Charming Rose

Busy Season

Well it's Spring, at least according to the calendar and Portland starts becoming a more interesting place again. The warm weather always brings out the crazies and the festivals start popping up on the agenda. Last weekend was a busy one. The Spring Beer and Wine Festival happened as did Eat Mobile, a festival featuring food carts. The former was fun as always. I like the more free-form arrangement of the festival in the convention center. You don't have to stand in tightly formed queues smashed in with all of humanity. You walk up to tables and even talk to people who make the beer, not just volunteers. That said, the selection isn't quite as wide as the Summer and Winter fests. I still think it's my favorite. It was the first I ever attended, even before we moved here. It, in part, helped convince me that Portland was somewhere I could live. It's a definite plus for Portland.

Portland is a food cart mecca. I am an OCD germ freak. Food carts scare me. I could get food poisoning;I could contract a horrible disease! There are perhaps 2 carts in this city I will actually visit. Scott, the ironed gulleted adventuresome eater, wants to eat at them all the time. How could we rectify this situation? The Eat Mobile event held by Willamette Week seemed the answer. I could try carts that were presumably reputable (as reputable as a food cart can be) and therefore not be so squeamish about it.

Sadly the whole thing was less than organized. It was impossible to get samples from every cart. Two hours in and we had only eaten 14 samples. There were 36 carts. The lines were long and so slow. Most carts seemed incapable of preparing a high number of samples at a time. When Scott and I realized that 2 hours had passed and we still had 20 carts to go we made an executive decision. We decided to select carts that we were truly interested in. It seemed like a solution but no... food carts are notoriously poorly organized. With an hour left over 12 carts were completely out of food. The event had a set attendance, they knew how much to make, how did they run out? Clearly they didn't plan properly. What's funny is that one of my favorite carts, one I used to think was incompetently run, actually had enough food. So Koi Fusion while I still think you have a lot of room to grow as a business, kudos to you for actually planning properly for this event. And thank you for that chicken wing, it was one of the most delicious things I ate at the event.

So Scott and I left and headed to Olympic Provisions to share a chef's selection of yummy meats. Just enough food to make up for all the carts we missed and truthfully better than most of what I ate at Eat Mobile. What I learned from Eat Mobile is that there are food carts with decent food, but very few are well run. Just pick ones you know you like and tolerate the less than stellar way the business is run, at least your belly will be happy. 

This weekend holds more adventures with a Belgian Beer Festival and a Fair held by the Society for Creative Anachronism. If all goes well, I'll blog about them next week.

Obligatory shot of Scott with his mug at beer fest

 

 

Boutiques Unleashed

So it's been months and I'm a failure at this. I have to start making it a priority. How many times do you have to do something for it to become a habit? Apparently I haven't done this enough.

A few weeks ago we went to one of my all time favorite Portland events, Boutiques Unleashed. It combines a number of things I enjoy and am passionate about: animals, clothes, food and drink. Boutiques Unleashed benefits the Dove Lewis Animal Hospital which is an amazing place and this event specifically helps them sponsor sessions for those who have lost a pet. If you have a pet, you understand this need, if you don't have a pet well I'm not completely sure how we're friends. 

Anyway the event features food, drink, a silent auction and a fashion show featuring clothes from local boutiques for both people and animals. It is always fun to watch and I especially like it because one of my favorite stores is always involved, Say Say Boutique. I love that store and everyone who works there. They are awesome. Go there, buy things, tell them I sent you.

Last year I got to meet and talk to Seth Aaron Henderson, winner of Project Runway. He was back this year and just as friendly which is awesome. This year was also a plus because Scott and I got to hang out with the Say Say Crew to watch the show and it was a great time. Plus, I won a month's plus supply of Pop Chips which are one of my favorite snacks. What you haven't tried Pop Chips? Ummm go to the store right now and buy some. They are life changing.

In short, Boutiques Unleashed 2011 was one of the highlights of my year thus far and has ensured I will return next year. If you live in the Portland area, you should go next year it's a ton of fun. Scott and I will definitely be there.

My new boyfriend, Napoleon the Alpaca

 

Part of my winnings ( a whole box worth arrived today, yippee)

 

Say Say's model on the catwalk

Chinese Fooooooood

If you know me, you know I love Chinese food. It makes me happy. Unfortunately, I do not get to have Chinese food as often as I would like. There are several reasons for this the first being my OCD. If you haven't noticed, some Chinese food establishments do not hold cleanliness to the same standards as those I prefer. This makes me hesitant to try some of them. However, when desperate times arise, I will try one and pray my intestines don't hate me later. 

The bigger problem is that I have been ruined on Chinese food for life. It all stems from the Szechuan Cafe. This restaurant formerly located in Glen Burnie (now a Walgreen's) is located in Pasadena in the shopping center where 100 ends. I love this place. It's americanized Chinese done wonderfully. They take care to use quality ingredients and it shows when you taste their food. Plus, they have the best egg roll I have ever eaten and I have eaten more egg rolls then I care to count. Their egg rolls are never greasy and taste so good! I am never disappointed when I eat there. (and it's clean!) But this of course raises the bar and so far nowhere lives up. Here's the site for those of you who live nearby. Szechuan Cafe Go there!

Here in Portland, there is a dearth of good Chinese. I live walking distance to Chinatown and there are something like 3 places to eat there total and most do not meet my cleanliness standards. Plus an internet search reveals that few have decent reviews. One may even be a front for a cult (so not going there!) There is supposedly a "new Chinatown" on SE 82nd. I have not been there for fear that my hopes will once again be dashed. Plus, that is kind of a hike during traffic-heavy rush hour. I want Chinese food to be convenient, well prepared, and made in a clean environment. Is that so much to ask. Apparently it is. 

I hate resolutions

When people ask what my new year's resolution is I usually tell them it's " to not make any resolutions." People almost never keep them and they are always the same. I don't feel the need to set myself up for failure and the guilt associated with it. I don't make resolutions. This fact creates a problem. I need to make some changes to my daily life.  

Most of you don't see me every day and so you don't know that I have put on way too much weight. I have never really been what anyone would call thin, but I was generally healthy. I can no longer say that. This move coupled with both the stress of finishing my degree and my retail work schedule has taken its toll. I need to lose weight. I am not going on a diet. Strict rules are not my thing. Counting points is not something I want to do. Having food shipped to me is not an option either. I need to move more and eat less. I want to fit in my clothes again. So I am looking for healthy recipes. I want to make delicious food that isn't full of fat. I also want variety. Eating chicken and salmon every day is not going to cut it, especially if it's boring. Please send me any yummy and healthy recipes. Thanks.

On a side note I am also going to be more active. In my time here, I have tried to get back on an exercise regimen several times and I failed. Our old apartment had a gym and I used it faithfully for about a month and then fell off the wagon. I also tried the WiiFit. That lasted maybe 2 weeks. I need human interaction. I need someone to tell me if I am doing the exercise properly. When I am all alone who knows if I'm slouching or doing the wrong thing. Plus, it's lonely. I can't afford to join a gym and pay a trainer so I have to find another option. There is a yoga class I am going to try which hopefully won't be too expensive. Keep your fingers crossed for me on it. I figure it's walking distance from our apartment so I can walk there and take the long way home to add in some cardio. 

But this brings me back to my introduction, I don't want to call this a resolution. I don't want to feel guilty if I backslide. I also don't want to backslide. So I am just calling this a new start. Let's hope it's a positive one.

You Don't Know How Lucky You Are

This semester I have class in 2 buildings on campus that I have never entered before, The Clay and TheBroadway. The one I have class in on Tuesday is the motivation for this post. It's in the Broadway. The name comes from the fact that it faces that street. 

The second floor is classrooms and a computer lab and the 3- 10 floors are dorms. Now you may have noticed I didn't mention the first floor, that's because it is the motivating factor for this post.

The first floor is full of retail. Restaurant retail. The ground floor of their dorm has a sushi place, aChipotle and a Starbucks. Plus, across the street is a Pho place and a bar. A block away you can find both pizza and lebanese. Walk four blocks and you can have MExican, more pizza, and Seattle's Best Coffee. 

Do you think the students who live in that building have any idea how lucky they are? They have a ton of food options right at their feet. They don't have to go to the crappy cafeteria and buy overpriced, awful food. I am jealous.

For context, I should mention I went to Loyola. Loyola is in the middle of Baltimore city, but there is very little in the way of cheap and good food nearby. (And don't get me started on the extortion that went on in the cafeterias.) Nothing is as close as the places are to the Broadway. We had to walks blocks, take a cab, drive or get on the bus. These kids have to get on the elevator.

 I hope they realize that they live in one really cool dorm. 

Totally off topic...

I love this commercial and you all should too!

 Gravy Baby 

PS Typepad: Why can't I change the font?