Over the Labor Day weekend, when I had my good friends, George and Kathy in town to visit we popped into the Jack London Revue hoping they might have some live music playing. Alas, they did not, which is how we ended up having a great time at Kelly’s Olympian instead that night. I still wanted to see what all the rave was about so when the Mel Brown B3 Organ Group was on the schedule for one of their Thursday night jam sessions last week I knew I had to get a ticket.

Before the show though I needed to eat, so I grabbed a Lyft and decided to check out Mama Mia Trattoria down the street from the bar.

The restaurant is in an old building and still has some of the building’s distinctive features, but the inside decor is I would say, non-descript, characterless and lifeless. The physical bar itself though is pretty cool, but despite its size it still seems rather small and out-of-place for the space. I wasn’t there for decor though, so I started out with the Mozzarella Board - a sampler of fresh House-made marinated mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, burrata, roasted tomatoes, mixed nuts, basil oil, & a balsamic reduction served with herb buttered crostini all for $20. It was very good, rich and a nice start to the meal while I was waiting for the entree. It was also a sizable portion, and I was only able to finish about half of it.

I normally try to ensure that I have a veggie on the plate, but I saw from looking at other guest plates who had ordered the lasagna that it would be enough just to order that. When the pasta came out it photographed well, but once I bit into it, I found the meat to be on the dry side and pretty salty. The waitress must have seen this before as she was understanding, could see the look on my face and even offered to comp the Affogato that I later ordered, but I declined and finished off the entree and dessert (sorry, no picture, but just imagine a glass full of vanilla bean ice cream with a shot of espresso poured over top and served with a housemade biscotti.)

Even though I told the waitress that this lasagna was definitely not in my top 5 I thought the service was very attentive, the restaurant was clean and quiet and nicely located to where I needed to go. So, even though I gave this experience 3 1/2 stars out of 5, would I go back? Yes, I would. I would give it another shot for sure in the future.

Dinner enjoyed and out of the way, and with the doors opening at 7pm for an 8pm show, I headed over the two blocks to the Jack London Revue which is down the stairs and into the basement of the Rialto Poolroom Bar and Cafe.

I was the first patron to arrive, so I bellied up to the bar, got Duane to make me a double vodka tonic with a locally produced vodka and had my pick of the place. I had reserved a 2-person table (the minimum) ahead of time and picked out a seat in the front and center. You can see looking back into the room in this middle shot that it is a very dark and moody space, absolutely perfect for some late-night jazz.

Daniel and Mary sat down next to me, and we proceeded to talk and enjoy the evening, along with about 20 or so other guests (I was actually surprised that the place wasn’t packed as you’ll see below, they were a great band and they are a well-known staple in Portland, having been together for nearly 30 years.

The set started out slow and built over time. The energy in the room was a lot higher than what might be depicted on the video. There was a lot of head bopping, shimmying and shaking going on as everyone grooved to the music.

It was obvious that everyone was having a great time, interacting with the band and hooting, howling and whistlin’ them on. They played a number of smooth jazz covers as well as some soulful blues originals, covering a wide gamut over about 2 hours.

I absolutely loved the venue and the band and have been watching the calendar for another opportunity to get back down there. I encourage readers in the Portland area (or those coming to visit) to go check out the Jack London Revue and find a Thursday night to go see the Mel Brown B3 Organ Group with your friends (or make some new ones along the way).