I went to check out the Chesterfield Club on Friday for their invite-only opening night. It’s on the first floor of the red building that went up next to the Portland Rock Gym, with the Rocket, the new restaurant venture from the people who brought us Noble Rot upstairs. The party was packed by the time we got there, so much so that it was hard to get a really good sense of the decor—all I could see was people. The coolest part about it, though, is there’s a loft area with a giant seating pod in it, upholstered in perforated black leather with red trimmings. That spot would be perfect to reserve for a li’l party or something. We hung out in the pod for a while, and my companions sampled some of the “eh” looking appetizers being doled out for free—by all accounts they were pretty good, but I’d much rather go back and sample the actual menu. As far as the E Burnside strip goes, all in all I’d say the Chesterfield is a lot more Doug Fir than B Side, and I’m sure they’ll get a lot of cross traffic from across the street—especially on the weekends. Anyone else go check it out? Or the Rocket?