The Portland Art Museum

A view from the main building through the sculpture garden towards the Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art.

For the 1^st year here I never made it to the Portland Art Museum, despite the fact that I love art.  Not sure why, but maybe because I thought it was small and not worth the effort?  That might be because I never saw it while driving around downtown so I made that stupid assumption.  And it does blend in with the surrounding buildings, but it is well worth seeking out because there’s a lot in there.  And “there” is actually two buildings, one for modern and contemporary art and one for everything else, connected by an underground walkway/gallery.

A blurry Rothko, my phone is old and bad.

Most recently I visited to see retrospective on Mark Rothko, a favorite artist of mine.  It was a great show, displaying his various early styles that I hadn’t seen much of, and then of course his more familiar style of rectangular color abstractions from the early 50’s on.  Turns out he has a Portland connection and lived here for a bit (graduated from Lincoln High!), as well as had his 1^st major show here in 1933-34.  Great show, but as a surprise there was also an exhibit of an artist I hadn’t heard of, John Frame.  He makes very intricate marionette/puppet carvings and places them in their own environments.  He Also photographs and animates them.  I suppose it borders on “steam punk” but to me is more medieval-ish with a dark but playful feel.  Regardless, a very interesting artist.  See my crummy picture below, but I’d highly recommend checking out his website to get a better idea of what he does.  Or, go to the museum, but hurry because it’s gone at the end of May.

John Frame's work. There's an unbelievable amount of detail that doesn't show here (like all the eyes in the overcoat!), it's a show that can't be missed.

The permanent collection is comprised of what you’d think.  In the main building there’s European and American paintings, sculpture and photographs from all eras, as well as small galleries for Asian art, Native American art, and a nice local feature of Northwest artists.  The other building, the Jubitz Center Modern and Contemporary Art, houses a massive amount of, well… modern and contemporary art.  Between the two is a nice sculpture garden.  So go, become a member, and enjoy.  A few more random pictures of things I found interesting below….

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This is a work by Joseph Beuys, and it’s quite large.

Works by Milton Avery, an American artist. I just love the expressions on the subject’s faces, sneaky looking. I want a portrait like that painted of me.

Their modern Japanese ceramics were all impressive and intriguing.

Lucky Labrador Brewpub With My Husky-Mix-Dog-Thing

Ah yes, there’s nothing like buying a home and renovating it to make you stop blogging.  But, a renovated home is well worth not sharing your thoughts for many months.  So then, what monumental post would bring me back?…  Well, nothing monumental, just the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub on Hawthorne.

Lucky Lab has good beer but nothing too challenging (which i prefer), the food is simple, and most importantly, you can bring your dog.  That last one is huge.  This isn’t on the same level as a Deschutes, and they don’t try to be, I go here when I want cheap fresh food, good beer, and…. OK when I want to drink beer with dogs!

"I wish I had a beer!"

Here’s my Husky mix dog thing, so cute.  You should know you can’t take your dogs inside, but every location has an outside area for eating drinking and dogging (many covered).  I prefer the Hawthorne location because of the amount of dogs I’ve encountered and the menu, because each location’s menu differs.  I went to the location in the SW and it was mainly pizza, OK but I prefer sandwiches.  Plus, in addition to sandwiches Hawthorne has bento boxes, salads, soups (and a great veggie chili) and a lot of appetizers.  You order your food and drink inside and they bring it out to you.  The outside consists of picnic tables, a few heaters, and a water station for your pup’s needs.  They also have board games inside that you can bring out to play, which I do.

To sum up, fresh and simple food, good beer, nice people behind the counter, AND YOU CAN DRINK WITH YOUR DOG

FANTASTIC salsa, and chips. You can also get an idea of the outside dog/people area in this pic.

I got the Rose Garden above which was tasty and fresh (Hummus, Cucumber, Tomato, Lettuce, Feta Cheese & Guacamole on a Ciabatta Bun), but someone in my party also got the Three Cheese Meltdown (Melted Swiss, Cheddar, Pepper Jack,chopped Pepperoncini, Mushrooms & Salsa on Italian White) which was even better.

Here's where you get the goods inside. Always a good selection of beers, and even a cider.

As I mentioned, there are board games to play, here's my ass being handed to me in chess by um, someone quite a bit younger than me, heh.

The Portland Saturday Market

This year I’ve gone out of my way to shop local and avoid national chains  for holiday gift buying.  I thought I’d start off by going to the Portland Saturday Market.  I’d been there before, but never with the intent of buying a bunch of stuff.  It’s a pretty vast setup of local merchants selling their arts, crafts, clothes, foods, and just whatever.  There are some crap merchants selling (non-local) cheap novelties, to be sure.  However there are enough local artisans to make browsing the many dozens of tents very worthwhile.  Plus it’s just fun, you can grab some food while you browse, Rogue sells beer for your imbibement , and I saw no less than 4 bands playing at the same time, along with a few street performers.  I ended up getting 2 major gifts there, and… a duct tape wallet.  Hey, it’s still local.  As you’d expect in Old Town, you’ll encounter some characters, like the lady (meth addict) next to me waiting to cross Naito Parkway that knocked a trashcan into the street then looks at me quickly and states “I didn’t do it!” in true Bart Simpson form.  I picked it up for the nice lady.

A shopping local side-note, after the market I went to the Trillium Artisans pop-up store downtown, and was AMAZED at all the great stuff there.  All local and all using recycled materials.  I highly suggest checking it out.

Musical group 1 of 4 I saw that day.

Can you tell it was chilly that morning?

I picked-up one of these cute bird feeders. It's one of those things you see and think, "why didn't I think of doing that?"

chickens, Chickens, CHICKENS!

When I made the decision to move to Portland, I had also decided that as soon as possible after the move I would have chickens.  What could be more Portland?  I’m not the biggest egg lover, but regardless, I needed me some chickens.  It took a while, but now that things have finally settled down… it has happened.  After a quick “chicken class” at the Urban Farm Store and a good read through their book “A Chicken In Every Yard”, I gots some chicks!  Jane, a Buff Orpington – Emily, an Ameraucana – and Charlotte, a Cochin (note the fuzzy feat).

Chicks man... Jane - Emily - Charlotte

But now that the chicks were purchased, the rush was on to build their coop.  I had a little over a month while the chicks were spending time in their brooder box.  The coop took longer than I thought to build, was more expensive than I thought it would be, and took up more of my back yard than I though was needed.  Oh well, chicks were already under the grow light, so no turning back now…

It took about 4 straight weekends, $700, a billion trips to Home Depot, and although it ended up much different than how it was originally imagined I think it looks pretty neat.  And it’s very secure, no Raccoons or other varmints will get in to hurt my girls.  And that’s good, because I really enjoy them, much more than I thought I would.  They are soooooo soft and hugable!  And even though they have brains the size of a peanut, they still have their own unique personalities and are a lot of fun to hang out with.  Jane is independent, Emily is bossy, and Charlotte is laid-back.  While outside I’ll let them run around, they scratch the ground, chase each other and eat our weeds.  They’re like little goats with wings and dinosaur feet.

The dog and chickens actually get along quite well.

They like to eat our new landscaping

They're so happy. This was when they were 1/2 grown, they're huge now.

The "Chicken Centipede". This is how they sleep at night, all stacked up.

Even in that bizarre picture above, you can see how colorful they are now that they’re fully grown.  They’re great to be around, now bring on the eggs…

Tasting Full Sail

Autumn Ale, so yummy I couldn't get a picture before sneaking a sip

I’ve been quite busy the past few months working on my house, and well, not posting anything because of that.  So this weekend I decided that I needed to get out, and not just out of my house but Portland too.  After a brief thought of visiting Astoria, I remembered that Full Sail was in Hood River and, I’ve not been there, it’s closer than Astoria, and the leaves were changing in the Gorge.  So after a quick hike on the Washington side (see bottom picture), I crossed the Bridge of the Gods and rolled down to Hood River.

I wasn’t sure what to expect because I’ve had a few different beers from Full Sail, and they were pretty good but I always ended up walking out of the store with a Deschutes or Widmer brew.  Well, I can happily say that I really enjoyed the place, for the 3 reasons you would expect.

1) The Pub

Great views of the Columbia Gorge, all while nice people bring you food and beer.

I loved the views, wasn’t expecting them as I walked down the hall to the Pub.  You can’t see from the photo but the trees were all sorts of yellows and browns, November is a really good time to go.  And as far as the staff goes, very attentive and friendly.

2) The Beer
Like I mentioned, I like the beer, but had previously not gotten overly excited by it.  However, I got their Autumn Ale (a Pub exclusive, pictured above) and loved it.  It’s “a strong English-style bitter to help warm the changing of the season.”  It did help that “changing of the season” thingy.  I also tried their Amber Ale, quite good too.

3) The Food

Cheesy (3 kinds) goodness.

Started with the artichoke dip, which admittedly has been done to death, but most don’t usually contain Rogue Creamery bleu cheese.  That combined with the pepperjack and sharp cheddar with panko on top really made this stand out from all others I’ve had.

For my main course I ordered the Tempeh Veggie Burger.  I like tempeh when I don’t try and make it, because I’m terrible at it.  This tempeh is made right next to Full Sail at Turtle Island Foods… who also make Tofurky… which I’ve decided that after eating them for 7 straight Thanksgivings are actually quite unappetizing.  But I went for it anyway, and it was great!… it was topped with Full Sail’s edamame pesto and Asian slaw which made it even better.  To be sure, that’s a lot of different flavors and textures, but they all work together to make it fresh, flavorful and fulfilling.

There's a lot going on here, but it all combined for some tasty tempeh.

The others in my party ordered the buffalo hot wings which were spicy, juicy and delicious – and the turkey & brie sandwich which was good, but nothing too special.  We spent the last 15 minutes in the dark because the power went out due to the high winds that were in the area, which was fun, but a bit of a bummer because I wanted to take the brewery tour.  Oh well, next time.  Another bummer is the fact that I wanted to explore more shops and such in Hood River, however all of downtown was also without power.  But I’ll go back again soon, and I’ll go to Full Sail again because of the combination of good views, beer and food.  I’ll also hike again 1st, because the views from the Washington side are quite purdy…

The pre-Full Sail hike.

Tasting Tasty n Sons

I was supposed to go to the beach last Sunday, but Saturday night the people I was going with said “it’s so far”, “will it be sunny?”, blah blah.  Lazy.  So I said “fine!” We can cancel, but we have to go to Tasty n Sons 1st thing in the morning instead!  And thankfully we did.

I’ve been wanting to go to Tasty n Sons for quite some time.  I guess I was scared because of the “it’s so busy you have to get there early or you’ll wait all day” kind of rumors.  So we decided to get there 20 minutes prior to opening, and there was a line already as we figured, but it wasn’t that bad, and once the 1st seating was in, the wait was never that long.

We chose to sit at the counter.  It was great, not only did we get a front row seat to watch huge, luscious biscuits being made, we got to look to our left and see the frenetic action in the kitchen.  And frenetic it was, they make everything to order as you’d expect, and they deliver each dish as it’s ready so that it’s hot and fresh.

So what did we order?  Way too much, but it was my 1st time there and I had to fully experience it…

Baked Cherries with taleggio & grilled bread, and Griddled Bacon Wrapped Dates with maple syrup & almond in the back.

1st up were baked cherries with taleggio cheese, and after I took my 1st bite I knew I was in for quite a meal.  Piping hot, sweet and savory cherries were perfectly complimented with the melted cheese.  The picture doesn’t do the color justice, the cherries were a deep rich purple, matching their flavor.  In the back are the bacon wrapped dates, and although I didn’t have any, it took every ounce of restraint for the people who ate them not to order more.  Side note, I love that they use old menus instead of new doilies or something between the plate and dish, I’m such a treehugger, but on we go…

Cast Iron Frittata with amaranth, chard, beets, caramelized sweet onions, mint & feta.

What I loved about the fritatta was that the amazing flavors were separate and not melded together, so each bite was a different experience.  Or, you could mix and match, a little beet with onion, some chard with feta…  Really vibrant flavors in this dish.

Fried Green Tomato BLT, a special that day.

As soon as my guests heard about this special there was no pause in ordering it, and it delivered both in presentation and yumminess.

Tasty Muffin with fried egg, pickled beets, heirloom tomato, beecher's cheddar, red onion & mixed greens.

Although I liked the Tasty Muffin, it was the only dish that wasn’t perfect.  The flavors were excellent, and the heirloom tomato was the best I’ve had in months, but the actual muffin was so hard that I was even having issues cutting it using a serrated knife.  Perhaps we just had an abnormal muffin.

Chocolate Potato Doughnuts with creme anglaise.

Yeah, so perhaps these aren’t much to look at, but they are pure awesome.  We actually started the meal with an order of these, and, well, ended with one.  Each time they came out so hot and fresh we had to let them cool for a minute. Very sweet, fulfilling and chocolaty with the familiarity of a regular doughnut that you’d expect.

In summation, Tasty n Sons lived up to and surpassed all that I had heard about it.  Even the service was fast and friendly.  The only thing I wish I would have tried were the mimosas and bloody marys I saw the people waiting for tables drinking.  Although that morning I was only in the mood for coffee, and that too was great.

Tasting Laurelwood Public House – A Mini Review

Good beer makes the rain go away.

Wow, it’s still cold and rainy in Portland, and it’s almost July.  After a taste of sunshine yesterday it started raining again this morning, and that made me want to grab a beer pre-5 o’clock.  But, I craved a new beer… so I headed to Laurelwood Public House at 51st and Sandy.

The 1st thing I noticed when I entered, is that it reminded me of Columbia River Brewing, which, from what I understand was Laurelwood’s old location before Columbia moved in.  It’s open and airy, simple, with lots of light wood throughout.  Now, the reason I call this a “mini review” is because even though I hadn’t eaten all day I just wasn’t that hungry, so myself and my dining partners didn’t order that much.  However, it should be telling that I want to rave about the few things we had, because although their menu is fairly straight-forward pub fare, they do with tasty expertise.

Organic Free Range Red & Sun Daze.

Let’s start with beer, I had their Organic Free Range Red and in the background is their seasonal Sun Daze, which had “hints of mint and mango”, sounds weird, wasn’t, it was subtle, and great.  A fantastic summer beer actually.  The red was quite delicious too.

The nachos that never got soggy!

OK, veggie nachos, hard to screw up right?  No, they are often soggy, are plastered together with cheap cheese and have their ingredient ratios all wrong.  Laurelwood’s nachos were great, simple, and for some reason, regardless of what was on them they never became soggy!?  The salsa was surprisingly good, super fresh and had a hidden heat that made everyone’s face sweat after 5 minutes.  Goodness.

Those fries look crispy and comforting don't they?

For the main course it was burgers all around.  Boring perhaps, but what is more comforting on a rainy day (when it should be sunny!) than a burger with your beer?  I ordered their veggie burger with “pearl barley, roasted garlic, onions, mushrooms, celery & garbanzo beans, topped with roasted red pepper & basil-pesto spread” and the beer-battered fries.  Excellent texture and not dry at all, one of the better veggie burgers I’ve had in the area, and the pesto spread really gave it a unique character (perfect bun too).  And oh those fries…

So yes, I believe that even though my ordering was boring on this visit, Laurelwood deserved a quick (mini) write up, because it was the perfect place for a sun-missing Portlander on a chilly June Saturday afternoon to grab a quality burger and beer.