Bernie's Southern Bistro (2904 NE Alberta St.)

A while ago, my friends and I were in search of some good appetizers while wandering Alberta St. Bernie's Southern Bistro struck us as a good kind of appetizer place.

We had (each ordered our own): hushpuppies, fried dill pickles, spinach cakes, crawfish cakes and fried green tomatoes. Everything was fried. EVERYTHING.

It tasted really good (did I mention that everything was fried?) and I did not get sick afterwards (logically I should have).

Therefore I must give Bernie's a thumbs up. Oh and they also had a questionable picture of Tom Potter hanging right by the bathrooms. That was odd.

Concert Ticket Giveaway!

I love giveaways. Not that I have ever won a giveaway. But I think it's a nice idea to promote. And it's fun, too. And so to promote the great Portland that I love... I am giving away two tickets to the Crystal Ballroom on June 18th to hear Colbie Caillat, with an acoustic set by Dirty Martini (one of my fav Portland bands). Local radio station 94.7 KNRK is sponsoring this concert. For more information, click here.

All you have to do is make a comment on this post between now and May 29th. Then I will do a random drawing for the winner. The winner will be posted on May 30th. One comment per person, please.

You should tell your friends because if your friend wins, then maybe they will take you to the concert with them. That doubles your chances. Without making more than one comment. So do it. Tell your friends. This will be fun!

Jiffy Lube (8655 SW Barbur Blvd.)

I have had REALLY bad car karma lately. Last week, someone rear-ended my car while trying to parallel park on the hill in front of my house and my car started sputtering and dying while I was on the freeway. Tonight I got a flat tire. Jiffy Lube is my shining light of positive vibes this week, shining through all the badness hanging around my car.

I took my car to the dealership to find out why it was sputtering. Water in the spark plug tubes. Caused most likely by someone cleaning the engine out. That happened about a month and a half ago when I got my oil changed and my engine flushed at Jiffy Lube.

I called Jiffy Lube and explained what happened. In less than 24 hours, I had spoken to the regional manager, who, without any prodding from me, offered to pay for all of my repairs and refund the money for my oil change and the engine flush. It turns out to be about $300. The manager told me that he couldn't verify one way or the other if they caused the damage, but that it wasn't worth losing a customer over. He just got my business for life.

Now if I can just get that insurance claim settled with the guy that hit my car. And get to Les Schwab in the morning on my spare. Then I will be SET.

Hall Street Grill (3775 SW Hall Blvd., Beaverton)

I ate at Hall Street Grill back in March and kept forgetting to write about it. I can't believe I kept forgetting to write about it, because it certainly was not easy to forget the luscious meal I ate that night.

The service was superb - the waitress knew the menu pretty much by heart and made recommendations that we wouldn't have even known about. For example, when I ordered the Butternut Squash Ravioli, she recommended ordering grilled prawns with it (this was not on the menu). I wouldn't have thought of that and let me tell you, I am indebted to her for my new courageousness for eating seafood.

They looked like prawns when I got my dinner, but they tasted like little steaks. Amazing doesn't even cut it. It was SO good. We also shared a dessert, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. I just know that I loved it.

I must say one more word about the waitress - she was so enthusiastic about the food - like she was in love with it and wanted to marry it. And that made me want to order everything on the menu. She was good.

Let's keep this simple: GO.

Towne Lounge (714 SW 20th Place)

Dirty Mittens and The Finches were at the Towne Lounge last Friday and my sister and I decided to check them out. We almost didn't find it - it looked like a regular house, with just a sandwich board out front that says "Towne Lounge" written in a font that reminded me of a haunted house (don't ask me why, it just did).

It was a $5 cover. Not bad. I automatically offered up my ID, but I don't think the guy would have checked if I didn't. He seemed to be really enthralled in his own conversation and was bothered by us interrupting him.

The seats were all full, but there was a lot of standing room. Sort of. In between bands, one of the servers went up to the microphone and said if people didn't quit standing right in front of the bar he was going to get really mad. Or something to that effect. He said it more eloquently than that and more powerfully and it was humorous at the same time.

We eventually snagged a booth, which was much better than standing. They have a pretty good ventilation system, which was really nice. Lots of people were smoking, but it didn't bother me too much and I was recovering from a cold.

The music: The Dirty Mittens = Bjork-like, non-decipherable songs. The Finches = potheads telling stories and singing soft folk-lore-y songs. I liked them both. I liked Dirty Mittens way better than Bjork. The Finches are bedtime music good, though, not smoky bar good. (You know how I feel about slow soft music on a Friday night!)

I might go back sometime. I don't recognize any of the bands on their calendar, but that doesn't mean they aren't good.

Everett St. Bistro (1140 NW Everett St.)

My friend Ansley was in town this past weekend and I met up with her and some friends at Everett St. Bistro on Friday night for dinner. It's a cute little place, with a decadent dessert case right out in front to lure you into the trap of full fat sweetness.

There was a table of four right next to us with two identical women (orange tan, bleach blonde layered hair, dark sleeveless shirts and jeans) and their two identical male companions (salt-and-pepper hair, plaid button-up shirts, khaki shorts). The women both ordered salad (cliché) and I couldn't see what the men ordered. I'm sure it was something salad-y.

Our table was a bit more gluttonous. Mac and cheese, clam risotto, a couple of big fat burgers, and me - I ordered grilled hanger steak topped with a veal demiglace, served with garlic mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. Every bite was pure heaven. The mashed potatoes weren't quite as creamy as I like them, but they were good, even so. The veal demiglace was so buttery and salty and a perfect match to the rare steak.

The waitress was really nice and accomodating for our group of nine people, even offering at the beginning to split the check up for us. She kept our Diet Cokes refilled and checked on us often.

The steak was well worth the $18 price. The sad thing: I only ate half of it and got the rest to go. Then I left the box on the table.

Fir Point Farms (14601 Arndt Road, Aurora)

Every day on my way to and from work, I drive past this farm and plan imaginary recipes in my head as I see the signs for asparagus, rhubarb and other local produce.

I have been fantasizing about rhubarb for sometime now, and decided to take the plunge when I got assigned dessert for Mother's Day dinner. I stopped by Fir Point Farms and wandered through their beautiful, bright, fresh local produce. Rhubarb was only $1.89 a pound, much cheaper and prettier than the $2.99 a pound at Safeway. I picked up six (!) pounds of rhubarb and headed for the checkout.

"What are you making with all this rhubarb?" The check out lady was friendly. I told her what I was making. "My goodness! I'll be looking for you on the Food Network!" Rhubarb + a boost to my ego = $12.00. What a bargain.

This is what I made: Lemon Rhubarb Trifle with Pistachio Brittle. My family loved it and although I don't think I'm headed for the Food Network, I may actually write this recipe down. Cookbooks are more my style.