Portland's best kept secrets

Here they are, people: two of the tastiest and most affordable date night dinners in Stump Town.

The Canyon Grill
Burger & shake joint by all appearances with minimal seating inside and a bit more seating outside. The main attraction: 2 for $22 steak dinners on Friday nights, complete with a salad, baked potato or mac & cheese, and green beans. Do yourself a favor and automatically portion out half of everything on your plate to take home. The food is great, the setting leans towards old fashioned and charming, and the owners are very warm and friendly. Plus I hear all their meat comes from a local source. A co-worker and her family go here every Friday night for dinner and I can certainly see why. We'll be back, too.

Nostrana's Happy Hour
In our experience we had to specifically ask for the happy hour menu. And it starts at 9pm so you have to be awake and hungry at that hour. But boy howdy is it worth it! Two wood fired pizzas and two glasses of wine in a lovely setting for $22. Not bad, and certainly the only way we would choose to eat at this otherwise fairly fancy place. Bonus: I've heard from several reliable sources the butterscotch dessert is the best sweet treat in town. The night we were there they were out of it, so a win win for us would be having a late night dinner here on the cheap and scoring this notorious dolce.

Have at it.

Good food here

Our sunny and relaxed Saturday, so far, has consisted of:

-Breakfast at Slappy Cakes with Adam & Michelle. We could tell Adam was excited so we let him order for us. On the menu: buttermilk pancakes with chocolate chips, hazel nuts, and scrambled sausage, two orders of bacon, one order of chicken fried bacon (a new guilty pleasure), and coffee. Pancakes with sausage cooked inside are surprisingly good.

- Poking around the food carts near Slappy Cakes. We determined a trip back for dinner is in order.

- A stroll through Powell's.

- Lunch at the dining room table instead of on the couch.
- A cat nap with Misha the kitty.

Now Ryan is going to do some laundry and I'm either going to sew (camera strap, pot holders, mouse pad) or read my book.

How is your Saturday faring?

Last weekend

...Summer did stop by and say hello to the great Northwest. Then it abruptly left us again.

Like an omen, Ryan's work schedule shifted at the last minute so that he didn't have to work on Saturday. We took full advantage of that small window of sunshine by spending it almost entirely outdoors.

Saturday we walked downtown and, for some reason, were surprised at all the people out & about. Apparently our idea of soaking up the sun when it emerges isn't an original one. We stopped by Saturday Market, the Rose Festival carnival, and the Dragon Boat races, where a handful of my cohorts were competing in the annual international race. They came in second in their division. Interestingly, they were defeated by a blind dragon boat team.

Here's what we saw:

New kid on the block

There's a new spice shop in town, downtown to be precise, aptly named The Spice and Tea Exchange.

Last night, as part of our date night (which involved some Poutine - thank you Canada - at The Original Dinerant, some art viewing at the Architectural Heritage Center, some happy birthday celebrating for an old comrade at Maui's on Williams, and a late night snack at Burgerville), we stopped in the pretty little shop to take a looksie. It was sensory overload, to be sure, and hard to pick just one thing to take home. In the end, Ryan found some Backwoods Hickory Rub which promises to be sensational and I selected a bag of Black Truffle Salt, something I am SO excited about I can hardly stand it.

I hear the black truffle salt is good on homemade fries. I intend to find out. By the way, the salt tastes like my favorite pizza at my favorite pizza place.

What else can I tell you on this fine and aggressively SUNNY Saturday morning? Just that I couldn't be more excited for this newest shop to join downtown and that its worth checking out stat.

Blinded by the light

What a glorious weekend it is here in Portland, Oregon. Sunny and mild with bright blue skies (blinding, really). Yesterday we went on a 5 mile walk over to the Tao of Tea and then to Powell's on Hawthorne.

Today the windows are wide open, the curtains are pulled back, and we are soaking up the sun like a dehydrated sponge.

But that's not what I'm stopping in to tell you about. We discovered, quite by accident, another Christmas movie that's made it to our list: How About You. It's one that could be enjoyed anytime of year but seems especially appropriate for December.

Must dash! The grand outdoors beckon.

Crazy or common sense?

Last night Ryan & I went to a favorite local pizza place, Apizza Scholls, which was recently acclaimed the second-best pizza joint in the country. We weren't surprised.

We don't go there very often because the wait is typically very long. Last night I had a hankering, and despite it being a Saturday at that, we decided to take our chances. "One hour and forty-five minutes," the lady at the counter said when we asked how long the wait would be. "Put our name down!" I said. So we waited (admittedly, we waited out much of that time at Bar of the Gods next door).

Now typically, when a friendly face at a restaurant tells us the wait is more than 20 minutes, I laugh in their faces and leave. Even better, the longer the wait the harder I laugh and the more venemently I swear off their restaurant for life (don't ask why I'm that way, I just am).

But this place, this place is just worth the wait, plain & simple, especially when the waiter delivers the Tartufo Bianco pizza with a side of anchovies. Seriously.

Yesterday's sunset

Ryan's got an eye for these things

Night walking

This is what you might expect to see in the middle of a summer night if walking around our little neighborhood, trying to cool off:

I bring you more of Spring

This on my way into work this morning.

Light & reflection

Another recent sunrise (from earlier this week). Did you know, natural light in the NW in February is rare? My pale skin is testimony. Witness other moments this week where I paused to savor the light:




The sun is out right now, but weathermen warn a storm is brewing off the coast and swirling her way to us in an unusually loopy pattern. When she arrives everyone will know it.

Inspired by these quick glimpses of sunlight, I am off to do a little spring cleaning. Doesn't that sound like fun?

Also, if you're looking for a little bit of cheery yellow splash, visit House on Hill Road, where the bright color is currently being celebrated in a consecutive series of posts.

Grocery love

I've tried them all: Fred Meyer, Safeway, Trader Joe's, Winco, New Seasons, Whole Foods. Why is the perfect market so elusive? Here's what I need in a food store: non-pretentious shoppers who keep a firm hold on their polite children, an excellent produce, cheese, and wine selection, a decent stock of household supplies, and -most of all- affordable groceries.

Basically, what I need is a one-stop shop.

Well, I still haven't found a store that perfect, but on a co-workers recommendation I stopped by Sheridan Fruit Company this afternoon and instantly felt I'd met my grocery store match. It's small. It's quaint. It sells in bulk. The produce and wine are fresh and local. There's an old school meat counter. The cheese selection meets my standards. And the man who bagged my groceries actually carried them out to my car.

That, my friends, is as good as it gets.

PS - A quick thought. We spent part of the day in a suburb of Portland (15 miles from our apartment, as a general reference) looking at cheaply made, ugly, and quite affordable new condos for sale. What we noticed is that much of the 'burb was comprised of brand spanking newness, from the cars to the restaurants to the homes and shops and other buildings. How long is a community like that expected to thrive in its newness? What's the life-expectancy of cheap construction? I'm glad we're home, and I guess my point is that the Sheridan Fruit Company appealed to me so much because of its organic, old-as-hell (circa 1916) grunginess.

Mini post B

New favorite restaurant. Best burgers in town (yes, even better than Ole Ole's!); possibly best burgers ever. Feel bad about ordering hamburgers there when its a tapas joint.

Wonderful atmosphere. There's even a secret nook to sit in, like a slot wide enough for a row of two-seat tables.

If you're planning on going and want a date call me up. I'm available at moment's notice to meet you there!

OK. I've gotten these things off my chest. Now back to sewing for me.

(image from here)

Perfect [NW] summer day

First and fore most, happy happy birthday to John/Kenna and miss Olivia! We hope you two had a fun day celebrating together - we plan to be there in person next year to kick up our heels with the rest of the fam. John, have you room for two more??

Today we woke up and spontaneously decided to head to the beach. We ended up at Ecola Park (horrible name, in my opinion), near Cannon Beach, and went on a lovely hike before strolling through town and eating lunch.

The surfers were out, as was the misty fog, making the day cool, moist, and mystical. I love cool, moist, and mystical days, though it was strange being able to hear and smell the ocean but not actually see it. I also love surfers. I want to surf. By my observation today it seemed the ratio of surfers to big waves was disproportionate (many more dudes & dudettes:large waves).

Without a doubt, the pacific northwest is beautiful - even if it is too foggy to see the ocean.

Within walking distance

Portland, Oregon is a pretty groovy place to live (as is Portland, Maine, I know!). Take this, for example. Within, like, two minutes I can walk to any of the following fine establishments for a uniquely Portland experience:

Voodoo Donuts (there's a new one in town, ladies & gents) - for late-night donuts and weddings

Stumptown Coffee @ Ecomotion - for good coffee & test driving

Fire on the Mountain - for chicken wings any way you like 'em, baby!

Pambiche - for creole/cuban fare; quite possibly my favorite restaurant in town; the only place I moan over beans & rice

Doug Fir - for a lodge-y, hipster, music-venue/bar experience, where one can also attend craft fairs

The Rocket - a circa 1950's schwanky restaurant with an outdoor terrace and the best view of downtown PDX

The Screen Door - a celebration of southern cuisine (I love a celebration of southern cuisine)

Jeez, I'm getting carried away. I love this town.