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Disclaimer: I was invited by Aviary to try out their Happy Hour drinks and food items with other bloggers free of charge. I was not otherwise compensated.

Aviary Happy Hour Drinks
Opera Sidecar— Clear Creek Pear Brandy, Tuaca, and House Sour

I had heard about Aviary Restaurant from a few of my foodie friends, but hadn’t ventured out to the SE restaurant until this past week. I’m sort of kicking myself for not trying it sooner. It was seriously amazing.

I brought my DSLR to take amazing photos. But, when I got it out to shoot it flashed the dreaded, “No CF Card” message at me. Of course. So, I iPhoned it the entire night. I did manage to catch a couple of beautiful photos…however, if you wanna go check out some really amazing photos of this event then check out my friend Michelle’s Hummingbird High post about the event.

Portland Happy Hour at Aviary Restaurant

OMG Oysters!
I’ve been craving Oysters for so long. I ate three of them by myself at Aviary. I want more.
Pig Feet Done Right
Pig trotters with egg. I didn’t even listen when they told me that it was pig trotters. I just ate… and, I’m glad I did. They were delish!

 

Happy Hour Food from Aviary
These Pork Sliders had a Banh Mi taste too them. SO GOOD.

The food and drinks at Aviary were filled with complex flavors, prepared in a simple and delicious fashion. I even ate pig feet and loved it (still happy I didn’t know what it was before I tried it!) We enjoyed several of the Aviary Happy Hour menu items including: kusshi oysters, tempura green beans, pulled pork sliders, brussels sprout nachos (OMG—why have I never made this at home!?), trotter n eggs, and bread and bagna cauda. So good. You could totally see the references to Japanese and Korean food in the menu. But, it was completely its own style of food. The Happy Hour food prices range from $2 to $6. I didn’t try one thing that I didn’t like (though, admittedly, I don’t meet many foods I don’t enjoy.) My favorites were the oysters (a little bit of spice!) and the brussels sprout nachos.

Cocktail from Aviary Happy Hour
milkplus vellocet
cantaloupe, nigori sake, lemon hart 151 rum, lime, mint
Happy Hour Cocktail from Aviary PDX
This tasty cocktail, Pinkerton, was made with cazadores reposado tequila, grapefruit, chardonnay, and white soda.

The only bad thing about going to a cocktail party is that I want to try as many different cocktails as possible, but I also want to remain a responsible person and not get sloshed at the dinner table. Thankfully for me, many of the food bloggers weren’t too worried about germs and were very generous in allowing sample sips. I was able to really taste several different cocktails! Coming from a bar background I have to say that I was incredibly impressed with the quality ingredients and beautiful preparation of each of the drinks that I tried. The drinks that I tried include: pinkerton, one night in bangkok, high and low, milkplus vellocet, brix layer, and the opera sidecar. All of them were delicious. Drink prices range from $9 to $10— which is common for the quality ingredients and large pours.

While at Aviary barman Russ Hunsinger shared with us how he came up with and makes the Brix Layer cocktail. I’ll be back tomorrow to share with you some of his tips and how he made this brilliant drink.

Happy Hour at Aviary Cocktails
The one night in bangkok cocktail is made with monopolowa vodka, kafir leaves, lemongrass, lime. It tasted like an incredibly complicated (and delicious) lemon drop. Great for people who like sweeter cocktails.

My favorite moment of the night was when Natalie (of Twelfth Avenue) asked Russ (the bartender) the name of her drink? The conversation went something like this:

Natalie: “What was this one again? One night in Bangkok? Or nights in bangkok? 

Russ: “For you, it can be as many nights as you want.”

Laughter ensued.

Give me more…

Check out the Aviary Restaurant for more information about their business hours, location, and menu. A big thank you to Aviary for inviting me out to try Happy Hour and teaching me to make the Brix Layer!

Check out these awesome blogs whose bloggers joined me in Happy Hour at Aviary: 

What is the BEST cocktail you’ve ever tried?