Sixth Stop: Rosie's, Fore Street

I think for those of us living (as opposed to "summering") in the Portland area in 2010 it's damn near impossible not to once in a while get a bit annoyed with the rapid epicurism that has somehow begun to dominate this working class city. All of the sudden, I realize that I've officially seen "Truffle Ketchup" on more menus than not. Apparently, extra fancy no longer scratches our itch.

Now, overall, this is a good thing. We have pushed ourselves onto the culinary map throughout the country, stimulating articles from the New York Times, visits from the Food Network, Oprah mentions, all of which lend to the incredible tourism business that keeps our city alive and thriving. But sometimes, you just want a place where extra fancy ketchup is still the most upscale thing on the menu.

Enter Rosie's Restaurant.

The outside of the building, which is so far from flashy that I had driven by it everyday to work and never actually seen it, touts their logo, which is slightly reminiscent of a tattoo someone once got of an ex-girlfriend. The inside of the building is dark and homey, the kind of place you feel like you could slip into at 11 am and forget to leave, and that would be ok. The service is lovely, but not in a showy way. Our waitresses were sweet and familiar and brought us what we needed and left us alone when it was right to do so.

There's really very little to say about the burgers, but this may not be a bad thing either. The food was unmemorable for the most part, with some exceptions (one member had a great local veggie burger with loads of guacamole, and the onion rings were spot on). Everything was cooked right, tasted homemade, well executed but boring. If this is actually a possible phrase, it was all overwhelmingly unpretentious. If you've been to Ruski's in the West end, which we just might frequent more than any restaurant in Portland, and you like it, I have a feeling this will tickle your fancy as well. If they were related (and I'm making NO claims that they are affiliated in any way), Rosie's would be Ruski's (younger? older?) sister, who, despite her fancy urban location, has kept her simple family roots pure and true. It's unintimidating and an easy place to wind up at again.

Rosie's, thank you for being what you are. For weathering the culinary tornado that Fore Street and the surrounding areas have become and standing strong with your conviction that it's still ok to serve PBR pounders, onion rings, and burgers without truffle ketchup.

Scores out of 100

Taste: 67

Atmosphere: 77

Overall Experience: 73