Guess what? We had a pretty chill weekend. Yes, we explored some new Portland spots, including the “up north”-feeling Goose Hollow Inn (where we discovered “up north” is totally a Michigan concept) and the aptly-titled Cheerful Bullpen dive bar with Daniel and Lindsay Friday night. On Saturday, Jeff and I hit super-tasty City State Diner for lunch and then Urban Grind Coffeehouse for a Sunday work session. But the weekend was more low-key than usual, with much fewer photo opps than usual. 🙂 I started stringing together some runs for my half-marathon training – which bodes well for Cooper and Jeff, since Coop gets exercise as my running partner and Jeff feels like a bum if he doesn’t get up and moving, too.
I also logged some reading hours, too. As a member of two monthly book clubs – one started by Lindsay, the other started by my fabulous friend Meg – I need to kick my book time into high gear. Not a huge fan of “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” at the halfway point, but y’never know if it’ll turn around.
Anyway. Since I’m terribly unexciting this week, I’ll introduce you to some of my recent obsessions – both Portland-related and not.
- Addiction No. 1: Speak of the devil, “The Bachelor” is on the tube right now, and who doesn’t love some ridiculous drama and train-wrecks? I think I’ve caught every season but two. It’s a sick addiction, which luckily I share with most of my co-workers, friends and family. Personally, I’m leaning toward Kacie B. this season, but Ben seems more and more like a tool so it’s tough to root for anyone anymore.
- Addiction No. 2: I might be turning into an old woman, but I love me some tea. Every weekday morning, I take advantage of the free Bigelow green tea in our work kitchen, plus I just discovered Steven Smith tea. It’s fabulous. This guy is a master – he founded Tazo tea years ago, sold it to Starbucks, and now runs a little shop just a few blocks from our apartment. If you’re a tea person, check it out. Soon.
- Addiction No. 3: Hawaiian BBQ. Jeff’s been on the Hawaiian BBQ train for years, but I just recently hopped on board as well. A plate of Sho-yu chicken at Roxy’s Island Grill changed my perspective. Sweet, pulled chicken, two scoops of rice, a scoop of macaroni salad and a can of Hawaiian Sun: perfection. Now I’m hooked – although the level of quality seems to range considerably at Hawaiian BBQ joints.
Speaking of food, happy Fat Tuesday Eve! I made some sickeningly sweet chocolate chai vegan cupcakes for work tomorrow. I’m thinking I might give up sweets (to some degree) for Lent, but jury’s still out on that plan…
Lindsay and Daniel at the Goose Hollow Inn
Warm, cozy interior of the Goose Hollow Inn
Chill night cruising divey bars
Steven Smith. Fab tea.
My first vegan baking experiment! (I still love meat – I’m just baking for a crew at work.)
Our Oregon Trail 
I love Hawaiian food! (Ever since I got back from Hawaii last year lol.) I was craving it this weekend and tried to find a good spot to have some dinner. We went to Thatch in NE Portland. It’s actually a Tiki bar and for the most part they just serve drinks…which were very good. They didn’t have actually dinner plates but they had appetizers and they were really good too. We’ll have to try out Roxy’s.
Now Jeff and I need to go to Hawaii to experience true Hawaiian BBQ. 🙂 By the way, Hawaiian Time’s Kalua Pig Plate drenched in teriyaki is pretty darn good, too – plus it’s not far from our apartment (it’s on Glisan and 14th) if you’re in the neighborhood.
Lucky me! The cupcakes were so awesome I had to have two. Thank you!!
Goose Hollow Inn and Cheerful Bullpen were solid. However, the Leaky Roof…not so much. Don’t think we can show our faces there again. Aubrie and Dave need to join us for our NW dive bar crawl—coming soon! 🙂
PS giving up sweets for Lent??? NOOOOOO!