PLS on Sixth — Restaurant in Portland

We made reservations for seven on the Fourth of July, which turned out to be as necessary as an ashtray on a motorcycle. The place was nearly empty. That's not always a bad omen. Empty can mean peace. It can mean solitude. In this case, it mostly meant the staff had no excuse to be so slow.

The place is pleasant enough. Fire pits flickered in the courtyard like the last stubborn lights of a dying universe. There were a few 80s and 90s arcade games humming their low-tech lullabies near the front. Everything was clean. I appreciate clean. Clean means someone still cares.

I ordered the chicken sandwich. It had pepper-jack cheese from Tillamook, pickled onions that were trying their best, a spinach leaf or two doing a little backstroke in a sun-dried tomato aioli. The sourdough was toasted. The sandwich was perfectly sufficient. The fries were fine in the way that a polite Midwestern conversation is fine.

One of our group has a basil allergy. She ordered the Love & Soul Burger with no basil aioli. It arrived with basil aioli. The server asked if the kitchen could just scrape it off. Scrape it off. As if allergens were emotional wounds or jelly from a kid's sandwich. A refire was requested. The server sighed like we'd just asked him to rewrite the Magna Carta.

Speaking of our server. A man of limited patience and zero visible sense of humor. When someone in our group asked if the mushroom burger had mushrooms, he blinked like a fax machine receiving bad news. She was trying to determine if the patty itself was a mushroom or if there were simply mushrooms on the burger. We found the ludicrousness of the conversation hysterical. He was not interested in the nuance.

Still, he did redeem himself in a small and human way. He suggested we walk a few blocks to see the fireworks from the Hawthorne Bridge. He was right. It was a lovely view. That earns him an extra star. Sometimes kindness is as simple as pointing someone toward a better sky.

In conclusion, PLS on 6th is a decent spot if you are staying at the Hotel Zags and want something close, quiet, and just fine. The prices are reasonable. The food is solid. The service is something else. Whether that something is charming or exasperating depends on how long you've been waiting...

We had dinner with friends at Zags on a slow early Sunday evening, so we were surprised the kitchen was soooo slow! We waited around 40 minutes for our entrees, and two meals were later. We insisted our friends eat while the food was warm. Their comment was the fries were the best part of the meal. Our meals arrived, with Salmon hammered into leather. My pasta primavera, the name means fresh vegetables, usually spring veggies like asparagus, peas, carrots, and tomatoes are features. This fettuccine was covered with briny cocktail onions, pickled capers, canned mushrooms and artichokes. Due to all the pickled veggies, the dish was inedible, salty and almost funny. The taste of the cocktail onions was the only flavor profile, with vinegar and salt… and several of our party agreed it was inedible. I had heard good things about Zags, so was surprised at the terrible food. Maybe a new chef or staff no-showed? But really, don’t order the primavera, it isn’t primavera at all, or Salmon, or burgers. At least, based on Sunday nights. The stars here are for Josh, who was swamped with tables by the time we left, clearly understaffed in the front of the house. Josh was friendly, helpful, and apologized, saying there were only two folks in the kitchen. Management,...

I dined here as I was staying at the hotel and had a long day of traveling so wanted something convenient. Unfortunately the food was tasteless and the service non existent. I believe they were understaffed as it appeared there were only two servers working the whole restaurant including the outside patio (which is lovely). The servers literally had sweat pouring down their faces. I had the happy hour Caesar salad and a Margherita pizza. The salad was edible but the pizza was really bad. Oily with no flavour and looked like they had blasted one coin-sized area with dried oregano. I also ordered a glass of wine but it never arrived. I had to get up from my table and walk to the bar to ask for a glass of water. Again, I think the servers were being run off their feet, so I don’t completely blame them. I’ll note my stay at the...