While I was down there, I got to hit up a few of my favourite shops too! Besides Trader Joe's (http://www.traderjoes.com/), which I head to almost every time that I go over the border to get some awesome (quality and flavour) basics, I patronized some prime retail destinations.
In Portland, I went to Deschutes Brewery (http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/) for lunch, which is a tried, tested and true favourite. I tried the craft beer sampler, which had six (4 oz) glasses of beer (picture below). They had a big gluten free food menu too, which I don't really care about for me but some people might find that interesting. It was packed, and we waited almost a half an hour to get in. I didn't love all the beers, as three were IPA's which I can take or leave most of the time. My favourite was the Winterweisen and it washed down a killer quinoa, cashew and avocado sandwich... I ate it before I got a picture, sorry.
I also made a pilgrimage to Powell's City of Books, on Burnside and 10th in downtown Portland. I did so well! I only bought four books, which shows considerable self restraint when put into comparison with the all-consuming awesomeness that is Powell's. If you haven't been, it's completely worth the trip if you're in Portland (http://www.powells.com/). They have many locations, but the one downtown is definitely the best one, even though it is under renovation right now.
The four titles I walked away with were "The Game" by A.S. Byatt, "Seiobo There Below" by László Krasznahorkai, "Thirst for Love" by Yukio Mishima, and "Pussy, King of the Pirates" by Kathy Acker. I can't wait to sink my teeth in. I'm reading Houellebecq for book club right now though, which is definitely keeping me entertained, so it'll be a few days at least before I can move over.
I love how people who live in Portland waltz around in there like it's no big deal. "Oh Yeah, we do have a book store that has pretty much every book that could ever be written and is an enormous community center and holds all kinds of book related events that elevates novelists to the status of celebrities. Whatever, doesn't everyone have that?" NO, they don't. The rest of us have Chapters and an occasional gem of a local bookseller.
On the way home from Grandma's, I decided to stop quickly in Seattle to check out an awesome Video Game store, Pink Gorilla (http://www.pinkgorillagames.com/). We went to the one in Chinatown, but there is also a store in the University District, Bellevue and West Seattle. The chain specializes in retro and imported video games, but they have a little bit of evertyhing, and mostly they just have an awesome collection that is fun to browse through. "Mugen Souls: Collectors Edition (NIS America) for PS3 and "Eternal Eyes" for PS1 (SunSoft) decided to follow us home... don't know how that happened.
Because I was right up the block from it, I decided to bip over to the International Village to do a quick browse through Kinokuniya Bookstores (http://www.kinokuniya.com/us/). I exited unscathed, only to be thrown into the enticing jaws of Uwajimaya (http://www.uwajimaya.com/) where I was not so lucky. Uwajimaya is a phenomenal Asian market with everything from seaweed to furniture. It was a delicious break in the driving, that resulted in some cold soba noodles for dinner. Om nom nom. I'd post the recipe, but it's not really a recipe. You just boil the noodles and then rinse them with cold water once they are softened up. After draining them stick them in a bowl and then dip them into Soba dipping sauce. I did not make my own, but if there are any traditional Japanese cooks out there with suggestions on making soup base for Soba noodles, I'm all ears. I imagine that it is basically Dashi and soy sauce.
I'm home again and all settled in, but heading out of town for a couple of days left me feeling refreshed and ready for the week. Bring on Monday. I have so many new things to read on the skytrain in.
Cheers!
ET
