I haven’t been to Tasty N Sons for brunch yet. But, I have been then for happy hour and for dinner.

Happy hour is busy, so be prepared to rub elbows at the bar or communal dining table and possibly wait for a seat. After all, you can get their famous (and justifiably so) super tasty Griddled Bacon Wrapped Dates with maple syrup & almond. At happy hour these are $1 but but normally they are $2 a piece. Instead of bread they give a salted nuts at the bar, but I wish they had given me bread so I could have mopped up that plate.

You can also get 30% off at their happy hour prices on their also well reviewed Radicchio with parmesan reggiano vinaigrette. It is really good with its crunch of the radicchio with slight bitterness, tamed with the creamyness of the parmesan and the slight acid tang of the vinaigrette- and the portion is enough for two people.

Also wonderful is their Tasty Mary, concocted from monopolowa vodka, tomato, worcestershire, horseradish, lemon, sriracha, celery salt rim, plus house pickles (pickled carrots, mushroom one visit, pickled carrots and green bean and beet on another visit as per photo), along with the traditional celery. I also had a delightful apricot fizz while sitting at the bar. I’ve never had a bad drink that had prosecco as one of the ingredients: bubbles makes everything better.

On the other hand, I was very disappointed by the Potatoes Bravas with over easy egg. Although they also own the well loved tapas restaurant Toro Bravo, these potatoes bravas were not anything special- essentially potatoes with some thin spicy sauce stirred in and that’s it.

Also, the Tasty N Son’s happy hour dish of Pretty Damn Good Chicken Strips spent too much time in the deep fryer so the outside had absorbed the oil taste, though the insides were still soft and tender. Chicken strips are about quality meat and good execution but the latter didn’t work out in this instance- so even though this small plate was 45% off dinner price it still wasn’t a value. They definitely did not live up to its advertisement when I had them and could have been any chicken strips at any random corner bar.

I came for dinner specifically for “The Toro Burger” with bacon, manchego and romesco. Local blogger Nick Zukin (known as Extra MSG– his list of restaurants was the basis for my eating tour before moving to Portland that finally convinced me I could live in what was at the time very granola-ly hippie Portland even after a couple other visits which were just meh) and restaurateur (of Kenny and Zuke’s Delicatessen) went on a Burgerquest last year and this was ranked #3 of those 72 burgers he had in Portland.

This burger definitely deserves its ranking among the top 5 in Portland. The fries were nothing special but were adequate. But the burger- it is an incredible burger- it has the right balance of a sweet soft but not too soft bun to hold it together, really juicy flavorful burger meat, and toppings that add richness and contrast to give you a good balance so it never tasted greasy.

They use their same housemade pickles from the Mary here, that gives the burger a great undercurrent of sourness without being too sour and a bit of crispness along with the slightly palate cleaner of lettuce. And then there’s the sharp buttery ness of the manchego cheese and then romesco adding more intensity then the average cheese or ketchup/mustard/aioli/whatever accompaniment (romesco is a sauce originating from Spain that mixes nuts, olive oil, and a kind of Spanish sweet roasted pepper). I even liked the fact that the bacon was placed in an “X” like marking a treasure so I can nibble at the crispy ends sticking out.

This burger is available at both Toro Bravo and at Tasty N Sons- but with all those delicious little tapas plates to choose from at Toro Bravo, it seems a shame to pass up that opportunity to order 2 more plates in order to have this burger (and also stray from the tapas theme). If you just want the burger, or the dates, I would recommend Tasty N Sons over Toro- though both offer some great food that doesn’t shy away from bold flavor that more than make up for some of the dishes that might miss.

The atmosphere of Toro Bravo is louder and busier and crowded like being at a cool bar, while Tasty N Sons is definitely more relaxed with more air and space around its tables and could even be suitable for a family and conversation where you don’t have to strain your voice through the meal to talk to your dining companions- so it depends on what kind of energy you are looking for.