Mojo Crepes

Venue: Mojo Crepes

Location visited: 8409 SE Division Street, Suite A

Portland, OR 97266

Website: http://www.mojocrepes.com

To Visit? Treat yourself.

                          Summer is here! This means that  studies are finally only taking up half of my life.  It also means more time for food adventures :) Beloved followers would recognize in an instant that the above crepe holding character is actually Mojo, been said to be the scientifically gigantasized monkey (tail not pictured), who introduced a wonderful Japanese street vendor style of crepes to our green town of Portland.  Here at Mojo Crepes, one can relax, talk, play a few round of board games, run into friends, and snap a picture for the fan wall. You can do this all while enjoying a tasty dessert crepe made to your liking. Beginners can choose from the pre-made menu basics such as the Mojo (strawberries, bannana, and nutella), Sweet Lemon (lemon, sugar, butter), or Tokyo Sundae (sweet red bean paste, mangos, and matcha sauce). These delicious desserts can be ordered with ice cream, and then wrapped up in hand rolled cones, topped with a pocky stick. Adventurous eaters may mix match their own combos or try other combos frequently innovated by the folks who run the place and their loyal fans.  Just want something chill for the weather? Try the newly added Mojo Ice (Taiwanese Shaved Ice) on the menu with toppings sure to bring out the kid inside ( I'm talking Captain Crunch and Crushed Oreos). So before you head out on your summer adventures, don on some shades, slather the sunblock, and grab some crepes with Mojo!

Ohana!

Venue: Ohana Hawaiian Cafe
Location visited: 6320 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR.
Website: http://www.ohanahawaiiancafe.com
To Visit? It's like visiting family :)

Gracefully light, delightfully refreshing, bursting of flavor, and a neon highlighter yellow. I'm talking about the Pineapple Shaved Ice at Ohana Hawaiian Cafe. The shaved ice here also comes in a viriety of flavors, some even in low-sugar. Don't let the colors intimidate you. The radioactive looking dessert packs flavor in this laid back environment. Here is where orange colored walls surround tables centered with cute pineappl- shaped salt and pepper shakers with choices of regular or low sodium soy sauce bottles.

Alternatives and choices are no problem since the menu boasts of combos featuring chicken, ribs, beef, tofu, and more with a side of rice or noodles, and salad (great light vinegrette dressing) or mac salad (light and not at all bland)! Did I mention the ribs, among other things don't just come in the commonly served teriyaki sauce?

Ohana offers an alternative seasoning to the usual beloved dishes: a mixed rubbing of sea salt, garlic, and ginger. The Short Ribs I tried were seasoned just perfectly and not dried from over grilling. And it's not home on the island without spam. The Spam Musubi is a grilled teriyaki glazed spam on a rice cube wrapped with nori (seaweed). It's not a bad dish to try if you're a noobie wanting to try it once and for all, or an old time spam lover. It's a slight shame that the rice here is a bit more on the sticky side. That and their Ohana Ice Tea, though donning great flavor, is overly sweet it tastes like it came straight out of a clover honney bear bottle. Shocked sweet taste buds aside, fish dishes and tofu steaks are also available if you happen to not be feeling so carnivorous on any given day, though the Kalua Pig and Teriyaki meats definitely deliver to your taste buds. Their special menu also provides for tropical desserts (Guava Chiffon Pie and Coconut Cake) leaving you with a feeling of blissful fullness. Aloha Ohana!