Tag Archives: bar

CLOSED – Country Bill’s, Portland, Oregon

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In the Woodstock neighborhood of Southeast Portland is a steakhouse that has been owned and operated by the same family since 1964, Country Bill’s.

Inside is a large restaurant but the cocktail lounge is where you want to dine, among its red vinyl booths and wood-paneled walls. I’m not sure if they still use the restaurant side because when I went there recently with my Portland friends Drew and Dana we were seated in the lounge.

I had a New York steak, which had nice grill marks and was done just right. The meals are very reasonably priced and come with choice of soup or salad and potato, but you can substitute homemade dumplings and gravy for the potato (or rice pilaf, cottage cheese, vegetables, sliced tomatoes, or cole slaw).

New York steak with dumplings and gravy and garlic bread

I’m glad my friend suggested this place when I said I wanted to visit an old steakhouse because it has been up for sale since last year as the owners want to retire, and the real estate broker makes its preservation sound unlikely: “I can’t tell you how many people tell me they just need something like a nice sports bar or something.”. Better go soon!

Country Bill’s mascot

Country Bill’s
4415 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland, OR 97206
(503) 774-4198
Open for dinner M-Th 4pm-10pm; Fri-Sat 4pm-11pm; Sun 4pm-9pm; bar opens at 3pm daily

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Turquoise Room, La Posada Hotel, Winslow, Arizona

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In the 19th century an Englishman named Fred Harvey, while working as a freight agent for the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, negotiated a contract with the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad to open a chain of restaurants at railroad meal stops along their line (before dining cars were common). The “Harvey Houses”, often including a hotel, grew into a chain of 84 at their peak, and had a reputation of good food and excellent service. A few survive as hotels today, including El Tovar at the Grand Canyon, The Fray Marcos in Williams, Arizona, La Fonda in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and La Posada on Route 66 in Winslow, Arizona.

The hotel was designed by Mary Colter in 1929, who later proclaimed it her masterpiece (she also designed several buildings at the Grand Canyon, including Bright Angel Lodge, and the beautiful Harvey House dining room and cocktail lounge in Union Station in Los Angeles, which is only open for private functions and tours). Santa Fe closed the hotel in 1957 and it was later vastly remodeled into an office building, with most of its interior beauty hidden behind plain walls and dropped ceilings. Incredibly, a man named Allan Affeldt purchased it in 1997 to save it from demolition, and with some partners restored it to its original grandeur. The hotel is beautiful – wonderfully restored and decorated with gorgeous artifacts with great attention to detail. A must stay if you are going along Route 66, or traveling by train on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief (the old Super Chief route), which stops directly behind the hotel (I have ridden the entire Chicago-Los Angeles route two or three times and loved every minute of it).

The ballroom at La Posada – open to guests for lounging or reading

The original Harvey House at La Posada, the Turquoise Room, has been restored as well, and is open every day for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and in-between meals. I was not able to stay in the hotel on my last Arizona road trip in Fall of 2008, but I stopped for lunch. I had a traditional Harvey House type meal of delicious fall-off-the-bone ribs, with house made beans, cole slaw, and cornbread. The dinner menu is fancier with classic and modern Southwest cuisine by chef John Sharpe, who was nominated among the best chefs in the U.S. by the James Beard Foundation in 2011. Many of the ingredients are traditional to the area and/or locally produced.

La Posada Turquoise Room 3

The Turqoise Room

The Turquoise Room
303 E. 2nd Street (Route 66), Winslow, AZ 86047
Phone 928.289.4366
Open 7am-9pm daily

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The Hayward Ranch, Hayward, California – CLOSED

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Roundup of Bay Area old west style roadhouses – part two of three.

A couple of months ago Le Continental visited Rancho Nicasio as part one of my roundup of old western steakhouses in the Bay Area. Today we’re hitchin’ up the horse and riding to the Hayward Ranch in Hayward in the East Bay. Built in 1948 using wood from an old railroad trestle near Sacramento, and thankfully it hasn’t changed much. At one time the original owners, Leonard and Adele Perillo, had 27 Ranch steakhouses in their East Bay / Tri-Valley (Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore) chain. Now this is the only one left. In 1999 it was purchased by the current owner, Chris Sarantakis, who vowed “I’m not going to change it, I’m going to make it better”.

The big sign is visible from a long way down the road

The restaurant is in a long, low, ranch style building with a rustic interior of walls made from the trestle wood covered with western bric-à-brac, framed pictures, and other clutter (but no cheap beer advertisements or strings of mini white lights – hooray!), and simple old wooden tables and booths.

The menu is typical of old western steakhouse fare and the prices are very reasonable. At dinner you can get a steak dinner with soup or salad, potato or pasta, and vegetable for around $20 or less. They have a bargain early bird menu from 4:00-6:00pm, and they serve breakfast and lunch, too.

I’ve had a steak there many times and have been quite pleased with them, but this time I took the waiter’s recommendation and tried the fried chicken. It was very good: tender and not dried out, with a crispy skin. Not the best fried chicken I’ve had in the Bay Area (and definitely not comparable to the fried chicken I’ve had in the Southern U.S.), but it was a good choice.

fried chicken dinner

A couple of dining companions had steaks: one had the filet mignon and another had a rib-eye. They both said they were tasty and tender.

filet mignon with Bearnaise sauce and sautéed mushrooms

We had some Manhattans with Bulleit rye and they were made perfectly as requested (stirred, not shaken). The service was excellent. Our young waiter was on top of everything and very friendly and affable. For dessert I had the homemade cherry cobbler and it was sooooo good! Perfect amount of fruit, not too thick and gummy, and a crunchy crust. YUM! Don’t skip dessert here!

cherry cobbler

Gorgeous neon sign with cocktail on one side and royal cow on the other.

The Hayward Ranch
22877 Mission Blvd., Hayward, Ca 94541
(510) 537-5522
open 7am – 10pm Monday – Saturday, closed Sundays, bar open until 11pm

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Dan Tana’s, West Hollywood, California

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I finally made it to this historic Italian restaurant that has been on my “to visit” list for a long time. It’s been open since 1964, and remains popular to this day, so I wasn’t too worried about it closing soon. I went with a friend who lives in Los Angeles and we were somewhat surprised that a lot of families were dining there on a Saturday night. Many of the dishes on their extensive menu are named after famous people so they must frequent the place. The proprietor, Dan Tana, has lived a fascinating life as a soccer (football) player in Yugoslavia, an actor (he played a maître d’hôtel in the Peter Gunn episode “The Dummy” in 1960, and was in a 2011 movie called “Coriolanus”), a nightclub owner (he ran the Peppermint West in the early 60s), a restaurateur, and as chairman of both English and Yugoslav football clubs!

The restaurant is decorated in classic Italian-American style, with red checked tablecloths and hanging Chianti bottles, and the walls are covered with art, photos of famous people with Dan Tana, sports stuff, and movie posters. A pretty casual atmosphere (get dressed up or don’t), but the waiters sport bow ties and red or black jackets for that touch of class that I always appreciate.

The menu is overwhelming! Veal and chicken is prepared in 10 different ways! I had the chicken Vesuvius, Brian Kennedy: very tender chicken pieces cooked in white wine, garlic, and lemon, and it was delicious! I had it with spaghetti on the side.

Chicken Vesuvius, Brain Kennedy

My friend had the chicken Florentine, Bob O’Lena (?).

Chicken Florentine, Bob O’Lena

The restaurant is very expensive, as you can see from the menu. But whether you want to splurge in a historic place or just get some spaghetti and meatballs, and maybe see a celebrity, Dan Tana’s is worth a visit! And they are open with a full menu until 1:30am every night!

Dan Tana’s
9071 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
310-275-9444
Open 5pm-1:30am daily

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Harry’s New York Bar, Paris, France

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Originally opened as New York Bar in 1911 and taken over by Scots bartender Harry MacElhone in 1923, when it became Harry’s New York Bar. It was a favorite hangout of American expats and celebrities, including Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Coco Chanel, Rita Hayworth, and Humphrey Bogart. Cocktails invented at Harry’s include the Bloody Mary, the French 75 (allegedly, in 1915, before it was Harry’s), the Sidecar, the Monkey Gland, and possibly the White Lady, though Savoy’s in London claims it was invented there. George Gershwin composed “An American in Paris” at the piano at Harry’s. “Sank Roo Doe Noo” on the sign is a phonetic spelling of Harry’s address (5 Rue Daunou).

Harry’s New York Bar
5 Rue Daunou 75002 Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 42 61 71 14
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 12pm-2am, Friday-Saturday 12pm-3am

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