Happy Hour: Astro Lounge

What’s the ideal menu for a seven-year-old’s birthday? How about hush
puppies and pigs in blankets? Pizza and chips and dip? Sounds perfect,
though when the party’s for the seventh anniversary of Astro
Lounge-Bend’s one-shop answer to Northwest Portland or Williamsburg,
Brooklyn-you can bet that those old favorites come with an attitude and
a formidable playlist. Astro Lounge, once largely a waiting room for
its neighboring restaurant Marz, is all grown up, independent, and
serving one of the best happy hour deals in town.

What's the ideal menu for a seven-year-old's birthday? How about hush
puppies and pigs in blankets? Pizza and chips and dip? Sounds perfect,
though when the party's for the seventh anniversary of Astro
Lounge-Bend's one-shop answer to Northwest Portland or Williamsburg,
Brooklyn-you can bet that those old favorites come with an attitude and
a formidable playlist. Astro Lounge, once largely a waiting room for
its neighboring restaurant Marz, is all grown up, independent, and
serving one of the best happy hour deals in town.

The full meal deal at Aloha.There may not be enough inexpensive meals downtown for some people’s
taste, but that’s not a problem in eastside “Costco Hub.” The corner of
Hwy 20 and 27th Street has a bevy of low-priced options, some worth
checking out and some worth skipping. Since February one of those
worthy spots has been Aloha Café.

Sandwiched between Super Cuts and
China Doll in the Crossroads Plaza strip mall, Aloha Café greets you
with neon hula girls and surfboards hanging from the wall. The menu is
posted overhead and the ordering is done at the counter. The food comes
up almost instantly and is brought out to your table. This is no-frills
eats that will fill you up and not break the bank.
The choices
are beef, chicken and pork with sides of white or brown rice, yakisoba
noodles, coleslaw, chips and potato-macaroni salad. There are a variety
of “mix-plates” with a number of meats and sides and even Da Big Kahuna
($11.75), a sample of everything that’s enough to share.

The full meal deal at Aloha.There may not be enough inexpensive meals downtown for some people's
taste, but that’s not a problem in eastside "Costco Hub." The corner of
Hwy 20 and 27th Street has a bevy of low-priced options, some worth
checking out and some worth skipping. Since February one of those
worthy spots has been Aloha Café.

Sandwiched between Super Cuts and
China Doll in the Crossroads Plaza strip mall, Aloha Café greets you
with neon hula girls and surfboards hanging from the wall. The menu is
posted overhead and the ordering is done at the counter. The food comes
up almost instantly and is brought out to your table. This is no-frills
eats that will fill you up and not break the bank.
The choices
are beef, chicken and pork with sides of white or brown rice, yakisoba
noodles, coleslaw, chips and potato-macaroni salad. There are a variety
of "mix-plates" with a number of meats and sides and even Da Big Kahuna
($11.75), a sample of everything that’s enough to share.