Last Weekend
PHEW! What a weekend! It was more of a sprint than a marathon.
Friday
Friday kicked off to a good start with a cookie exchange hosted in my apartment. At the party’s peak we had 23 people milling about our tiny kitchen/living room. The kitchen and living room are essentially the same room, and leaves few other places for the guests to congregate. Throughout the night we consumed 9 bottles of wine and sampled 15 varying cookie types.
I set up a “blind wine tasting” and near the end of the night revealed to my friends which bottle was “Top Shelf,” “Mid-shelf, and “Two Buck Chuck” ($39, $27, $4)
Everyone was able to guess #2 as the Trader Joe’s label, we all decided the wine was less complex than the other two wines. Surprisingly, a majority of the group (including myself) preferred the Gen 5 Zinfandel “midshelf” wine. Second cheapest wine for the win!
Recently, my boyfriend and his roommate showed me the “Second Cheapest Wine” video. The results from the night (which we found hilarious) validates all future decisions to buy wine that is one step up from the bottom.
We moved the party from my apartment to a few nearby bars, a handful of guys and girls stayed out to close down the bars. It was a late Friday!
I caught an afternoon train to Portland to meet-up with one of my longest and best friend’s and our other good friend! After a cup late night tea we walked downstairs for an OUTSTANDING late late dinner at Life of Pie. We split an amazing goat cheese and caramelized onion woodfire pizza, honey lemon vinaigrette kale/arugula salad, and fresh sausage pasta.
As a past kale hater, my opinion has forever changed because of this salad. Sprinkled with salty parm and crushed breadcrumbs, the lemon/honey dressing cuts the usual bitter kale taste. The flavors leave the diner forking another bite whilst still chewing the first. I would have been perfectly content eating only that salad.
The pizza at the Life of Pie is equally as amazing as the kale salad (can you tell I love that salad?) The crust is thin yet still soft and chewy, it is the perfect vehicle for the cheese and toppings. The goat cheese pizza we enjoyed was delicious, I eagerly ate two forgetting that we still had pasta on the way!
The pasta is the favorite dish of my friend. The noodles and sauce are fresh and light with pork sausage bites hidden in the noodles. I found myself digging through the pasta just for bites of the sausage, for me, the sausage bites were the highlight!
Next time you find yourself in Portland, head North, check out this cute establishment!
The Life of Pie is located in north Portland, near the Legacy Emaunual Hospital and Mississippi Ave.
SUNDAY
The next morning (well, afternoon) we headed out for brunch. It took 3 attempts to find a brunch place with less than a 70 min wait, but that’s what happens when it’s sunny Sunday in the PNW. We settled on Radar on Mississippi Ave.
After much debate we decided to get varying items so we could share 1/3 of our food with each other. After a small snafu (in our favor) we received our steaming plates of food. Herbed french toast with maple syrup, poached eggs (x2), bangers, potato cakes, and beef hash with roasted yukon potatoes. We also acquired a bowl of fresh granola and yogurt on accident when the the waitress mistakenly heard “granola” instead of “poached eggs.” All was quickly corrected and we kept the granola (compliments of the house).
I’ll just tell you our brunch at Radar was delicious! We would go back for brunch again or try dinner! I’ll try and keep this post from reaching novel status, sorry y’all!
With happy and full bellies we wandered around Mississippi Ave. for a couple hours before I boarded my train. One notable: I found and bought a cute mug and box of White Chocolate Mocha tea from Stash Tea Co. and enjoyed a cup with a splash of milk on my evening train back to Seattle.
And, with that, it’s a wrap!
- Where have you recently eaten a great brunch?
