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 Post subject: Portland, Oregon
PostPosted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:23 pm 
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Location: Six Shooter Junction, Texas
Looks like I will be making a quick trip to a small town just outside Portland, OR. (Mcminnville) next week...suggestions?

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 Post subject: Re: Portland, Oregon
PostPosted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:57 pm 
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 1:03 am
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Location: Portland, OR
Lots! Porland is a fantastic food destintation city.

McMinville, first of all, is the home to Edgefield, the resort run by the McMinneman's brewpub chain. So Edgefield has 5 bars and a whiskey & wine tasting room on the premises. The food, though (and the food at other McMinneman's) is unspecial west-coast pub grub. You might consider staying there if you haven't booked anything yet.

The city of Porland itself is a great food city. First off, if you can get to downtown Portland during lunch, there is a thriving food cart culture ... not just sandwhiches and tacos, but thai, cajun, indian, korean, and czech food. And much of it very, very good.

In the downtown area, Higgins, Le Pigeon, and the restaurant in The Heathman Hotel are all excellent fancy-dinner places (reservations recommended). Alexis is a good Greek place, the meze are excellent (but the entrees less so). Mother's Bistro and Bijou Cafe are your downtown brunch locations (prepare for long waits).

Scattered elsewhere around the city are shopping districts with various excellent restaurants, including Pambiche (Cuban), Tabla (Italian), Screen Door (Southern), and Nostrama (Italian), Petite Provence Bakery & Cafe (French).

Portland is also a serious dessert city. There are several chocolatiers, bakeries and cupcakeries (the best being Cupcake Jones) in The Pearl District. Best-known are the eccentric and overloaded donuts of Voodoo Donuts, open until midnight.

Portland is also known as the epicenter of vegan-veggie-granola cuisine. Probably the paragon of this is the Old Wives' Tales relic-of-the-veggie-70's restaurant, but there are vegetarian BBQ and vegan Italian restaurants. There's also a large middle eastern population, resulting in most Arabic restaurants being above-average quality. As a Texan, you don't want Portland's Mexican food.

Most of all, though, if you go to Portland and you drink anything other than local beer on tap (or local Pinot Noir) you're a fool. In the better bars, you'll find dozens of local brew labels you'll never see anywhere else.

Oh, and if you decide to stay an extra day in the city of Portland itself, I can recommend some B&Bs.

If you like books at all, don't miss Powell's City of Books, including a few thousand cookbooks, new & used.

Blog posts: http://www.fuzzychef.org/archives/Higgi ... -2009.html
http://www.fuzzychef.org/archives/Gourm ... -2008.html

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 Post subject: Re: Portland, Oregon
PostPosted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 10:01 pm 
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Location: Portland, OR
Frank,

I also just noticed that McMinnville puts you right next to the Wylamette Valley. So, go Pinot Noir tasting! There's a loop you can drive and hit probably 15-20 wineries in one day.

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 Post subject: Re: Portland, Oregon
PostPosted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 10:52 pm 
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Location: Six Shooter Junction, Texas
Boy...if only I drank...who knows, after such a glowing report...I might just start!! WooHoo!! :o

It looks like it will initially be a pretty quick trip, get to Portland late Monday evening, rent car and drive to McMinnville for an AM meeting at the airport, meet with FAA folks and contractors most of Tuesday and Wed. morning and be heading back to Portland to fly home. Tuesday evening will be my only opportunity to play.

When we start the work necessary I will be there for a week or two...then...let the good times roll! ;) If the traffic between Portland & McMinnville is not too bad, I may take you up on th B&B's for the return trip.

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 Post subject: Re: Portland, Oregon
PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 10:07 pm 
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Wow! Whataplace...had dinner at the Screen Door (it was list as the #5 restaurant in Portland by Urbanspoon) it was a hole in the wall with great food...my kinda place!

Stopped at Joes Cupcakes and grabbed two wonderful treats for me and a dozen mini's to take to my herd tomorrow. They were of course GREAT! Went into Powells...HOLY COW! If that place burned a thousand people woul die...it goes on for days, didn't find any bargains but enjoyed the experience. Had a really good halibut sandwich in McMinnville for lunch and went through an aviation museum...who knew that Howard Hughes "Spruce Goose" was right here in McMinnville, OR. pop 28K. That sucker is big!

Josh is right...a winery on every corner here.

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 Post subject: Re: Portland, Oregon
PostPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 4:32 pm 
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Location: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
McMinnville is also the home of one of the world's great Pinot Noir festivals. They limit the number of attendess and basically it is a swillage, gabfest, and chowdown of the first order hiding behind the facade of education. One tasting area is held on a large lawn and it is quite intersting to go back the following day and see the 'purple' grass. I do remember parts of it. It's closing event is a monumental, open fire pit with salmon on cedar planks lining both sides of an extremely long band of burning embers . . . :D

Should you require lessons about drinking . . . PM me. :shock:


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 Post subject: Re: Portland, Oregon
PostPosted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 12:39 pm 
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Location: Portland, OR
Frank,

Glad you got a chance to enjoy yourself!

Yeah, the Spruce Goose got moved there from San Jose some years ago. I don't remember why exactly.

BTW, Powell's has another branch, on Hawthorne, which is devoted exclusively to cookbooks and gardening books. It adjoins a high-end deli/gourmet store.

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 Post subject: Re: Portland, Oregon
PostPosted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 2:38 pm 
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TheFuzzy wrote:
the Spruce Goose got moved there from San Jose some years ago.
Long Beach...


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 Post subject: Re: Portland, Oregon
PostPosted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:55 am 
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Location: Six Shooter Junction, Texas
We ate well in McMinnville.

http://www.oregonlive.com/dining/index. ... ville.html

:!:

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 Post subject: Re: Portland, Oregon
PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 10:38 pm 
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Location: Six Shooter Junction, Texas
Note to all, when the Fuzzy one speaks…listen!

Cancelled reservations at Marriott / Residence Inn and stayed at the Hotel deluxe http://www.hoteldeluxeportland.com/ a 100 year old property with all the charm of the roaring 20’s! A press of the “Make it so” button would have my car sitting at the front door by the time I got down the elevator. A greeting addressing me by name (preceded by “Mr.”) was a common occurrence by the poised professionally dressed and very pretty young ladies in the elegantly adorned lobby. The Valets were also dressed very nicely and at least one (sometimes two) would open the front doors when I entered or left. Another would be waiting at my running car with the door open and give a greeting and an offer of directions to wherever my destination might be. A very nice (not too heavy) lightly lined comfortable robe awaited in the closet. A comfortable corner room with windows on two sides offered a grand 6th floor view of the city. A coffee pot and some locally roasted coffee http://www.portlandroasting.com and teas http://www.smithtea.com was in the room waiting to be enjoyed. I felt important and I failed to tell them differently! :ugeek:

Then there is Dinner at Higgins!
http://higginsportland.com/
I set right next to a window overlooking the sidewalk and got to watch the pedestrian traffic walking by within a foot or two from me, felt a little guilty indulging right next to folks looking at my wonderful meal. I started with the House-made charcuterie plate with Higgins pickles! There were 12 different meats represented…multiple slices of each, most I couldn’t pronounce. All were delicious. The Higgins pickles were to die for; they were pickled rhubarb and baby turnips. (looked like water chestnuts) The entrée was an off the menu special of Ling Cod served over green lentils and with sautéed baby spinach. All washed down with a wonderful hot tea. Perfect for a damp Portland evening!

Then it was off for dessert at Papa Haydn!
http://www.papahaydn.com/
Only because Fuzzy said so, lord only knows I was not the least bit hungry! I had a tasty cup of hot coffee and a Boccone Dolce, in hindsight I probably should have ordered the Berry Cobbler, Panna Cotta, or the Lemon Chiffon Cake. It was good but…a little too sweet, a little too much baked Swiss Meringue…but the fact I was stuffed didn’t help. The dessert display was amazing!

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