

We decided on an IPA Pretzel, coming with melted Monterey Jack Cheese Sauce and Black Butte Porter Stone Ground Mustard ($10.50) as an appetizer. The pretzel was piping hot, straight out of the oven, crispy outside and soft inside, but the cheese sauce was lukewarm and a bit of a bummer.

I tried to order another beer before our meals arrived, having asked three servers that had come by over a ten minute period to drop off the pretzel, fill our waters, and so on, but they all told me I had to wait for the bar staff. About 10 minutes later, a male server finally came by with another snifter half-full of the same IPA, but I told him that I had planned to order their Extrafjordinary Porter ($6.25). He took the IPA back, giving me a strange look as if the faux pas was somehow my fault. The porter arrived a few minutes later and everything was copacetic.

I went with the Pub Burger w/ Bacon and Garlic Fries ($18.25) and my wife the Black Butte Porter Mac & Cheese ($15.75). My burger was quite tasty, coming on a toasted brioche bun along with a side of fries covered with garlic sauce and an unknown grated cheese. The fries were also lukewarm and the garlic sauce a tad chilly, another QC problem and the third (cold pretzel sauce and wrong beer) in our short time there. My wife's Mac & Cheese came with some very odd looking pasta and there was hardly enough cheese sauce to coat the pasta. The presentation was OK, but there were drops of extra cheese sauce scattered around the rim of the bowl. It was also extremely bland with not enough sauce and very little flavor - QC problem #4. The server was nice enough to remove the Mac & Cheese from our bill, a very nice gesture, after we told him about the lack of flavor in the dish.

The ambiance of the large room was quite pleasant, reminiscent of the Pacific Northwest with lots of carved oak, open doorways, tall windows, and old photos and paintings on the walls. We had a decent meal and enjoyed the space, but the problems and positives resulted in a zero sum outcome and a very middle of the road rating from me.

CombatCritic Gives Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!