Day 4 Portland

Day 4: Portland

QOTD:  Was that a fire alarm?

Pics:   Downtown, Ken’s Artisan Bakery and selected products, Kornblatt’s, wedding invitation found behind sofa cushion (we missed it!), the bike show, Jay Musler wall, Butterfield horse and Plensa at Portland Museum of Art, Apizza Scholls, covered bike racks, Salt and Straw ice cream line (It goes further than pics show)

Weather:  Warm, mid 70s to low 80s

No early morning long walk, just coffee and NYT from Starbucks, $10. We’re taking a short walk to Kornblatt’s, a Jewish deli, and take the route that goes right by Ken’s Artisan Bakery. THB holds the others up while he purchases an unusual morning bun and a ciabatta loaf, $7.50.

At Kornblatt’s, while contemplating the menu, we sample the still-warm morning bun: excellent! Salami and eggs, home fries and a salt bagel for THB (almost same for DB), blintzes, lox and bagel, eggs over easy and fries and a jalapeno bagel. S&D treat, and a treat it was.

Back to read a bit of Sunday paper, then THB and DB head to Porland Art Museum to see the bicycle exhibit. Mildly interesting, almost overwhelming in density, and some very interesting bikes (see pic of suitcase bike). As we segue between buildings, DB stops to use restroom (TMI?) and while THB is waiting the fire alarms start up. THB waits for a bit more, DB surfaces, asks what is going on, and as we saunter over to the more contemporary part of the museum a guard ushers us out. And out we stay, heading back to the 16^th floor for a light repast that includes the ciabatta, also excellent.

In the afternoon, accompanying our repast, D shows how he can get the A’s game up on his mlb.com package, and there goes the afternoon. Damn, A’s are on a roll, let’s hope it continues right through Wednesday when THB and LB will be there rooting on the AL Western Division Champions.

Dinner at Apizza Scholls (who knows why they call it Apizza Scholls?): brewskis, wine, two salads (house, Caesar), olives, and one giant pizza (comes in one size only, 18”) of margherita with mushrooms and red onion (very light on the toppings). Excellent, and more than the four of us can eat.

We may be full of pizza, we’re not too full to stop by Salt and Straw and pick up two pints and waffle cones to eat back at The Louisa. See the pics: the line to get a cup or cone is easily a half hour long, or is it a half mile long.

Which brings us to a Portland phenomenon: the food line. There are any number of places where people will wait long minutes to eat. In fact, as we drive around, we see lines and assume it must be for some food spot. Mexican, pizza, donuts, ice cream, food trucks (where one spot can have 15 people waiting while the other 27 trucks have nobody waiting), to the point that THB has to declare multiple times he wouldn't wait that long for a meal when so many other great meals were close at hand. Well, THB did wait 10 minutes for a morning bun and ciabatta loaf, only because the line was short (and slow, as it turned out).

And, writing of food trucks, that's another Portland phenomenon. Just about any vacant lot, empty large driveway, along the fringes of parking lots downtown, there will be food trucks of all varieties, nationalities, food types. Everywhere, all over the city (which is quite large given the population), even in suburban neighborhoods.