Last week, the family headed out to The Resort at the Mountain for a bit of R & R and a review. The kind folks at Richmond Public Relations (The Resort's PR firm) offered us dinner and a room on what turned out to be the beginning of Portland's heat wave. Perfect timing, particularly since we don't have an air conditioner. Before I get too far into the story, I want to share the link to the photo album I created. I had way too many great shots to only share two or three. Check out the Resort at the Mountain photo album.
We headed out on the short hour and fifteen minute drive and decided to stop at Edgefield for lunch. I hadn't been there before and absolutely loved the grounds and my fave burger and tater tots. We ate at the Power Station Theater and bar, but there are like 6 restaurants on the grounds...Did I mention there is a spa? This most definitely requires further exploration in the future.
As the day started to warm up, we made a dash for the car and headed to the mountains. Only a short 45 minutes or so from Edgefield, The Resort was a welcome sight, as was the pool and air conditioned room.
The grounds were absolutely lovely, as was the room. After checking in, I was given a tour by the manager of sales, Ryan Daugherty. He took me through the recently remodeled main lobby, rooms and Altitude Restaurant, to the 27 hole golf course and surrounding area. There are rooms and a clubhouse with a pub in this area, too. Absolutely phenomenal views and at least 10 degrees cooler than Portland. Whew!
He also gave me a sneak preview of the spa the resort is adding. It's an absolutely gorgeous building and promises to be a full service spa, complete with a room for special scrubs and what I hope will be a vichy shower. This alone may be reason enough to come back...
While I was touring, the rest of the family took a swim in the pool and relaxed in the hot tub. I could see the pool from our second story patio...again, we had a great view of beautiful landscaping and the center of the complex. The room came equipped with a big flat screen tv and cold air conditioner, so I vegged out for an hour or so before getting ready for dinner.
At 6, we headed over for the Van Duzer Winemaker's Dinner, co-hosted by the Executive Chef of Altitudes Restaurant, Paul Bosch. I have to admit that the dinner was not all I had hoped it would be. The food was fair, though the flavors were perfect pairings for the wine selections. I particularly liked Van Duzer's Pinot Noir Rose and Dijon Blocks Pinot Noir...really amazing flavors, the Rose being particularly affordable.
Unfortunately, our table companions were fairly obnoxious in discussing their political views and thoughts about the greatness of Sarah Palin and the problem with "transvestites" (though I don't think the two were mentioned in conjunction). Clearly, they did not realize they were seated with a couple that truly embodies the "keep Portland weird" philosophy. Though this was no fault of the resort, it really made the dinner unpleasant. The waitstaff at dinner was fantastic, though, and our server Candy kept us well supplied with wine, food and sparkling conversation.
Afterward, my partner and I had coffee and dessert in the Altitudes Restaurant and Bar. Really nice staff and beautiful surroundings.The kids ordered room service and spent a couple of hours chowing down in bed while watching tv, which they loved. Trust e, they never get served meals in bed at home...
The following morning, we went for breakfast at the pub and were seated outdoors with a spectacular view of the golf course. It was their first day serving breakfast and we had a few glitches...ended up waiting an hour to be served...but all in all it was a positive experience. The waitstaff saved the day again with their sparkling personalities.
Overall, I would say the family enjoyed the experience...and this is definitely a family friendly environment. Other than the issue with the dinner, my only other complaint was that some staff was fantastic, others seemed disinterested and uninformed. We had a heck of a time getting a room service menu, as ours was missing from the room. Thankfully, Ryan found someone who could help...and ironically, copies were sitting at the front desk the whole time.
The Resort is about 30 minutes from Timberline and other major ski areas. Because it is at a lower altitude, The Resort gets less snow, which makes it easy to get to in winter months. You can then hop on a shuttle to three ski areas and leave the driving worries behind. We decided to take a drive up to Timberline after checking out...it was a gorgeous day and a wonderful drive. I would recommend trying the ski lift to go to the top of the mountain. FUN!
If you are looking for a fun and affordable stay-cation, The Resort is a self-contained destination with something for all members of the family. Even though it is a short drive from Portland, it feels miles (and degrees) away. In a year when we are all looking to maximize fun on a minimized budget, a trip to the Resort at the Mountain may be just what is needed.
Anyone living in Portland, and likely the Pacific Northwest, knows about Burgerville. Their shakes, burgers and onion rings are legendary...as is their commitment to sourcing as much food as possible from local farmers. Their menu changes with the seasons, from strawberry to blackberry shakes, from Yukon Gold fries to Walla Walla onion rings. All of which is fairly typical for restaurants in our foodie-obsessed city. But from a "fast food" restaurant? Exactly.
So when I received an invitation to interview the President of Burgerville, Jeff Harvey, at the new Burgerville mobile cart, there was no question in my shake-addicted mind that I would be there with bells on. Adding a mobile platform is certainly in keeping with Portland's long tradition of great food from food carts. But how many food chains are there that are willing to take this leap and become a part of a longstanding tradition that has previously applied mostly to individually owned, smaller restaurants?
We could smell the burgers as we closed in on the cart, and I should explain that "we" consisted of me and my little dude. There was no way that Nathan was going to allow me to go anywhere near a Burgerville of any sort without his participation. And when I told him we were meeting with the President, I could see the wheels turning in his head.
"Well, how exactly did he get to be President? I mean, did someone vote for him or something?"
In Nathan's world, Burgerville is a sovreign nation, sort of akin to Disney World. I could see where this conversation was headed.
"Honey, do you want to be President of Burgerville someday?" Nathan's face was covered in one big grin. Exactly.
As we approached the tour bus and food cart, I saw many red-shirted employees called "Nomads". There was a decent line of folks, ready to chow down on some of the same favorites that are available at the traditional stores. Though they are limited to fries (no onion rings, folks), they do have the seasonal shake, which this time of year is raspberry. Megan Calpers of McGrath Power (the PR firm for Burgerville and our very helpful contact person) offered to order lunch for us. Nathan went for the gold with a kids hot dog/fries combo and a chocolate shake. I settled on the seasonal shake, not wanting to waste time with anything else.
We were introduced to Jeff and had a chat with him about the new cart and where it will be stationed. Burgerville is still mapping that out, but one thing is for certain. This won't be a "show up when an event is catered" type of cart. This will be a roving member of the Portland community.
Jeff also talked a bit about how the Burgerville store menu is decided...I mean, how do they decide which ingredients to use when and in what combination?
Believe it or not, they have a Chef's Council comprised of food-savvy general managers, an Executive Chef, the Chairman (and past President) of the Board and Jeff. A series of suggestions are submitted (by actual employees in stores), then passed on to the Executive Chef for recipe development. Finally, the council goes through a series of taste tests, resulting in only one or two final products.
Sadly, I forgot to ask Jeff if I could be on the council...doesn't it make sense to have customer representation?? Exactly.
It should also come as no surprise that this out-of-the-box, crazy-good-restaurant-chain is harnessing the power of social media to connect with customers. I found, to my delight, that when I mentioned my penchant for Mocha Perks on Twitter, @BurgervilleUSA responded!
Suffice it to say that it was a fantastic and fun visit. Of course, I expected nothing less...Keep an eye out for the new big yellow bus, this is one restaurant that gives fast food a good name.
Recently, I was invited to attend a HipCooks class. Hipcooks was started in Los Angeles (but we won't hold that against them) and has recently opened their Portland location on the ever growing cooler section of N. Williams (across from Pix Patisserie). The class that I terrorized...err...attended...was called "Holy Mole!" and as you might suspect, was a Mexican-fusion class, complete with margaritas.
Unfortunately, the fabulously fun owner of HipCooks, Monika Reti, wasn't able to teach my class...but the ever perky Allison did a great job of keeping everyone engaged. This was truly a hands on, everybody gets to taste everything, kind of experience.
Here we are making flan with a twist...a bit of fresh pepper in the flan base ensures a kick follows the sweetness of the caramel. Did I mention we made caramel? Yeah, see, what's not to like about a class that makes a product that contains 100% sugar?
We made an extensive menu, which of course, involved the creation of a mole. And though I would have liked a deeper level of foodie info, I was by far the minority. Class members asked great questions, were introduced to new techniques and got to mash things up with a really big mortar and pestle...fun!
Did I mention we made margaritas? Um, yeah...and there was wine involved...And at the end of the evening, we all sat down to eat our meal togther.
The evening was a lot of fun and way low pressure. I would love to try another cuisine specific class, they have a Thai and a Greek class that would be really great. I also hear that they have a knife skills class...which would be great if it would reduce the number of times I inadvertantly cut myself while trying to chop a few carrots for dinner...sigh...
But there is one secret about HipCooks that I am reticent to tell you. In fact, I am only going to do so because I like Monika and her husband and it is only fair to send them business instead of keep this foodie resource in my grubby little heart. Get closer to the computer now so you can hear...they have the most amazing, I mean amazing, Nielsen-Massey vanilla bean paste for $8 and Maldon sea salt for $7. Yes, they have a small inventory of specialty foods and utentsils for great prices. But listen, don't tell everybody, ok...'cause they won't have any left when I stop by...
Anywhoo, do yourself a favor and give their classes a try. They cost around $55 a pop...not a bad investment for 3 hours and a meal. Plus, they email you all of the recipes afterwards so you don't have to spend the whole time trying to write everything down.
And if you do go, be sure to tell Monika I sent you...and leave some vanilla paste for me...
I love to find great places to eat breakfast here in Portland...well, really anywhere...but, who wants to drive that early in the morning? So I was thrilled when my Twitter friend @lilgirlbigvoice called me up and announced that she would be arriving from Eugene and wouldn't it be great to meet?
Of course it would! And, just so happens that breakfast worked best for us...she was staying out on SE Hawthorne so I started my search there...
Now, there are a lot of choices for eating in the Hawthorne area...but we settled on Jam. I would include a link to their site, except they don't seem to have a site...so I will include a link to a review on a local vegan foodie site, Stumptown Vegans.
Which brings up point number one, if you are a vegan, this is a great place to have breakfast...my friend ordered a vegan scramble wrap type thing...which she promptly pronounced terrific...
I am not a vegan, so I ordered the corned beef hash. They marinate the beef for days in a beer concoction. Yeah. For real. What's not to love about that?
It is served with two eggs on top...and you can see I dove right in before remembering to take a pic...it was really tasty. I would recommend going a bit lighter on the meat though...seemed like too much to me.
We had great service, great coffee (local purveyor Stumptown is served there) and an overall great breakfast experience.
If you are looking for an affordable, neighborhood place to have a great breakfast, this is the place for you!
Jam on Hawthorne
2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR
97214
Phone: (503) 234-4790
Really, it takes a lot for me to get worked up about a restaurant...and I suppose it is because I am living in Foodie Nirvana...We Portlanders are lucky to have so many amazing restaurants to choose from in our little big city. I don't even bother writing about my so so experiences...the competition is tough...
I recently stopped in to the Three Square Grill in Hillsdale for a late dinner. Here's how they describe themselves:
Specializing in American regional cuisine, we have enjoyed cooking and serving great food for our friends in Portland's Hillsdale neighborhood since March of 1995. We bake our buns & special breads, cure and smoke our fish & meats, prepare our pickles & preserves, and bake all of our desserts right here, using only the freshest ingredients. We try to use as much organic and minimally processed products as possible, and we deal directly with many ranchers, farmers, brewers and wineries.
And, here's how I describe them: Tres Magnifique! I had the most unbelievable bacon cheeseburger I have had, next to the one's I make myself, of course...and while you might be pooh-poohing the cheeseburger as a yardstick for taste, think about how many the average person consumes in a lifetime...I know from cheeseburgers...
And here are a few of the other fantabulous offerings with prices to the right...
Gaining Ground Farm Roast Chicken
Paprikash with French Beans + Crushed Potatoes.
16
Shrimp, Catfish, Andouille + Oyster Etoufée over Low Country Style Polenta and
Collards. 16
Penne Pasta Tossed with Gaining Ground Chicken, Pesto, Artichoke, Eggplant +
Fresh Ricotta. 16
Highland Oak Farm Natural Beef Meatloaf with Wild Mushroom
Gravy.
15
Our Famous Hand Slung Smoked Salmon Hash with a Poached
Egg. 14
If you are in SW Portland, looking for a great nosh, check out the Three Square Grill...you will be glad you did...
One of the first places I ate when I moved to Portland was Saucebox. Recently, I went there again and was reminded of how much I love this place. Though, maybe it is worth noting that I love it for the drinks and appetizers...not so nuts about the meals. I would actually recommend going there solely for the master mixology and creative small plates...
Feast your eyes on this delish Mai Tai
And how about the Strawberry Lemonade?
And believe me they were as good as they looked...
If you go early enough in the evening to get a table in the bar area, you can choose from a long list of $1, $2, $3, $4, and $5 appetizers...which are every bit as good, if not better than the entrees. A bit later DJ Mumu spins the tunes and picks up the pace...
So, grab some friends and head out to Saucebox...you will have a great time!
