Clinton Street Roundup – Part One

/in /by

We’re all nestled in to our new home at the Cyrk Building. While we’ll miss our lovely neighbors in the Buckman neighborhood, we’re excited to be starting our new life as part of vibrant SE Clinton Street.

In typical AM:PM PR fashion we’ve already busied ourselves trying the various cafes and restaurants in the area. Since we were without a home for over a month, we had ample opportunity to meet as a team at many of these fine establishments to discuss business and taste the food and drink the neighborhood has to offer.

We’ll continue to update the Be My Neighbor section of the website with posts detailing our favorite spots as we discover them. For now, here’s a roundup of our current crushes.

 

K&F Coffee

K & F roasts its own coffee (it’s delicious, by the way) and they offer a pretty impressive variety of baked goods to nibble while you sip your beverage of choice. It was the site of our first offsite meeting and it’s a classic Portland coffeehouse that I’m sure we’ll continue to regularly frequent.

 

Dot's Cafe

Clinton St. staple, Dot’s Cafe, has been around for more than 20 years. It’s one of our favorite lunch spots on a cold winter day due to its signature coziness and velvet-painting-festooned walls. They serve up classic, high quality bar food and stiff drinks, what more could one want?

 

St. Jack Portland

We’re lucky to be just down the block from St. Jack – both the restaurant and the patisserie. The patisserie has drawn us in several times over the last month with its perfectly crafted traditional french pastries like buttery croissants, canelés and macarons. We’ll have to be careful to resist the urge to swing by daily since swimsuit season is just around the corner.

 

Compote Cafe

Compote has been serving the Clinton St. neighborhood delectable breakfast and lunch items made from scratch with wholesome ingredients for over two years. Located just two doors down from our space it will be difficult to resist a daily stop for a homemade treat.

 

Night Light Lounge

What neighborhood would be complete without the perfect after work hang out? Night Light Lounge boasts one of the best happy hours in town (trust me, I’m an expert) and even serves brunch on the weekends. I can foresee many PR 3.0 meetings continuing after hours at this classic SE spot.

Those are among our current favorites. Stay tuned to the Be My Neighbor blog for additions. Are there any places you love that we didn’t mention? If so, please share share with us in the comments section.

90% of the building’s power comes from the solar panels on the roof. The building also uses a geothermal heat pump (GHP). GHPs use the ground as a heat reservoir for high efficiency heating and cooling. The temperature of the earth is the exchange medium instead of the outside temperature.

It’s easy being green

/in , /by

We like green. We’re Irish. But, now we’re a whole new shade of green – building green.

solar panels portland oregon

90% of the building’s power comes from the solar panels on the roof. The building also uses a geothermal heat pump (GHP). GHPs use the ground as a heat reservoir for high efficiency heating and cooling. The temperature of the earth is the exchange medium instead of the outside temperature.

Passionate about sustainability, our landlords built the Cyrk to be the greenest of green buildings – LEED Platinum.

 

Ipe wood siding

The Ipe wood siding and sunscreens aren’t just reclaimed, they have history. They originally existed as decking in a Northern Californian steam driven sawmill. Before there was a movement to protect the old growth forests and establishing Redwoods State & National Parks, gold miners and lumberjacks walked across the boards in the largest and oldest redwood log mill in the world. This same wood will be used inside AM:PM PR and 7/Apps offices as barn doors to our conference room.

 

 

Green patio

The patio features native plants and reclaims storm-water runoff.

 

 

All of the materials and paint used are non-toxic

All of the materials and paint used are non-toxic and 21% of the construction materials came from recycled sources. During the construction phase 95% of the waste was diverted from landfills.

 

Erin is our own in-house Green Police and we will be trained to respect this building by being good stewards ourselves. Our next project – making our own paper out of our shreds. Not really. That’s too hard. I think we’ll just communicate electronically. Look for your invite to our office warming party on March 15th in your email soon and come check this all out for yourself.

The Cyrk

Movin’ on up, to (a new part of) the East Side & Joining The Cyrk

/2 Comments/in , , /by

As much as we’ve loved our time in the Buckman Neighborhood – rubbing shoulders with the mad scientists of Distillery Row, descending like locusts upon local eateries such as Robo Taco and Vivo, and working with neighbors Bremik, Tapalaya, Po’Boy Art and more – it’s the dawn of a new year and a new era for AM:PM PR.

We survived an overinflated panic surrounding a misinterpretation of the Mayan calendar, and we figured why not treat ourselves to a new space. Not to toot our own horns (TOOT!), but it’s a doozie.

At the beginning of February, we’ll take up residence in the Cyrk Building on southeast 20th and Clinton. For those of you who’ve yet to cast your eyes on this miracle of modern building techniques, feel free to drive by and check it out. It’s a gorgeous space that we’ll share both with our brothers in arms at 7/Apps and our clients EE Northwest. The latter owns the building and was kind enough to approve our tenant application. We’ll try to keep the noise level down.

AM:PM PR joins the Cyrk-us

For those of you who understand how calendars work and are wondering about the omission of a little thing called January, well done. That was a test, and it’s nice to see that you were paying attention. As construction is finished up on our new space, we’ll be going back to our roots.

Just as in the early days of AM:PM, we’ll be a bit like the French Resistance, except with public relations instead of freedom fighting, and minus the Gauloises. We’ll meet at a variety of our favorite coffee shops, restaurants and watering holes, keeping the client work that’s our bread and butter firmly intact. You likely won’t notice much difference unless you meet us face-to-face, in which case the password is “Le Coq Sportif.” Also, feel free to give us suggestions for great coffee shops that can accommodate large groups of mostly serious professionals.

During the next month, we’ll keep you updated on our activities and the construction’s progress via the usual channels: our blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. We’ll also be getting to know our new neighbors. We’ve already visited St. Jacks, Compote, The Night Light Lounge and more, and look forward to getting to know them and their tasty offerings even better.

When we get moved into the new space, we don’t expect you’ll miss it. We’ll have a hard time not crowing from pride about our new digs, and of course there will be office-warming festivities to attend to. Keep an eye out for something occurring around St. Patrick’s Day.

We’ll also be working on new job titles and a high-flying new concept for the website that will highlight the subtle circus theme of our new digs. Prepare yourself for the greatest communications show on Earth, or at least in Portland. In the meantime, Happy New Year. We hope you’ve got as much to look forward as we do.

 

lemongrass portland

Lemongrass

/in , /by

 

 

Jake Ten Pas
by Jake Ten Pas

I don’t really believe in the concept of reverse racism. At least not in America. Racism is based on power, and, well, this isn’t a blog about reverse racism, so I won’t waste any more of your time with my philosophical ramblings. I simply mention it to preface what I’m about to say.

Reverse racism exists, and nowhere is it more prevalent than in Thai restaurants in Portland. If you don’t believe me, try a little experiment:

Step 1) If you’re white (and also a masochist), go into a Thai restaurant and order your favorite dish at the spiciest level the restaurant offers. This will usually be a four or five.

Step 2) Be disappointed.

Step 3) Invite one of your Asian friends to join you for the same meal at the same restaurant. If you don’t have an Asian friend, make one.

Step 4) Go back and order the same dish at the same level of heat.

jake ten pas sweating
Step 5) Enjoy (Unless you’re one of those “normal” people, who don’t like having your taste buds burned off of your tongue with edible lava, or the impending gastrointestinal discomfort that will surely accompany it).

Step 6) Come to the mandatory conclusion that white folks simply can’t get any respect when trying to order spicy at Thai restaurants. You might want to have a pillow handy, so you don’t have to cry into your sleeve.

Now that we’ve all learned something about the brutal nature of modern life, allow me to blow your mind. What if I were to tell you that there’s a Thai restaurant in Portland where the color of your skin not only doesn’t matter, but where the heat scale goes up not just to five, not even to eleven, but to TWENTY.

It’s called Lemongrass, and it’s located in a beautiful, if slightly dilapidated, old house on N.E. Couch St. The restaurant’s menu is pretty simple compared to many Thai places, and the staff seems to consist entirely of the family that owns the place. If you’re looking for either a luxurious or cookie-cutter dining experience, stay away. This means you, angry man on Yelp.

If, however, you’re looking to eat some incredibly delicious Thai food, and sweat out all the toxins in your body (and perhaps a few pints of essential bodily fluids), Lemongrass is the place for you.

Explaining to our host my issue with most Thai joints’ underestimation of my threshold for pain, I was met with eyes that said they’d heard it all before. I was told that I should probably order a level two on my green curry to match other restaurants’ level 5. Full of the sin of pride, I ordered a level three and braced myself.

Jake Ten Pas celebrating
Did I weep openly? Did I gnash my teeth? Did my internal organs liquefy? No. I’m a professional, people. I’ve eaten something called a Satan’s Handroll, Salvador Molly’s Balls of Fire and even attempted Orochon Ramen’s Special #2 noodle challenge.

But it was damn spicy, and full of flavor that surpassed that spice to disprove the notion that when a dish is too hot, all you can taste is the heat. And this was a level three. Imagine a ten, or heaven forbid a twenty. I am, and my imagination tastes delicious right now.

If you’re like me, and tired of the extremely first-world problem of not being able to get hot enough curry, stop by Lemongrass Thai sometime. I’ll be headed back soon myself, and this time I’m trying for a five. Pray for me.

Just like a AM:PM PR Speakeasy roundtable

The Best King Arthur Story Ever – The 442

/2 Comments/in , , /by

– by Jake Ten Pas

You know that story about the Round Table of Arthurian legend arising from the knights demanding to all be treated equally? Total nonsense. I wasn’t there or anything – I had a previous commitment at Morgana’s place – but I can tell you exactly what happened. It went a little something like this:

Arthur: Can you please pass the gravy?

Sir Lamorak: (who was sitting at the opposite end of a very long table): Eh? You like to shop at Old Navy?

Arthur: No, the gravy. The gravy! Can you pass it? And what is this Ye Olde Navy of which you speak?

Sir Lamorak: Inexpensive yet chic? I quite agree. I got this tunic there in several fun summer colors just last week.

Arthur: Did you just call me weak? Guards!

And after Sir Lamorak was beheaded (this is only one version of the story, mind you), Arthur decided that it’s just much easier to have a conversation if everybody is seated in a circle. A large circular table was constructed, gravy was passed without bloodshed, and they all lived happily ever after.

The End.

Or is it?

Last week, we hosted our weekly social media Gabalot, better known as PR 3.0, at 442 Soccer Bar on Hawthorne. It’s quickly become one of our favorite places to host the event for a number of reasons, all of which could prove instructive to other bars, pubs and nosheries looking to attract the patronage of businessy-type people such as us. So, without any further ado, a list of five reasons why we frequent 442:

1)   They’ve got a great circular seating area where roughly a dozen folks could sit, hear each other talk and keep a lively conversation going between them. Places that only have long, skinny tables simply will not work for a good group discussion. They end up breaking up into individual conversations about good TV shows, as opposed the big, dynamic group discussion about TV shows we prefer.

ampmpr-speakeasy-at-442

2)   They play great jazz music in there, but they understand how to work the volume knob. Few people on Earth are more obsessed with music than I am, but there’s just something about being forced to scream like a character in a natural disaster movie to be heard that tends to distract from the finer points of a good confab. Keeping the music at a reasonable volume encourages your customers to enjoy each other in addition to your tunes.

3)   The bartender, who I assume is also the owner, is a total character. He refers to everybody as either “Pretty lady” or “Nice guy,” and he is always friendly and welcoming. Big groups tend to spend a decent amount of money, and his strategy is endlessly more effective than that of some other bars, where you’re treated like yuppie scum if you walk in with a brief case or without a mustache and sarcastic T-shirt.

4)   442 features tasty Bosnian food. While this isn’t directly related to us holding our meetings there, it doesn’t hurt. And if you like to watch soccer games (Personally, I do not, but my coworker Erin is an aficionado), I’d imagine they go way better with Cevapi than hot dogs.

5)   442 has both a full bar and a killer selection of European beer. Normally, I only drink bourbon, but when you have the option of drinking a giant frosty mug of draught beer from the homeland of the owner of the bar – or thereabouts – I highly recommend it. And yes, I realize that any domestic beer is probably from the homeland of the owner of most U.S. bars, but now you’re just being difficult. Finally, unlike point number four, point number five IS directly related to us holding our meetings there.

The End.

Really this time.

Unless it isn’t.

Distillers at AM:PM PR's first anniversary party

First Anniversary Party Video

/in , , /by

 
 

Scenes from AM:PM PR’s first anniversary party mingle with fire chief Pat McCormick’s speech to the friends, clients and family that showed up to support us and the community that is our home. Included among the participants were members of Distillery Row, Cascade Brewing, Zanzibar Cellars, Eat Your Heart Out Catering, Phoogoo, and the creative minds associated with PoBoy Art and Chris Haberman Art.

Know Before You Go (A Closer Look at the Supportland Card)

/2 Comments/in , /by

Supportland-CardThe AM:PM PR team recently held one of its weekly PR 3.0 meetings at a spot close to our offices called Madison’s Grill. We likely would have picked this location anyway, due to its proximity and ability to accommodate large groups. But throw a free plate of delicious nachos into the mix for just checking in, and we couldn’t get there fast enough.

Clearly, I’m always up for a good deal, and if I had a retail/service business I would certainly be on board to create deals for patrons to reward them for showing up regularly. The problem with apps such as Foursquare is that you never really know, until you’re there or nearby, whether the business offers a deal. Since I’m burned out on the gaming aspect, and really couldn’t care less if I become the Mayor, I’m much less likely to use this app on a regular basis.

In a previous post, I wrote about a Smartphone application called CardStar. It’s a way of condensing all of your rewards cards info into electronic form. My only issue with this is that I often shop for essentials at places other than the major box stores.

The Supportland card has filled this gap. Visit the site and learn all you need to know about it. For me, this one is a no-brainer. It’s the best of location-based applications married with the ease of an app like CardStar – or for those who prefer a tangible card, it’s just one card for a whole slew of businesses.

It couldn’t be much easier; you simply swipe your card at participating establishments and earn points to score sweet deals. What’s more, if you see a Supportland sticker in an establishment’s front window, you always know you’re able to use your card and earn points. You can even visit their website and check out a list of participating businesses broken down by neighborhood.

For those of us who get burned out easily with game-centered apps, there’s an alternative. That is, at least, if you live in lovely Portland, OR. **

** Supportland has plans of rolling out their technology to other locations. If you’re lucky, maybe it will be your city next.

Trillium Absinthe Superiere

Party planning – it’s a rough life, but somebody’s got to drink it

/in , /by

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that planning a party is nowhere near as fun as the actual partying part of the party planning process.

Depending on how hard you party, the aftermath can sometimes be even less fun than the planning. I’m not super into that whole “cleaning up after” part either. Basically, I just like things that are fun.

I say all this as a way of prefacing the following statement: Planning the office-warming party for AM:PM PR and 7/Apps has been the kind of blast you can normally only get from a two-liter bottle of diet cola and a roll of Mentos.

That’s primarily because, early on, it was decided that I would be the liaison between AM:PM and Distillery Row , the area of southeast Portland that stretches from Burnside to Harrison and from MLK Blvd. to 12th Ave. Local craft distilleries such as Integrity, Highball, New Deal, Deco, Stone Barn Brandyworks and House Spirits make sure that if you’re sober around these parts, you only have yourself to blame.

Not sure why, exactly, my coworkers thought I would be a good fit for this particular mission. I’ll think about it while I finish this Sazerac.

Where was I again?

I’d love to tell you that it was some major feat of salesmanship on my part that got the distilleries involved, but in truth, I found that these were enthusiastic folks who needed only the tiniest of nudges to get on board. It helped that we were as excited about showcasing the Buckman Neighborhood and the unique businesses that populate it as we were about showing off the cast of characters that make up AM:PM PR.

In the process, I’ve gotten to hang out with Tom from New Deal, Rich from Integrity and the rest of the individuals who bring these individualistic spirits to life. Their personalities are about what you’d expect from the people behind products such as Trillium Absinthe, Hot Monkey Pepper Vodka and House Spirits’ Apothecary line of experimental small-batch liquors.

They’ve got more stories to tell than I have memory to record them. With that realization, we decided to begin filming a series of videos that will showcase the people, places and processes behind some of Portland’s finest intoxicants. They will appear on this website in the days to come.

As a friend once said, with great liquor comes great responsibility. While working with Distillery Row, we’ve also gotten to know our other neighbors, the ones that provide the kind of snacks so necessary to fortifying your stomach in times of plentiful imbibing.

Also bringing their delicious offerings to our shindig will be Meat Cheese Bread, Zell’s Café, Nicholas Restaurant, Clive Coffee, Nossa Familia, Sheridan Fruit Company, Buckman Village Brewery and Eat Your Heart Out.

We’ve been fortunate enough to come into contact with artist Chris Haberman, who will fill the former bunk room of Fire House No. 7 with visual art to complement its culinary counterpoint. Children’s Healing Art Project will be on hand to sell art and cupcakes in order to raise money to take art programs to local children’s hospitals.

Finally, we locked down the services of Cadenza Academy’s Kevin Pardew, who also plays bass for local Celtic rockers Amadan, to provide live music for the event with a band consisting of Dakota Max and Ashley Bread from the Dirt Jake Replicas. Web developer Zach Hoffman from Phoogoo will DJ in Bremik Construction’s offices next door, and attendees – or party people, as I like to call you – will be able to grab a glass of wine from Zanzibar and stroll between the two spaces.

It’s now apparent to me that this blog has turned into me giving props to the many fine people involved in this event, which was never my intent. I wanted to talk about myself and the many hardships I went through to turn my dream of free and plentiful liquor into reality. Oh well. I’m sure you get a sense of the nightmare that is my existence despite my wandering ways.

For those whose invitations got lost in the mail, the party will be held from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26. Please don’t cast a spell to make us sleep for a hundred years.