a Portland weekend…

After much deliberation, we decided not to fly anywhere.  Instead, we decided to spend our 5th anniversary weekend in one of our favorite cities, Portland, Oregon.  Year | Chapter 5 of our lives together.  Each year gets better and better.  Thank you for 5 wonderful years, beautiful, and looking forward to many many many more!

We drove down on Thursday afternoon.  When we got to Tacoma, I realized that I forgot my wallet in my suit jacket, DOH!  Well, rather than turning around, we decided to obey the speed limit and enjoy a leisurely drive down.  We stopped for lunch at Burgerville in Centralia.  While Burgerville is no In-N-Out, it is a decent chain burger place to stop and grab a quick lunch.  Their onion rings are a seasonal item and this being onion season – thick cut Walla Walla sweet onions – I got the large (5 piece) order.  They were very good. 

After checking in to what has got to be the most ghetto four diamond hotel – The Governor (our first & only stay here) – we decided to take advantage of tax free shopping, always fun.  After walking around for a bit in the Pearl District, we settled into the Everett Street Bistro for dinner. I had the hanger steak salad and Sunny went with the sea scallops.  Both dishes were good.  We also ordered an order of pomme frites (sorry no pictures – still not in the habit of carrying around the camera) very crisp fries.  Definitely a place we would go back to in the future.  

Friday morning took us to an unexplored Portland neighborhood | street, Mississippi Avenue.  There we had breakfast at Gravy (3957 N. Mississippi Avenue).  We got there early enough so that we didn’t have to wait for a table.  The food was very good and the portions were ginormous…I had leftovers.  Sunny ordered the honey yogurt parfait with pistachios (they were out of pistachios, so they subbed in almonds – still good, but you may want to ask for half of the amount of honey they usually use, a bit too sweet).  Along with the yogurt, she got a single biscuit with veggie gravy.  Home made biscuit and gravy were very good.  I had the house smoked salmon hash.  It came with a large order of hash browns.  Not only was it very good, but as mentioned the portion was ginormous (again no pics)!

After more shopping, a quick run, and a spa pedicure for Sunny, we decided to have dinner at a local southern/cajun restaurant that was recommended by Sunny’s pedicure-ist ?!?!?  Anyway, the place was called Montage – www.montageportland.com.  It turned out to be a pretty good recommendation.  We started with an order of the hush puppies.  Slight spice kick and veggie, pretty darn good.  I went with the blackened catfish and Sunny, scallop jambalaya.  Hush puppies – good; jambalaya – good; catfish – good; cornbread – good.  Needless to say both Gravy & Montage are highly recommended.  

 

Montage - it is literally under the Morrison Street Bridge

 

hush puppies - veggie

 

jambalaya w. scallops & side of cornbread

 

blackened catfish - my cornbread is on another plate!

Our new favorite pizza parlor, too bad it is 180 miles away!  Hot Lips uses only local ingredients that are in season (probably makes an exception with pineapple, right?)  - www.hotlipspizza.com - Hot Lips makes its own soda.  Two of the slices that we ordered up were ham & pear with local cheese and the Sicilian (all meat pizza).  

Hot Lips Pizza in the chic Pearl District

The Pearl District location is right next door to the Patagonia store.  We had another great trip.  It was nice going to some great new places.  We can’t wait for an excuse to get back to Portland.  Portland Marathon?  Another run at the Run Like Hell Half Marathon??  

In season local ingredients...yum!

pesto, tomatoes, corn, cilantro, and other fresh local goodness...

 

Multnomah Falls

The 4th of July

This year we decided to celebrate America’s birthday by heading up to Canada! Last year we were in Walla Walla, but after hearing about 26 Brix closing down, we decided to take a shorter trip and head to Vancouver.  Sunny found a great rate at the Loden Hotel in the heart of Vancouver, B.C.  The Loden is a newer luxury boutique hotel in Vancouver, B.C.  I think we would stay there again, although the night crew missed our turn down service both nights!  On second thought maybe we won’t go back!?!?!

We headed out early on Thursday afternoon, but apparently this wasn’t an original idea as we hit traffic heading into, through, and out of Everett.  The border wasn’t too bad and we made it into Vancouver just in time to clean up and head out to dinner.  

After walking around Robson Street for a bit we decided to have dinner at Shabusen. Shabusen is an all you can eat sushi and Korean BBQ place that was recommended to us by some friends.  We typically stay away from all you can eat sushi places, but this place isn’t too bad and there is a good variety of stuff to eat.   

 

All you can eat chicken - actually all you can eat everything.

The chicken (above) was my third…or was it my fourth round of food.  Either way, I was really full. 

 

The beautiful enjoying a beautiful day at Stanley Park

On Friday morning we took advantage of the great weather and walked around Stanley Park.

 

Pizza at Nook

Our walk around Stanley Park concluded right around lunch time.  Nook is basically at the corner of Denman & Robson Street.  We ended up sharing two pies.  The picture above is Nook’s sausage & peppers pizza.  The pizza was great.  Awesome crust!  We will definitely be back!

 

Oyster balls...you read correctly oyster balls!

A few months back we saw this show on the Create channel highlighting the Richmond Night Market.  The show made it look real exciting.  It appeared as if there were hundreds of food vendors.  It was decided that a stop at the night market was a must this summer.  The host of the show mentioned the oyster balls, so if nothing else we were going to try the oyster balls.  You are probably thinking, humm, didn’t know oyster’s had balls, let alone that they would be that big.  Well, I think they are oyster balls only in name because they tasted nothing like oysters.  Let me just say that it is worth trying once.  Nothing offensive, just didn’t see what the big deal was all about.  Having said that the night market was L-A-M-E!  What a disappointment!!!  The food was actually worse that the food you would find at the Bite of Seattle or in Cannon Beach, Oregon.  We were out of there within thirty minutes of arriving.  If anyone tells you that you have to experience this, they are lying!

 

Ap Gu Jung's spicy chicken, delicious!

In order to get the horrible night market “food” taste out of our mouths we decided to head over to a Korean restaurant that we have been to before, and really enjoy (Ap Gu Jung | 1642 Robson Street).  They have really good spicy chicken.  Korean version of hot wings, only much much more tasty.  

 

Ap Gu Jung’s spicy rice cake casserole

In addition to the spicy wings we ordered one of Sunny’s favorite snacks, spicy rice cake casserole.  This is a pretty popular place on Robson Street and it really helped take the nasty night market “food” taste out of our mouths.

On Saturday (4th of July) morning we took a leisurely stroll along Robson and Yaletown before finally deciding to have lunch over at a deli|cafe across the street from Kitsilano Beach.  They have really good coffee (americanos), pastries, and panni sandwiches.  The name escapes me, but it is the only place directly across from the entrance of the beach.  It was another great day and a great conclusion to a fun filled trip!

 

Enjoying a tuna panni at Kitsilano Beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2009 Shore Run Race Report

After an age group (35 – 39) win last year I was hoping for a top five finish overall for 2009.  Increased weight and an inconsistent spring training session lead to a somewhat interesting finish: one minute and thirty seconds faster than last year, but 12 overall | 3rd in age group.  Final time 42:26 versus 43:56 in 2008.  

Race conditions were pretty good.  One of these years I would love to have a tailwind for the 6.7 mile route that starts at Seward Park and finishes in Madison Park.  I caught up with this guy before mile 2 and ended up towing him along to about mile 6.5 when I just ran out of gas as he finished before me.  It turns out that letting him go cost me 2nd place in my age group, he looked older  :p  I figured that is why he didn’t pull once.

Props again to Mad Pizza for giving out free cheese pizza and hoping for that top 5 finish in 2010.  Until next year!

The root of all evil…

 

ice cream goodness in a homemade waffle cone

Discovering Molly Moon’s second location near our home one month before the Shore Run wasn’t the best for me, running/weight wise.  Going there three times in one week sure didn’t help.  What can I say, the picture speaks for itself (single scoop – as big as little Ryan’s head – in background).  Scout mint, a favorite.  Along with strawberry, and vanilla.  I am afraid to try the coffee flavor (Vivace coffee) since going there every day would most certainly land me on the Biggest Loser as a contestant.  Go grab a scope or two at one of their two locations.  

I am not bothering with the Rock n Roll.  My A race this weekend is the Shore Run (6.7 miles) Sunday the 28th.  Last year I won my age group.  This year I would like to finish in the top 5 overall in order to score one of those gift certificates provided by Super Jock n Jill, but with the weight loss having gone so well (+1) we will see.  Current weight as of 6.25.09 = 179 yikes!

Day trip to Suncadia & Roslyn, WA

A week of amazing weather in Seattle lead Sunny & I over to check in on the progress over at Suncadia.  About eighteen months ago we headed over to see what all the fuss was about.  Condos and single family homesites were selling like hotcakes.  Well, the economic downturn has stymied  development of the much anticipated retail | restaurant area.  Not much has changed in eighteen months. The entertainment “hub”, if you will, was to rival that of Sunriver Resort in Bend, OR and Whistler Village in Whistler, B.C., but after all this time they haven’t even broken ground.  If you come to Suncadia to play some golf or take in some quality spa time, it would be worth your while to take the 5 minute drive over to neighboring Roslyn and eat at the Roslyn Cafe.  

Sunny & I stopped in for a quick snack.  The Roslyn Cafe is a charming and inviting place.  The menu is nice & simple – one page.  Torn between the burger and fish n chips, we opted to share the fish n chips.  It turned out to be the right choice (unfortunately no pics).  We got two nice sized pieces of fish with a generous portion of their famous crispy parmesan fries and a side of cole slaw.  The fries lived up to the reputation – they remained nice and crispy throughout the meal.  The fish-batter ratio was good, one could actually taste the fish, and the slaw was not drowning in mayo.  A third piece of fish can be added to the entree for an additional $3, brining the total to $13.00 – not too bad. 

 

On this beautiful sunny day we sat right under the sign

Breakfast at Salish Lodge

Almost forgot about the blog.  I have been increasing the mileage the last few weeks in preparation for the Shore Run (June 28th | 6.7 miles Seward to Madison Park). Last year I was in the top ten and managed an age group first place, but this year I want one of the gift certificates to Super Jock n Jill that are given out to the top five finishers.  

A few weeks ago Sunny & I had the opportunity to take advantage of a nice weather day in the middle of the week and decided to have breakfast at the Salish Lodge.  

Salish Smoked Salmon Hash

I went with the smoked salmon hash.  It was pretty darn good, and yes the bacon was as good as it looked!  

 

Create your own omelet

Sunny opted for the “create your own omelet”, which turned out to be a super veggie omelet as she chose every veggie on the list.  While, Sunny & I give the service and environs of the lodge two thumbs down; the Salish Dining Room is always two enthusiastic thumbs up, both in food quality and service.  

If you can get a window table, all the better.

Monsoon Restaurant – Seattle

Monsoon has been on a list of place Sunny has wanted to try for a while.  I have been hesitant because there is nothing more I hate than overrated, overpriced ethnic restaurants that have been dolled up to appeal to the “sophisticated” and “cultured” diners (not once did I mention Wild Ginger …).  Although a bit pricier than Tamarind Tree (which we highly recommend | 12th & Jackson), Monsoon’s prices were not bad.  The food was good and the service was AWESOME!  The freshness of the ingredients provided great flavor.  We ordered the crispy drunken chicken, asian eggplant, and crispy tofu with roasted bell pepper & shiitake mushrooms.  Sorry no pictures from dinner, but the dishes were elegantly presented.  

The decor was simple, which made for good ambience.  Sunny & I recommend a visit here, either for dinner or brunch.  We have experienced both.  

 

 

oxtail pho with Wagyu flank steak

The pho ($9) is offered during brunch.  

 

dumplings

The dumplings ($6) offered on the brunch menu.  

http://www.monsoonrestaurants.com/

Bing’s Bar and Grill – Madison Park

http://www.bingsbarandgrill.com

Despite the economic downturn and all the talk about discounts, sales and bargains being offered by local restaurants, eating out is still expensive.  There is nothing I hate more than shelling out money for half dollar size portion no matter who the chef is or how “amazing” the food.  Don’t get me wrong I enjoy eating  a great meal with the company of my beautiful wife, but do I really have to pay $42.95 for an entree that can be served in an espresso cup?

Since Sunny & I haven’t had a hamburger since we hit In-N-Out during our last visit to Las Vegas we decided to give Bing’s a try after reading a recent review by one of Seattle’s more well know celebrity chefs (name and restaurant will remain anonymous).  Bing’s in located in the exclusive Seattle neighborhood of Madison Park.  Madison Park is also home to our favorite sushi place – Nishino.  

Bing’s motto is “Nothing Fancy, Just Good Food” and they live up to they motto. Sunny ordered the Bing’s Cheeseburger with fries and I got the All-American burger with onion rings.  The burgers get a 1/3 lb patty with all da fix-ins and cheese (cheddar and american respectively).  Bing’s has a variety of different burgers – mushroom, Hawaiian etc. but in an effort to live up to their motto the burgers are nothing fancy, just good.

White Center for yummy chicken – El Paisano

 

 

Rotisserie chicken in White Center

Living in Seattle and driving past all of the “Azteca fresh aqua cactus mama taqueria wrap this and thats,” one would think that finding good Mexican food would be easy. Not so.  Trekking all the way to Ballard – of all places – is where we have found solace at La Carta de Oaxaca, until now.  We still have to drive a bit from our home in Central Seattle over to White Center, but it is a much easier drive than dealing with all the stop and go traffic trying to get to Ballard.  

Whenever I eat at an ethnic restaurant, I do a quick head count to see how many “natives” are eating at the restaurant.  If the number of whites outnumber the “native” I presume that I am in trouble (generally speaking).  Despite the food quality, Oaxaca always bucks the trend (which is why I say generally speaking).  El Paisano “wins” on both counts.  The food is great, which is probably why the majority of customers are Latinos.  There was a white couple present during our recent visit, but they didn’t appear to be eating the rotisserie chicken (what is that about? you can get a burrito anywhere – can’t you?) – the rotisserie chicken is what El Paisano knows best.  

We were going to get the whole chicken meal (rice, beans, salad & tortillas accompany the chicken for $14.99), but the friendly employee suggested that the 1/2 chicken meal would be enough for two.  In addition to the 1/2 chicken meal, I also ordered a couple of steak tacos – $1.50 each and also very good.  The 1/2 chicken meal was $7.95, a great deal for the amount of food you get.  There is also a 1/4 chicken meal ($3.95 or so) if you are dining solo.  The chicken meat was very moist and tender.  The sides were nothing fancy, just lots of it.  You also get a basket of chips with a trio of salsa and pico de gallo to munch on while waiting for your order.  Next time, we are going to try the spicy soup and maybe the carne asada.  

All in all, a drive down, up, or over to White Center is in order for great rotisserie chicken.  See you there.

Review of 2008, preview of 2009

Running wise 2008, was a great year.  Training and racing answered a lot of questions.  Didn’t realize I was this fast .  Back to back to back 100 + mile weeks didn’t fatigue me it just made me stronger|faster.  The running focus obviously cost me fitness on the bike.  2008 highlights:

1. 1.21.12 half marathon (PR) on October 19, 2008. Amazing when in March I ran the Mercer Island Half Marathon in 1.38.  If nothing else it proves that hard work really does pay off. 

2. LasVegas Marathon in 2.56.29 (PR).  Not only was this a PR, but it was my first marathon!  Although I fell short of my secret sub 2.50 goal due to calf cramps at mile 22, I am pleased with this effort since I am Boston qualified and sub 3 hour in my first attempt. 

3. Sunny’s running debut, Portland’s Run Like Hell 10K.  She impressed me with a solid 37th overall|5th age group (out of 487) finish in 49.52!  That is an 8.02 pace per mile, awesome!

Looking ahead to 2009, I would like to get more miles on the bike and actually get into the pool.  I have not planned out a race schedule for 2009, but I would definitely like to shoot for a top 5 finish & sub 40 in the Shore Run.  Sunny is planning on running in her first half marathon.