Can I just say, I’m falling in love with the west coast? When I arrived in Seattle, I stayed at an independent hotel. I asked if there were any restaurants nearby, preferably not a chain. The woman behind the desk cheerfully supplied several suggestions – all within walking distance, all independently owned, and didn’t give me any funny looks. And for the most part, the restaurants I visited the rest of the week (which were chosen simply because they were within walking distance) listed the sources of their beef and had decent vegetarian options.
After the work meetings, my husband flew in so that we could spend the weekend in Portland visiting my cousin. The first night we spent in Seattle, and we went to a place called Mc Menamins, which we later found out is a chain that buys up old spaces and rehabs them into brewpubs. The beer is so so, the food is so so, but the concept is great.
Before we left Seattle, we also visited Pike’s Place Market. I didn’t get any photos, but I did see the flying fish. Everything looked so fresh. DH and I agreed that we would definitely eat more fish if we had a market like that in Michigan! Also, I was drooling over the fresh asparagus. They are ahead of us by a couple of months. We have a few more months until asparagus is ready 🙁
Then, on Friday we drove to Portland. My cousin Tom is a brewer, so we got a tour of his equipment and had some samples. We also walked the city, and my cousin’s wife April pointed out all the brewpubs and great places to eat. Yes, Portland is a foodie paradise!
On Saturday we attended the blessing of the sake’ at SakeOne, where they make sake’ on site. It was fascinating, and a good reminder that so many of our beverages have come from religious communities.
We toured a few of the local wineries to end our day.
On Sunday I spoke in a church, and it was great meeting new people. The pastor there is a great-Uncle of mine, so that was a neat connection. After church April took us to the gorge. It was breathtaking scenery, and we didn’t mind getting rained on. Too much.
We finished our time in Portland by visiting a microbrewery for dinner, of which I don’t remember the name. They all start to blend together.
You can see DH and my cousin drooling over their brew equipment.
It was a very fun vacation, and all too short. The time change, plus mounds of laundry to do, a refrigerator to clean out, meals to plan, are making me not so motivated today. But I’d better get moving, for it’s back to work tomorrow!
looks like such a fun & delicious trip. Did you see cousin Tom?
Yes! April was our tour guide while Tom was working, but the rest of the time we were all together.
Great post, great time!
Just discovered your blog…beautiful and very interesting! I just signed up for my first CSA, and I’m curious to learn more about the issues you discuss.
This sounds like a great trip. I hear wonderful things about the Pacific Northwest, but unfortunately haven’t been able to corroborate them yet! Someday… 🙂
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I never heard of that chain brewery so I looked up their website. I notice that they have about a zillion pubs…I wonder what differentiates them? Or are they like Fridays/Bennigans/Ruby Tuesday/Chili’s in that they are basically restaurants out of a box (i.e. all the same decor, similar tasting food with maybe one signature thing a la the Awesome Blossom or whatever)? They seem to be concentrated in the Pacific NW and I have to say that I hope they don’t find their way out here….
Patti,
To answer your question, the McMenanim brothers started out in the nineties with just a few establishments, then became so popular that they exploded into about sixty places.
Their concept is unique in that they take old buildings, use local artisans to create a similar but unique to McMenamins theme throughout their establishments. They take the old buildings and turn them into breweries/theaters/restaurants with cheap second run movies that you can eat and drink from their menu. They are definitely not like a Friday’s; they are only in the NW. The food and drink is okay, but the concept is pretty awesome.
April, thanks! I like the second run movie idea. I totally had the wrong impression from their website…it looked like they just were a regular chain and I see that they are not. So, thanks very much 🙂 Now I have to squirrel away money to get out there to see it for myself….
🙂
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You’re welcome Patti! (Please don’t mark me down for the writing mistakes :> ) Hopefully you will be able to make it out someday; you will probably really like it!