Where Sasha Went

Parlour – St. Paul, Minnesota

My favorite Minnesota haunt strikes again, this time with its second location in St. Paul. Parlour is a Minneapolis bar that I first visited at the behest of a coworker a few years ago while I was in town for work. Then the last time I was in town the same friend took me to the newly opened second location in St. Paul.

Dare I say I like the St. Paul location better? I think it is probably not surprising, while the original is dark and luxurious. Sitting in the basement annex of its larger parent restaurant in downtown Minneapolis it is velvet tufted booths and rich colors.  All of which I love. But for me, a large renovated turn of the century building with floor to ceiling windows is tough to beat. Plus I love the smaller town vibe of St. Paul over Minneapolis.

We brought a vegetarian friend with us, which is a bold move for a bar known for their not veggie burgers. But she ordered the cauliflower (above) which was almost better than the burgers. And their fries which this round were not pineapple and bacon but vegetarian served with a side of delicious dip.

And then of course for those of us who eat meat, the main course, the burger. Buttered non sesame bun, salty delicious patty, cheese and pickles it really cannot be beat. If you are in the area make it a priority you and even your vegetarian friends won’t be disappointed.

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South Pole Inn – Annascaul, Ireland

On our evening in Annascaul, after all the dust settled…or rather after we washed off all the dust from the day we chose to eat dinner at the South Pole Inn. There may have been other places to eat in town, honestly we didn’t even check. We just knew that this was the place we were going to eat.

Opened by Tom Crean and his wife Ellen around the 1920s. The pub is small and cozy, once again exactly what one would expect from an Irish Pub. Stone walls, big fire place, small wooden bar and a handful of tables. The interior is filled to the brim with information and memorbelia from Tom Crean’s life. While we were waiting for food I of course had to pick through the stack of books on the mantel.

The meal was exceptional as all of them were. We had a mix of food, curry, fish, pasta, chicken. It was all amazing. The service was quick, we lingered in the cozy atmosphere and never once felt like we were pressured to vacate even though people continued to stream in through the doors all night. Every one chatted merrily and enjoying their time. Including the baby on the floor by the fire and the toddler in the window box. It was clearly a neighbor hood place, and what a wonderful neighborhood to be in.

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Hanafin’s Pub – Annascaul, Ireland

Our first stop in Annascaul was Hanafin’s Pub. And when I say first stop I mean, we didn’t even change. We dropped our packs at our inn, changed out shoes and popped next door for celebratory drinks.

I unfortunately did not get the name of the bar tender and owner while we were there. I wish I had so I could thank him personally for his hospitality and stories. But either way, if you find yourself in the area make sure to pop in for a drink and tell him hello. As with every one we found in the area, the people we warm, the pub was charming and the drinks were perfect.

We sat in the cozy little pub for a few hours, drinking and chatting with the owner. He gave our group suggestions for after our hike was over, driving directions, hours and various places to visit. He told us colorful stories of locals, like one fellow who brings in a crop of potatoes every year to trade for his drinking allowance.
He explained to us how peat farming worked and pointed out that was how he was heating the bar (yes it was chilly enough that night for heating). We had walked past a number of farms earlier that day and just didn’t realize what it was at the time.
He introduced us to the local sport of hurling. The Annascaul team was playing on the Irish language tv channel in some sort of playoff tournament. The sport was fascinating and so much fun to watch. If we had it on tv here I might be tempted to take up watching sports for the first time in my life.

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Gem Creole Saloon – McMinville, Oregon

I had the opportunity to go to New Orleans in 2017, but before that happened I had been craving good creole food (let’s be honest I am ALWAYS craving creole food). It’s not common in the pacific northwest. There are plenty of restaurants that claim to have it, but most fall fairly short in my opinion. If you find yourself in a similar situation in Portland proper Miss Delta on Mississippi Ave or her predecessor and slightly dive-ier cousin The Delta Cafe  on Woodstock are my go-to places. I promise eventually I will get around to writing up reviews. Which means I have to visit and eat at both again. I am not in the least bit sorry about this.

But this is not about those restaurants, this is about a new restaurant. New to me and new to the valley area, Gem. I discovered it on accident, a very happy accident indeed. One day wandering around McMinville Oregon wishing I could find some decent cheesy grits. And then right there in front of me was a lovely little restaurant with cheesy grits on the menu.

The interior is very purple and gold. VERY. Which makes sense as those are two of the three official colors of Mardi Gras.  It was quiet (blissfully), the service was prompt (even better) and the food was hot and delicious.  We were given a nice table by the window to watch all the happy people wander around in the sun (a rarity for that time of year here).

We ordered many (most) of the appetizers, giddy to get to try some long craved goodies. They did not disappoint. The grits were the best I have had outside of the south. Just thinking about it is making me want to go back. I wonder how they would feel if I ordered ALL the grits to go? Fried Okra, Hush Puppies and Fries were of course also incredible.

Gem is situated next to  La Rambla (my favorite Spanish restaurant in the states) at 236 NE Third Street in McMinville Oregon.

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Carruthers – Astoria, Oregon

There is a small town on the Oregon Coast that I know quite well, they call it Astoria Oregon. Astoria, long famous for being the home of one of the most dangerous river bars in the world, childhood 80s movies and copious amounts of rain, also happens to be one of my childhood home towns.
 

If I am being quite frank, when I was a kid it was kind of (read really) a dump. A sad little town at the mouth of the Columbia River, with a crumbling downtown and a small tourist season in the summer. Somewhere between the 1990’s and the mid 2010’s the town managed to turn itself around and now has a booming year round tourist season and with it some really phenomenal restaurants. None of which existed when I lived there, naturally. One of the newest editions is Carruthers.

Carruthers is located kitty corner to the old Astoria Liberty Theater, which was renovated in recent years and is now used as a performing arts theater which has headlined shows with hometown staples like movies by Chris Lang and musical performances by Blind Pilot. The restaurant was built out inside the old Owl Drug Store (which was a filming location of Kindergarten Cop) and was originally a clothing store.
 

 
The interior has been decorated impeccably, we were sitting next to this fire place (see above) which I could not stop staring at, not least of which because it was about 40 feet tall.

 
Both the bar menu and the dinner menu was amazing, I could have ordered everything but stuck to the butternut squash gnocchi and could have eaten nothing else for the rest of my life and been happy. It was amazing.

The vibe of the restaurant is a bit more upscale than Astoria has been traditionally used to but happily people dined in all assortments of style. It seemed everyone regardless of Sunday best or just jumped off the boat clothing were right at home. I couldn’t stop staring at the lovely surroundings, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere and the incredible food. I was only occasionally distracted by the mirror pictured below, as I plotted how to steal it without getting caught. I failed to come up with a way to smuggle a 12 foot tall gold mirror out in my purse so I just took a picture.
Address an Additional Information: 12th and Commercial Astoria,  Oregon 97103

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