Yummy! Non-smoking! Incipient heart attack!

If you’re a fan of the classic greasy hamburger, consider visiting Stanichs, located in both NE and SW Portland. I am most familiar with the NE Stanich’s at NE Fremont and 49th, in the Beaumont neighborhood. This Stanich’s is full of pennants, making for mesmerizing viewing if conversation grows dull. While clearly once a smoking spot from the fine patina on the walls, the air is now clear.

There is a special Stanich burger involving an egg, which I have never personally consumed, but is met with much happy sighing by friends. The normal burger is a delight, as is the classic grilled cheese. Don’t forget the fries.

We have repeatedly discovered that the NE Stanich’s is closed on Sundays. I think they might accept cards now as well. They are located at 4915 NE Fremont St, Portland - (503) 281-2322. The SW Stanich’s is at 5627 SW Kelly Ave, Portland - (503) 246-5040. They can be found online via Citysearch, but do not appear to have their own website, and I’m not sure of the accuracy of the information there…

Oh, I love Huber’s! If there were one bar in Portland that I wish was non-smoking, it would be Huber’s! And lo and behold, my wish has been granted. No more will I have stinky hair and clothing after a delightful evening at the Huber’s bar.

When I want to feel swanky and cool, Huber’s is the place to be. Behind the Huber’s restaurant located in downtown Portland off of SW 3rd between SW Stark and Washington, the Huber’s bar has a beautiful bar and awesome vaulted ceilings. The happy hour includes a good caesar salad, a great turkey sandwich, and a lovely spinach dip. Drinks are good and strong.

Most importantly, perhaps, is the Spanish coffee and the wonderful presentation. Shooting liquor and flames. What could be better? Don’t forget to have a dollar or two handy to tip the excellent server (walking bar tender?) who makes them to order at your table. A constant dilemma — should all Spanish coffees be ordered at once for multi-creation excitement? Or should they be spaced out for multiple visits by the server?

The other highlight of Huber’s is the clientele. From the post-work crowd to the post-party crowd, all make great people watching. Settle in and enjoy!

Huber’s is located at 411 SW 3rd Avenue. To get to the bar, enter the hallway next to the restaurant and follow the hallway until you see the bar entrance on your left. You can also find the bar by walking through the restaurant itself.

Well, it’s been over a month since I went to work as a pirate to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate day. On that fine day back in September, I walked through downtown to get lunch and no one batted an eye. In fact, I even spotted a few other pirates. Arrr! Portland be ever friendly to those pirate-y folks.

Now I’m feeling pressure to dress as something besides a pirate for Halloween. Perhaps a viking will do…

Blue Olive is a Mediterranean restaurant located on NE 46th and Fremont in the Beaumont neighborhood.  Besides being a cool neighborhood, this is a wonderful restaurant.  Run by two delightful brothers, the food is a wonderful blend of Mediterranean/Persian flavors.

If it’s nice, sit in the back patio.  And we always end up ordering one of the platters for two.  The variety is fun, you won’t go hungry, and the lamb is amazing.

Sorry about that everyone. Comments are now turned one and should be up and running. Let me know if you run into any problems.

Farmer’s Markets are a joyful part of living in Portland.  There are lots and lots of them, and sometimes it’s hard to remember all of the options.  Walking, biking, and occasionally driving the Hollywood Farmer’s Market is a great Saturday morning activity.  Of all of the places in my greater neighborhood, I bump into the most friends (some from my early childhood) at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market.  For prepared foods, I am particularly fond of the Crepe Women and the Fleur de Lis bakery folks.  We’ve found lots of great produce (particularly berries) this year, and since we didn’t get a vegetable garden going I am very grateful to have fresh basil!  And I can’t wait for local tomatoes.

There is now a small Farmer’s Market right by the NE 7th Ave. MAX stop on Tuesdays in the late afternoon, which I am hoping to try out on my way home in the super-heat today.  And then there is another Farmer’s Market at the Ecotrust building on Thursdays that I keep meaning to inspect from work as well.  So much good food, so little time!

Well, we have survived another Rose Festival.  A few things of note this year: a) lots more ships again,  b) annoyance with parade spot taping came to a head, c) boy, did it dump on the Grand Floral Parade!

One of my next tasks for this blog, other than a more unique visual skin, is to get a map tool for all the favorite places. I’ll work on this as soon as possible! I’m sure there are some pretty cool options — it’s getting to the point with some of these web tools that there are too many different cool options. And I hope I pick one that makes it — or is at least absorbed by one that does. This does make me lean towards just working with GoogleMaps, but I want to support the little guy as well.

I recently took a walk south down E. 21st in search of parks, and had high hopes for the Lone Fir Cemetery. This is an older cemetery in central Portland that could also double as a park. Unfortunately, I also discovered that all the entrances are on the south side of the cemetery, making our northern approach problematic. We walked the northern length of the cemetery, gazing in at the old trees and headstones. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and weren’t able to work our way around to the entrance on the south (also maybe on the east?) side.

While on this walk, my walking companions and I found an amazing bicycle/camper combination that was most amazing. As it was sitting in a parking lot along our way, we walked around it, commenting on the many interesting features. The box for a 24 pack of Coors was stored on top, bananas were visible through a small portal, the gears and balancing were intriguing. As we were starting to hypothesize what the bicycle machine might be used for, a small hatch slid open and a tired voice emerged. We were disrupting someone lodged within the narrow confines of the vehicle. Oops! Apparently the party bicycle vehicle servers as a sleeper too.

We just moved into a beautiful new office in Oldtown Portland, and there’s a new coffee shop for us to explore. More later about our previous coffeeshops further up in Northwest Portland.

Coffeeshops are important for us because we like to have one-on-one staff meetings outside the office sometimes, plus there is a great appreciation for caffeine in this office. So far, the drinks have been fine, if not amazing. The Mediterranean theme is nice, although I have focused more on bagels with cream cheese. I will check out the baked pasta dishes sometime soon. However, my co-worked had himself some Turkish coffee yesterday, and managed to accomplish three days work in one afternoon and then go home and weed the garden.

The coffee shop ambiance isn’t bad — there are tables inside and out and the staff are super nice.  However, it’s definitely a table/chair environment — no sofas or comfy chairs to lounge in.

I also love watching a few people hang out in the morning at the outside tables — they often look supremely relaxed while not making me feel like too much of a loser for being at work.