Lovely Hula Hands was a restaurant in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, operating from 2003 to 2009.

Description and history

The restaurant opened in 2003. ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' Grant Butler said the original Lovely Hula Hands operated from a "painted-pink Old Portland saltbox house" (938 North Cook Street), serving

Pacific Northwest cuisine Pacific Northwest cuisine is a North American cuisine of the states of Oregon, Washington and Alaska, as well as the province of British Columbia and the southern portion of the territory of Yukon, reflecting the ethnic makeup of the region, ...

representative of the neighborhood's "funkiness". The menu included salt-and-pepper

calamari Squid is eaten in many cuisines; in English, the culinary name calamari is often used for squid dishes.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd edition, 2002''s.v.''/ref> There are many ways to prepare and cook squid. Fried squid is common in the Me ...

, pan-roasted chicken with mashed potatoes, and a Thai

flat iron steak Flat iron steak (US), butlers' steak (UK), feather blade steak (UK) or oyster blade steak (Australia and New Zealand) is a cut of steak cut with the grain from the Chuck steak, chuck, or shoulder of the animal. The cut This cut of steak is fro ...

with

sticky rice Glutinous rice (''Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose ...

. The

pork chop A pork chop, like other meat chops, is a loin cut taken perpendicular to the spine of the pig and is usually a rib or part of a vertebra. Pork chops are unprocessed and leaner than other cuts. Chops are commonly served as an individual portio ...

had

chipotle A chipotle (, ; ), or ''chilpotle'', is a smoking (food), smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican cuisine, Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex cuisine, Tex-Mex and So ...

barbecue sauce with

succotash Succotash (from Narragansett ''sahquttahhash'', "broken corn kernels") is a vegetable dish consisting primarily of sweet corn with lima beans or other shell beans. Other ingredients may be added, such as onions, potatoes, turnips, tomatoes, b ...

. The restaurant debuted a new location (4057 North Mississippi Avenue), chef (Troy MacLarty), and menu in November 2006. According to ''The Oregonian'' Michael Russell, the menu " hiftedfrom comforting

Asian fusion Fusion cuisine is cuisine that combines elements of different culinary traditions that originate from different countries, regions, or cultures. They can occur naturally and become aspects of culturally relevant cuisines, or they can be part of ...

to riskier seasonal fare" and MacLarty "was as known for his seasonal salads as he would later become known for his frequent change of kitchen". MacLarty worked on a

Sauvie Island Sauvie Island, in the U.S. state of Oregon, originally Wapato Island or Wappatoo Island, is the largest island along the Columbia River, at , and one of the largest river islands in the United States. It lies approximately ten miles northwest of ...

farm one day per week, growing and harvesting ingredients to use at the restaurant. In December 2009, owners

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

and Jane Minnick confirmed plans to close on New Year's Eve. Lovely Hula Hands has been called a "parent" to Lovely's Fifty Fifty.

Reception

In 2007, David Hochman of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said MacLarty was receiving "decent" reviews. In 2016, Grant Butler included Lovely Hula Hands in ''The Oregonian'' list of "97 long-gone Portland restaurants we wish were still around".

References

External links

Lovely Hula Hands in PDX
at

Chowhound Chowhound (or chowhound.com) was a food website owned by Red Ventures. It ceased operations on March 28, 2022. History Chowhound was a popular online food community founded by jazz trombonist and food writer Jim Leff and Bob Okumura in 1997, kn ...

{{Restaurants in Portland, Oregon 2003 establishments in Oregon 2009 disestablishments in Oregon Defunct Pacific Northwest restaurants Defunct restaurants in Portland, Oregon Restaurants disestablished in 2009 Restaurants established in 2003 Pacific Northwest restaurants in Oregon

Description and history

Reception

See also

References

External links