Spring in Portland

I had such a great day yesterday. I had a leisurely day in Portland and got to truly enjoy what Portland really is when you get past some of the "quirks."

I am dog sitting next week at a beautiful place downtown so after I visited with the pup and his parents, I headed over to the PSU Farmer's Market. I have been trying to go for years but was never up early enough. If I had more money, I would have loved to enjoy some of the homemade pasta, pickled vegetables, vegan baked goods, and the vast array of vegetables that looked amazing. I did manage to grab a nice lunch at Salvador Molly's tamale tent. I am a sucker for a good tamale and this one did not disappoint.

It had artichoke, cheese, and a tangy salsa on top. I need NEED to learn how to make these! As I wandered, I also bought a few little bites at Two Tarts: oatmeal peanut butter macaroon, chocolate creme macaroon, and a fleur de sel chocolate chip cookie.

From there, I went to Urban Grind to get some work done. I had time to kill until the evening extravaganza so I enjoyed a huge Chai latte and finished up some work for a friend and update another friend's resume. I felt very productive!

The Willamette Weekly hosts a Eat Mobile event and I was one of the lucky ones to get tickets early. There was a lot of hype about this and people were pretty upset if they didn't get tickets. I had invited my co-worker to come with since she isn't from Portland and although another friend couldn't join us, we ended up hanging out with another co-worker and her husband for a good portion of the night. And this thing did not disappoint! It was some of the most delicious food in small but decent portions and you could just roam, stand in line and meet the most interesting people while waiting. It was also one of the most gluttonous feelings to be surrounded by fellow foodies, all talking about food and stuffing our faces full of this deliciousness. You know you shouldn't have a beignet with chocolate espresso sauce right after sausage and sauerkraut but you just keep saying, "Okay, oh, that line is short, let's go there!" for the entire night. We rare took a pause as we tasted almost 20 carts for 2.5 hours. There were a few were weren't able to try (poutine, Grilled Cheese Grill, Fifty Licks) but I was delighted that I didn't have to go to all these places individually and could now understand what people had been talking about all along! Among my favorites were Flavourspot waffle cart, Whiffies' fried pies, Moxie RX's granola and raspberry rhubarb, Sip vegan juices and smoothies, Violetta's aforementioned beignets, and The People's Pig Cuban pork sandwiches.

Truly, a Portland weekend!