Eat Me. Drink Me. (or the Magnificent Seven)

It is getting late here, so I'm not going to post pictures yet, but I wanted to get my wonderful day all down in words before I forget some of it.

I'm vacationing in Portland, staying with my aunt just south between Sherwood and Newberg. Yesterday was the Coast starting at Tillamook and her cheese factory and going down to the beach at Lincoln City south on US 101.

Today, instead of going to Multnomah Falls and Crown Point, we "relaxed," which gave me the opportunity to go into Portland and hit up some restaurants/bars I'd been wanting to catch. My day started with making a rhubarb custard pie.

I made it to Clyde Common (1) at the tail end of their lunch around 2:40 and just before the 3 o'clock Happy Hour, so after my barrel aged El Presidente with my juicy cheeseburger and out of this world crispy fries, I had the Nasturtium (a cocktail with Dolin Blanc vermouth, Canton de Domaine ginger liqueur, and Bonal Gentiane-Quina aperitif) at the bar.

I thought my friend Neil was doing a tasting/cocktail demonstration across town at Immortal Pie and Larder (2) (a little wine and savory hand pie boutique) from 3 to 6 but discovered when I arrived at 4:15 that it didn't start til 5. This allowed me to wander up the street and discover Bipartisan Café (3), where I enjoyed marionberry pie à la mode with my Stumptown coffee (an "only in Oregon" moment).

At 5 I joined Neil, who I hadn't seen since Spring of '96, for a tasting of four aperitifs, starting with his company's Imbue bittersweet vermouth, Cocchi Americano, Cardamaro, and coincidentally, the aforementioned Bonal Gentian-Quina.

Since dinner with my sister's recently transplanted roommate wasn't until 8, I went to Voodoo Doughnut, Too (4) (as the original downtown location with the ambiance of the homeless is still under renovation) where I got an Angel Dust (marionberry filled, powder sugar coated), Old Dirty Bastard (peanut butter with Oreos), and Portland Creme (chocolate glaze with Bavarian creme) in addition to my Voodoo dozen (13 of their choice). For those concerned about my poor little pancreas, I only had the Portland Creme in the parking lot, saving the rest to share later.

The combination of my aunt's GPS and my Google Maps phone app got me to Beaker & Flask(5), which was everything my mind built it up to. I loved my New Vieux (view, not veau, for those of you rusty with your French) a "twist" on the classic New Orleans Vieux Carre with rye, apricot, Benedictine, and bitters, served on the Rock (they've got one of those fancy ice machines that makes the baseball sized ice cubes so your drink doesn't get diluted as fast.). While my crispy pig ears were being prepared, I asked if they had a session beer (an easy-drinking lower alcohol beer you can drink multiples of in a session), and sho'nuff, they had a beer called Session Lager. It was like asking for a refreshing drink and getting Refreshing Drink™. Nevertheless (what is the protocol on Nevertheless versus Nonetheless?), the Session lager was a fitting complement to my fried bar food.

All of that timed perfectly for me to pick up my sister's friend for dinner at Grain & Gristle(6), where I had mussel frites with my Upright Brewing's Seven (a Belgian style beer)after half of a Fressen pretzel. Dessert was at Rose's Ice Cream(7) where I had a shake made from fresh cantaloupe ice cream.

The last of it was when I got home at 11:30 and had a slice of the pie with some Yogi ginger tea.