doug fir

i love the log cabin decor and the general architecture of the space. the basement acts as a well-known music venue. they have a large outdoor space available for their bar patrons...to my knowledge, no food is served there. the indoors bar lounge is a cool spot to havedrinksduring a rainy day. however, don't use their restrooms if you're intoxicated. the hallway leading to the restrooms as well as the inside walls are lined with mirrors that play a mean trick on the eyes. i've witnessed many semi-sober folks run into the walls.

the restaurant opens early and serves decent breakfast fare. the food is diner quality, so don't expect much. the restaurant staff is friendly, but bartenders are generally not.

although the menu looks somewhat imaginative, the food is relatively bland and uneventful. had a blackened chicken sandwich, fish and chips, mac and cheese and pull pork between the group of us - flavors were dull. seems like a cool bar anddrinkswere much more of a hit.

good concert!. lousy food.
a group of us came up to portland sunday night for the parlotones concert and decided to dine here out of convenience. i had read some of the reviews and had my reservations. that being said the doug fir is an amazing building/venue! they have done a great job making the presentation unique & exciting.
now back to the food. i ordered crab cakes right away and these were sub par. i even had a piece of shell in mine. i ordered the sausage & grits which was ok. i guess i like my grits a bit runnier but the flavor was good. the best dish was the flat iron steak but it certainly wasn't $20 good. to top it off the crispy cheese fritters (after the first batch was dropped on the floor!) was overcooked and rather bland.
not all is lost though! thedrinksserved from the bar upstairs were very good. i was feeling adventurous and order the "dark & stormy" which only i enjoyed. the blackberry cosmo was also spot on!
downstairs is another matter. the staff here was a bit more haughty it seemed and thedrinksseem watered down. there was a world of difference between rum & coke upstairs vs. downstairs!
all and all the venue was aesthetically pleasing and cozy. the concert hall was small and made for a personal show. all three bands rocked by the way. i have not written off the doug fir but i'm guessing we won't be here for food again anytime soon. we'll come for the ambiance and concert line up!

imagine if the jetsons had a log cabin!. awesome staff (joe moody is the best bartender ever), good food and awesome drinks...
doug fir has a earthy yet modern feel with out being too pretentious.

great place to have a drink and people watch... they get everyone from the pdx hipsters to the pdx hippies to the ex frat boys to the old couples to the hot lesbians:)

they hold concerts downstairs where the acoustics are awesome for sound and there is room to dance... just wish there was more room to sit. great fun place to go... i'm sure you'll run into me and my wifey there:)

there is the occasional snotty granola militant liberal who thinks they that isn't ok the be snide and loudly talk crap about people so that they can hear... but it's only amusing because you know that they are so unhappy with themselves that they feel the need to attack unsuspecting strangers in their paths.

you can't help but feel sorry for them, their life must be really sad to feel the need to buy guysdrinksin order to get their attention and obsess over stringers sitting at the bar that they will never see again;)

a surly waitress and a pound of salt. lindsey got our orders in and thedrinkscame out quickly. the appetizers arrived quickly - very salty and so so. the entrees came out before we had made a dent in our appetizers. my entree (meatloaf) was pretty sub par but everything on my plate had a visible layer of salt on top of it. lindsey had them make me another dish (cod) and i asked for no salt on anything and the dressing on the side. this plate was very tasty and i let her know - though she really didn't seem all that interested. we decided to try a dessert - and she recommended a blackberry cobbler (how can they f that up?) it was horrid. we waved her back to our table and she said "you dont even have to tell me how bad it sucks" and swiftly carried it away. when she returned with our check she informed us how much she and the others loved it and that they were in the back eating the remains right now. i wish i could say that i had some incurable communicable disease or something. it's sad because the venue is funky/cool and would be a fun place to return to otherwise. won't be back.