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 BEST
EXAMPLE OF MARXISM AT WORK
When one writer reviewed Cafe Marx (2251 N Interstate
Ave., 284-5629) for WW's Blue Plate guide to cheap
eating, a colleague joked, "Find out whether the workers
control the means of production." After one visit to the
boxy diner, which sits alone on a desolate stretch of North
Interstate Avenue, it was clear that the staff here acts
more like co-owners than 'droids--they're far too cheery
to be working for The Man. Not surprisingly, owner Mark
Lewis doubles as a waiter. And the restaurant's hours--6:30
am to 1:30 pm-ish Monday through Friday and 8-11:30 am or
so on Saturdays--encourage worker satisfaction. Additionally,
by writing out the menus on brown paper bags, Cafe Marx
is clearly committed to maximizing the productivity of its
materials. Full-bodied French toast, meatloaf like Mama's
and brawny halibut fish and chips come at proletarian prices.
Combining the effort and efficiency Karl advocated with
the winking zingers Groucho delivered, the work force at
Cafe Marx justifies the diner's name.
BEST
NEW COFFEEHOUSE THAT LOOKS LIKE STARBUCKS BUT SERVES BETTER
JOE
From the outside, you might mistake World
Cup Coffee and Tea (1740 NW Glisan St., 228-5513) for
a Starbucks. But one peek at the elegant interior dissolves
that comparison. The immediately noticeable difference is
local artist Jere Harley's glorious murals depicting jungle
animals enjoying mugs of coffee (cheeky, but oddly transfixing).
The second clue that you're someplace special is the perfect,
rich Americanos--the first ones in town to surpass Torrefazione's.
Owner Dan Welch opened shop June 1, expanding the World
Cup business (which had distributed its small-batch java
primarily to offices) to a retail space. Welch and manager
Melanie Templeman are utterly reverent when it comes to
coffee and tea. Welch says he chooses only top-grade beans
from the growing countries: "It's a long, methodical process.
It took many years to find out what we like best." They've
found it, and we like it, too.
 BEST
DOWN-HOME LAUNDROMAT AND DANNY GLOVER HAUNT
It's not every laundromat that spikes the spin
cycle with top-notch fried okra and mouth-watering plates
of gravy-soaked oxtails. Businesses across the nation have
begun to add attractions such as tanning booths and bars
to their washers and dryers in order to make doing the laundry
more fun, but RD & EK Soup and Soap (4236 N Mississippi
St., 281-3926) may be the world's first combination soul-food
restaurant and laundromat. From cheese grits and biscuits
at breakfast to crispy-fried catfish and savory barbecued
pork ribs at lunch, owners Ella and Richard Sevier will
make sure your stomach is as full as your laundry basket.
A load of wash and a meal costs under $10, and you might
even see new Portlander Danny Glover there. Although his
Dunthorpe mansion surely has washer and dryer hookups, the
Lethal Weapon star has already made Soup and Soap
his preferred stop for collard greens and cornbread.
BEST
RESTAURANT THAT KEEPS IT
IN THE FAMILY
When Roger Swygart and his partner, Terry Kirk,
opened the Daydream Cafe (1740 SE Hawthorne Blvd.,
233-4244) a little over a year ago, they probably weren't
aiming for national acclaim. Indeed, in addition to its
organic-based menu of breakfasts and lunches, the Daydream
keeps it way, way down-home by following that old blood-is-thicker-than-water
axiom. Swygart's mom, Kathy, can be found waiting tables,
as can his sister Kaylee Bond. Long-time friends hold down
other positions--all in all, it's just as cozy as could
be. How refreshing, then, that this tight little crew should
be honored with a rave in a national rag. Girlfriends,
a slick magazine aimed at lesbians, recently proclaimed
the Daydream to be one of the 10 best restaurants in the
whole country. "It was really cool, because most of the
other places were these big, huge, established lesbian restaurants,
and there we are at No. 10," Swygart says. Just goes to
show that the family that slings hash together, succeeds
together. Or something like that.
BEST
TALKING BAG
Since September 1998, no Nature's shopper
should ever be bored on the busride home. The organic grocery
chain's sturdy, brown paper sacks couple photos, such asthe
one of the anonymous woman farming celery, with fast-facts
about rural communities, water protection and the benefits
of raising children on an organic diet. Quick scare for
parents: "By age one, the average child has been exposed
to more risk of cancer from pesticides than the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) says she should get over her entire
life." In order to infuse the bag with a "community approach,"
in-house graphic designer Michelle Zobeck and her crew searched
through photos in the archives at the Oregon Historical
Society.
BEST
DMV
Imagine a place where getting your driver's license
doesn't take all day, where government employees serve you
in a friendly and efficient manner, where you can register
your vehicle during a lunch break--and still have time to
eat. Some would call it utopia--we call it the Northeast
Portland DMV (1836 NE 82nd Ave., 299-9999, 8 am-5 pm
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; 8:30 am-5 pm Wednesdays).
This place runs like a well-oiled machine. Transportation
Service Representative Edward Muliro mans the information
specialist booth, directing customers the minute they walk
in the door. He doesn't tolerate hourlong queues; 15 minutes
is the average wait time from grabbing a number to being
helped at one of the nine customer-service stations. The
employees move swiftly, smiling all the while. The ambience,
too, is a refreshing departure from the glum vibe at most
DMVs. Hanging faux greenery, a palm tree, new blue carpet
and mid-tempo Muzak make your brief visit almost enjoyable.
BEST
WAY TO GO ORGANIC WITHOUT
GOING ANYWHERE
Finally, a service that allows you to be organically
correct and gloriously lazy. For those short on time and
long on environmental conscience, there's Organic Harvest
Home Delivery Co. (963-9272), a local business with
about 230 customers that buys organic produce from wholesalers,
then delivers it to your home. A $20 basket is stocked with
a variety of fruit and vegetables that will cut your shopping
at least in half, while a $35 family-size basket is doubly
large and includes three extra specialty items, such as
grapes, cucumbers and cauliflower. Organic Harvest also
offers fruit- or veggie-only ensembles for $20, and unlike
subscription farms, this operation doesn't require long-term
commitment.
 BEST
PLACE TO SPOT A TREND
Ten years ago no one thought gas-station attendants
would be setting fashion trends, but in this decade big
black shoes, wallet chains and shirts embroidered with some
other guy's name have become de rigueur among hipsters.
Now Nasser Salehi, the owner of the Canyon Road Shell
& Service Center (11520 SW Canyon Road, Beaverton,
646-6106), has reversed the trend by requiring his staff
to don slacks, dress shirts and ties. "I like to keep my
place clean, presentable and noticeable--my employees, as
well," Salehi says. "The more clean-cut and neat you are,
that makes a difference." His customers like it, but only
time will tell whether rock stars will follow suit, so to
speak.
BEST
SUBSTITUTE FOR SQUARE PEG
Few Portland restaurants can compete with the
late Square Peg, which closed almost exactly a year ago.
But if Square Peg was Paris, Holden's (1338 NW Hoyt
St., 916-0099) is at least Milan. Food-wise, Holden's, which
shares a kitchen with Bima and is run by the same proprietors,
offers nothing quite as satisfying as Square Peg's creamy
roasted tomato soup, grilled-steak sandwiches or poached
salmon. But for a European, open-air lunch, Holden's is,
well, the best. Glass garage doors open onto sidewalk dining;
the back booths are out of the sun and rain but perfectly
situated for a bit of breeze. The cafe serves a wide selection
of bagels, salads and sandwiches, with variations such as
a chipotle BLT on sourdough ($5), grilled portobella mushroom
and smoked mozzarella panini ($6), and a spinach salad with
bourbon-brown sugar dressing ($4). Torrefazione coffee is
on tap; beer, Gatorade and fruit salad are in the cooler.
Holden's is open daily for breakfast and lunch.
BEST
SIGN OF CHANGE
Opened on May 28, Nature's Fresh Northwest
on East Burnside (2825 E Burnside St., 232-6601) holds
true to its name. The mahogany, organic decor, which reflects
the earthy merchandise, lets you temporarily forget you're
in a grocery store. While perusing a wide array of rustic,
hygienic products such as a green clay deodorant stick,
shoppers can brood over the philosophy of food with posted
quotes like this one from Talmud Shebbata: "Chew Well with
Your Teeth and You Feel It in Your Toes." The only quotes
at the old, downtrodden Food Valu were blaring sale signs:
"2 For 1 Van de Kamps!" In addition to providing literal
food for thought, these quotes also tend to seduce one into
buying. Consider D.H. Lawrence on pasta: "Italy is so tender--like
cooked macaroni--yards and yards of soft tenderness raveled
around everything."
BEST
THRIFT STORE RENOVATION
Finally, there's decent thrifting closer in than
Southeast 82nd Avenue. Secondhand-heavy Value Village
revamped the spacious, run-down Hollywood Building (4420
NE Hancock St., 493-2411), formerly occupied by the Bargain
Station, and reopened April 8. The racks in the Station
rarely turned up gems, but we found treasures on each of
three recent visits to the renovated store: a pair of Frye
boots for $12.99, a black Champion sweatsuit for $3, an
Old Navy sweater for $2.99 and a file cabinet for $10. Not
only is the quality of the new merch higher, but there's
more of it. The goods are also well-organized by category,
size and color.
BEST
LIFT FOR WOMEN IN NEED
When we consider the needs of those living in
shelters, we immediately think of essentials--food, winter
jackets, blankets. But what about lingerie? After a domestic-violence
incident hit close to home for an employee at Jane's Vanity
(521 SW Broadway, 241-3860), the staff at that boutique
and its sister branch Jane's Obsession (728 NW 23rd Ave.,
221-1490) became brutally aware of the epidemic. When it
came time to take inventory this year, owner Jane Van Duinen
and company set aside hosiery, bodysuits, satin bras
and lacy underwear that hadn't sold or was out of date,
and donated the luxurious stash just last week to the Bradley-Angle
House. The haul had an estimated retail value of $20,000.
The company may try to do two annual inventories in the
future and continue this thoughtful practice.
BEST
SEVVY
This is not your little brother's convenience
store. The 7-Eleven at 30 SW Arthur Street near the
Lair Hill neighborhood raises the bar for corn-dog and beer-run
quick stops everywhere. First of all, from the parking lot
to the bathroom, the store is uncharacteristically clean.
The building is brick, as mandated by the neighborhood association
when it was built 12 years ago. But it is the little details
enforced by original owner Hossein Taiby that make it truly
special. Forget about moist Wonder Bread and slimy turkey.
Bakery sandwiches and salads (including veggie and turkey
pesto) are delivered daily. Then there is the wine selection,
which is noticeably larger (Taiby says 85 percent larger)
than that at any other 7-Eleven in the city, and the homemade
baklava sold at discount prices ($1.19). And when it comes
to the products we really go to Sevvies for, Taiby puts
freshness first. Copenhagen chewing tobacco shipments are
ordered weekly, and all unsold stock is sent back after
seven days. As Taiby says, "The customers can tell."
BEST
GROCERY STAFF AS SOCIAL WORKERS
If you want to see humanity at its best, check out
the employees at the Safeway on the corner of Southwest
10th Avenue and Jefferson Street. Watching them at work
is heartwarming. It's here that business people mingle at
the salad bar with dancers from Oregon Ballet Theater, while
suburban commuters rush in to pick up a bottle of Chardonnay
on their way home to Beaverton. But more important than
that, this store is the lifeblood of dozens of low-income
housing residents in the area, many of them elderly or infirm.
From the baggers to the managers, these Safeway employees
shine when they deal with their clientele. No matter how
demanding, lost or addled the customers may be, the staff
is infinitely patient and kind. Store manager Mark Keepes
won't take much credit for his crew. He says the 90 people
who work for him love the diversity of working downtown
and wouldn't trade it for a post in a gleaming suburban
superstore.
BEST
CONTINUATION OF A PORTLAND EPIDEMIC
Does any other city in America have so many "cleverly"
named businesses? Move over Let it Bead, Typhoon!, Hard
Times and Timberline Dodge, the winner of this year's name
game is...Edible Complex. The lunch spot at 555 SW
Oak St., 225-1714, complements an original name with original
food, offsetting the usual soups and salads with a terrific
bento and wrap menu. You pick the combo, the size and whether
you want your dish served in a tortilla or on a bed of rice.
Two particularly good ones are the Jamaican--chicken, black
beans, rum-glazed yams, green onion, lime and jerk sauce--and
the Hawaiian--won tons, spinach, bean sprouts and pineapple
with teriyaki sauce. Prices range from $2.95 to $5.75.
 BEST
IN-THE-KNOW STAFF
Funny, it doesn't look cutting-edge; it looks
like a warehouse full of junk. And it is, in a buried-treasure
sort of way. Hippo Hardware & Trading Co. (1040
E Burnside St., 231-1444) is the original, uncensored bastion
of home restoration in Portland. The quirky originals who
staff the plumbing, lighting, hardware, door and window
frame departments can sift through the debris and find that
authentic kitchen faucet for your 1925 bungalow and
give you the skinny on the soon-to-be-hottest new dinner
venue or nightspot--because the owners of said nightspot
just cleaned them out of amber light fixtures or some other
soon-to-be-expensive items. A trip to Hippo can be grubby,
exhilarating, disappointing and strange, but it's guaranteed
be a pure Portland experience.
BEST
WAY TO EARN YOUR WHEELS
Perhaps best-known for its support of the Yellow Bikes Program,
which has garnered Portland global notoriety as a socialist
utopia, the Community Cycling Center (2407 NE Alberta St.,
288-8864) provides perhaps its most impressive service to
young riders. Calling itself a "bicycle repair and riding
school for kids," staff, the center's Learn-A-Bike
program teaches kids ages 8-13 basic mechanical and diagnostic
skills, as well as how to ride safely and prevent bike theft.
Students and trained volunteers repair donated bicycles
and parts to sell and distribute to community organizations.
By program's end, participants have earned the bike they've
worked on, along with helmet and lock. The center also teaches
kids defensive riding through an intensive two-week Riding
Club and a Bike Buddies program modeled along the lines
of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters tradition. Several teens
are hired each summer to work with kids in the riding school
while learning both the business and mechanical aspects
of running a bike shop. This nonprofit organization provides
yet another shining example of Portland's positive, proactive
approach to encouraging sustainable means of transportation.
BEST
PLACE FOR TECHNOPHOBES
Even in our increasingly Webbed world, we handle
paper all day long--newsprint, typing, glossy, napkins,
etc. And while we may guiltily ponder all the trees that
die for our convenience, we don't often consider the process
of making paper. At Oblation Papers & Press (516
NW 12th Ave., 223-1093), paper making is something beautiful
to behold. The shop itself, which opened last October, is
gorgeously appointed with antique cases housing fountain
pens and stationery, but it's the 100-year-old, manually
fed printing presses and letter-press machines that are
most striking. The print studio is separated from the retail
floor by large glass windows, allowing shoppers and First
Thursday amblers to observe the action. Most can't resist
actually entering the studio for a closer look. Jennifer
Rich, who owns the business with her husband, Ron, reports
that people are taken with the old-fashioned method of printing
pages one at a time. The Riches employ antiquated equipment
because it accommodates the thick, handmade paper--such
as Oblation's trademark sheets containing fresh flower petals--used
for invitations and announcements. Ms. Rich concedes that
the presses are crotchety, requiring frequent adjustment--but
then, that's part of their charm.
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Willamette Week | originally
published July 21, 1999
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