one week ago today, i was in portland…
well, actually we got there a week ago yesterday.
my girlfriend, A., and i flew in to portland to visit her sister (K.) and her husband (J.) on a friday…and after a quick tour of K’s house (and a glass of wine), we decided to take in a portland happy hour.
K took us to Shaken, a 007-inspired bar. the atmosphere was great…the martinis (i had a whiskitini) were tasty…and i was with two of my best friends. because i can’t operate a camera and a martini glass, i don’t have photos from here.
after a happy hour drink, K took us to a fantastic jazz bistro, Vinideus Jazz Bistro. J joined us. we did a wine tasting here and listened to some jazz.
photo by Jeff
saturday morning was The Big Day. K had made plans…gotten us tickets…and arranged for our attendance at a portland walking tour, The Epicurean Adventure . It was AMAZING.
our first stop was Cacao…where we tasted “drinking chocolate.” you know, melted 72% cacao chocolate. the teeny cup was completely satisfying…and the attendants/workers/baristas/insert appropriate term here were so very informative.
next on the tour was Elephants Deli. incidentally, they are the fantastic folks who catered K’s wedding (which i shot in june). here, we tasted their Tomato Orange soup. it was delicious.
for the next stop, Nan (our fantastic tour guide) warned us…to enter the actual ‘making’ area of the next stop, we’d have to wear HAIRNETS. i may have said i was so excited, i’d wear it for the rest of the tour.
photo by Katie
we went to Pearl Bakery. Oh, man. here, we tasted baguettes, croissants, a sugared-orange-zested gibassier, and chocolate bouchon.
after that, we travelled to In Good Taste, a cooking school and store. here, we had a wine tasting (Oregon Pinor Noir – Twin Forks) and a mustard tasting (delicious). we made some purchases.
The Tea Zone was up next. A, K, and i tasted three different teas (i preferred the first…but because i only took photos and not notes, i can’t remember the names). this place has not only a tea place, but a full bar, music venue, and screening area. funtimes.
by this point on the tour…i was a little hungry. we’d had bites here and there…but we needed some substance.
we headed to HotLips Pizza , a business that focuses on FLOSS: fresh, local (where they can), organic, seasonable, sustainable. at the location where we were, they use their ovens to heat the water for the building. plus, the food we had (broccoli, hazelnut, cheese pizza and their fruit-pressed sodas) were really, really good.
next up: McMenamins – Ringlers Pub . because i stayed at the Grand Lodge (one of McMenamins’ hotels) this summer, i was familiar with their beer. and i missed it.
to end the tour, we ambled over to Mio Gelato. and i think every meal should end with this fantastic cup of three scoops of samples.
it’s really K’s fault for booking the tour and Nan’s fault for being such and excellent guide…i spent the rest of our portland trip yapping to any local who’d listen how they HAVE to go on it…you learn so much…and get to see so much.
next post…the rest of Saturday…Hood River on Sunday…and flying home.
whimzie - Oh my yum! That sounds like the best tour EVER!! I'm drooling at the pictures. Glad you got to do this; looks like fun!
photomo - it WAS fun…and i was nervous about it (not about going–anything with those two girls would be fun–but about being so out of my element since i do not cook).
Shannon Priem - How lucky to have had Nan Devlin as a walking tour guide! She knows just about everything about Portland.