Portland is a foodie town

And I finally started to look into it. Last time I was in Portland with KE I really wanted to go out to a meal at one of Portland's well known foodie places but money was an issue so we didn't explore the food offerings. But now... I used my Xmas money that was supposed to be for our new years plans and I went out for dinner with my friend L and her new beau at Toro Bravo in NE Portland.

I had a few glasses of a tasty Rioja-- Bold and smooth. I forgot how much I like red wine, it had been so long! Why I do not know! Then I had a bacon wrapped date with an almond in the middle. I didn't care for the almond in the middle, but the date and bacon made a fantastic pair! I'm glad the waitress told us that there were almonds in the middle or I would have thought I bit into the pit! I shared some of L's salad that was quite tasty, as well as a squash ravioli thingy that was tasty with a little spice. I ended my meal with a flatbread with black truffle cheese and arugula. Oh my, that was good. I love cheese with the bitter bite of arugula. I wish I'd had that earlier in the meal. We were all too full to get a dessert but it was a delicious meal. I'm sure if I had less to drink and hadn't spent all the dinner time in catch up mode with L that my restaurant review would be much more interesting and wordy :P

It's about time to go to sleep... one of the benefits of drinking wine. Mmmm wine.

Need to bring lunch again...

Pret, albeit it yummy, is expensive, especially when compared to my last week of bringing homemade lunch everyday.
Today cost $9.38 for my hot chocolate, Moroccan lentil Soup and tasty fatty sweet lemon orange poppy seed muffin (that I love, Mmmmm).

Yikes, no wonder I hardly have any savings with lunch prices in midtown being so high. I'm thinking I need to bring a hot beverage container as well (That makes 3 total metal canisters on days I bring soup!). It's so cold in our office even when the heat is on. It also shuts of at 6:04pm (why, I do not know) and gets cold really quickly. The weather when I checked a bit ago was 18 F, and I'm pretty sure that's taken at ground level. I'm on the 37th floor, I need a hot beverage to keep me toasty at the end of the day!

Definitely bringing lunch tomorrow. Psht. ten dollars!

Eating in the City

Walking to the restaurant known first for long lines, second for amazing pizza, there was a man a few yards ahead of me who suddenly turned and yelled and was running towards me. Ignoring the strong cold wind that was forcing me to focus on my steps I looked up and saw a black had being thrashed by the wind coming towards me. I grabbed it as it rest at the base of a tree and handed it to the man who was followed by a younger man. The gentleman reclaimed his hat, thanked me and commented on the fact that it took three people to get his hat.

When I got to Grimaldi's, preparing myself to stand outside in this cold Northeastern weather and was surprised that there was no line, just a line of empty chairs and a sad unused rope. I stepped in side and passed and empty table to join my friend at the table she'd snagged minutes before.



A similar thing happened last month when I wanted to go to al di la but was warned of the wait and no reservation policy. KE was walking home in the rain to where I was waiting and noticed there was no line. We walked over and were sat right away.

This brings me to my new theory and philosophy about eating out in New York City. Eat out in the winter at the well known local joints that have lines on days when the weather is terrible. In the summer, cook at home when the produce is fresh and trips to the farmer's market are fantastic sun filled mornings. So far this has been unintentionally working out- we'll see if it works when I'm seeking it intentionally.