At home

We came back and were totally shocked to see how much clothing we still owned, how stupidly full our pantry, how empty our house without four more people.

I am a whole lot more inclined to just go with whatever we have and do what needs to be done. Eat that freezer. Lighten that shelf.

The first night I was hungry at 9 pm, so I made macaroni with olive oil, garlic, and broccoli, with a lot of cracked pepper and some grated parmesan on top. It was an excellent plan. With some chickpeas, it could have been a full dinner. It took maybe ten minutes from start to finish, including peeling broccoli stems.

Sandwiches are definitely a larger part of the menu. Mustard, turkey, butter lettuce, homemade pickled peppers & cucumber slices. Our usual grocery store has even just now started carrying the Dave's Killer Bread we've been eating for the past month. The components are a touch fancier, if one can claim that homemade pickles are fancy, but the results are almost exactly like the many sandwiches I crammed down to make sure I wouldn't fall flat on my face while biking 5 miles up the hill home.

I want salad. The one I ate all the time in Portland was spinach with chopped apple and almond, topped with some storebought honey mustard dressing. I could go for another one of those right this second. It's not a shock to find I bought all three main components as soon as we got back.

I really missed soup. The night after we came back I made a pureed carrot soup with a mix of pinto and chickpea broth, spiced with cumin seed, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne, and stirred in some garam masala at the end. We ate it with half a loaf of sourdough and I for one would not have minded more.

Now that we have our toaster oven, I want cheesy toast all the time. Top a slice of bread with cheddar. Put it in the toaster oven. Toast until the cheese is bubbling. Eat. Mustard is optional and I think not necessary. Simple is nice.

That said, I am never going to be that into peanut butter toast.

Portland restaurants!

Man, I am falling super far behind. So let's talk about some of the best restaurants we've eaten at over the past month, and then we'll wrap up all the Portland with one more post. Good? Ok.

BEST TOTAL EXPERIENCE (and pizza besides): Lovely's 50/50, 4039 N Mississippi Ave.

This was a total surprise, as we had not planned to eat here even a little. Here's what happened: we went to Emily Blackapple's art show, which was excellent, and is running until sometime in November at the Land Gallery. You should go if you're in Portland. Sea creatures! I'm just saying.

Afterward we meandered up & down Mississippi deciding where we wanted to eat. Lovely's was not even on the initial list, but reading their menu of wood-fired pizzas was more than enough to get us in the door anyway. At that point we saw the house-made ice cream cooler, which included both basil and salted caramel flavors, and settled down to wait the ten minutes for a table quite happily.

We knew we'd made the right decision when our appetizer of marinated olives came out...and they were warm. I don't think I've ever eaten so many olives in a row ever in my life.

And then: PIZZA. John got lacinato kale with calabrian chilies, provolone picante, lemon & ricotta. I got housemade fennel sausage with red chard, kale & rosemary. And holy shit, you guys, they were so good. I haven't had pizza that good since we were last in Brooklyn and spent an evening at Franny's. OH. Why is there no pizza like this anywhere near where we actually live? Also, in case you were wondering, kale is a fantastic pizza topping. You should absolutely try it.

We finished the night with a scoop of miso toffee ice cream--very much in the salted caramel family. This was the only slightly off note in the night. It didn't actually taste of miso--just salt. It was certainly good, but it just wasn't miso. Maybe that's actually a good thing, but it was a small disappointment nonetheless.

But you know what? I don't even care. Everything else was so amazing that I have no complaints, and will certainly be back at some point.

BEST FOOD CART: Tabor, SW 5th & Oak pod

We had lunch with Michelle of The Hoot Eats at Tabor, home of the evidently famous schnitzelwich. How can you not eat something called a schnitzelwich? I got classic pork, because I knew there was no way I would be able to eat another one during the trip, considering how many other food choices are everywhere. Why not go with the most heritagenous version?

It was pretty amazing: a huge breaded fried pork cutlet on a ciabatta roll with crunchy lettuce and a roasted red pepper/eggplant? sauce. The texture of the pork was excellent: tender and delightful and not at all stringy or difficult. And I could barely even eat half of it. Next time I would definitely get a half schnitzelwich, which they also sell. SO GOOD.

Plus we got to eat outside on a bench and people-watch and hear all about Michelle's trip to Thailand and Cambodia. You can't argue with that!

Obviously there have been PLENTY of other very good food cart experiences, considering Portland, but still.

BEST RANDOM PLACE ON HAWTHORNE: Zach's Shack, 4611 SE Hawthorne

Here they have an assortment of hot dogs, including veggie dogs, that are all fancy and have many delightful toppings. John got two tofu dogs piled with jalapenos and sport peppers; I got one actual beef dog with cream cheese,tomato, and chopped onion. DELIGHTFUL. There is also beer and a full bar and ping pong! ZOMG.

It's very divey and comforting and relaxed, and of course you get to stuff your face with the dogs of your choice. I don't know about you, but I have a slight obsession with hot dogs--I mean, what person who's worked within a couple blocks of any NYC park doesn't?--so this was the best possible plan.

BEST BAKERY: Tabor Bread, 5051 SE Hawthorne

I got a loaf of their special wood-fired blueberry hazelnut spelt bread for Bethany's birthday, fresh out of the very smoky wood-fired oven at 8 am, and dang. There's definitely some actual bread happening here. The loaf was super tangy and a bit damp, almost like a sourdough. Do they use a poolish? Something like that. It wasn't a cake like banana bread; it was BREAD. We discovered that a quick toast and a whack of butter are an exceptional plan. I am also very interested to try it out in french toast form. This will probably not happen, since we've eaten most of the loaf, but hey.

I seriously regret being unable to eat more than a couple slices of bread at a time, is what I'm saying. Otherwise I would have bought several more loaves.

There is also a carafe of almond milk just out on the coffee bar. I'm just saying.

BEST DINER: The Cameo Cafe, 8111 NE Sandy Blvd.

John and I are definitely diner enthusiasts, which means it is especially unfortunate that we live in Silicon Valley, where the diners certainly aren't. What I would not give for a good diner within walking distance of downtown MTV! UGH.

Anyway, this means that when we're out of town we are always, always on the lookout for diners, and this time we found a doozy. The Cameo Cafe's menu is part very breakfast-oriented diner standard, with pancakes bigger than a plate and a massive slab of hash browns in process always covering half the grill top, and part Korean food, with things like pindaetuck (veg-stuffed pancake with rice) and kimchi ramen stir-fry. And it's all in this little oddly shaped building on one of Portland's many weird triangular blocks, filled with a long, angled bar, a bunch of little tables with wire-frame chairs, and a whole bunch of decorative paraphernalia everywhere.

Everyone is nice and the coffee flows freely & often, and if you order the french toast special you get a full three tablespoons of butter with it. There is also a coconut waffle filled with shreds of coconut, and homemade raspberry sauce to squirt across the top.

Every item at the Cameo Cafe is too big for me to eat, but that won't stop me from trying.

HONORABLE MENTION: Produce Row, 204 SE Oak

I ate my first banh mi ever here just last week. We're going again tomorrow night. Hooray!

Portland bars and the drinks thereof

Ok ok! I am catching up with what we've been doing in Portland. One thing is visiting bars and drinking delicious beverages. Here are some of them.

Most of the time I've been drinking beer in dark shadowy places, which means I have very few pictures. Oh well. We all know what a pint of beer looks like anyway, right?

The Old Gold, 2105 N Killingsworth

We went to meet friends here for not only drinks but, as it turns out, also a giant plate of kale with bacon and a platter of house-made pickles including cucumbers, beet, and even pears. SUPER interesting. I had a red ale, which was excellent, and then a cocktail called the Birds & Bees, which is "Aviation Gin, Aperol, grapefruit juice, fresh lemon juice, grapefruit bitters, served up." DELIGHTFUL.

The Old Gold is actually a whisky/ey bar and has an entire blackboard full of options, if that's your thing. It is actually my thing, but it was a gin night. It's all good in any case.

bottles, 5015 NE Fremont

Possibly my favorite new discovery of this trip. bottles has both a multi-roomed, multi-purpose bar, with a variety of both indoor and outdoor nooks, and an array of cases filled with bottles available to drink there or take home. It's super relaxing and neighborhoody, and you can easily escape the drone of tv sports with a simple change of room. Win win!

Bar of the Gods, 4801 SE Hawthorne Blvd

"Darker than Plato's cave, but only in terms of lighting." BA HA NERD JOKE

I love a good dive bar, and one called Bar of the Gods definitely deserves a visit or two. There's a double-sided bar with booths along one side and a couple of pool tables down the other: good for all your beer-drinking and socializing needs. Bonus: faux-Olympian gold columns flanking the door and sparkly grape lights hung from the rafters!

We were thinking we'd go a second time last Friday, but we discovered a quite loud band was playing. While this is probably what a lot of people want out of a bar, I'm not really at that place anymore. Be aware! Instead, we decided to go back to our airbnb with a couple bottles of our own, and spend the evening accidentally about forgetting said beers in favor of code. Yeah.

The Sapphire Hotel, 5008 SE Hawthorne Blvd

This place was dark--dark red, to be precise, with a cascade of philodendrons curtaining the doorway--and crowded, with many carefully dressed hipster customers and a substantial menu of fancy cocktails with fancy names to match. It was loud, but not unbearably so, and the drinks were certainly delightful.

The highlight of the evening was a cocktail called the Retrosex, because of course. It's the drink at the top of the page with the gigantic basil leaf: gin and basil and grapefruit, served in a freezing cold copper tumbler full of ice. Hey, did you hear that metal conducts heat? Yeah. The cup was cold, and that absolutely added to its charm. I wouldn't spend every weekend here by any means, but if you want a fancy cocktail or two--and maybe dinner besides--it's definitely a good candidate.

We still have awhile, so I'm sure we'll go to some more exciting places in the future.

In conclusion, the Portland bar scene is numerous and worth it. Hooray!

A NE Portland mini coffee tour

Man, I am really falling down on the foodblog front this week! But I guess that's what happens when you're essentially learning a new city, working full-time, suddenly increasing your biking from near-zero to 10+ miles per day (with HILLS), hanging out with multiple groups of friends, celebrating multiple birthdays (I am now a power of six! A really small power, but still) and living in a house with two kids under the age of seven. And did I mention I fell down the stairs yesterday? I'm fine, but it's just another thing to tackle--not to mention another dimension to my already existent biking soreness.

So why don't I start by talking about all the coffee I've drunk over the past week or so?

I generally start off my workdays with a trip to the coffeeshop, a regular coffee with milk or cream, and a lot of laptop work. Portland, if you were unaware, has all the coffee everywhere, so I have been having an excellent time trying out all and sundry coffees in the land.

Barista, 1725 NE Alberta

This is the only shop on the list that I've been to before, and the only one at which I ordered anything besides just plain coffee. Although I suppose an Americano could be considered plain coffee...but regardless, it was delicious. My favorite thing about this place is the bar that curves around the back of the barista stations: beautiful wood with plenty of stools for all your coffee-and-work needs.

It can be a little tough to get a seat in the crowded front of the shop, but isn't that the case at all the best coffeeshops? Frequently, yes.

Half Pint Cafe, 537 SE Ash #108

We've been working in the same space as our friends Danny and Bethany, the founders of Beeminder, and this little coffeeshop is just up the street from their office.

We had a marginally hard time finding it because both their site and Maps list them as "Mudd Works Roastery," but everything worked out perfectly once we went inside. There is indeed Mudd Works coffee available approximately one step from the front door, in a totally charming, narrow space. We got our coffees to go, so I can't comment on the working-there situation, but the tasty caffeine experience was all it should be.

Case Study Coffee, 5347 NE Sandy

I really like working here because of the long library table that runs down the room. The smaller tables are copper-topped, which is super appealing as well. The excellent coffee doesn't hurt either.

This is the only place I've gone back to more than once so far, which definitely says something about what a great space it is for work. There's just something about a big library table.

Heart Roasters, 2211 E Burnside

I picked this shop to visit because it's at a good location to take a break on the bike ride to or from the office. Coffee: delicious. Their roaster is right out in the middle of the shop, looming with the delightful promise of more coffee, more, MORE. My shop of choice at home has their roaster out in the shop as well, so this made me feel extra at-home.

This was the most crowded shop I've been to, but it was still totally possible to grab a seat and get some quality work-doing and coffee-drinking done. Hooray!

These shops have a couple things in common.

1. Good coffee. I mean, I am not a connossieur by any means--I will totally mix different blends of self-serve to make a half-caf in my normal shop at home--but I still know what tastes good. These coffees definitely taste good.

2. Communal tables. I'm not sure about the Half Pint, since I didn't go back to the actual seating area, but every single other shop has some kind of communal seating arrangement. This makes it a bit easier to find a seat while also giving you the chance to easily meet people if you so desire. However, nobody was pushy, either, so it's a win-win situation all around.

Obviously we've mostly been in one quadrant of Portland so far, but never fear--there will be more exploring in the future!

Next up: food. Or bars. Maybe both? We'll see.