nanabee--I agree, that is a good site. And they don't put up with ***fake***reviews, as they will ban people if they do that. So you get the real deal, which is nice!

I recommended Ned Ludd to nanabee on another thread, pdx. Great place.

It IS great beachbum! Very nice flavor combinations and perfectly cooked. I took my son and he was trying to be polite and use his knife and fork to get the last bits off a perfectly cooked piece of lamb (ribs) until I told him it was okay to go ahead and rip in to it with his teeth. I had a little salad of grilled romaine with red wine dressing. We shared an appetizer of asparagus and goat cheese on sturdy grain toast. Delicious. And the best chocolate mousse I've ever had, nice and dense without being frozen pudding. I'm really impressed.

"NeoPatrick - where did you end up eating and how was it?"

I'll let you know after I'm there -- June 14. Change of plans -- I'm now just driving down from Seattle instead of Port Townsend, so looks like I'll easily be in Portland for lunch as well as dinner now.

Well, say the word it you want company. I'm sure we could get a few people together if you are interested.

Patrick--I will look for you on I-5 as I too will be driving back from Seattle that day, lol!

mms, I'll be easy to spot. I'm in the rented Chevy Cobalt with the crumpled front end, thanks to the backing up school bus at Lake Crescent.

Well, I'm open to a little dinner GTG on Sunday night if someone wants to organize it -- preferably downtown.

Oh Patrick, that is awful!!! Wish I could do a GTG but I will be packing to leave again. Its a busy week for us, but I can't complain:) Can't wait to hear how your trip is going.

I'm thinking the VQ (Veritable Quandary) would be a good dinner spot. It's old-school Portland and has kept up a very nice menu and quality standard. It has nice old brick walls, plenty of natural light, it isn't too big and the service has always been perfect. If it's a beautiful evening there is a lovely outdoor patio. Beautiful olives in their martinis, too.
Do you like martinis, NeoPatrick?

I love a great Grey Goose martini straight up with an olive -- so long as you substitute Dewars Scotch for the Grey Goose and call it a dry Robroy! LOL

"Can't wait to hear how your trip is going."

Well, other than the rental car's locks freezing up the first day when I was at Lake Quinault and having to wait 7.5 hours for them to bring me another car on a flatbed truck, and then that car getting backed into by a school bus driver who overshot her turn and didn't know I was behind her the next morning -- it's all been fantastic. The big surprise was the record breaking heat in BC last week. Who would have guessed spring in Canada would be like Florida!

I had to look up what a Robroy is:
http://www.drinkstreet.com/searchres...gi?drinkid=184

Do you put an olive in it?

Speaking of Scotch, I want to try this:

http://clearcreekdistillery.com/whiskey.html

Is it a sacrilege to use single malt in a mixed drink?

That recipe is for a Robroy which is Scotch and SWEET vermouth. A dry Robroy is made with Scotch and DRY vermouth, which is the way I like them. Admittedly that is sometimes a problem especially with young bartenders who guess that "dry Robroy" means one with sweet vermouth but less of it than usual. A regular Robroy normally has a cherry in it. A dry one usually has a lemon twist or an olive. I usually suspect when I see my drink coming on a tray and it looks dark and has a cherry that it is a regular one, not a dry one.

I'm not sure it would be sacrilege to use single malt, but yea, probably.

I'm definitely on for dinner. Anyone else?

Well Patrick, at least your trip is interesting and not boring;) I just had lunch at the Daily Grill in the Westin today, and thought of you. Wish I could do a GTG, but hopefully you can meet some other Oregonians:)

OK, all you Portland experts. Couldn't one of you let me know that today was Pride Parade in downtown Portland? I arrived at noon at the height of it, and after a half hour of circling unable to even get to my hotel, yet alone find a single parking place downtown, I finally did find one and went off to Henry's for lunch -- a good burger at the bar with a Bloody Mary.

Eventually after lunch with the parade still going strong, I discovered the policeman would move the barricade and let me through to the Westin. Then I found a place within that boundary to park on the street.

Tonight went to Clyde Common, despite the wild noise outside for the Pride street dance on the closed street. Had halibut with tarragon sauce over bronzed razor clams and fennel along with a drink. Walking back, I had a bizarre craving for something sweet -- totally a new experience for me. I stopped at Jake's Grill and sat at the bar where I had a decaf cappucino with their newest featured dessert which started today -- fresh strawberry shortcake. Delicious.

Thanks. I especially loved the atmosphere (and the food) at Clyde Common -- great and "my kind" of place.

I had forgotten when the Pride parade was til this weekend. I've never even seen it - I'm usually not downtown on Sunday anyway. Sorry for the hassle you had...

And this morning the FINAL disappointment. On another thread where I had asked about hotels and here as well, I mentioned about HAVING to have breakfast of salmon hash with poached eggs at Mothers! It almost seemed like the reason to spend the night in Portland. So this morning, I zipped outside at 8 AM (having to pay for street parking at that magic hour) then headed off walking to Mother's only to be greeted by a "Closed on Mondays" sign. What?? Someone there who had forgotten they close Mondays suggested I to to Bijou instead (as others here had done) so I did. And when I saw the "oyster hash" on the menu I remembered being told to try that so I did. Well, it was OK. There were four wonderful plump oysters fried in cornmeal on top of lots of fried potatoes with onions and some parsley. But it was a LOT of fried, and little variety of flavor. It sort of reminded me of a San Francisco hangtown fry, but it really could have used some nice smokey bacon like the hang town for flavor, or maybe an egg on top. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it maybe a 6 (or possibly a 7 thanks to the oysters themselves), but I'd still give Mothers' salmon hash with poached eggs a 10.

Whew...! I'm glad at least that you liked Clyde Common, Patrick! And maybe it's just as well that Mother's was closed. Now you have another reason to come back.

I think it was kimamom who recommended the oyster hash......

That's a bummer about the Bijou. It's a cool old-Portland icon. Didn't come through this time. A double whammy when you're disappointed already by Mother's being closed. Try the Heathman next time you need a second-choice restaurant (after Mother's). They make a lovely breakfast.