Busy times lately! The Krass abode has been a hot spot, most recently hosting Jeff’s mom Chris and his Cali cousin Linda. Two fun-loving ladies who could run circles around Jeff and me. Two ladies who fell madly in love with the boutiques, restaurants, food carts, and pet stores two blocks away on 23rd. Two ladies who entertained themselves while Jeff and I dealt with the little corner of hell I call the Beaverton DMV. (Silver lining – we’re officially Oregonians now!) Chris, Linda, Jeff and I hit some of coolest places in Portland – almost all of them brand new to Jeff and me. Of course, we hit the requisite Rogue Ale House and Bridgeport, which are reliably fab breweries. But then we expanded our horizons to Widmer Brothers Gasthaus Pub, the Portland Farmer’s Market and Tasty n Sons.

The Portland Farmer’s Market was a slice of heaven. Blocks and blocks of local produce, cheese, meat, flowers, hazelnuts (Oregon grows 99% of all hazelnuts sold in the U.S.), and much more. A band played, local restaurants were slinging some mean food, and people swigged coffee as they strolled through the park-turned-outdoor market. It was seriously the coolest farmer’s market I’ve experienced besides the famous Seattle Pike Place Market, if that even counts. And Portland’s might even have an advantage – a unicycling bagpiper.

Our visit to the Widmer pub was a gametime decision during our 1 hour 45 minute wait for Tasty n Sons. (Yes, you read right – 1 hour 45 minute wait for brunch. Luckily it didn’t really take that long.) I discovered a new Portland fave – Drop Top Amber Ale. Any beer that has a happy dog on the front is already in my favor, but it was some good stuff. But the pièce de résistance of the morning (yes, that means we were slugging back beers in the morning – don’t judge) was definitely Tasty n Sons. A place regularly voted “Best Brunch in Portland” in a brunch-crazy city. And dang, was it good. I actually ate a dab of chicken liver mousse – among a bunch of other food that was much more up my alley. And the bloody marys. Yum. Thanks to the Tillmans for being so sweet to get us a gift certificate for the place – we’re now hooked!

We were sad to see Chris and Linda go, but a few short days later we got to see Chris again – in Arizona for Jeff’s cousin Phil’s wedding. Jeff’s parents have a place near Scottsdale, where we spent the weekend lounging with Amy and Rob and Aunt Roxanne and Uncle Ron. We couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather, which was a perfect complement to Phil and Meleah’s wedding. Leaving the Krass fam and coming home to Portland rain was not so cool. Sunshine, you and I better meet up again sometime real soon.