Typhoon!

I don't know how I made it through the first 13 years of my life without eating any Thai food. I don't recall feeling deprived of such deliciousness, but then again you never miss what you never had, right? Actually, I did eat a lot of noodles as a kid. Spaghetti noodles. I must be part Italian, which would explain my thick and curly chest hair! OK, maybe I didn't eat THAT many spaghetti noodles, but I can say that eating multiple bowls of the stuff helped prepare me for the goodness that is Phad Thai. Of course, the famous peanut-noodle dish has a reputation as being something that only foreigners would eat. Well hell, I can't use chopsticks well so I must qualify as a gastronomical tourist.

Typhoon is a small restaurant chain in the Portland area that specializes in Thai cuisine. The downtown location is associated with the Hotel Lucia, so if you stay there you can order up some Tom Yum soup at a moments notice. The original location on Portland's trendy Northwest 23rd avenue has doubled in size due to its popularity. Always a good sign... Actually, the "hipness" of Typhoon is probably its biggest downfall - as the restaurants get trendier, the prices have been slowly creeping up. Although much of the food is just as good as any other Thai dinner, there are a few standout options that really make Typhoon a place to dine.

Firstly, Typhoon has an extensive tea menu. Yes, tea. They have a selection that covers almost every imaginable type of tea as well as an exotic menu that offers some rare white tea varieties that are quite spectacular. If you don't like tea, then you can order off of the wine/cocktail/beer list which is pretty straightforward.

Secondly, Typhoon serves up the best drunken noodles I have had the fine pleasure to eat. They are spicy and not overly stir-fried, and are so delicious that I am drooling slightly as I type. They come in veggie form, too, so our vegetarian friends may still enjoy this simple yet highly recommended dish.

Lastly, Typhoon offers "pine cone fish", which is a large fillet of fish that has been cubed with the skin on and deep fried. It comes out looking like a round pine cone, and chunks of the fish can be torn off and dipped in a refreshing lime cilantro sauce. It is the best fish and chips without chips that you will ever have.

Typhoon is not without its problems, however. The price is a sticking point that gets increasingly difficult to justify when you are on a graduate student stipend. And the restaurant is less "authentic" than other, smaller and local Thai restaurants. However, for an occasional treat, a dish of Drunken Noodles and a Thai iced tea from Typhoon can really hit the spot.

Check out their webpage at www.typhoonresturaunts.com

(Tom Yum Soup from Typhoon)

Where to stay -- Hotel Fifty

When we initially decided to review hotels in the downtown Portland area, we went through many moments of severe sticker shock. Granted, downtown is a nice area and all, but paying upwards of $300 for a basic level room seemed a bit much. We were pleasantly surprised to find Hotel Fifty, which although not the cheapest stay in the Portland area is very reasonable for its highly desirable location (FYI, rooms at the Riverplace Hotel, 3 blocks up the street, were more than double the price!). Hotel Fifty is located directly on Natio Parkway and across from the waterfront park. Our waterfront park covers most of the downtown area and is home to many of Portland's festivals, including the Rose festival and the Food & Wine festival. Even when nothing 'special' is going on, the waterfront is a nice place to relax. There is a large fountain that the brave can play in during hot weather, and the downtown portion of the waterfront is part of the Springwater Corridor bike path which goes up and down the Willamette river. And the waterfront isn't the only location plus -- Hotel Fifty is blocks away from the Max line (which can take you to such far flung areas as Beaverton, St. John's and Gresham as well as a direct connection to PDX), a few more blocks from the Streetcar line (which will take you directly to our reception) and all of the glories of downtown Portland. You may not even need a car...

The hotel itself is in the middle of a major renovation, and unfortunately when we visited we could only view the older rooms. These were, however, quite nice (why remodel?), and many offered views across the river. The rooms were standard in size, although the bathrooms seemed a bit more spacious than your average hotel. The newer "theme" of the hotel is to be a bit more modern, and the decor was planned to be very simple and minimalistic. Anyway, the room rates range from $150 - 200 per night, but if you book before August 31st you can get a 20% discount. Check their webpage for more specials at www.hotelfifty.com.

**update** HotelFifty, despite being brand spankin' new, made Frommer's list of best Moderate Hotels in downtown Portland!

Church Inquisition & Saddle Mountain Hike

After many, many months of gloomy rain, summer has finally started to arrive! This weekend the weather was gorgeous - sunny and 75, with a light breeze and clear skies. We planned a hike to Saddle Mountain on Sunday in order to take advantage of the sun while it was still around. But before we could go play in the sun, we had to start the day with church followed by the church questionnaire that is part of the marriage prep process. It is something like 150 "yes, no, maybe" questions along the lines of "do you feel that marriage will solve all of your problems" (hell yes!), and "is there a baby involved in your marriage decision?" (hell no!). Overall, not a difficult test, and most of the questions were geared towards thinking about the future: have you discussed finances, home planning, family planning, etc. The advantage of waiting 8 1/2 years to get married is that all of these things have, at some point, come up in conversation. So I think we're covered. After taking the test (our priest explained it then ran out the door to enjoy the sun, so we were left alone to fill in tiny bubbles in a shaded and quite cold room. AND we missed coffee and donuts!), we decided to bug out of town as fast as possible and take a hike.

Saddle Mountain is about an hour and a half away from Portland, and is located on the coastal range off of the highway that leads to Seaside. The turnoff for Saddle mountain is 11 miles away from the coast, so technically this would be a good way to catch some oceanside action, but the down side is that this highway leads you to Seaside. Do not go to Seaside. Ever. If you must drive through, shield your eyes and the eyes of your children. The sheer tackiness of the city will drive you insane, and if it doesn't then you are not invited to our wedding. If you feel like visiting the coast, please see nearby Cannon Beach for some better beaches, or drive up to Astoria to see all of "The Goonies" locations (the movie was shot there many, many years ago).

But I digress. Saddle Mountain is a state park that is 6 or so miles off of the main highway. And if you have a very expensive or sensitive car, it is a loooonng 6 miles. There are many surprising and bone-jarring potholes that occur seemingly out of the blue on otherwise smooth single lane road. Once you wind through the road to the parking lot, there is a small campsite and a bathroom facility that has flush toilets. Oh joy!

The trail is technically closed. Really. There is a big sign in front of it that says "Trail is Not Passable". That may turn some people off, but to Andy and myself this is a big sign saying "Hike Here!". The trail is very difficult at the top, but we'll get to that. Briefly, the hike is a 2.5 mile up and down that starts at 1650 ft and peaks at 3280. Yep, that's right, there is 1630 feet of elevation gain. From the parking lot, you can crane your neck upwards to see the peak of the mountain. You can even see little people climbing upwards! And, in around an hour, you, too can be one of those little specks.

The trail for the first mile is quite nice. It is wide and very comfortable on the feet. About a half mile in there is a spectacular viewpoint looking at the coastal range, and across the horizon you can see Mt. Hood and glimpse Mt. St. Helen. Another mile in and there are two more spectacular viewpoints, one with some impressive rock formations. By mile 1.5, the trail starts to deteriorate into a less well maintained jumble, with wash outs and loose gravel at many points. Once the steel fence stapled to the ground shows up, you know you've hit some steep terrain. By mile two you just about abandon any normal trail to spend your time entirely on steel fence floor, or gravel. Gravel upon which you may slip. Repeatedly. The last quarter mile is breathtaking, mostly in the sense that it is incredibly steep and aerobic exercise if you are traveling at any pace other than snail. I don't know what the grade is, but by this point you use your hands as much as your feet to attain the summit.

At the top, you have a spectacular 360 degree view of the coast & mountain range. This is amazing. It is even more amazing when there are not clouds covering 180 degrees of your view. Oh well, the hike was still well worth it. Rumor has it that on a clear day, in additition to seeing the coast (and apparently Seaside is a lot less tacky from this angle), you can see Mt. St. Helen, Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood.

I don't have any photos right now, but this is from a blogger who recently made the hike. This is the early viewpoint, so you can just imagine how spectacular it is at the top! (note this is not either Andy or myself. We're too lazy to upload photos from our camera...)


All in all a good day. If you have the time, I'd highly recommend the hike, but keep in mind that layers are your best friend as the elevation change and exertion can cause temperature flux.

Where to Stay: Terwilliger Vista B&B

For those of you who want a more secluded place to stay while visiting our city, please consider the Terwilliger Vista B&B. Their website is loaded with pictures (including 360 degree views of each room), but for immediate use this is a snapshot of the homepage which features the living room, the front of the house and the guest suite:
Not too shabby! This B&B is close to our neighborhood, a little over 2 miles away from our current location in Multnomah Village. The B&B is located in a residential district on the hill. From downtown Portland, if you look SW the skyline is dominated by Marquam Hill, aka "Pill Hill". The OHSU campus, along with two children's hospitals, are located at the northern portion of the hill. Much of the remaining land is occupied by a variety of houses closely packed on twisting roads. Terwilliger Vista is fortunate to occupy a gorgeous Georgian style home that has an actual lawn instead of simply existing on stilts. The view from the house is spectacular, and an evening stroll along Terwilliger will yield breathtaking views of downtown Portland.

Inside the house, there are five rooms each of which has its own bathroom en suite. The Garden Suite has its own wood-burning fireplace and whirlpool, while the Gold Room has an art deco bathroom with huge windows that give the bathroom a beautiful sense of lightness. And perhaps most enticingly, the room rates are very reasonable for an upscale B&B (most of which are under $200 and two of which are under $150).

However, if you plan on visiting Portland and do not plan on reserving a vehicle, the location of Terwilliger Vista may be inconvenient (bus lines are within 1/2 mile, but weekend service is limited). If you do have a car, the serenity of a lodging the lies far above the busy city may be well worth the extra 10 minute drive.

Their website is available at www.terwilligervista.com.

Why we love Portland... Laurelwood

Ah, Portland, thy endless supply of local breweries never ends! If you are ever in the Hollywood district in Portland (NE, close in to 84), please take some time to swing by the Laurelwood Pizza Company. We always order the same thing: a thin beer crust topped with garlic infused oil, three cheese blend and roasted garlic. This pizza is so good, even the chef complimented our choice of ingredients! The crust is light and tasty, and who can really go wrong with garlic and cheese? Laurelwood is especially generous with their roasted garlic (we, as die hard garlic fans have no problem with this, but others with whom we have shared this pizza have elected to take off 50% of the roasted goodness), so you may not wish to have romantic plans for the rest of the evening. As a perfect compliment to the pizza, you can also enjoy a Spaceman Stout or a Tree hugger porter. We both favor darker beers, but we've been told that the free range red is also quite delish. I support the free range red mostly because the logo features a big chicken, which as many of you know is a major part of my research. Associating work with beer is always helpful...

Despite the fact that we always order 1 stout, 1 porter and 1 pizza, we've occasionally had some of the food ordered by others and it is all equally yummy. The 'garden' pizza (a smörgåsbord of vegetables) is especially nice as they use local produce in all of their cooking. We've also been told that their burgers and sandwiches are lovely, but pretty much everybody comments on the beer. When in doubt, order their generous sampler platter which consists of 11 different types of beer including a seasonal. For me, the epitome of light weight, this is more than enough to put me down for the rest of the evening, but for more libatious folk, it is just the perfect prelude to a good meal. Oh, and as an added benefit, the prices are extremely reasonable, so having a pizza and a beer won't put you out. Check out their website for more information. www.laurelwoodbrewpub.com