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Mike’s Drive-In
Roake’s
Hog Wild £B$
905 7th St.
Oregon City, Ore. 97045
503-656-5588
18109 SE McLoughlin Blvd
Milwaukie, Ore. 97267
503-654-7075
9226 SE 82nd Ave.
Milwaukie, Ore. 97222
503-775-6200
www.hogwildpdx.com
The 1950s have long
gone, but the taste and
style
continues
today.
The Milwaukie location of
Roake’s sits at 18109 SE
McLoughlin Blvd, at the
border o f Milwaukie and
G ladstone.
The
iconic
image of the small hole-in-
the-wall’s wiener dog sign
.is well known among those
w ho have lived in the area
for years.
Roake’s boasts a wide
selection of American-style
cuisine, including th e ir
fam ous
short sausage
topped with Coney sauce,
mustard and onions. Their
Coney sauce also tops
the Roaker Burger and
coney fries, which along
with the Deluxe Bacon
Cheeseburger, are some of
their most popular items.
Don’t forget to add a shake
or malt to your meal for the
full drive-in style experi
ence. While they discontin
ued carhop service in the
1970s, it still feels like a trip
back in time.
On my trip, I enjoyed
the Ranch Bacon Burger,
French fries and a root beer
shake. I was fully satis
fied, as my taste buds cried
fo r more. Upon ordering, t
received a playing card -
the seven o f clubs - which
they called out to specify
my order. During the wait,
I took a trip around the tiny
building to read the small
stories upon the wall. £
Roake’s has been open
since the 1930s, and there
is no shortage of history
here.
It’s tasty, it’s inexpen
sive, it’s convenient and
it's a blast from the past.
Roake’s is open daily at
10:30 a.m. and closes at
8 p.m. Sunday through
Thursday and 9 p m. Friday
and Saturday.
There are very few res
taurants where you can or
der at random and you will
be ecstatic by the results,
Mike’s Drive-in is one of those
restaurants. Mike’s Drive-In
has an assortment of amaz
ing burgers, great hot sand
wiches and fantastic specialty
baskets like chicken or fish
and chips. The prices range
from $5 for just a burger to
$9 for a meal with fries, and
a choice of coleslaw, potato
salad, or a cookie and 16 oz
soft drink. Items like the spe
cialty baskets range from $7
to $15. They also have fan
tastic shakes, malts and floats
that start around $3 to $5 for a
large 32 oz shake.
The service at Mike’s
Drive-In is fantastic even
though it seems like it is
constantly busy, but that’s
for good reason. While the
Mike’s Special Deluxe is their
best burger and is enough to
feed you for an entire day, I
decided to try the mushroom
and swiss burger. I got it with
a milkshake and I did not re
gret either of these choices.
I had trouble putting down
the burger once I started
munching on it, it was just that
good. This allowed the shake
to melt a little since they are
made thick and with real ice
cream; it was super enjoy
able.
If you don’t know what
you want for a late breakfast,
lunch or dinner you can’t go
wrong with Mike’s Drive-In. If
you’re near Oregon City, Sell-!
wood (1707 Southeast Tenino
Street, Portland, OR 97202 ),.
or Milwaukie (3045 Southeast
Harrison Street, Portland, OR
97222) locations you can en?
jo y this fa n tastic bu rg e r jo in t
at almost anytime with their
business hours being 10 a.m.
to 10 p.m. Monday through
Saturday and 11 a.m. to 10
p.m. on Sundays.
R e s ta u ra n t. Photo
Red Robin
12530 SE 93rd St.
Clackamas, Ore. 97015
503-659-1048
www.redrobin.com
Red Robin has made a
name for itself offering large
portions of burn-your-tongue-
fresh fries with burger com
bos to make you sniff the
servers passing by. The clas
sic American foods offered
are always perfectly sea
soned and you can almost
hear the farm out back grow
ing the wholesome ingredi
ents. In addition to the classic
burger and fry routine, their
BBH m
nr? S & 1 W
SteMn, ‘W M m t
R esta ura
AMiLY NIGHT - TUESDAYS 5pm till Close
Free Cones
w ith all
Burger Baskets
(49“ without)
H
■
All Burger Baskets
F
* A '. s w - '
really new stuff like the spin
SH R IM P FEST
IS BACK
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5 -
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Corndogs «
.‘¿Mk
re w
ach-tortilla wrapped entrees
are a perfect way to watch
calorie intake. That is, if you
have the willpower to abstain
from the awesome French
fries, and choose to opt for
other sides offered like fresh
fruit or a side salad. Good
luck with that! I definitely
chose not to deprive myself.
My personal favorite en
tree is the River Whisky BBQ
burger, and I like it with chick
en instead of beef. For me,
crispy onion straws, melty
Cheddar cheese, and extra
sauce on the side make this
barrage of tasty goodness al
ways hit a home run. When I
ordered, I asked my waitress
to cut it in half and box part
of it to go and was pleased
that I didn’t need to repeat
this request. In fact, w hen
my 5 year old got to her third
refill o f strawberry lemonade
(extra strawberries of course)
there was never a moment of
hesitation. A quick smile and
fast turnaround even during
the busy dinner rush, kept
our visit very positive.
With three of her six good
sized chicken strips almost
gone, the kid and I got ready
to go. Of course we had to
stay until the group next to
us got their birthday song
clapped out, but seeing the
grins of the kiddos and staff
around their table made it
worth the wait. Boxes of food
in* hand with plenty left over
for lunch the next day, the
ticket was reasonably priced
around $17, and with the
great service we received I
had no problem rounding up
to $20.
Overall, excellent service,
friendly staff, kid friendly en
vironment and kickin’ food
will definitely keep us go
ing to Red Robin for many
moons to come. I also noticed
that they have two reserved
spaces for to-go orders
which could prove dangerous
for my home cooked meals.
Enjoy!
When it comes to barbe
cue, there are many different
views on how it should be
done. Spicy, messy and cov
ered in sauce, slow cooked
or done up quick on the grill.
But no matter how you look
at it, good barbecue is good
barbecue, and that’s exactly
what you’re going to get at
Hog Wild.
Hog Wild is a down south,
homestyle barbecue joint that
opened up on 82nd Ave next
to Home Depot and Wells
Fargo. Hog Wild started off
as a catering business, then
became a food cart, and they
recently acquired a building,
expanding their menu and
service times. Hog Wild has a
menu that continues to please
many regulars, as well as
new customers. Their menu
centers around slow cooked
meats covered in your choice
of mild, medium or hot spice
barbecue sauce, along with
several down south sides like
hush puppies, mashed pota
toes, barbecue beans, sweet
potato fries and cornbread.
They even have a barbecue-
fry sauce to serve with your
fries.
I personally decided to
partake in a barbecue pulled
pork platter, which comes
with a fair amount of pork,
homemade coleslaw, a. slice
of cornbread and your choice
of two sides, all for $15.
Considering the alternative
of $3.50 a side on top of or
dering a sandwich ($7), this
would seem to be the logi
cal choice for someone who
is hungry. Of course, if you'd
prefer a lighter meal, you can
order a sandwich and a side
of fries for about $10.50;
T h e s e rv ic e w a s frien dly
and
tim ely,
th e
w a itre s s
never missing a beat to take
orders, refill drinks and clear
the table. She was extremely
proficient, from taking qur
drink order to bringing our
food to bringing the check. I
was very pleased with their
service and applaud them for
doing so with the night being
extremely busy, with a full
house and catering orders to
boot.
The meal itself was deli
cious. The meat was well
cooked, juicy and well fla
vored from being cooked in
a smoker for 15 hours. The
“medium” barbecue sauce
was deliciously tangy with a
kick to it. The fries were per
fectly crispy and the sauce
was an interestingly tangy
combination of sweet fry
sauce and “mild” barbecue
sauce. The cornbread was
sweet and warm, well served
with butter and the beans
were a sweet contrast. The
coleslaw was sweet, ‘ con
trasted by a slight dash of
pepper. The whole meal was
well accompanied by sin
fully delicious southern-style
sweet tea. I.spent approxi
mately $17, plus tip. But I
considered my meal to be
w e lt worth the cost, and will
gladly be returning from time
to time to indulge my new
found addiction.
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