I have a long-standing rule: no coffee after 11am.

Unless, of course, it is accompanied by delicious chocolate. Come to think of it, I’m good with chocolate just about any time of the day.

So, it was clear I couldn’t resist heading over to Slow Food Portland’s “From Bean to Buzz: Coffee + Chocolate Tasting” at Ecotrust last week. This was a round-robin event with some local (and kind of local) chocolate and coffee artisans. Despite our best intentions, we ended up a little late so we missed a part of the proceedings. However, we felt as though that we ended up getting the “best of the buzz” with the two and-a half (out of four) stations we sidled up to.

We caught the end of the Xocolatl de David and Cellar Door Coffee Roasters team from Portland. The chocolate was divine and the coffee was delicious, bold and smooth. Sadly, we missed the meat of the conversation.

Then, it was on to Missionary Chocolates of Portland and Portland Roasting Coffee. Melissa Berry, the chocolatier, gave out many, many (all vegan truffles) samples. First, it was salted caramel. Delicious. Next a lemon truffle. Out of this world. Then, a peanut butter number. More hyperbole. Then, a raspberry truffle shaped in a heart. Superb. What stood out was not just the flavor, but the fact that these vegan truffles, using coconut milk as a base, weren’t heavy — so one could eat an entire box and not feel like saying “oooof.” Pairing it with Portland Roasting’s Guatemalen coffee was just perfect. And Martin Barrett of Portland Roasting was highly engaging and informative.

What also stood out in this Portland group was the good being done. Berry is hoping to fund a new natural healing center. Portland Roasting, with their Farm Friendly Direct™ program funds important projects in communities where they source their coffee. So sure, it’s tasty chocolate and coffee — further enhanced by knowing that there is something bigger going on.

The most entertaining speaker we saw was Jesse from Cacao in Portland. Clearly passionate about chocolate, he was great fun to listen to as he described what we were sampling — and there was plenty to taste. His pairing partners (both from Seattle) were very good but Jesse stole the show with his enthusiasm.

We missed Stumptown Coffee and Claudio Corallo (from Seattle). But we had the chance to taste both and, even though the palates were fried, it was still delicious. I suppose the good news is that each morning, I brew up some Stumptown with Portland pride, so I am deeply familiar with the brilliance of their beans.

Sure, I broke my big rule about having coffee after 11am. But, when there’s great coffee and chocolate to be had, count me in every time!

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Being half Italian, I seem to have this gene that precludes me from not making wagers.

Seahawks in the Super Bowl this year? Sure, I’ll take that.

Partly cloudy and 43 degrees? Yeah, I’ll take that one too.

As you can guess, I don’t win very much. But, when I do make these little forays into competitive guessing, I like to add a bit of what I’ll just go ahead and call a “mayoral” or “gubernatorial” twist.

See, when two cities are in a championship game, the mayors and/or governors get in to the act. They’ll often wager something symbolic or representative of the city or state. You can imagine what happens when Wisconsin is in a championship game. Or, even worse, Philly or New Jersey. (My family is from there — I’m allowed to take shots)

So it came to be that I got into a wager on the Blazers/Cavs game with a weather guy from Charlotte, North Carolina who happened to have grown up near Akron, the home of one LeBron James. No, there would be no money — there would be Oregon bounty if I lost. His item, had the Blazers won, would have been BBQ sauce. I suppose it was either that or something NASCAR-ish. Despite their best efforts, the Blazers came up short against King LeBron. (By the way, is Anderson Varejao the new Bill Laimbeer? What a whiner.)

I lost.

But I also won.

Because this week, I’m heading over to my favorite local place for walnuts and hazelnuts, Loughridge Farms. A mere few miles away from me, out Scholls Ferry Road way, are some of the best walnuts and hazelnuts I have ever eaten. And the people who run the farm are incredibly cool and nice. I’m looking forward to sending a few pounds off to my Twitter pal in Charlotte. Because then, he’ll get a taste of Oregon and what real walnuts and hazelnuts are all about.

And that’s a bet I’m happy to lose every time.

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Did you know that Portland Metro area contributes 1/5th of the total share of agriculture production value for the entire state? I certainly didn’t. So it stands to reason that any adjustments to the urban growth boundary not only has an impact on our region’s livability, but the entire state’s diet, no?

Yes, that’s just one fact that ought to inform urban planning discussions. But don’t look to me for the details — instead, see what Cooking Up a Story has to say. As ever, Rebecca & Fred Gerendasy & their team have extensive background information, along with the video we show below in their post.

The CUpS people sat down with Jim Johnson, land use planner for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, to discuss the Reserves Process, how the land use laws in Oregon came into being, and what they are designed to accomplish.

Johnson shared the 1/5th factoid above with CUpS, and also told them that this area contains some of the best agricultural soils in the nation. Yes, the nation.

So doesn’t it make sense for those who value locally-grown produce, for starters, to pay close attention to anything that would change existing boundaries? Well, there’s a meeting today you should know about.

Urban and rural reserves meeting

You are invited to an open house and Metro Council hearing to share your views about urban and rural reserves. The open house is from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and will be held in the Sharron Kelly room (room 200). The Metro Council hearing begins at 6 p.m. and will be in the Chinook room (room 180). You will have 3 minutes to state your points.

Details:

Monday, Jan 11
Starts at 4:30 pm
Multnomah County East Building
600 NE 8th Ave.
Gresham, OR

Our thanks to Rebecca from Cooking Up a Story for tipping us off to this important issue!

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The cleanup of River City continues.

A strong rumor floating around the downtown core states that this upcoming weekend will be the last for the infamous Greek Cusina. The hit squad has apparently won. The ongoing battles between the city and owner Ted Papas are well documented (read this or that for more background). But whether you love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Ted brought color and excitement to downtown.

The Greek has had its issues. It’s not faultless. But those who work nearby and know the staff will miss them. The Greek Cusina brought more than trouble to the neighborhood. On any given night you would see dozens of tourists dining with a sidewalk view. It wasn’t all Zach Randolph parties and hip-hop shootouts. And it’s sad that a once-thriving business has been killed off by bureaucracy.

What’s next on the city’s list? Sixteen-ounce cans of beer. Not Olde English, Camo, Four Locos and all the stuff “bums” drink. No, the Hit Squad now wants your pounder cans of Budweiser, Coors and Miller Genuine Draft. Yup, sixteen ounces of beer, that’s where we should draw the line.

What about the tourist who wants to try Rogue Dead Guy? It’s about six bucks for a 22 oz bottle. And do you really think a guy who panhandles for a living is going to mind buying good beer? Whether bum, tourist or alcoholic, if a person wants to drink, they will find a way, cost be damned.

Limiting the options of what stores can sell only makes the game more interesting for the street drinker, harder for the guy who just wants one beer at home after work, and difficult if not impossible for the merchant trying to keep up with all the restrictions and limitations imposed. Not to mention the fact that bartenders and store clerks have to be the psychic beer police. They have to guess whether you’re taking it home, or drinking it while walking to the club.

Remember the good old days, when the police busted you for street drinking? I believe the term I’m looking for is personal responsibility. If the city wants to make money, they should loosen restrictions on merchants and start handing out $300 tickets to street drinkers.

Now it’s one step away from prohibition. The funny thing is, cops will harass a guy drinking a can of Camo on a bus stop bench, while hipsters across the street sit at sidewalk cafe tables; drinking, pointing and laughing. How is that right? As much as I love order downtown, the place has become a ghost town after dark, and businesses are dying because of it.

Sadly, the families sitting outside the Greek won’t have the street theater (or the calamari) after this week. But I could be wrong — this an unofficial rumor, after all.

Ted Papas has risen from the ashes before. I wish him and his son Theo all the best.

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I love this time of year. Even though I don’t much celebrate the Xmas thing, I certainly manage to get invited to events or gatherings that don’t require that I flash my credentials at the door. And that whole “peace and goodwill towards others” scene? I can get into that…

I met up with a few of my fellow authors last week for beverages after ending the last workday of 2009 — and now I’m work-free until after the New Year. So even though we’re not giving you much notice, a few of the OurPDX authors will be meeting tomorrow evening for drinks at Thatch in NE Portland. Won’t you join us?

(If you needed any incentive, I can tell you that it’s also $5 Mai Tai Monday at Thatch all evening long…and I can attest to the fact that the Mai Tai’s are very tasty indeed.)

Where: Thatch Tiki Bar, 2733 NE Broadway (Google Map)
When: Monday, 12/28: 5 pm – ???
Details: No-host bar, non-tiki drinks also available. We’ll also have appetizers to share
Upcoming: Please RSVP

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YEEHAW!

As I compiled the list of things to do this weekend, I noticed a theme forming. What with all the warm rainy weather a week from Christmas, my activities took on a southern feel. So, chomp down on a piece of hay, fire up the El Camino and ride along. We gonna have us a time.

Food

The south is known for lots of things, but going hungry isn’t one of them. Despite eight million takeout/food cart options available, I figured I couldn’t get more southern than Hillbilly Bento. A co-worker has been daring me to try the place, and since it’s open 11-6 Monday through Friday, I could get there for breakfast before it closes.

Hillbilly Bento sits across from the US Bancorp Tower, aka Big Pink, in a building that has seen better days. They are the only open storefront on the block, and if not for sidewalk tables it would probably go unnoticed. I approached, peeked inside, and received a warm welcome from the lady at the counter. She was very nice, and not at all like the Granny Clampett I was expecting.

We could have been standing in Granny Clampett’s parlor, though. Country-fried nick-nacks adorn the walls, and a banjo-riffic soundtrack played through my visit. It’s a lot of eye candy to absorb, but the smell of the food keeps calling your attention back to why you are there:

The vittles.

I had Hillbilly Pork with dirty rice and mac & cheese. Served up in a recyclable container, it left little room for what would be the (confession) real reason I went to Hillbilly Bento. Chocolate. Pecan. Pie.

It looked like normal pecan pie. Were those raisins? Because raisins are a deal-breaker. I hate raisins. But I paid $3.50 for this slice of pie, and I will not be denied.

Those weren’t raisins, they were chocolate chips! Such a simple adjustment to a recipe, and such magical results. Look out Memphis Mafia, a new splurge dessert has entered the competition…

I hope this place makes it. I don’t lunch downtown often enough to make a difference, but maybe my bragging up the place will.

Hillbilly Bento (warning: obnoxious musical track kicks in)
211 SW 6th
(503)-808-9283

Clothing

Wondering what to get your guy or outdoor-loving kinda-butch GF for the holidays? Take a trip to the inner eastside to Andy and Bax, Portland’s longtime outpost for military surplus. I frequented Andy and Bax as a teen in the ’70s, and was happy to see not much has changed. I found the clothing I was looking for, saw stuff that will have me returning, and got in some prime people-watching to boot. Not many places you can be knocked out of line by a scruffy guy in a wheelchair looking for “a throwing hatchet, RIGHT NOW!” Since I was already in his way, I hurried along. For about $8, he could probably afford more than one.

Also, their brass knuckles are made of real brass, unlike the $5 pair I got at the gun show last millennium. Excuse me, those are paperweights. My bad.

They have gift certificates, so if anyone you know is into paramilitary clothing, or needs tarps, camping gear, or a SWAT vest, this is your spot. There’s enough gear here to deck you out like a member of the Florida National Guard. (Spit cup not included.)

And now? Time to put on that paramilitary raingear and come up with some northern-baked entertainment to counterbalance the weekend’s southern-fried activities…

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Portland wins again. A friend with food allergies came to visit this weekend, and in most other cities, eating out is a real challenge. In Portland, eating out when you’re interested in vegan/raw/gluten-free is a lot easier.

At Blossoming Lotus Irvington, she took a look at the menu and said, “I can eat everything on this menu. This place is amazing.”

It’s just off 15th and Broadway, in a recessionista-chic building. (Old paper store converted to restaurant). They also just got their liquor license, and their margarita is one of the best in the city. They’ve also got a great local beer selection, and yes, everything on the menu will make you feel like you’re doing something right for yourself. Go visit.

(We’ve linked to a Yelp review for more information…)

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…later…

As threatened, hereare the results (the ones that weren’t as blurry, anyway) of my own random iPhone crowd shots. Yes, I realize I’m probably one of the worst photographers around — but as I often say to my children: “You get what you get and you don’t pitch a fit.” Deal.

(Yes, that’s Stephanie Stricklen, enjoying the first caffeinated latte after Elle’s birth…!)

2:30 pm

Home now, will add some post-mortem photos & links later, along with outtakes from the Twitter feed. Thanks for following along, and best of luck to the now-uncloaked Mitch Nolan! Also – I diagnosed the source of the (mostly) MIA modem issue. Thanks for nothing, Clear…!

1:00 pm

Well, I went back to kick the modem & got stuck at the back for the big announcement: web developer & non-insider Mitch Nolan is the editor behind Oregon Media Central. Byron Beck also has the story which I’ll link to later when I get real connectivity (my iPhone app can only do so much). (now linked).

There’s a good crowd here – Steph Stricklen’s enjoying her first post-baby latte, while OMI founder Lynn Siprelle watched the torch of PDX media coverage get passed along. I took some sub-par iPhone photos I’ll share later – but I think I’m getting pulled into that dreaded mingling thing…

12:12 pm:

There are people here! There are people here! I see Jay Mackin, the host of UniBashRadio in the crowd. And a few other people, but sadly, I’ve forgotten most of their names already. Did I tell anyone I was really bad at the whole schmoozy gig before they recruited me here?

11:54 am:

Well, I’m here. I’ve coughed up the parking fee for on-street parking (despite my best intentions. I have my laptop on. Am doing the Twitter thing. But where are youuuuu? Who’s going to buy my latte, anyway…?

9:00 am:

So I guess I need to get out of my comfy pajamas and out into the muck out there ’cause I PROMISED I’d cover the Media Circus today for the anonymous guy behind Oregon Media Central. Because he’s revealing his identity today or something like that.

Where am I going?
Blitz Buzz
110 NW 10th (and Couch)
Noon to 2 pm
Google Map

(Side note: Why can’t I ever get cool graphics like that for my posts?)

Who am I seeing there?
A subset of the people who’ve already RSVP-ed here. (Shrugs) And whoever else drags themselves to the Pearl District at noon to talk to other media types and/or media sycophants, I guess.

(I’m trying to affect a jaded, hard-boiled newsman attitude here, lest I get too giddy and fangirl-ish. See, I don’t want to freak out Steph Stricklen by slobbering all over her like everyone else in PDX already does. How am I doing so far…?)

Oh, yeah. I’ll be lowering myself to do that new-fangled Twitter thing as well. Watch for most of the action from the @OurPDXLive account using the hashtag #pdxmc. (You’re not following it already? Follow it already…)

Now, do I want to update in reverse chronological order (newer stuff on the top), or force you all to open a new page and scroll down, down, down? Decisions, decisions…

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• No Related Post

In the Portland Tech community it is unheard of not to have a side project, something that you love to do but that doesn’t fit squarely into the tech industry or has nothing to do with your day job. Many of us have multiple labors of love. Ryan Snyder, creator of Foodgeeks.com is one of those people of which I type.

Join me with Ryan, Crystal Beasley and Nate DiNiro as we talk about the new and improved Foodgeeks!

SLL Episode 150: Foodgeeks.com

Watch the Tech Edition

In afterhours things quickly derail. It’s one of those content light episodes of Afterhours, but word from the live chatroom is that it’s well worth watching. I’m not sure what they liked about it. Maybe the brief technical talk about our streaming situation, or the little bit of wine talk we had with Ryan. Maybe it was all the discussion of the rapidly upcoming 30 Hour Day. Could it have been that in order for us to all fit on camera I had to invite Crystal to join me in my chair? Nope. That wasn’t it. Whatever it was I hope you enjoy this latest edition of Afterhours.

SLL Episode 151: Afterhours With the Foodgeeks

Watch Afterhours

***

This week we return to our roots with a very techy Tech Edition. Friday night we’ll be joined live in studio by Dane Hesseldahl of Simler. We’ll be streaming at 10 right here on strangelovelive.com

****

Next week we go off the rails with SLL from 30 Hour Day. Don’t miss a moment.

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UPDATE: It’s time to pull this post back out for Thanksgiving, 2009!

We’ve provided updates to the bar information below where needed, plus can tell you that BarFly has a more exhaustive list of drinking establishments that’ll be open on Thanksgiving. Some of us just might do some live-tweeting in an ‘on-the-spot’ reporting kinda way — you never know!

The original post, as published on 11/25/08

I don’t know about you, but my favorite part of Thanksgiving was going to a local bar after dinner with my favorite cousins and the cool uncle to get the real dirt on the family. You know – the dirt you didn’t reveal at the dinner table. We’d sneak away a few at a time and meet at the local bar to swap stories and have an hour or so away from the whole family. We called it Operation Family Gossip.

The thing is, until a few years ago, I’d never had a Thanksgiving in Portland so I had no idea where to go after Thanksgiving dinner. Outside of the places that specialize in doing a big Thanksgiving meal such as The Heathman, Mother’s, Paley’s Place, Huber’s and Higgins, many bars are closed.

Then a few years ago, driving down Broadway, I saw a crowd going into the Rose and Thistle. Ever since, it’s been my post-Thanksgiving dinner home.

I called a few places, many were closed, but some are opening late just for you and your family gossip. Here is a short list of bars and their opening times. If you’re working that night, you are one of the things we are all thankful for, so post it in the comments so everyone can see.

• Rose and Thistle, 2314 NE Broadway, Opens at 7:00 p.m. (OK)
• Bar of the Gods, 4801 NE Hawthorne, Opens at 8:00 p.m. (OK)
• Radio Room, 1101 NE Alberta, Opens at 5:007 p.m.
• The Hutch, 4606 NE Glisan, Opens at 11:00 a.m. (not checked for ‘09)
• Space Room Lounge, 4800 SE Hawthorne, Opens at 11:00 a.m.(not checked for ‘09)

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