Toes & Quiznos

July 27th, 2012

Date #42

I wanted to do something different tonight, not that dinner is getting boring, but change is always good. I was thinking about bowling or mini-golf, but we have already bowled for date night, and mini-golf would probably be pretty busy on a beautiful summer evening. So I decided we would get our toes done.
We started out by getting some refreshments at one of our local Starbucks, our town has a population of 18,000 and we have 4 Starbucks, not to mention 2 or 3 other coffee shops, that’s the Pacific Northwest for you. Chuck had his usual iced mocha, and I tried something new, an iced green tea. I am so happy I tried the tea because I usually get a mocha but I’m not always in the mood for coffee and chocolate, I love this tea!!! We next drive to a different parking spot in the same lot and Chuck realizes we are getting pedicures for date night, he smiles reluctantly and enters the shop. I wasn’t worried about him liking getting his toes done because we have done it in the past and he loved it.

Chuck helped me choose a color for my toes I wouldn’t try on my own, bright orange. We sit in our chairs with our beverages, trashy magazines, adjust the lounge chairs to the right position and massage level, and settle in for some pampering.  For some extra fun Chuck talked me into adding flowers, something I have never done before. This was so relaxing and I just love the color of my toes.











We still needed to get something to eat so we drive to another spot in the same parking lot and get some subs at Quiznos. I had the lobster seafood sub with sweet potato BBQ chips and Chuck had the turkey, bacon, guacamole sub with BBQ chips. I planned to go to the park for a small picnic, but there was a play going on, so we went to the park in our back yard. It was a very nice and relaxing evening. Now lets watch the opening ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. FUN!

Sasquatch Brewing Company

July 20th, 2012

Date #41

Chuck and I love bigfoot, and we enjoy the reality show Finding Big Foot, we saw one of the cast members on a previous date night. So when Chuck found Sasquatch Brewing Company on his restaurant search this week he knew he had the right place. This is located just outside the cute little neighborhood of Hillsdale. We saw a few more places that may be the site of a date night or two.

I ordered a nice veggie sandwich that included hummus, sprouts, tomatoes, and a spicy tarragon dressing on toasted whole grain bread. This was a rustic sandwich that was almost too spicy for me. The fries were really good along with the ketchup, yummy!  

Chuck was told they have the best hamburgers, and this was a true statement, he thought it was amazing. The burger was juicy and the potato bun was soft and flavorful, he loved the fries as well.

I've never posted a picture of an empty plate before today, but this dessert was gone before I thought about taking a picture. It was a scrumptious apple tart with graham crust drizzled with caramel. Perfect ending to our meal. Chuck purchased a t-shirt on our way out, he loves his sasquatch!

NW 23rd & Swagats (rewind)

July 13th, 2012

Date #40

Today we spent a lovely afternoon walking around the area of NW 23rd Ave in Portland during one of the last days of our visit with Chuck’s parents. After living in the Portland area for almost 10 years, this is the first time we walked this street. We found many great stores and purchased quite a few knickknacks, great fun.

I wanted to find an authentic Mexican restaurant to take my in-laws to tonight, but when we got to the place I picked we decided it wasn’t appropriate for tonight. It was a food cart in the middle of a parking lot, we will have to put this on the list for another night, it was just too hot to sit outside after walking all day long. So we decided to take them to one of our past date nights that we love, Swagats. Indian food 2 weeks in a row, I guess we love it.

It was a wonderful day discovering new places in Portland. I love feeling like we are on vacation but get to sleep in our own beds at night.

Abhiruchi

July 6th, 2012

Date #39

Back from Canada and now the in-laws from Phoenix are here for a visit, so tonight we have guests for date night. Chuck’s dad mentioned he liked Indian food and had not had it for years. Abhiruchi was Chuck’s choice for dinner tonight. He likes to find his choices on Urbanspoon, this was one of the top choices in the Beaverton area, and I guess Chuck likes to stay close to home just like me. A good sign as we entered the restaurant, mostly Indian people. 







My mother-in-law and I had vegetable masala with a few different side dishes, with rice and naan. The spices in the main dish went perfectly with the creamy taste of coconut and all the different vegetables, the naan and rice were a must for this dish, each changed the flavor, all really good flavors working together.

Chuck ordered lamb curry that also came with a few side dishes including rice and naan. The lamb was very tender and went well with the rice. One of the side dishes that had mostly vegetables was pretty spicy, but Chuck finished it because the flavor was so good, he isn’t that big a fan of really spicy food.

It was nice to have guests for our date night to make things different, and Chuck made a very good choice for Indian food close to home. Now we are off to the beach for the weekend.

Gyro House Mediterranean Grill

June 29th, 2012

Date #38

Back from Vegas and ready for date night, and happy to be back in the land of normal people. In the mood for Mediterranean food again so I plug Mediterranean and Beaverton into the restaurant locator app and find Gyro House Mediterranean Grill as the most popular. When we arrived there was a line up out the door, it was 8pm and still a line up, must be good. To our pleasure the lineup was to order for take-out, so we were sat at a table and perused the menu.












We started with the usual, (I love to say "the usual" when talking about Lebanese food), humous and pita bread, and once again it was amazing.

I had a falafel sandwich and there was something about this tahini sauce that put this sandwich over the top, yummy. I ordered way too much, didn’t get to finish the appetizer or sandwich, guess that means leftovers!!!

Chuck ordered the gyro lamb plate that included beef & lamb, with basmati rice and Greek salad, topped with tahini sauce.  The meat was so tender and juicy and went so well with the rice and sauce. Wonderful flavors.
The servers we all so friendly, and the take-out line was never ending, I now can see why. Extremely good food.
Now off to Canada to see my family…oh no I wont get to eat the leftover, I guess Chuck will get to partake in the yummy goodness.

Pambiche Cocina

June 22nd, 2012

Date #37

We are off to date night tonight, venturing past downtown Portland to the Northeast, the people of Portland describe their neighborhoods with directions, NE, NW, SE, SW. Chuck decided we needed to try something completely different, so it’s Cuban food at Pambiche Cocina. The restaurant is decorated in colorful paints and pictures, outside tables are built on either side of the covered sidewalk. We were sat European style at a table for 6, but unfortunately compared to the last time we sat this way, which was pleasant, this was ridiculous. On one side was a couple on maybe a first or second date where the guy was bragging about being a roadie for some popular bands, and the other side was 2 young girls talking about their sex-capades. The girls were so inappropriate I was wondering if they were trying to see if we would say anything, or they were so stupid they didn’t think anyone could hear them. Anyway!!!

We started with corn cakes and cabbage salad. The combination of the two was different than anything we have tried before but really good.

Next, I had an avocado salad, and that was it, just avocados. The avocados were good, but it needed something more, I wish the server told me what I was ordering because I don’t think it’s normal for someone to just order this.

Chuck had Vaca Frita which was beef, grilled veggies, rice and beans, and fried plantain. He really enjoyed his dish, I had a few of his veggies and he had some of my avocados. The meal was good, but the atmosphere was something we talked about all the way home…REALLY!?! Have to say I don’t want to sit European style anymore, I like the Western way of separate tables.

Now off to Las Vegas in the morning for work...

Frangipani

June 15th, 2012

Date #36

I like to stay close to home and have learned through date night that I really enjoy Thai food. A few weeks ago when we dined at BJ Willies Wood Fire Grill at Progress Ridge in Beaverton I saw a Thai restaurant, perfect for tonight’s date night, Frangipani, Lao & Thai cuisine.

We start with vegetable egg rolls with a sweet and spicy dip. The veggies were fresh and crisp and matched perfectly with the dip.

I ordered a vegetable stir-fry for dinner, it included a wonderful array of veggies in a sweet garlic teriyaki favored sauce. The sauce didn’t take away from the crispy fresh flavor of all the veggies, it enhanced the flavors.

Chuck had yellow curry with pork, carrots, potatoes, and onions. The creamy mildly spicy sauce had Chuck cleaning up all the tasty goodness in his bowl.
This is a relatively new restaurant and they already had many take-out customers, the door never stopped revolving. It’s nice to see a new restaurant doing so well.
After dinner we decided to take a walk around the pond at Progress Ridge. It’s a cute little body of water used for fishing and playing fetch with your dog. We watch a lady play with her 2 labs going back and forth into the water chasing that stick, the pups didn’t want to stop, they were having so much fun. When the owner finally said it was time to go, the dogs were panting like crazy and walked home very slowly, what fun! We also had another “reality” star sighting…this time as soon as we saw her be both looked at each other and said…Molly from Little People Big World.

Subterrain

June 8th, 2012

Date #35

Chuck read about a new restaurant in Newburg called Subterrain; the paper described it as an affordable white tablecloth restaurant, since this was so close to home he decided this was our date night tonight. He plugged the address into his GPS and we were off. After the GPS told us it was on the left side of the road, we found it on the right side in the basement of a small strip mall, guess we still need our brains to assist with the electronics.
As we go down the stairs we enter a beautiful restaurant and I worry that I may not have dressed up enough; as we are seated at our table I do see people dressed like me, thank goodness.

I started with vegan bean soup with chopped onions and cilantro. I was afraid it would taste like refried beans, but it was nothing like it, a bit spicy and a nice flavorful broth made this a wonderful soup for a rainy night. Chuck had a house salad with oil and vinegar, sometimes a salad just hits the spot, and this was one such occasion.

                  

For dinner we chose from the small plate menu, I the fish tacos and Chuck the crab and goat cheese enchiladas. They were both really good, amazing freshness in the ingredients and powerful good flavors. I’m glad my dish had 3 tacos because the portions were quite small and I could share one taco with Chuck. 

      








I’m also happy the portion sizes were small because we had room to share a dessert. That dessert was bananas foster! 
So amazingly wonderful, the warm caramel and bananas combining with the cold vanilla ice cream, YUMMY!!!

Oasis

June 1st, 2012

Date #34

I have loved our new found cuisine of Mediterranean food and my need to stay close to home so Oasis is my choice tonight. Located in Beaverton, just over the hill from our house, this is a short trip for us to partake in some really good food. When you enter the restaurant the atmosphere changes to something from the Middle East; beautiful cloths separate the tables and the tables are decorated with beautiful candles made with colorful stones.

We start out with humous drizzled with olive oil and naan for dipping. The humous was creamy smooth and the naan incredible, I probably should have stopped here and just eaten all of this tasty appetizer because I was pretty full already. Every time we eat humous in restaurants, it tastes so much better than the stuff you can purchase at grocery stores.
 












For our main courses I had a falafel sandwich, that contained falafel, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, and tahini sauce wrapped in naan. The naan is so soft and flavorful, and the falafel was crispy on the outside and tasted like garlic and herbs. So yummy!

Chuck had lamb stew, made with lamb, potatoes, carrots, onions, and tomato sauce, on the side was basmati rice and cheese, the lamb was so tender and the mix of ingredients was so flavorful. During our adventures in dining we have found that rice really does taste different and should be served with the appropriate ethnicity dish. Basmati rice is the only rice for Mediterranean food.

We were so full but the waitress was so convincing that we shared some baklawa, sweet sticky, nutty goodness.
So excited we found a wonderful Mediterranean restaurant close to home.