Doc George’s Jazz Kitchen

The Dinner, Drinks and Music were an amazing package — the food portions are huge and even the fried food tasted clean, nice to finally find a place in Portland that changes their oil often — Service was great and the julep was tasty and potent. Music (for my taste) could be a little less… smooth jazz and more creole/​blues-​y/​Nawlins-​y… but the musician was very talented and it was good for what it was. beignets were tasty, but not too airy. Overall a great experience

If you could find heaven in a hole in the wall it would be this place!
Girlfriend and I had just come back from Seattle and wanted do a late dinner. Being in the area after visiting a friend/​bartender at the Yen Ha Lounge. We had originally decided to go to Noho’s for dinner but unfortunately they were closed or was it really unfortunate? I just remembered that I knew someone that had mentioned this place to me a few times and I had promised them that I would make a trip. I slowly drove down Fremont and within 20 feet of Noho’s found this place.
The décor is definitely reminiscent of New Orleans and the live music was great. We came a little late for them but they were more then happy to at least let us order from the appetizer menu. Here’s what we ordered:
1. Crawfish Etoufee
2. Made to order Mac & Cheese
3. Roasted Garlic and Gorgonzola cheese w/​baguette bread.
Although these were only appetizer portions it was more then enough between the both of us. All I can say is I will definitely be coming earlier next time for dinner because the food cannot be described in words how great it was. Obviously cause I have not written my usual descriptive review I will say that if you are in the area all 3 items are a MUST have if you come here for happy hour or just want something to nosh on.
The environment is very warm, food is excellent, and service is very attentive. Almost made plans to come back the next night for dinner! It was that good!

This was our first time — went for dinner and music. The jazz wasn’t the cajun style music that I had secretly hoped for, but it was still some great music. We started seated next to the band, my head was right next to the drums, so we asked staff if we could move to the back room booth. They were kind enough to let us, and we could still hear the music just fine.
The food was a B+ overall I think. The beans and rice were super good and spicy. The crawfish etoufee — also delicious. Mac and cheese was a favorite of the night. The gumbo was good but a little too salty. The fries and onion rings were also a hit. The only big negative were the beignets. Tough fried squares, not at all the puffy goodness you’d get in Louisiana.
The service was prompt and very kind and the atmosphere was super nice. I will definitely be going back!

We had a great party in the back fireplace room at Doc Georges tonight and it was the perfect venue! They worked with us to create a tasty and affordable appetizer spread, no host cocktails and dining service to help out our hungrier crowd. The room was spacious, comfortable with the cozy fire and nicely appointed.
The music out front was awesome and we got to enjoy that as well as celebrate with the birthday boy!
Check out this spot for the jazz music and the fireplace room in the back, perfect for your next function!

This is a biased review. We didn’t have food and it’s therefore based solely on the power of Jazz. Unfortunately the night we went the Jazz was distinctly of the elevator music variety.
I’m not a Jazz expert, but I do know I want some big horns and drum beats. Neither were to be found at Doc George’s that night. All the creole food sounded great and I love my southern comfort, but our group couldn’t stomach the music to take in the food.
I plan to go back, as other reviewers seem to have decent talent from time to time. The crowd seemed friendly but for every relaxing jazz junkie there was an equal number of sour faced puckered people from the surrounding neighborhood. You know the type, where you can’t figure out where they get the effort to squish their face like that all day. I think it comes from the anus, travels up the spine, and is mimicked in the facial muscles.
We went across town, sacrificed food, but was happily busted in the chops by quality Jazz at Jimmy Mak’s. Paid a $ 10 cover to see Soul Vaccination’s orchestra of funk. OMG, I’ve never in my life been to a Jazz show like this and it opened my eyes. In our humble beginnings we questioned the $ 10 cover, but it was whole heartedly worth it.
Let’s see Doc George’s live up to this portland standard… I think they have great potential.

Awesome food, atmosphere,& service, great happy hour & Jim, the gm is above expectations. Our server exuded great service as well. Can’t wait to go back!

We stopped in for a spontaneous happy hour yesterday, and were pleasantly surprised. There was no music because the superbowl was on, but the atmosphere was very nice. We shared an order of the sliders, the chicken strips and the mac and cheese. The fries were great, the chicken was good, and the sliders were awesome. The mac and cheese was fantastic, but when we added some of the caramelized onions from the sliders to it, it was out of this world! The service was prompt and friendly. The beers on tap were a good mix, and included the hefeweizen from the Alameda Brew House down the street.
All in all, it was a great place to stop on a Sunday afternoon. I love a weekend happy hour. We will definitely be back.

Jazz gets 5 stars; Kitchen gets 3.
On a chilly Portland night nothing seems better to me than a cozy club with a live jazz band and the Gordon Neal Herman Trio filled the bill at the Jazz Kitchen. Unfortunately the front room with the band was totally full so we got seated in the back room, where the volume of the music competed with a TV showing NBA games.
Ms. A and I weren’t super hungry so she ordered appetizers — the étouffée and the mixed basket (fries and rings together — brilliant). I got a chowder and salad combo. Of our two orders, half of each was satisfying. The rings and fries were as good as I would hope, while the étouffée was not served hot. It was actually a bit cool. To be fair, the folks at Doc George’s not only heated it up when she pointed this out, but also comped it. And it tasted fine once it was brought up to temperature.
My salad was delicious but the chowder was weak. No potatoes, no chunks of anything really. Just a few stray clams wandering around in a slightly sour tasting creamy base. I didn’t eat much of that.
After finishing our meals we settled that bill and then moved up front to the bar where we could enjoy the music more. The experience took an upward turn at that point, with lively banter from the owner and good drinks from the bartender.
For cover-​free live jazz in our neighborhood, I’m certainly willing to go back and give their kitchen another shot. Maybe at happy hour next time!

Is this some sort of secret delicious happy hour place? I’ve gone here at least 5 times now for happy hour on my lunch break, and each time it has been fast, friendly, delicious, and super empty besides my co-​workers and I.
The three sliders come with caramelized onions and some super delicious french fries. The chicken strips are fantastic, and also come with fries and their house made BBQ sauce. Today when I went they changed the happy hour menu to include mac and cheese — it wasn’t *amazing* but was still good enough for me to eat most of it before getting too full.
I like that this place has a long happy hour as well (2 — 6:30 now), so if I want to take an early lunch I can still get a happy hour in! However, I don’t want to see it go out of business by keeping it to myself — so do try it out.
NOTE: I have *not* had dinner there — just happy hour!
EDIT: The happy hour seems to have switched back to 3 to 6 — FYI (1.20.11)

I’ve been to Doc George’s twice now. The first time I went, I had to stuff myself by ordering both the gumbo and the crawfish étouffée. I say «had to» because I grew up in Louisiana and I have had a lot of not-​so-​genuine attempts at the real thing all over the country. After the gumbo was so good (a lot of places make gumbo SOUP, ain’t the same), I had to splurge and order the etoufee and was glad I did. I’ve gotten to know some of the people who work there and run things and they’re a great bunch of folks. The newly finished section around the back is great! Last time I went I had the meatloaf, which was very good but the potatoes it comes with were AMAZING! Also, the chocolate cake I had stood out for being so excellent.

Great live Jazz on Sunday evenings! A group called «The Big Easy», playing traditional/​Dixieland/​New Orleans music from 6:30 to 9:30pm. The food is good, and the wait staff very friendly. It’s a comfortable place whether by yourself or with friends. (Plus they have a chocolate cake/​decadence that is amazing)

Why can’t venues or places with superb views have excellent food? Doc George’s has some hits and misses. The Gumbo was very good, right up there with some of the notable versions around town. Unfortunately, the Étouffée is the opposite. The heralded homemade meatloaf is just average, while the potato gratin was a nice touch. A simple suggestion: spend a little more and get rid of the cheap croutons on your salads! Doc’s version of the Hurricane was excellent. Service and prices were very good.
Of course when you include the wonderful — no cover — music, nice crowd, overall atmosphere, and ample staff, it’s definitely a place to return to.

The two stars is only for the live music. Go here for Drinks and decent Jazz music. The food is Horrible. Had the much spoken about Gumbo and everything in it was overcooked and had a horrible burnt taste. also everything at our table came out cold which i didn’t understand because there was plenty of waitstaff to accommodate. Overall With Acadia about 5 min. down the street it is an easy choice where to get Cajun/​New Orleans Cuisine in N.E.

I went there Sunday, trying to find a local business who could provide a good steak. The jazz was awesome… I only recognized Pete Moss on sax, but the other 3 were all top notch. The steak was a Denny’s steak. If you are a new business, and charging $ 26 for a «rib-​eye» steak, it better be a decent steak. It was THIN on one side (less than ½″, so it was WELL done), and about 5/​8″ thick on the other side, so medium rare. It tasted horrible, like it was bad. I truly expected to wake up vomiting in the night, but fortunately it just tasted bad. The gravy tasted and felt like canned gravy. The vegetables tasted like frozen. The $ 6 house cabernet savignon tasted like dishwater. Everything was cheap cheap cheap in a classy place. I felt TOTALLY ripped off, and plan to talk to the manager today. In my opinion, stick with a smaller menu, do it right, charge appropriately. Don’t try to lowball and use lousy ingredients to make that lowball price. Three stars for the jazz, zero for the food.

This is an update. When I reviewed earlier, I had not yet been to a Thursday night jam session hosted by Ron Steen. Now that is where i ALWAYS want to be on Thursday night in Portland – there may be as many as seven or eight top musicians join in for part or all of the evening, providing some of the best jazz you’ll hear. The staff here is also very friendly and accommodating – they will remember you the second time you go. I haven’t tried but a few things on the menu yet because I keep getting the excellent New Orleans gumbo over and over! The Shrimp Étouffée is also delicious, not to mention a nice burger. But the food is secondary to the music for me, and I wish the Jazz Kitchen every success and thank them for providing this new venue for good jazz!

Just now enjoyed Doc George’s for the first time since it’s opening. We live in the neighborhood and typically go elsewhere but decided to give it a shot. Really got into the nice music — it was not overbearing and actually allowed us to continue having a conversation. The au gratin potatoes are addictive, nice green salad, yummy meatloaf sandwich. Friendly wait person who invited us back anytime. And especially good for us since it’s not a place that will be good for noisy children… and that’s attractive for us. We’ll definitely put it on our list to visit again. The music is a very nice touch and sets itself apart from other places in the area.

Brand new Jazz venue on NE Fremont. S.U. and I watched the Andre St. James Trio play a nice set while having a beer and glass of wine.
Located in the former gelato joint in the Fremont Commons building, the newly remodeled space has a nice feel for a jazz club. The food looked pretty basic, American with an etoufe and jambalaya included as tip to New Orleans. They’ve been open for less than two weeks so, obviously they have a few kinks to work out (let’s start at A-​OK) but it does look promising.
Add this venue to Vinideus and (the occasional) Blackbird Wines and I could start to imagine NE Fremont developing as a NE PDX jazz scene. Live music is where it’s at!