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A sale of discounted frozen dry-aged steaks from RingSide Steakhouse backed up traffic on West Burnside Street for blocks on April 25. Portland police officers directed traffic and dealt with irate customers. "Do you think this is a police issue, about who cut a line outside a steak restaurant? No," an officer said. "We could solve the problem and just get it shut down, and then nobody gets steaks." Here's what WW readers had to say:
Adriana Cano, via Twitter: "Hindsight is amazing. There was no other way this was going to go. The line of people outside of Lardo has been long, and that's just people standing. They made people stay in cars, and police had to waste their time organizing it for them at taxpayer expense."
Sheila Pow, via Facebook: "Fine the restaurant for creating a public nuisance. If they can advertise a sale, they can list the menu and prices in the ad, pay a grunt to write down orders, and sling the package out the door and into the car at the appointed time. Like EVERY OTHER RESTAURANT IN THE USA figured out weeks ago."
PDXBill, via wweek.com: "Great article on human dysfunction during a crisis. Sad that it happened in Portland. As they were waiting in line for $34 steaks, I wonder how many homeless were ignored."
McClelland, via wweek.com: "I'm a tad surprised that we have no uproar from some folks about the environmental impact of those cars lined up for steaks. Unless those in line are the ones that usually complain of such things."
Darian Ralstin, via Facebook: "So as a person who lives in this neighborhood, I was in this line and not because I wanted frozen steak but because I was on Burnside and needed to be in the right lane and didn't realize the traffic buildup was steak-related! Why RingSide wouldn't do this on 22nd, a side road, instead of Burnside made me want to tear my hair out. Half of these people don't realize they are in a 'line.' It's a lane of traffic!"
John Hipes, via Facebook: "Talk about separation of classes. Some are waiting in lines for free food boxes, others waiting in line to buy hundreds of dollars in steaks. Crazy the irony!"
Anastasia Beaverhausen, via wweek.com: "At least with this, the city's reputation will be repaired slightly from that awful 'run on kale' publicity a while back."
Crystal Rustad, via Facebook: "A restaurant finally finds a way to make money during this pandemic when 80% of their workers (in the industry) have had to be laid off and we can't give them a day or two to earn some money for their employees? I'm sure they can come up with a better process with this brilliant feedback from the Portland Police Bureau."
Mindy Montgomery, via Twitter: "I hope RingSide gives the officers some steaks."
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