NEPO 42 — Restaurant in Portland

As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I have been coming here since they opened. I've been tolerant of many not-so-great servers over the years, hoping that whoever does the hiring would eventually find a solid crew. I returned for the usually good food, prolific beer selection, and lovely patio. Today was my last visit. I came in around 5:15pm on Sunday 7/7. I let a server with a blond pony tail know that I would be on their patio, like the sign requested. She said they were only offering counter service- which means that I am welcome to eat on the patio but I need to be my own server. I mentioned in a very casual tone (I was thinking out loud) that I probably shouldn't do that, since I just had chemo. Entering and exiting the restaurant to be my own server would be A) exhausting and B) a high risk choice even with a mask on, considering I am extra-immune compromised after chemo. Experts say you wear a mask for others, not so much for your self. I learned this the hard way when I got Covid while wearing a mask where others were not. I respect other's choice not to wear a mask. What I do not respect is the server who responded to me with a facial expression that was so nonchalant and uncaring, it was the equivalent of a shoulder shrug. I don't want special treatment. What I want is to interact with humans who exhibit a healthy range of human emotions. Understanding. Compassion. Eye contact. I was a server for 8 years. I would have said, "We have limited staff right now and so are expected to be at the bar, but if you would sit at the table right outside the door I would be glad to wait on you, or hand you your order at the door." Again, while this is what I would have done, it is fine if she didn't offer that. But a little humanity was absolutely in order. I truly would rather have cancer than be a heartless, numb person who would respond in a dead faced way. I have lost a lot, but I have not lost my ability to relate to others and show basic respect. I don't think I could enjoy this...

After seeing this place on a list of Portland's best places to get wings, I decided to give it a try at happy hour today. My girlfriend and I arrived early, around 3pm, and were surprised to find that the place was pretty full. It was rainy outside, so we weren't able to take advantage of the nice outdoor seating.

I'll start with the positives: surprisingly nice looking bar and tables, good beer list, interesting drinks, and pretty cheaply priced bar food for happy hour. I had a couple of beers and both were tasty. The server was friendly and attentive, while not being annoying.

The negatives: the food was really greasy. We got three greasy appetizers: chicken-fried bacon, jalapeno poppers, and 10 wings. All were excessively greasy and none were cooked quite right. Strangely enough, the chicken-fried bacon was the least greasy of the bunch, but it was clearly overcooked. I wouldn't be surprised it it was fried the day before and reheated. The jalapeno poppers (4) were huge and covered by a semi-soggy super thick batter. The batter was clearly undercooked and it felt like I was eating grease. Also, the jalapenos had virtually no pop: I could have just as easily been eating small, sweet peppers. The wings were huge, meaty, and a bit undercooked. Also, the sauce on the wings had very little flavor. I've seen some photos of their wings on other sites and they looked much better. I'm wondering if their late afternoon cook either doesn't care or just can't follow simple recipes and cook times.

In summary, I like the ambience, service, outdoor seating, and beer list. While I can't recommend the food, I will say that the portions were huge. We spent $14 on appetizers ( I'm a big guy) and there's no way the two of us could eat all of it.

I'm willing to give the kitchen one more try, though I will only order a single appetizer in the future. I still feel like my stomach is full of grease three...

Convoluted ordering process made ok with great food.

I've been trying to be really sympathetic with businesses as they struggle with covid (this is the first less than 5 star review I've left for a business since the covid outbreak). My first time coming in here and ordering was kind of a nightmare. All food and drinks have to be ordered on a mobile device and paid for with a credit card. Was that really necessary? That meant I had to help my friend install a QR code reader and then we had to reinstall it because she instinctively blocked permissions to the camera. So right there you will have zero customers over 50, is that what you want? Tips are forced even though the wait staff is only doing 1/3rd of their job (ok I get it the covid world is a nightmare). So it took 25 mins to get our first order in. Then every time you order another drink you have to get your credit card out again and put it into your phone, which quite frankly meant I spent 1/3rd as much money and drank 1/3rd of what I normally would.

Have questions about menu items (can I get this vegetarian without bacon?)? There's no way to ask questions unless you catch someone passing by. They made one mistake on my order (no big deal, they fixed it) and I made one different mistake entering my order, accidentally got the wrong drink, no big deal.

I'm a covid stickler and I'm glad they are being safe but this was just too much. If you're not going to serve tables don't make a tip compulsory. Also prices were high. Also the 40-ish white male doing seating was just a touch rude. Sorry you're stressed out buddy, hang in there.

I give management props for trying but forcing orders through mobile devices seemed like a surprisingly stupid blunder. One friend didn't have a QR reader and couldn't get it to work, another didn't have a credit card and had to venmo me to pay for her order. ...