Oregon is home to a lot of restaurants, bars, wineries, and breweries, but there are tons of hidden gems that the majority of Portlanders just aren't unearthing. To help guide us to these potential discoveries, we've enlisted some of our city's many food luminaries to share their under-the-radar recommendations for a weekly feature dubbed Dining Confidential.
In her younger life, Byways Cafe chef Collin McFadyen would start her day at 5a.m., slam out eggs and hash until 3p.m., then go hit the nastiest local dive bar for whiskey, beer, and pinball... usually sopped up with a greasy cheeseburger and fries before heading home for the night. Twenty years later, she still wants that post-work whiskey/beer/burger time-out, and gets it at the Florida Room.
Why I love the Florida Room Reason #1: Great staff. They know my drink, remember my food, and generally leave me alone with my Sunday New York Times crossword.Why I love the Florida Room Reason #2: Beef sliders. I normally don't eat burgers, but the sliders here seem extra homemade, like cute little meatballs on soft buns with a varying mayo/pickle/onion garnish. The 25-year-old me would get'em with tots, but the 45-year-old me loves the salad with Champagne vinaigrette.
The Florida Room is the best place to get your dive bar on without getting so divey you can't hold your own in the kitchen the next morning. Seriously, one of the accomplishments I'm most proud of was being "Customer of the Month," meaning I got to be quoted on the outdoor sign, starting with "Collin says..."
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Image of the Florida Room courtesy Facebook
