our beloved pacific northwest : where to eat in portland

We believe the west coast is the best coast... and the great Pacific Northwest is our favorite place on earth. We want to share our love for Portland, Seattle and Vancouver BC with you by giving you some hints on places to eat and things to do in our beloved cities! We both grew up in Portland, OR and Ashley is still a resident; Katie has spent the last ten years in Seattle and Vancouver BC, so our hints come from our experiences of these great places. 

Portland is such a great town, and has been gaining popularity over the years as outsiders realize the greatness: bicycles, beer, parks, the Willamette, and the cozy, laid-back all-around atmosphere. The Rose City is known for its' micro-breweries and food carts, and for Stumptown coffee and Voodoo Doughnut lately, but there's a lot to it than beer and donuts! Here's a few of our favorite spots:

All over

Food Carts (of course)! In the past few years, Portland has become home to more than 500 food carts. Many different styles of food are represented and most are delicious. Carts are grouped into Pods all through downtown and the east side. Find a map here. 

McMenimans’ Pubs: A quirky, northwest classic. Many locations all over, each very different but with great food and microbrew. Portlanders are big on beer, you’ll find.

Northwest

Stumptown Coffee Roasters (NW 3rd @ Pine): some would say the best coffee in town. They roast their own and now it’s sold all over the country. A perfect place to spot true Portland hipsters.

Lucky Lab Beer Hall (NW Quimby @ 19th): Lucky Lab is a Portland institution. Tons of great beer on tap, appetizers and fun vibe. Outdoor/ indoor seating, casual atmosphere (21+).

Oba! (NW 12th @ Hoyt): A lovely latin-fusion restaurant in the Pearl district. Go for just appetizers, or a nicer dinner. Cocktails are lovely and the coconut shrimp is amazing.

Cha Taqueria & Bar (NW 21st @ Everett): delicious tacos and margaritas.

Pizzicato Pizza (locations on NW 23rd, and in Hillsdale and the eastside): My favorite pizza in the city. Gourmet toppings, or a phenomenal slice (Puttanesca is the best). The Hillsdale location is the only one that does slices. The salads are awesome too!

Papa Haydn (NW 23rd @ Irving) A bistro on 23rd with some of the most amazing cakes and desserts. A bit pricey but fun for a nice evening out- we typically do just dessert here although the food is fantastic... I can vouch for the French Onion soup.

Southwest

Portland City Grill (SW 5th @ Pine): At the top of one of the tallest buildings in Portland, here’s a great place for drinks and dessert, or a fancy meal.

Fat City Cafe (Multnomah Village): A hole-in-the-wall breakfast joint in our old neighborhood. Great vibe and food.

Salvador Molly’s (1523 SW Sunset Blvd., Hillsdale- 10 minutes from downtown): Caribbean food to die for. Get the surfer tacos and a mojito. You eat peanuts as you wait to be served and toss the shells on the floor. Fun and delicious. 

City Thai (Hillsdale): the Pumpkin Curry here is amazing.

Acapulco's (7800 Capitol Hwy; the main corner in Multnomah Village): Mexican food. Always good, even if it isn't the most authentic... Get the peasant plate and peppermint milkshake (hey, we already warned it wasn't authentic)

Jake’s Famous Crawfish (SW 12th @ Stark): A Portland landmark. Arguably the best
seafood in town. Owned by a family Katie used to go to church with.

Cacao (SW 13th @ Stark) or Moonstruck Chocolate (several locations) have incredible drinking chocolate- hot chocolate that is basically melted down chocolate bars.

Southeast

Rimsky-Korsakoffee House (SE 12th @ Alder): as quirky as it gets. A dessert house (literally in a house) with live classical music, tables decorated after composers, and strange things that occur... you just have to see for yourself. Ice cream sundaes are awesome.

Pok Pok (SE Division @ 32nd): New and famous thai fusion. Haven’t been there yet but people talk LOTS about this place. The other location is in Brooklyn NY. 

Genie’s Cafe (SE Division @ 11th): People say this is the best brunch in town. 

Hoda's  Mediterranean (SE Belmont @ 34th): Amazing family-style mediterranean food- platters of meat, rice, veggies, hummous, falafel, you name it. 

Oooooh my, I'm hungry now! Have fun eating at our favorite spots! Let us know if you visit one... or if you have something to add to the list! Pop in next week for our list of things to do and see in and around Portland. 

happy eating and exploring, Katie & Ashley

two more sweet potato lunches

We have already covered the fact that my kids and I love sweet potatoes and have them for lunch in their various forms several times per week. Here are a couple more throw-together lunches starring the delicious, nutritious sweet potato...

Roasted or microwaved and topped with shaved parmesan, fresh oregano, crushed almonds, salt, pepper, and drizzled with olive oil:

Curried and caramelized sweet potatoes:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Cube 2 pounds of sweet potato (about 2 large). Place on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with a tablespoon plus a teaspoon of olive oil. Then sprinkle 1 tbsp brown sugar, 2* tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper over the potatoes. Using your hands, coat the potatoes with the toppings. Roast for 10-15 minutes, or until becoming caramelized on bottom and soft when poked with a fork (but not mush!).

Happy lunching!
Ashley

*use 3 tsp curry powder if you want a more bold curry taste...yum!

ordinary joys

Yesterday was rainy and gray. 

Despite the weather, the kids and I trekked outside to feed the ducks and geese some old slices of bread. The kids picked up sticks, bark, and moss from the ground. Eleanor threw a couple tantrums when I would not let her pick up goose poop.

We got home and shed our muddy, wet clothing just as the sun was peeking through the clouds. I ran to our back deck to catch a picture of the one sun break of the day. 

Hoping for more sunshine in the coming week.

-Ashley

One of the greatest joys of being this little guy's parent is the privilege of watching him get to know this beautiful, crazy world. We walked along the water with friends yesterday, and he was actually awake this time. I wonder what was going on in his little mind? I look forward to introducing Peter to many more of the amazing parts of God's creation.

-Katie

pasta and roasted broccoli with almonds, parmesan, and chives

This recipe came from one of those nights I was feeling uninspired by what I had planned, so I decided to wing it. I had to use up broccoli, wanted to use the shallots and chives, needed the pasta for bulk, added the almonds for crunch, and the parmesan was for pure tastiness.

The star here is the roasted broccoli with shallots. I am a firm believer that if you don't like a vegetable, you simply have not prepared it correctly. This is my favorite way to prepare broccoli, so if you think you don't like broccoli, you may find yourself a convert after this meal.

Pasta and roasted broccoli with almonds, parmesan, and chives
only makes about 5 servings if you are in my family of big eaters and broccoli lovers

a couple heads of broccoli (about 7 cups when all chopped up)
1 bulb of shallots, peeled and sliced length wise
olive oil
salt
pepper
7 handfuls dried pasta (most ridiculous measurement award)
1 bunch of chives, chopped
grated parmesan for serving
slivered almonds for serving
balsamic vinegar for serving

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop up broccoli heads and dump them onto a baking sheet. Add shallots and drizzle with 3 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Mix with your hands, evenly coating broccoli with olive oil. Spread out in single layer on the baking sheet and roast 15-20 minutes, or until soft when stems are poked with a fork, but not mushy.

While the broccoli is roasting, cook the pasta according to directions, adding a touch of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt into the water. Reserve a bit of water before draining.

Toss the roasted broccoli together with the pasta, adding reserved liquid if necessary. Drizzle with more olive oil and mix in chives. Add salt and pepper to taste

Scoop into bowls and top with a good amount of parmesan and a sprinkling of slivered almonds. Serve with balsamic on the side for those who wish to add some. (We all wished in our family.)

Enjoy!
Ashley

layers for the ladies' dessert

Last Thursday I was able to meet up with a few lovely ladies at Papa Haydn's for dessert. 

It was so refreshing to get chat and laugh with other moms who know what I am going through. At the end of the evening I thanked them for inviting me and declared with a smile "It was so nice to have some time away from the kids so we could all get together and talk about our kids!" They laughed, and agreed.

It was also an excuse to dress up, just a little. Here's what I wore:

dress: Gap (thrifted)

belt: old, no idea

jean shirt: H&M

jacket: Levi Co (hand-me-down from mom)

vest: J. Crew (bought on super-duper sale)

boots: Etienne Aigner (thrifted)

I had in mind to take a bunch of awesome pictures while I was kid-less and in Sellwood, but I became way too busy conversing and eating. Here is the only (terrible) picture I took of what I ate which, sadly, was not Boccone Dolce because they marred it with bananas, but, happily, was every bit as delicious: Creme Brulee.

Do you get dressed up when you go out with your girlfriends?

Thanks so much for reading!
Ashley

PS stop by around dinner time for a simple and delicious throw-together dinner recipe

cupid's arrow: a slightly boho valentine craft

This year, when it came time to make James' annual hand print Valentine craft, I decided to do something a little different. What I wasn't expecting was something that turned out more, er, tribal.

Here's how it happened:

We started with a long stick to form the base for the arrow because sticks are cool-looking and free, just walk outside (I do love a good craft that includes supplies from the great outdoors). Then I took double-sided tape and taped on a bunch of feathers. I was highly tempted to collect these outdoors (you may remember we have a duck pond behind our house), but the hand-sanitizer-carrying mother in me told me not to, so I bought a bag from the craft store.  I probably could have gotten away with using regular tape to secure the feathers, but the double-sided stuff helped the twine that I wrapped around the tape stay put.

I then traced James' hands on brown paper that was folded over, so that when I cut it out and unfolded it, there were the two hand prints, forming the "arrow head". Then I traced and cut out a copy of the arrow head.

James painted both with different colors, and even added some glitter to one side. I secured them on the end of the stick using tape. 

Here he is with his cupid's arrow, looking very tribal with no shirt:

I may have him do another Valentine's craft this week, perhaps a bit more traditional, I'll keep you posted... (ha! posted! no pun intended)...

Happy 18 days 'til Valentine's day!
Ashley

ordinary joys : friendship

We are so, so fortunate in the friends we have made during our time in Vancouver. I am confident we will have them for life. Maybe not such an ordinary joy... bordering on extraordinary.

-Katie

I hosted a little impromptu play date this week. Three moms. Seven kids age four and under. A wild time. I am so grateful for the friendships of these lovely women. Watching our children grow up together is such a joy.
-Ashley

We wish you a joy-filled weekend!