For one weekend a year, Portlanders are happy to pile out into the frozen winter air during Ice Bar. OK, maybe "happy" is stretching it, but we do it because the Ice Bar at Portland Harbor Hotel is such a unique and infrequent event.

It wasn't all that long ago that we stood out in the cold, haphazardly gripping our beers with ski gloves while alternately sipping and wiping our noses. And all the while we thought "God I wish it was warmer."

Of course the whole "ice" thing doesn't float well in the spring. Well actually, it does float - that's kind of the problem.

But ice aside, remember that stellar outdoor space? That sweet hidden courtyard just beyond the dinner tables at Eve's at the Garden?

You had to have noticed it and longed for a spring happy hour. Or maybe your noggin was too cold to think of such things.

I recall saying I'd be back when it was warmer, though that thought seemed to melt and disappear along with the ice bar martini luges.

Consider me thankful for the reminder I got last week then, when a colleague and I popped in to Eve's at the Garden to meet Chef Earl Morse during a welcome happy hour.

Chef Morse is new to Eve's - having replaced Jeff Landry not so long ago - and is in the midst of stirring up the restaurant's menu.

Of course what caught my attention was his reference to a stint he did in Vegas with performance ice sculpting company Fear no Ice. These guys don't simply whittle large blocks of ice, they do it choreographed to music and topped with pyrotechnics.

We even caught Chef Morse in the ice carving act on the patio, with some sporadic spring sun taking the place of the fireworks.

While the carving requires care and detail, the art of moving said carving is more "lift and pray."

But enough about the ice for the time being (we'll talk ice again later once we have Chef Morse fully committed to teaching me the art of ice sculpting. He's dang near convinced, I think).

The point that I'm leisurely getting to is the patio. Remember we talked about the patio? With the sun finally shaking its shyness and the temperatures getting in line with the season, drinks in the courtyard is a winning idea.

And thanks to the hidden nature of the place, you can head out at noon for a martini lunch and not worry about being spotted by nosy foot traffic and/or your 1:00 pm surgical patient.