FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Hours In Portland

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As soon as I dropped off my luggage at the airport hotel, I changed out of business attire and into the adult version of recess clothes.  There was no level of exhaustion that was going to prevent me from spending a few hours in a town that topped my list of musts.

I have always heard such great things about Portland, but the city ended up being much more than I had expected.  There were restaurants, shops, and most importantly, pedestrians, on every corner of downtown.  I found a quick comfort within the bustling streets.

I also found quick comfort within this red coat!

I spent a couple hours adventuring before landing at Clyde Common, the first restaurant that grabbed my attention during a mini Google sesh before leaving the hotel.

I started with the golden beat soup, which was one of the more uniquely delicious dishes I’ve ever had.  I know there is absolutely no way I can recreate this at home, but I’m sure going to try.  Golden beats, apple cider vinegar, Greek yogurt, salt and pepper?  I could be way off, but that’s the starting point I came up with as I ate every last bite.

Next up was broccoli rabe with guanciale, lemon vinaigrette, pistachio, and fried egg.  Something about this dish was a little too bitter for me, but the egg was so cool I didn’t mind.  When I read fried egg I anticipated an ordinary breakfast egg, not the breaded and fried soft boiled egg that arrived on the plate.

And lastly, the cavatelli with root vegetables, crème fraîche, nutmeg, and celeriac espuma.  If this had been the only dish I ordered, I would have eaten it in its entirety.  The flavors were wonderful, but it was entirely too dense for my already full belly.

Even though I had a completely enjoyable evening, four hours in Portland was a total tease.  I would love to come back this year, especially for a mom/daughter trip when the weather warms up a bit.

Have you taken any family vacations recently?

An HLS Reunion!

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So… I’ve never actually seen snow fall for reals. Frozen rain in action and the aftermath of a snopocolypse, yes. Legit snow, no. Let’s just say it was a super nice breakfast surprise.

I finished with the presentation team just in time for lunch, so I parked myself at Barry’s until Lauren was able to meet up. I don’t know much about snowy weather, but espresso under a gloomy sky sure did seem like something one should do.

Oh and cookies. Lemon finger cookies for dipping. Those should be done too.

When Lauren arrived we ordered some super tall sandwiches and tried to cram six months of catching up into a lunch-hour. Impossible, but we did our best. We both left the table amazed at how incredible the blogging community is. If it wasn’t for blogging, Healthy Living Summit, Facebook, and Twitter… Would we ever have met? Would we have been given the means to keep in touch? Luckily, we don’t have to go there because we were given the means and we did keep in touch. And as excited as I was for HLS was last year, I’m looking forward to HLS 2012 even more (like a million times more) so I get to see this lady and my other roomies again!

After lunch, I got back in the rental car for the inevitable road trip back to Portland. I dreaded another two-hour drive, but I made the most of it by soaking up the mountainous views and catching up on phone calls with Florida friends.

And you know, of all the drives I’ve driven, I have to say that this drive was the most scenic. If only I had brought my good lens, a couple of spare hours, and someone else’s patience, I would taken a few detours and had myself a photographic adventure!

Oregon Shenanigans

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Surprise, I’m in Oregon!  I drove back from Dallas (in my pajamas) bright and early Sunday morning, replaced the contents of my suitcase with business attire, fixed myself up a bit, flew from Austin to Oakland to Portland, and then drove two hours to Eugene.  I was holy moly exhausted when I arrived at my hotel in the wee hours of the night.

Thankfully this was the good type of time change where I felt fully rested when my alarm buzzed at 7 AM.  I snacked on an Odwalla bar and slurped on some hotel coffee while I was getting ready and then headed downstairs to a conference room full of strange men strangers.

It was really weird sitting in a room with another construction company helping them with their strategy for an upcoming presentation.  I felt like I was eavesdropping behind enemy lines and I suspect they felt the same, at first.

But after two meals, one beer, and 14 hours together staring at two projection screens, two iPads, and six laptops, well… we were far from strangers.

Let’s hope tomorrow isn’t nearly as intense so I can meet up with Lauren for dinner or coffee.  I will be so so so bummed if I’m in my HLS roomie’s town and we don’t get to see each other!