Bread on It

LOL. My friends made a video spoof on the High School Musical 2 song "Bet on it." Check it out!



Just in case you have no clue what the song is actually supposed to be you can watch the actual video.



And of course don't forget that High School Musical 3 is out this weekend! Try not to get swarmed by 13 year old girls!

I Heart Tenth Avenue North

I just absolutely love Tenth Avenue North! I only recently heard about them this summer (see previous post about them) and ever since then they've grown on me more and more. I seriously start off my drive to work everyday listening to their song "Love is Here." For some reason it automatically makes me feel good inside and gives me the strength to get through whatever will happen that day. Watch this video to get a sense of who they are and what their music is all about.

Portland Adventures - Good Food and Good Company

Portland has a plethora of unique restaurants and hometown specialties. In every neighborhood niche there are local favorites and infamous eateries just waiting to be discovered by Portland newbies such as myself. I don’t often get the chance to try someplace new, nor do I always know where to go. But sometimes it’s the times when you’re not looking that can be when you find a treasure. At least it was true for me today. What was supposed to be a simple lunch in Portland to catch up with some good friends, gradually turned into a day of tasty discovery.

First off, I met my friends at No Fish! Go Fish! on Hawthorne. This local lunch spot had recently caught my eye on a Portland food blog. The description sounded unique and frankly, just what my stomach had been craving: hot soup and hot sandwiches. Their specialty is their $5.99 lunch plate, which includes a giant bowl of homemade soup of the day (4 soups you can choose from that changes daily), and two fish sandwiches. And no, they aren’t actually fish, nor do any of the sandwiches include any seafood. They are sandwiches in the shape of a fish, and grilled in a sandwich press. Sort of like a fish shaped panini…or maybe a cross between a calzone and a grilled cheese sandwich. Anyways, there are lots of delicious options to choose from for your sandwiches including ham and cheese, feta and spinach, curried vegetable, and even sweet fillings like apples and cinnamon, 

or nutella. All the food we ordered was great, filling up our tummies with warm goodness.

My friend wanted to find a coffee shop to get a little caffeine for the day so after chatting it up with the waiter and a No Fish! Go Fish! regular, we were directed to a coffee shop a few blocks down called Common Grounds. The place was friendly, not to mention very cozy and we instantly settled down on a comfy couch. Coffee drinks, or in my case, a tea latte, were served in mocha-colored mugs to enhance the cozy atmosphere. Decorations of old hardbound books were piled on various shelves and counters, and a bookshelf full of magazines and newspapers was nestled in one corner, inviting customers to take advantage of a relaxing afternoon to peruse through some literature.
So while one of my friends, who had insisted that she needed to get her homework done, busied herself in textbooks, my other friend and I entertained ourselves by looking through magazines to see what was happening around the Portland area. Browsing through a copy of PDX Magazine we discovered their section on happy hour places. 

As Portland is a big city, there’s bound to be many restaurants that have happy hour specials. However, I tend to go to the same old spots over and over again because I don’t know what else is out there. So this list that we found was a great resource and we began circling places that looked good. (I think our goal is to eventually visit all the places we circled on the list. Just maybe not all in one day lol). We chose a place in the Pearl district called Bartini that looked chic and fun. By the time my friend had finished her homework, it was almost time for happy hour.

Bartini turned out to be an upscale martini bar without the hoity toity nonsense. The selection of martinis to choose from was more than I could even read through, making decisions difficult. However, the plus side to the number of martinis is that you will always be able to find something to your taste. I tried the huckleberry martini which was my favorite (hmm I wonder why). We ordered several food items including a delicious cheese fondue. However, their food menu consisted mainly of fancy finger foods and we couldn’t find too many options that we could all share together so we brought out our friend, the PDX Magazine, to see what else was in the area. Out waiter happened to be walking by as we were checking out other places on the list. He was only too glad to give us some excellent recommendations. He took our magazine and circled the places that were awesome and crossed out which ones to avoid. He even told us about a new Matadors Restaurant that had opened up on 23rd, which serves great happy hour food. So thus began our next quest in the dining adventure. With only about 15-20 minutes of happy hour left we were anxious to make it to Matadors on time…but don’t worry…we got there in plenty of time to order a giant plate of nachos. Although very delicious, it was definitely more food than we could handle. And so walking back ever so slowly in sympathy to our full stomachs, we concluded that one happy hour place in one day would more than suffice. “The List” would have to be consulted another day because this girl was ready for a nap, or maybe a good run on the treadmill.

No Fish! Go Fish!
3962 SE Hawthorne Boulevard

Portland, Oregon 97214

Common Grounds
4321 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97215

Bartini
2108 NW Glisan St.
Portland, OR 97210

Matador
1438 NW 23rd Ave
Portland, OR 97210