When we got back to Portland, the babysitter arrived and we went out on the town. Our first stop was Noble Rot.
Noble Rot is an upscale wine bar on the eastside with pretty spectacular views of the city from the rooftop bar. The guys had beers and Samantha and I had wine flights. I chose a Tempranillo flight that was quite amazing.
Tempranillo is has been my wine of preference the past few years. I would LOVE to grow tempranillo grapes on the property, but those grapes prefer a dryer climate. We do have some south facing slopes, so I'm tempted to try anyway. My favorite wine is Abacela Tempranillo. I used to buy it pretty regularly at the grocery store, but one day they told me 2009 was no longer available and they would only have 2010. 2009 and 2008 have a little bit of a different taste than 2009, so as soon as I found out, I started buying all the bottles I could find. Most of them were at Made in Oregon stores, but I even had a case shipped in from the East Coast.
If I've learned anything this past couple of years, it's that if you find something (food-wise) you like, hoard. I think we're set for a decade or so. Anyway, I tried to get into their wine club, but last I checked, there was a bit of a waiting list. If you find yourself in Southern Oregon, I think it's worth a tour.
http://www.abacela.com/
After, we headed to Division Street. Division has gone bonkers lately. I'm not sure what the catalyst was, but there are hip restaurants, coffee shops and bars lining the street now, and there is a new construction explosion happening. We went to Whiskey Soda Lounge for some authentic Thai street food. The restaurant is pretty festive, with a patio out back. Our friends Dan and Stephanie introduced us to this place, and I'll be honest - the first time I came here, the authenticity of the menu was a bit intimidating. I was in more of an adventurous mood this time, and dug in. I think the Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings is the most popular item on the menu. Get them spicy!
I also love that when we ordered something in English, the waiter asked us, "You mean the Kai Sam Yang?" Um, yeah, that's the one.
http://www.whiskeysodalounge.com/
You should check out the menu. Looks like the chef has won a James Beard award for best chef in the Northwest. I believe it.
Afterwards, I was pretty much ready to call it a night. It had been a long night and day, and my legs were jelly from the morning SUP.
But the guys weren't ready to go home yet. We stopped by Apex for one last beer.
the next day, after dropping Samantha off at the airport, we all headed to Tasty & Sons for brunch. True to the Portlandia brunch episode, we were told the wait would be over an hour. Undeterred, we went to another place for breakfast while we waited for our brunch spot to open up. Ninety minutes isn't too bad. Their other restaurant, Toro Bravo tells us 2-1/2 hours without so much as blinking. And if I were to show outrage or surprise, it would be confusing to her. of course we would wait half the night for a table!
It's worth it.
http://tastyntasty.com/sons/brunch.html
Yes, that bloody mary has bacon in it.
At around 6pm, Jesse took the cousins to the airport and I ran around the house once again gathering food and clothes. Yes, we were going back to HR. Love it too much and didn't get enough. Something about a new washer and dryer, too.
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