An example of Dinner at Hayden's
An example of Dinner at Hayden's
November 6th, 2004
We held our regular Tribal Meeting at Hayden's Lakefront Grill tonight. Only two of our tribe had been there before, so most people circled the area looking for some sign of the place. I got two phone calls wondering where the hell it was! The funny thing was, as soon as they found a seat, ordered an appetizer or two, and had their prescribed tonics, the talk of Hayden's camouflaged facade was quickly turned into the usual yammerings, none of which was targeted on how bad the food was.
I can only say that if you want elegance, large amounts, volumes of taste, and whatever kind of drink you can imagine, you should not pass up the chance to visit Hayden's. I'm only sorry that we had not gone there earlier in the summer, as the outdoor patio has plenty of seating, and looks over the Commons Lake, a small duck visited body of water in the midst of three story buildings and the high traffic of the Tualatin-Sherwood corridor.
The happy hour prices are very reasonable, with a dollar off the price of draft pints, and 2 and 3 dollar appetizer plates. Some are priced a bit higher, but worth the extra cost. I ordered mini taquitos, coconut shrimp, potato tots, and fondue. Some people ordered salads, or hamburgers. Everyone was surprised at the amount of food they got, and the presentations of the appetizer plates were straight out of the culinary art schools extra credit assignment list! Everything looked great, tasted great, and was priced right! Even the service was terrific, with every waitress friendly, attentive, and our waitress came complete with total recall, and a sense of humor to boot.
When I'd digested a few tater tots, and had a chance to look around, I noticed that our table was smack dab against the two man band stage. You know what I mean. The small area set aside in nearly all hotel bars that can accommodate two people, their monkey, a few loud and obnoxious bull horn sounding speakers, and the myriad of carnival music instruments found on today's traveling troubadour.
I also noticed that some people in the bar were ordering dinner. I had noticed the lobster tank in the lobby, but everything looks big underwater. You know the trick. You order your lobster along with steak from the menu, and hopes it looks half as good as it does in the picture. Price = usually something around 30 bucks for market priced lobster in this area. Hayden's had it priced at $20, and oh my god, it was as big as a Mexican dinner platter, and the rest of your dinner came on separate plates! I made a note right then to come back for dinner. I hadn't seen a lobster THAT big since my visit to the Fish House restaurant near Boston Commons some 25 years ago...
About that time, the artists of the evening showed up. Funny thing was that they weren't wearing polyester, wide necked shirts or tight flowing dresses. These guys were just plain folk, only distinguishable from the crowd by their two guitars, and the professional looking amplifiers and stand up speakers and microphones. I kept looking for the monkey, but it nor the organ never showed up. The waitresses started getting excited, and I noticed the crowd had swelled a bit, and people were pulling their chairs around in order to get a better view of the small stage. So I moved around the other side of our table, and was pleasantly surprised to witness for the next two hours, ONE set of some of the best guitar playing and singing I had heard in a long time. These guys played a few medleys of music known to most people, put together one song after another, but most of the single songs they played were original renditions of songs written by them.
These two guys were professionals. Wouldn't you know it? The food wasn't the only thing done by an expert. Hayden's went the extra mile and pulled two of the Portland's music scene's best guitar players away from the better known venue's just to make sure your appetizers and lobster had the best chance of digesting. Mine did.
The only low note worth mentioning here was that some of our group had to fend for themselves at a table a bit away from the main group. In the future, getting an early jump on the area away from the exit door would be the best bet to accommodate everyone at one set of tables.
Submitted by: Recon