Downtown

Matador Bar

Went downtown yesterday for a meeting. Meeting was on the umpteenth floor of a high rise. Walk in the front door, tell the man at the desk our names and he gets up and walks over to the elevators, unlocks the console and programs it for our floor. I've never run into this kind of security before. On the upside I successfully navigated our way back to our car that we had parked in the Fox Tower parking garage.
Go in the wrong door of the building and take the wrong elevator and you can end up hiking for hours trying to find your car.

Matador Wallpaper

After the meeting we went to the Matador restaurant for lunch where I saw the most impressive bar (top) and the scary wallpaper in the bathroom (bottom).

Bistro Alder

Bistro Alder Ceiling

Had dinner with wife and older son at Bistro Alder yesterday evening. We lucked out when we got a table because they were pretty much fully booked.

The ceiling in this place is nuts. Somebody went to a great deal of trouble to create this.

Detail

Clyde's Prime Rib

Clyde's Prime Rib

Had lunch here last Friday. The place is like a throwback to the fifties with a dining room, cocktail lounge and live jazz at night. Very plush, and very good food, even my low rent cheeseburger was delicious.

Clyde's Dining Room

There was a sign near the entrance proclaiming Wall to Wall Soul, and photos all around the dining room of black musicians, most of whom I had never heard of. I did recognize some of the tunes being played.

Boss 302

This fine Mustang was in the parking lot when we left. Just amazing since it's at least 50 years old.

Orangery

Orangery in The Warren Street Hotel in New York City

Haute Living has a bunch of photos.

Birria de Res en Caldo

Went to Amelia's Mexican restaurant for dinner on the other day. I usually order enchiladas or chile relleno but this time I got the Saturday Special - Birria de Res en Caldo - and it was great. It shows up as a large bowl of a thick broth, but lurking below the surface were several large chunks of beef. They had been cooking for a while, so they came apart easily. I wasn't able to finish it, so I took the leftovers home and got another full meal out it. This might be my new favorite dish. Too bad it's only available on Saturday.

Annabel's

Annabel's

Fancy private club in London, England. Has a page in Wikipedia.

Jigsaw puzzle here.

out.aza.blue

out.aza.blue

out.aza.blue is a gourmet restaurant out in the middle of nowhere, 20 minutes from my house on the Wilson River highway. You gotta keep your eyes open for it because it's just a wide spot in the road. 

They serve dinner and brunch, but only when they are so inclined. We made reservations for a prime rib dinner on Saturday night to celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary. Very pleasant. We sat on the deck out back overlooking Gales Creek. We saw some mosquitoes, or at least we thought they were mosquitoes, but we didn't get bit and I didn't hear any of that annoying high pitched buzzing you often get with mosquitoes, so maybe they were some other kind of bug. 

The food was wonderful, the mushroom tart especially. Prime rib is good because it is meat, but I think I'd just as soon have a steak. You really need a sharp knife and a cutting board to dissect a slice of prime rib, especially when it is almost raw. My wife got a beer and I got a bourbon and water. The bourbon came in a tulip shaped glass and I think it was a double. The water came in a shot glass, and was only one shot. Dessert was tiramiso. Evidently they had more than they needed so Gabriel, the chef, came out and passed out second servings.

Thursday Lunch

US26 Eastbound inside Vista Ridge Tunnel
Notice the center lane is relatively clear

I drove into Portland today for lunch. It takes about half an hour to get there, 20 minutes of highway cruising and ten minutes of crawling across the parking lot that is downtown Portland. The freeway is smooth sailing from Hillsboro until we get to the top of the West Hills at Sylvan and then everything comes to a stop for a moment before we begin crawling down the hill into downtown. Highway 26 at this point is three lanes. The leftmost lane is destined for I-405 Northbound and the right lane is headed for I-405 South. These two lanes are packed and they will crawl all the way down the hill. The center lane goes into downtown proper and it would flow smoothly except, one, it's scary flying by all these cars that are just sitting there knowing that any one of them could, at any time, get fed up with crawling and pull into the center lane, and two, there are always a couple of yahoos who think they can cheat and wait until the last minute to cut into line. Of course, they may not always be yahoos, this might be their first time on this road and aren't aware of the protocol. Usually there is a point to these stories, but if there is one I've forgotten it, or maybe I just wanted to share a bit my life.

Leaky Roof Gastro Pub

We had lunch at the Leaky Roof Gastro Pub, nice quiet corner bar with free on-street parking. Nothing fancy, cheeseburgers and fries, though the standard cheeseburger comes with two beefy patties.

Porsche Rally Car - Note the winch on the front

Across the street we saw this bright yellow race car so after lunch we wandered over to take a look. Looks very serious with big mud / snow tires. 

Grand Prix Motors

It was parked in front of Grand Prix Motors. We went in and looked around, there were acres of painted and polished sheet metal on maybe two dozen of the shiniest cars in the world. It was just mind boggling. 

Ford Pickup with Tremor Package

Looking on their website they seem to specialize in used Porsches, but what's this? They have a Ford? What kind of Ford? A pickup? Oh, it's got the Tremor Package, whatever that it is. I'm afraid to ask.

Backyard Social and No Fun

Backyard Social Mural

Had dinner at Backyard Social last night. We ate in the backyard where they had this cool (ominous?) Mural painted on a garage wall. Somebody there is paying attention to seasonings - my burger had something different on it, no idea what it was, but it was very tasty. I've probably had it before, but never on a burger.

No Fun Bar

After the movie we stopped in at the No Fun bar for a beer. There is a miniature stage at the back of the room where they have bands playing sometimes. Not last night, last night they were playing old Westerns off of YouTube.

The Lion King

The Lion King Broadway musical trailer
syracuse.com

Took the family to see the show at Keller Auditorium this afternoon. Singing and dancing and outrageous costumes. The singing and dancing didn't do much for me, I didn't recognize any of the songs and the lyrics were pretty much unintelligible, to me anyway. The show opened with the Rafiki (the baboon) rambling on in some sort of gibberish, might have been a foreign language, might have been gibberish. Anyway it didn't make any sense, but at least I could hear her clearly. To top it off, when she is done with her spiel she asks the audience if we understood, which got her a big laugh. There were several other funny bits which I appreciated. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I got the funny. The costumes were pretty great and the way they were manipulated was very cool. Turns out the costumes were made in Scappoose, Oregon, which is just a village not too far from here on Route 30 along the Columbia River.

The Lion King on Broadway is coming to Portland; all the puppets were made in Oregon
Here is Oregon

Went to Bullards afterwards for dinner. Great food, great service and a great bill to go along with it.

Fuller's Coffee Shop

Fuller's Coffee Shop

We had breakfast af Fuller's Coffee Shop last weekend. Nothing spectacular, just a small joint with a counter with 28 seats (they're numbered). They serve a good solid breakfast, but this duct work over the kitchen caught my eye:

Duct work over Fuller's kitchen

Look at that thing! It's a work of art.

I didn't post this last week because I thought my one photo came out blurry and wasn't good enough to post. Then I look at it today it looks pretty sharp. Do pictures magically get sharper as they age? I don't know, maybe it wasn't getting rendered fast enough for me. I mean computers do that sometimes, they'll put up a heavily pixelated version of an image and then they'll go back over it once or twice filling in the details. Could have been a hiccup in the cloud, which is where this image is stored, so it gave a blurry preview and I wasn't patient enough to wait for it to finish loading. I mistakenly thought it was just a bad photo.

I don't know what it is with the camera in my smartphone. Sometimes the pictures are perfectly clear and other times they are terribly blurry. For instance, today I took a couple of pictures of the dresser I repaired. I took like four shots of two views, took them one after another, not changing the way I was holding it or how I was 'clicking-the-shutter' and in both cases only one of the four came out. The others were just garbage. I don't get it.

Verde Cocina

Verde Cocina

We had an early dinner at Verde Cocina with our daughter last night. As the above photo shows, it's a real brick-and-mortar restaurant. 

Verde Cocina Streetside Seating

We sat outside in their street-side booths. There has been a proliferation of these things since the pandemic and they appear to be becoming permanent. It's a low traffic, low speed street, so sitting there inches away from certain death was comfortable enough, as long as you don't think about all the yahoos running around in cars. There was only one hot-rodder revving his engine and squealing his tires while we were there. If you ask me, I think these street-side booths are a really terrible idea, they're dangerous and they consume parking spaces. They look to be part of Portland's war on the automobile. Isn't that wonderful.

Might be the last time we get to enjoy eating outdoors for a while. Cold weather and rain are liable to start any day now and then there won't be any dining outside till next spring. 

Añejo Old Fashioned

'Cold' weather is coming so I am on the verge of switching from beer to bourbon, but I wanted something with a little extra flavor. I had a Manhattan at Stanford's last week, but it was a bit too sweet. Last night I thought I'd try an Old Fashioned, and lo and behold, they have one. So, made with tequila instead of bourbon, and Ancho Reyes Chili Liqueur, which gave it a little tang. It was excellent.

Jicama Sticks

Devil daughter ordered an appetizer of Jicama Sticks. They don't taste like much, but they are crunchy, kind of like water chestnuts. There was a sprinkling of chili powder, so there was a bit of a tang. Daughter doesn't trust water chestnuts. "I mean" she says, "are they even chestnuts?" I have to agree, the only place I have seen them is in a can or on a plate of Chinese food from a restaurant.

My wife and I shared a surf & turf platter and it was perfecto. 

P. S. avif file format is becoming more popular for images. Blogger can't handle it. There are online converters available and they seem to work.

McMenamins

McMenamins Kennedy School

We went to a McMenamins to meet some out-of-town friends today, and then we got to go to another one because someone got their signals crossed. That wouldn't be the girls, would it? Don't look at me, I didn't say anything. It was fine though, we got to visit two different restaurants we hadn't been to before and one (McMenamins on the Columbia) was across the river in Vancouver. I haven't been across the river in a coon's age so that was exciting.

McMenamins on the Columbia

I avoid going to Vancouver because there are only two bridges across the river and the traffic varies from extremely heavy to horrendous. Besides, I have everything I need right here: beer, cookies and an internet connection. I don't need to go anywhere.

Since it was lunchtime, the traffic was only heavy, not horrendous. The only really bad part of today's trip is the intersection where MLK (Martin Luther King) joins I-5.

MLK and I-5 Intersection
Blue line is my route

Truck traffic from North Marine Drive comes in from the top left, turns right onto the cloverleaf that leads to I-5 North. At the top of the loop, the ramp from MLK dumps you right into the middle of this traffic with no merge lane. I managed to slip in between two trucks, though I may have given the following truck a heart attack. I dunno who designed this monstrosity, but they should get the Eldritch Horror of Year Award.

Cafe Nell

Cafe Nell
on the corner of 20th & Kearney

Cafe Nell is my new favorite place for lunch in downtown Portland. I've been there like four times in the last few months. I'm not quite sure what sets it apart from other places. Could it be the carpeted floors? Pretty nice in any case.

Jojo (The Restaurant)

Jojo (The Restaurant) before it became Jojo (The Restaurant)

I drove into Portland the other day to have lunch with oldest. At the corner of his street there is a dumpster delivery truck waiting. It is not up against the curb so the one travel lane in the center is not as wide as normal. I managed to squeeze by and there is a big empty spot by the curb so I pull in. There is a meter maid writing tickets a couple cars ahead of me. My parking spot is not totally legal, I'm halfway in  a loading zone, but I'm only here to pick up my son, so I have low expectations of grief. A tow truck pulls up alongside me and then proceeds to back into the spot behind me. There is small car back there, parked in the loading zone and behind it is the dumpster truck waiting for the tow truck to remove the small car, which he does in short order. The meter maid has moved on up the block, oldest arrives and we depart.

Jojo (The Restaurant) Fancy Wood Bar

We drove the mile to the Jojo restaurant, find a parking place a block away and pay my fee. Portland doesn't have parking meters by every parking place anymore. Now they have robo-boxes on every block. Used to be they would print a ticket which you would need to place inside the glass of the passenger window, so you would have to walk to the robo-kiosk, pay for your parking, and then walk back to your car and place the ticket. Now they ask you for the number from your license plate, so now you walk to the kiosk, find you need your license number and have to walk back to your car to get the number and then walk back to the kiosk and hope you don't forget the number on your way. Big improvement.

Evidently there is also a JoJo food truck. They seem to be related. Fried chicken and burgers. $30 for lunch for two. Order at the counter and they bring the food to you. We sat at a picnic table out on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. There was a stunning young woman sitting at an adjacent table. It was difficult not to stare at her. Brown skin, long dark hair. bare shoulders and bright orange fingernails an inch long. I wanted to take her picture but my family has a phobia about doing anything in public that would attract attention so I refrained. She was out of this world.

Now we have another errand, so we drive a mile and find parking spot two blocks away. This time I remember to check my license number before I walk to the robo-kiosk only to find that it is out of order. The next nearest kiosk is almost as far as our destination. This stop will be a short one so we skip paying the fee and go on about our business. Besides, the city already got $4.20 out of me for the previous parking spot, and we didn't use all of our allotted time.

Shelbyville

Sidewalk Dining at The Observatory

Shelbyville is a fictional town in The Simpsons universe, it is next door to Springfield and is nearly identical, though there are subtle differences. Ross and I drove over to NE 82nd Avenue in Portland on Friday to have lunch at The Observatory. NE 82nd is like the other side of the world for me, being as I  live 15 miles west of downtown. 82nd is where the airport is. If you consider Beaverton to be Springfield, being over there is like being in Shelbyville.

The restaurant is fine, though we ended up sitting at the picnic tables on the sidewalk. It wasn't too bad. We had one person collecting signatures for a petition stop by and ask us for signatures but they were quickly dismissed. There was a fair amount of traffic noise and there was one woman who looked like maybe she was practicing karates moves on the sidewalk in front of the pet supply store next door. Karate or crazy. Or just typical Portland, you pick.

We had burger burgers. They other like four kinds of burgers including elk, lamb and beef. The tab all told was $45.

Like any big city there are myriad ways to get across town to Shelbyville. If I am on a mission to take care of some business, like going to the airport, I'll take I-84. It isn't much fun, it's usually crowded with the usual assortment of idiots putting along at 50 MPH and the maniacs trying to go 90 and failing with intermittent massive application of the brakes. It takes a lot of effort to stay calm, stay in my lane and not get caught up in the frenzy of getting someplace. So we took Burnside. There are a lot of traffic lights and it's slower, but I get to see parts of Portland I seldom visit. Once you get out of the commercial district it turns residential and there some very nice houses so the scenery is pleasant. It also gave us a chance to catch up. 

Vinge's Sheet Metal
Note Bender on the corner

Just past 67th Avenue the main drag veers off to the right. I vaguely remember being out this way before, so I veer and half a dozen blocks farther on I can tell we are in Shelbyville because we come across Vinge's Sheet Metal shop. We made several trips out here when we were working on the duct work in the new house.

Mr. Plywood

We drive around for a bit, gradually homing in on the restaurant and we pass by Mr. Plywood. If you need any further evidence that you are in Shelbyville and not Springfield, this is it.

Jaguar XJ6

There's a 20 minute wait before we can be seated at the restaurant, so we walk around the neighborhood. It basically a little scruffier version of Beaverton. We spot several old cars on our walk: a '64 Mercury Cyclone that someone had but some effort into, a '63 Ford Falcon that looked pretty original and looked like is was still being used, and an aging Jaguar Sedan that looked like it hasn't move in ten years. Amazingly enough, the tires were still holding air. I wouldn't breath on it  though, it looks like one breath could turn the whole thing to dust. We didn't take any pictures, we were otherwise occupied, but when I got home I wondered if that Jag might show up on Streetview, and sure enough it did.

Sunday Lunch Downtown

Met the kids for lunch today at Cheryl's in downtown Portland. Standing outside waiting on everyone to show up I looked around and decided the scene was worth some photos. Brian Micklethwait's posts might have something to do with that.

A pair of brand new buildings

The one on the left has an external fire escape. From where I was standing it looked there was a ladder going straight up on the outside of the fire escape balconies. I don't know why you would need that when you have stairs. But now when I look at the photo, it appears that the ladder rungs are simple dividers in the windows and there is no ladder. Weird.

Construction, Mural and Old Church

The building above the restaurant has some fancy fire escape balconies

Cheryl's dining pods - The Oregonian

Our dining pod

Our pod was one of half a dozen or so in a row, right out in the street. I've noticed this trend in a couple of other trendy areas. I don't like it, I think it's stupid and dangerous.

Bill was a shade over $100 for six people, no alcohol. I got the Portuguese fried rice which seemed to be a specialty. It was fine, but I think next time I'll get an omelette or French toast. 

Save us, Plexiglas!

People solo dining at a hotpot restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand.

No, the shields in the picture look more like polyethylene film than Plexiglas, but Plexiglas sales have doubled since this disaster showed up.

Nordstrom Cafe

Washington Square Mall

We had a late lunch / early dinner at the Nordstrom Cafe at Washington Square Mall yesterday afternoon. There is a row of windows that face out into the mall (above). We've eaten there several times over the last few months and I'm always impressed by this view. It's like the interior of a palace from someone's fantasy, clean, well lit, polished marble floors, well finished storefronts, and no vagrants or bums. I must admit there wasn't anyone dressed like royalty either.

A place like this must cost a pretty penny, but as long as everyone is well behaved it could last forever, or at least until fashion dictates that it's time for a change. It's privately owned, so anyone who misbehaves can be ejected, so you need to have people charged with security on hand. They do a pretty good job, I think I saw one car patrolling the parking lot. Not like the train stations in Paris where they have soldiers with machine guns scattered about.

The food is decent. They have, as you might expect, all kinds of foo-foo (salads and such), but they also have real meat, like beef, though nothing as American as a cheeseburger. The prices are a little warm, about $15 for a sandwich, but that seems to be about the going rate for lunch at any kind of sit-down restaurant these days. The business is streamlined, you order and pay at the entrance, but after that the service is just like a regular restaurant. They bring the food to your table and if you need anything else like drink refills or a take-away box, they handle that as well. Since the server (I was going to say waitress, but I think at least once the role was filled by a guy) doesn't have to deal with taking your order, which can take forever if you have a foodie who wants to discuss every little detail of the meal, I think you might be justified in leaving a smaller than usual tip, say 10% instead of 15.

The Imperial

The Imperial Restaurant (bottom Left) & The Imperial Hotel (right)

The family got together for lunch on Saturday at The Imperial restaurant in downtown Portland. With a name like that, and the fact that they take reservations, I was a afraid it might be expensive, but it wasn't too awful. $150 for six, with coffee, no alcohol. Because there were six of us, the bill included the tip. It also contained a 3% wellness charge. I have no idea where that came from. I had the Eggs Benedict because it seemed to have everything I wanted, plus I don't think I've ever ordered it before. It comes covered with what I think is Hollandaise sauce. It looked good, but taste-wise it didn't seem to be anything special. A little salty, maybe. Okay, I went out on a limb and tried something new. Now that I've had it, I can go back to ordering stuff I like.

We got there an hour early and found a metered parking spot right across the street, but the meter is only good for two hours. By the time we finished lunch we had overstayed our time by half an hour. Since we escaped without a ticket I will only say that parking in downtown Portland sucks, otherwise this screed would go on for pages.