Hey everyone!
Last night was a really fun night! I was invited to attend the Sharky’s Feel Good About Eating Blogger Dinner in Tualatin tonight, and I had a great time! The food was sooo yummy and the staff was amazing, kind, and very knowledgeable about the food they were serving!
A little back story…so I received an e-mail from the PR company inviting me to the dinner. I was definitely interested, especially since I had never heard of this place before, and I kind of pride myself on being “in the know” when it comes to great places to eat in the Portland area! So I did a little research on the company, and one of the first things I learned was how committed they are to serving healthy, natural foods. I thought, “how could this be, they’re a Mexican restaurant!” Well let me tell you, it’s true. They have this whole new twist on Mexican food, but you still get the vibe and can eat healthy at the same time, so it’s a win win!
After I did my research, I knew for sure that I wanted to go. I brought along one of my best friends, Tarryn, and off we went.
When we got there, we were immediately greeted by Charise, the local owner and operator. Charise got us all set up with a glass of delicious white wine sangria, and introduced us to the COO, David Goldstein. David was just as kind and generous as Charise, and he brought us over to the dinner table and began answering our questions about the company.
We learned that Sharky’s mission is to incorporate the great food that they serve alongside the kind and caring people they have working in the company, in order to provide positive connections between the company and the community.
To be perfectly honest, I was so surprised to learn how important this mission was to the corporate staff. It really isn’t often that you get to meet the COO of a growing company (this is their 24th restaurant in 25 years!) and also be able to see the true compassion they have for their community. But with Sharky’s, it’s obvious. They’ve done fundraisers where they donate their proceeds from a days work to a local non-profit in their community. They connect with schools in the area and work with them to figure out the best fundraiser that they can do that still fits with the school (like the one they did in California, where they had the school teachers come to the restaurant and make guacamole for the kids). Just really awesome stuff like that, and I was so humbled to hear about their commitment and their stories.
Now, I bet you’re wondering about the food…well, it was delicious! We had the white wine sangria, which was amazing, and we got to try out 4 different lemonades: a Cucumber Melon, a Strawberry Basil, a Watermelon Basil, and Pineapple Cilantro, and it was so funny cause literally everyone had different opinions about which one was the best (ahem, definitely the Pineapple Cilantro!).
We also had some chips with 4 different types of salsas that ranged in spiciness from sweet with a little kick to OMG get this off my tongue (I’m probably exaggerating here, I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to spicy). But seriously, they were delicious! My fav was the guacamole, cause I’m an avocado freak and it just tasted so fresh and delicious!
For dinner, I ordered the Wild Salmon “Lite” Burrito. It came with grilled wild Alaskan salmon, organic poblano brown rice, avocado (surprise, surprise), cucumber, cabbage, and chili sesame aioli, all wrapped inside a low-fat whole wheat tortilla, lined with nori seaweed! It literally tasted like a salmon sushi burrito (a sushito?) It was sooo good! And a really generous portion size as well; I ate half and brought the other half (as well as an entire bowl of guacamole) home to the hubby so he could try it 🙂
Tarryn had the Naked Chicken Fajita Bowl, which comes with steamed veggies, organic poblano brown rice, organic beans, guacamole, non-fat sour cream, and pico de gallo. This was my favorite meal of the night, I totally wish I had ordered it because it is right up my alley! I loved the squash the most!
Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention about the food that I really loved – Sharky’s totally provides so many different food options for people with different diet and lifestyle needs. Anything from vegan, to low calorie, to gluten-free, you name it, they probably have it! They are also committed to serving all natural and sustainable foods. I thought that was pretty awesome 🙂
Out of all of this though, I think the highlight of the night and something that was truly amazing, was that at the end of the dinner, Charise and David presented with a check for around $550.00 that they raised for the non-profit organization that also attended the dinner. Charise is really passionate about The Wetlands Conservancy, which is actually the only organization in Oregon that is dedicated to protecting and preserving Oregon’s wetlands. I just thought that it was really amazing that the owners and managers of the business had the liberty to get involved in the community and help raise money through the business for charities that are important to them. Knowing this definitely inspires me to get more involved in my community 🙂
So thanks for reading this guys, and seriously check Sharky’s out if you are in the Tualatin area! They aren’t far from the Bridgeport Shopping Center, and they even have a nail salon right next door, so grab your girlfriends (or whomever you want!) and get out for the day! Do some shopping, get your nails done, volunteer, or just plain drop in for their amazing food and drinks 😉 I promise, you won’t be disappointed!
xo,
B
Hi Brittany, I was at the dinner too (representing Tualatin Life) and you shared your blog with me. Nice job on the article and nice meeting you!~
Hi Michael,
Thanks so much! It was great to meet you!
B
EXCITING FOOD!!!!!!