Because of Portland Dining month and meeting someone after they got off the Amtrak, Trader Vic's was a stop for dinner one evening in June. As my previous two visits, the drinks were delicious and tasted like there was no alcohol but do pack a punch while tasting like punch. This time, instead of the Menehune or Mai Tai, I tried out the Potted Parrot, a fruity concoction that allowed me to take the parrot on a chopstick home to hang out with my Menehune couple.
For appetizers, I selected the Crab Rangoon with Blue crab, spiced cream cheese, crisp wonton wrapper... the wonton wrapper was not very crispy, and it was more cream cheese than crab. The Edamame Humus are served with house-made lavash crackers, chili oil and daikon sprouts, and was a stand out only because those crackers are wonderfully seedy, the hummus had little flavor. But, you can also get those crackers, along with peanut butter, as part of Trader Vic's "bread service".
The entree was a beautiful looking in presentation but overcooked Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi with ginger citrus beurre blanc, some thin grilled asparagus, and wasabi mashed potatoes that promised with its color but didn't deliver with flavor. It's a good thing the June Dining month deal was for the appetizer, entree, and dessert for $25... usually this entree alone is $24, and I would have been upset. The dessert was a servicable Snowball - Vanilla bean ice cream, toasted coconut, house-made chocolate sauce, and the other entree was the Vegetarian Curry, which the best part was the rice (served separately) and the accompaniment of more of those seeds that are used on the lavash crackers on the side.
Still, the drinks are fun, and the bartendress very friendly and fast in servicing all those around on the bar. Check out the happy hour here- the best food I've had so far is still their shrimp, which is available on their happy hour menu, and that's probably the menu you'll want to use if you want any nibbles at all that are worth the price. There are plenty of other places to eat in the Pearl, so this could be a good warm-up before that better meal for your dollar some place else- soak up the laid back atmosphere and the tiki drinks, pretending you're in a tropical kitschy place... and then move onward in your adventures... or probably misadventures, the way these drinks can sneak up on you.
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