On my way home today, I passed by a Carl’s Jr. I pass by this Carl’s Jr a lot, so I noticed a couple days back when they were repainting and installing fake brick accents.
(Incidentally, I hate Carl’s Jr. I never eat there, and that is entirely because of their lame ass stupid commercials.)
Anyway, not that big a deal, until today. Today, I drove by the Carl’s Jr, and there was a BIG. FAT. BLOWUP. BURGER. on the roof.
Whatever.
BUT! Whenever I see a business hanging a big blowup thingamabob on their place of business, I always think of the Greek Cusina, and the purple octopus.
And don’t TELL me you don’t either. If you live in Portland, you do too. You do!! Fess up.
And of course, when I think of the Greek Cusina, I think of the summer I spent working there. Not as a cook, or a waitress, or a bartender, or anything like that. Nope, not me.
I was the ‘assistant art director’. Yep. What an…interesting…time that was.
I spent a summer working at the Greek Cuisina, helping this guy who was hired to design the ancient greece-inspired banquet room, aka the “Minoan Room”, that they built on the third floor. During the entire time, I never once got to smash a plate, I never drank a single shot of Ouzo, never ONCE shouted “OPA!!!”. Nor did I ever get to see the final product of my labors, the banquet rooms, or my biggest contribution to that effort, the lovely ceiling.
That ceiling is MINE.
So have you been there? Have you broken plates? Dined in the Minoan Room? Is it worth the hype? Because I’m considering going to check it out soon. Smash me a plate or two. I’ll pass on the Ouzo though – licorice makes me queasy.
And most importantly, what the hell is with the purple octopus? I mean really. Greek mascot? Ancient idol? Silly marketing stunt?
{ 5 comments }
Hate to be a hair in the butter, but the upper levels of Greek Cusina have been closed off by the Fire Marshal, due to unpermitted building modifications and other violations. It’s one of the targets of the Leonard “hit squad.” The Greek even has to pay security to make sure no one goes upstairs.
If you think the purple octopus looks funny on the building, you should see the waiters with the purple octopus hats.
Whoa, really? I had no idea. Not that I’m exactly *surprised*, mind you. Ted, the owner, certainly gives off the “I don’t go through official channels” vibe, if you catch my meaning.
Just the same…if you drive by and look up in the window, you can kinda catch a glimpse of my ceiling
But really? Do they really wear purple octopus hats? That I gotta see.
The octopus hats come out come out mostly in hot weather, when the sidewalk tables are out. There’s at least one waiter who rocks the hat, and gets killer tips for it.
The whole octopus thing is a calamari reference, according to a worldly friend.
I will make it a point to look up next time I’m on the block. Thankfully I don’t look like a fire inspector.
Good news! Your ceiling is intact. I crossed paths with Ted Papas last night and asked him about it for you.
Maybe you should make a trip down for a shot of Ouzo and toss a plate?
Really? EXCELLENT! I will totally head down there for some Opa’ing. I might pass on the Ouzo – not a big fan of licorice – but plates, I can break those. Lots.
Maybe we should have our next OurPDX meetup at the Greek Cusina?
Comments on this entry are closed.