Chez José — Restaurant in Portland

I'm sharing this to inspire others to appreciate those who help a business succeed and make your meal enjoyable. It's also a "Pay it forward" idea. Last night I decided to go to a restaurant in the Terwilliger/Taylor's Ferry Neighborhood.(traffic was heavy) Chez Jose is a small restaurant tucked in the corner next to Market of Choice. I walked in and sat at the bar/counter, where I had full view of the cooks preparing food. What I observed was a well orchestrated dance of cooks and wait staff. No one bumping into each other. They were busy, but staff glided, delivering other servers food, busing each others tables, even several asking if I needed anything. But the thing I noticed was the cooks working effortless to put the plates of food out. It's Friday night dinnertime. They talked only when necessary and you could tell they enjoyed working with each other. Nothing piled up...dishwashers were restocking supplies for cooks and servers. When my meal was finished, I noticed a flyer in the check holder re: "Christmas Angel" , which asked for a donation for the needy. Here in Portland we do help the needy with food banks, hot meals, clothing, toys, etc. But this time I wanted to be a Christmas Angel to those at the restaurant. I asked my server for change in $5 bills, and then asked her to give each of the 3 cooks & 2 dishwashers $5. As well as herself. She handed each one a bill and pointed to me, to which I said "thank you" to each one of them. They had made my dinner more enjoyable. If you want a good Mexican meal and enjoyable atmosphere,...

i don't give 5 stars easily but Chez Jose W earned it. The whole meal was delicious and inspired, the service was near perfect and the value was abundant. Our party of 6 was seated without wait on a Saturday, (before noon , the place filled up quickly after we arrived). The nachos were a good mix of fresh tortillas and tasty hodgepodge of peppers, quality cheese and beans etc. The salsa was mild and not super flavorful but the other dipping ingredient was savory and a good option. The Steak in my carne asada was perfectly grilled, tender and not gristly. Amazing! The onion rings were unusually thin and flavorful. The rice and beans and grilled vegetables were high quality! Others in my party had burritos , quesadillas , salad. Everybody was pleased! Delicious, good value, tasty, good service, nice environment (no tvs or video poker etc) attentive service. (only quibble is they didnt keep our water jugs fillled very well).

All in all this was a five star for the category. No muy...

The Crux Gimme Mo IPA was ice cold. Hoppy. Sweet. Perfect for Hop lovers. At $5.75, still OK, though a tad high-priced. The lime chicken enchiladas with black beans and rice. Meh. Decent presentation. Passable quality at best. But mostly boring suburbia that foreshadowed the finish line – a line crushed by the late server – the closer – the huffy, full-on steamroller of a person more intent on "closing up the tills now" – that really took the light out of the Chez "stars" with her aggressive, "finish it up cuz I gotta get outta here" style. Throw back that beer. Gimme your card. Now. It's 9:00pm. It's closing time. Wow. Thanks for having us. Talk about a solar eclipse. Have been here many times since 1987, but in recent years less so. Tonight confirms why it won't be missed. R.I.P. There are too many great PDX eating establishments that have the style, quality, grace and innovation to even consider this...