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Professional With An Edge: A Lunch Break Haircut at Rudy’s Barbershop

– by Dustin Nelson

The world of PR can be pretty busy, and so can a social life in Portland.

The combination of these two things made it difficult for me to find time for a haircut. This left me with the option of racing against the clock during my lunch break. Per the recommendation of our co-ringleader Allison McCormick, I ran up Division St. to Rudy’s Barbershop.

RudyPic5-300x183The first thing to know about Rudy’s is that it’s cool.

If you’re looking for a serene, spa-like, salon where they serve bottles of Evian and play music by Kelly Clarkson or Taylor Swift, this is the wrong place for you.

However, if you’re looking to get your hair cut in a garage with mismatched, vintage barber chairs, and an ancient Pac Man arcade game, by a group of hip, rockabilly, tattooed Southeast Portlanders then run, don’t walk to Rudy’s Barbershop 3015 SE Division St.

RudyPic2-300x300Actually, you may not have to bother with running, because these barbers are FAST. As I mentioned, I was in a bit of a hurry, so when I sat down with Sam and she got right to work with precision and speed worthy of a superhero, I was impressed. What’s even better, we had a great chat. We talked about some of the different neighborhoods in Portland, the Pride events that we did or did not attend the previous weekend, and the fact that thanks to Nicole Richie, blue hair is going to be the new lavender this year (sorry Kelly Osbourne.) Pretty impressive for the twenty minutes I was in her chair.

On top of that, she gave me one of the best haircuts I’ve had in recent memory. I always want to look professional, but I’m young and I’d like to think hip (hold your comments on that please) so I need a hairstyle that’s professional with an edge. Sam achieved these results even after I stammered a string of adjectives to semi-describe what I wanted. I guess it’s possible that mind reading may also be in her arsenal of super powers.

RudyPic4-300x300If you need to change up your look and want an all Portland experience that results in a bouffant Elvis would be jealous of, I can highly recommend Rudy’s Barbershop.

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P.S. their Instagram is pretty rad http://instagram.com/rudysbarbershop

And if you haven’t followed our new Instagram account yet, make a life choice and check it out http://instagram.com/ampm_pr

Papa G’s: All Organic, All Vegan, All Delicious

– by Dustin Nelson

Lunch is something we take very seriously here at AM:PM, and our neighborhood is full of some of the best food in town.

Today we took a walk up to Division Street to stop into an old favorite of Alexis’, Papa G’s Vegan Organic Deli. Regarded as “the most organic vegan” restaurant in Portland, it’s easy for an out of towner like myself to assume that may be the equivalent of chewing on grass. Happily I could not have been more wrong.

We caught up with Grant Dixon, the owner of Papa G’s who gave us some background on his small, but significant business. Papa G’s began in 1999 as an offshoot of the Daily Grind, an independent natural food store in Portland with an impressive 35 year history, and eventually transitioned to the small vegan cafe on Southeast Division.

papa gs chalkboardGrant told us about  the popularity of their tempeh reuben with scratch made sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing and their variety of seasonal, rotating specials. For vegan newbies like myself who may be scared off by the likes of tempeh, he recommended their burrito special, which I gladly indulged in. Full of corn, beans, flavorful cilantro, and a sauce made of something I can’t pronounce, this burrito rivaled any I’ve had. And I’ve had a lot of burritos. Grant also kindly advised that a nice transition dish for my next visit would be the popular potato salad and BBQ tofu.

It was refreshing to hear Grant talk about his commitment to keeping organic, vegan options affordable, “we never want to be elitist,” he said. It was also nice to learn that he takes organic cooking so seriously that his dishes are organic down to the oil they’re cooked with.

papa gs vegan meal 1

At Papa G’s it was easy to forget about my carnivorous ways and truly enjoy one of the best lunches in a long time.

Alexis went with her old stand-by of the Epic Nocho taco salad while Mike had the garden plate which he described as “tasting like Thanksgiving.”

papa gs vegan meal 2

While we may disagree on what Thanksgiving is supposed to taste like, I’m sure it was delicious. 

I’m not considering becoming vegan anytime soon, but Papa G’s is a great place for herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores alike to dine together and set aside their dietary differences and it’s most definitely a place our team will be grazing again.

Spielman: Our Team Stops in for Coffee, Bagels, and Second Breakfast

by Dustin Nelson

In a town like Portland, where it can feel like there are more eateries per capita than anywhere else in America, food is frequently on the mind. The AM:PM team found ourselves in such a state this morning during a hump day office pow-wow. What began as complaints about the parking on Division street due to constant construction quickly turned into us lamenting the decline in business for many of our favorite neighborhood eateries due to the constant city projects.

As we rattled off our favorite neighborhood spots, we worked up a frenzy of appetite and decided to take an impromptu office field trip a few blocks to Spielman Bagels and Coffee Roasters. A beautiful, perfectly temperate Portland morning and the promise of a variety of bagels and hot coffee made the short walk a perfect mid-week break.

spielman bagel sign

mike and alexis at spielman bagelsHaving already eaten my 7 a.m. bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats, I wasn’t about to let that stop me when I saw the   highly recommended salt & herb bagel in the display case. It was a perfect time for second breakfast, as the Hobbits would say.

I must say the service was much friendlier than I expected considering I was busy Instagramming the shop instead of listening to the cashier or heaven forbid deciding what I actually wanted. I settled on a skinny vanilla latte (afterall, I needed to off-set my second breakfast) and the coveted salt & herb bagel with…wait for it…lox, cream cheese, capers, red onion, and thick slices of tomato. #heaven.

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Back at the office, Alexis and I swapped our food finds while we got back to work. She also enjoyed the salt & herb bagel, but switched it up with white cheddar, eggs, and vegetarian sausage (I’m from Montana so don’t ask me what that means.) She swears it was delicious and I’ve come to trust her taste.

Overall, we got a much needed break, got to walk the Southeast Portland neighborhood we’re lucky enough to call home, and found a new favorite coffee shop to add to our neighborhood favorites.

If you want to see more of our neighborhood favorites, check out the new AM:PM Instagram:  ampm_pr

P.S. Spielman’s has a pretty slick website for a bagel shop. Check it out here and have a great rest of your week.