Directions

I've noticed lately that a lot of new restaurants in Portland are less than self-explanatory. This happens at otherwise wonderful places. One new place--a really great place--has you, at lunch, look at the menu at your table, and then go up to the counter to order. But when it's time for dessert you order from your waiter. Who could guess? Another place I lunched at recently put me through the following interchange, after looking at a menu board that read 'pasta...sandwiches':





Me: "What kind of sandwiches do you have?"
He: "We can make what you want."
Me: "Can I get salami?"
He: "We're out of salami now, but I can do something else."

So I really like it that Bar Pastiche, a breakfast-lunch-dinner tapas place that is pretty great, had the smart idea of putting directions up in plain site. I couldn't get them all in the picture, but basically it tells you how to order, when to pay, where to sit, and what to do with your napkins...throw them on the floor, just like in bars in Spain. It makes you feel so much more welcome when you know what to do.