Heading North, but Eating Southern

After my morning conference call, it was time to say good-bye to Mom & Janet and get on the road.  I had the opportunity to meet Jackie today, she is the woman who comes in four days a week to help Mom out around the house.  Very nice lady.  It was hard to say farewell, but also it was a visit filled with some great memories.  So on the road I go and it was a lot of traffic, but nothing I could not deal with.  Arrived into Portland just at 4:56pm.  Seriously, why did I have to arrive at rush hour.  Thankfully, I knew the roads well enough from living there 16 years that I kept moving.  Ended up taking Interstate north to get to the Red Lion at Jantzen Beach.  I had forgotten that you are greeted by Paul Bunyan when you drive on Interstate Ave.  A left over from the Centennial Expo in 1959 I believe.

It was one heck of a humid afternoon, rare for Portland, and I sure felt like I was in Florida.  Got checked-in to the hotel and my room was nice and cool.  Had time to check email and have a couple of glasses of water before getting a quick shower in and heading off to meet Lisa and Mark for dinner.  Since I was out of the hotel by 6:45pm and dinner reservation was not until 7:30pm, decided to take the long way to the restaurant driving by the old house I lived in at 2227 NE Ainsworth.  Noticed there was a "for sale" sign out front.  Wonder if Don is selling or is long gone?  Did not stop, but it was fun to see the old place again.  

 I also drove by the old Rose Test Gardens at Peninsula Park.  There is a lovely pavilion and water fountain with hundreds of roses planted.  Sorry the shot is a bit off center, but hey, you snag a parking spot where you can when driving.  No time to stop and smell the roses as I needed to get on to Alberta Street and enjoying a nice dinner with old friends.

Tonight, we met at Bernie's Southern Bistro.  It is an "old timer" on NE Alberta having been located there since June 5, 1998.  In September, 2001 I hosted a big party on the back deck that still has people talking and it was good to see the owner, Kellie, again.  She even made sure our drinks never went dry.  Speaking of which, I opted for the Key West Martini.

Arrived a bit early and so got seated on the back deck and got to have a chance to relax and so happy that the cool evening breeze had kicked up and calmed things down.  Lisa and Mark soon joined me and ordered a Sazerac and Old Fashion respectively.  A plate of Fried Green Tomatoes appeared.  Better than the movie! Their green tomatoes are lightly dusted with cornmeal, fried, served with roasted green pepper rouilleand.  We were ready to enjoy an evening of down home cookin'!  Below you can see my lovely cocktail that sat on the table with a nice little lagniappe to make the beverage last a little longer.  We decided to share a couple of other appetizers. 

 Hush Puppies which are savory cornmeal fritters served with jalapeno orange marmalade. Have you said yum yet? Oysters Remoulade was our final appetizer and the oysters were prepared much like the Fried Green Tomatoes. Lisa and Mark enjoyed sharing the Seared Watermelon Salad - seared Hermiston watermelon and jicama on a bed of salad greens dressed with a pink peppercorn dressing and toasted cashews. They swooned and I sure have to say the tastes I had were heavenly.

 Yes, that is them swooning below.  Main course arrived with Lisa opting for Creole Meatloaf - Cascade
Natural ground beef and just a little bacon and for her sides had the stewed okra, tomatoes & onions plus the  Uglesich's Super Slaw.  Mark and I both went with the Bernie's Buttermilk Fried Chicken - deep fried boneless, skinless, all natural chicken breast and thigh that were marinated in buttermilk, dusted in seasoned flour and deep fried 'til crispy.  For sides, he went with three - collard greens, mashed yams and mac & cheese.  I ended up choosing  Uglesich's Super Slaw and a 1/4 order of the mac & cheese.  Oh and Janet, there was no crunchy toppings on their version, thankfully.

 No room for dessert, we spent a few more minutes talking and I sent my chicken breast home with them and their leftovers knowing I was traveling tomorrow.  What was also a complete surprise was that they brought me both my birthday and Christmas presents from last year so it made it all the more festive.  So, back to the hotel I went and was asleep all too soon (left the TV on until I woke up at midnight and turned it off)!  More adventures tomorrow.