Sunday afternoon, after a lovely weekend at the beach, I found myself hungry earlier than my usual dinner time.  I was considering my options when it hit me:  Serratto.  Serratto is on 21^st and Kearney, and has nice outdoor seating, with a big bar area.  I decided to give it a try for happy hour, and was pleasantly surprised.  What’s nice about Serratto happy hour is that it’s not only calamari, fried cheese, and French fries.  You can get a delicious burger with bacon and cheese (served with fries) for a mere $6.  A great burger for six dollars!  You can also find salads, rigatoni, mac& cheese, and more…all part of the happy hour menu.  With my $4 glass of wine, a salad, and rigatoni, I was content, and felt like I had eaten a real meal.  One tiny issue….I felt a bit like part of the early bird special crowd, though I think that could be avoided if you were to visit during the week.  Serratto serves happy hour 7 days a week, 4:30-6pm.

This recent, persistent rain is my fault.  I decommissioned my rain bike a few days ago.  The only bikes available now have no fenders.  I jumped the gun, spoke too soon, drank the shake too quickly.  Now I get wetter than necessary and anyone riding behind me gets sprayed.  Sorry.

I was happy to see that the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic stage race succeeded with stellar weather, if not a bit too warm at times.  The race brought some truly legendary names to Oregon for 6 days.  Most notably, Jeannie Longo, the winningest female cyclist ever, arguably the greatest female cyclist ever, raced with no real teammates to a podium finish overall.  Longo is 50 years old, racing and beating racers half her age or better.  She’s been racing longer than she hasn’t…  I hope some where able to spectate down on Naito Parway and over at Mt. Tabor for two of the stages.

Be sure to boycott the beginning of the “summer driving season” and open the summer riding season instead.  What a horrible visual “summer driving season” creates…

Enjoy the holiday weekend! (on your bike)

TB

A little more low key than Lollapalooza, a little more upbeat than a summer park concert, and best of all…supporting our local schools…it’s Curbstock 2008. Curbstock is an all day musical festival held on May 18th from 11a.m. to 7p.m at Oaks Park, (7805 SE Oaks Park Way).

Curbstock, organized by students with help from the business community, is a diverse musical experience for people of all ages and different musical tastes converging to raise funds for Portland Public Schools. Cubstock is advertised as a day of peace, music, and fundraising for Portland Public Schools.

The music festival features student bands and some big name favorites like: Norman Sylvester Blues Band with special guest appearance by Curtis Salgado; Three Leg Torso; Boka Marimba; Hutch and Kathy (The Thermals) and MANY more to fill the day with all kinds of great music and music genres. Mark Lindsay from Paul Revere and the Raiders is also autographing a guitar that will be raffled off at this affordable and family-friendly event. There’s plenty of covered space to make this a rain or shine event. For more information: http://www.curbstock.org/

The Portland Vegetarian Festival spotlights eco-friendly, healthy cuisine and is taking place this weekend (May 9th and 10th).

Official Event Website: www.portlandvegfest.org 

From their press release:  “Whether you’re a long-time vegan or a socially conscious omnivore, you won’t want to miss the 4th annual Portland VegFest on May 9 and 10, sponsored by Northwest VEG.   What’s on the menu?  Green living, better health, and animal protection—all through dietary awareness.   Portland VegFest will feature nationally renowned authors and activists, acclaimed chefs, and over 60 commercial exhibitors and non-profit groups offering FREE, delicious food samples and information on nutrition, cooking, and environmental sustainability. You’ll enjoy live cooking demonstrations, learn about the environmental hazards of animal agriculture, and find out how to improve your family’s health and reduce your ecological footprint through simple lifestyle changes. Got questions? Be sure to visit our “Ask the Experts” table or, better yet, drop in on VEG 101, a fun series of classes  throughout the day that will cover all the basics.”

Location: Benson High School, 546 NE 12 Ave., Portland, OR 97232  

Admission: $5 each day (coupon for $1 off available on website). Free admission for children 10 and under.  

To round out my posts on Portland’s mini-mall at 12^th/Stark SE, I wanted to mention Scapegoat Tattoo—a vegan tattoo parlor located there that uses only animal-friendly inks and aftercare products.  I’ve not gotten a tattoo at this place, but reviews online say that the three artists who work there are great and legitimately believe in the vegan cause (which means they aren’t just capitalizing on the market).  Their website:  www.scapegoattattoo.com showcases some of the cool work they have done and their store has books with impressive pictures of their work (with even more on their myspace page:  http://www.myspace.com/scapegoattattoo).

So why vegan tattoos, you might be asking?  Some vegans don’t stop with just being mindful of their diet and avoiding animal and dairy products, but they continue their virtue elsewhere—such as choosing to not wear animal products (see previous post on Herbivore), not buying products from manufacturers that test on animals, etc.  Some tattoo ink can contain animal products, which is why it is often eschewed by vegans.  For example, some black pigment is made by burning animal bones down to charcoal.  Also, the carrier solution for the ink can contain glycerin, which may be from a vegetable source but more likely is made from animal fats.  After talking to the folks at Scapegoat, I learned that many vegan tattoo artists actually mix their own inks to be sure of the origin of their ingredients.   

So if you’re looking for a vegan tattoo parlor (which are hard to find, according to many tattoo and vegan blogs)—or you are just looking for a clean, neat, professional, and impressive tattoo parlor with some extremely talented artists—head to Scapegoat the next time you are in the neighborhood. 

I love a good warehouse sale. I confess that I have not attended a Horny Toad sale before, but their apparel is wonderful quality, fashionable and flattering. One of my favorite tops is a double layer goldenrod colored Horny Toad long sleeved v-neck - my bff says it makes me look like a “perfect golden piece of wheat”. What could be better than that?! If you love the stuff at Lizard Lounge, Title 9, REI, Signal Sports, etc, this may be worth checking out! Here is the deal:

Up to 60% off clothing by Horny Toad

May 2-4, 11am to 8pm
Location: The Cleaners at Ace Hotel

430 SW 19th Ave, Portland, Or 97205

They promise free drinks on Friday and Saturday as well as a live band!

For more information, they ask that you call 805.957.1474 x220

I find that I don’t often write a handwritten note these days. Correspondence with friends scattered around the country has become dominated by emails and text messages. Recently I have been inspired to change things up a bit and write a note by hand and put it in the mail.

This is because last weekend I finally found time to visit Lark Press on N Williams Ave. What a treat! This local letterpress shop is so full of beautiful, original cards and stationary, I was instantly in love. And the lovely ladies who own the shop are so friendly and accommodating - I was able to make a special order that I can hardly wait to arrive! I was inspired to want to write a letter to a dear friend who appreciates fine paper perhaps even more than I do - I knew she would love the sweet letterpress design that I chose just for her.

After almost 3 weeks in DC I am headed back to Portland this weekend and you know what I find myself craving?  A slice of pizza at Bella Faccia in NE (2934 NE Alberta St., http://www.bellafacciapizzeria.com/index.html).  Now that sounds like a relatively uninspired thing to crave, what with all the great restaurant choices in PDX, but after living for years in places where, as a vegan, I couldn’t get a slice of pizza anywhere, Portland has been a surprising haven in that regard.  Bella Faccia, in particular, hits the spot with its thin crispy and flavorful crust, red pepper and cashew sauce, and lightly flavored tempeh (on the vegan slice–they of course have regular sauce and cheese as well).  The place itself is cute, has an outdoor patio, has great beers on tap (or bottles of Crush, if you choose), and offers good happy hours specials.  In short, you know where to find me on Saturday night. 

A few weeks ago I mentioned the vegan minimall that recently opened at 12^th/Stark in SE Portland.  This conglomeration of vegan shops also houses a fun retail store that carries bags, belts, wallets, picture frames, clothing, books, and so many other fun things! This Portland-based company was started by two people that wanted cool clothes and accessories that were also 100% vegan (which means, for example, no leather products).  Their designs are artistic and unique, and the items are hip and comfortable at the same time.  www.herbivorclothing.com 

The owners also produce and Herbivore Magazine, which is premised on the idea that there is an “exciting, vital culture coming out of the vegetarian community.”  The magazine’s goal is to “map it with humor, sensitivity and passion” by focusing on art, music, fashion, and politics and it is a really interesting read.  Many articles are available online at:  www.herbivoremagazine.com

May is around the corner, and there are about 6 weeks left in the school year.  This may seem like a large amount of time to the average citizen, but to a teacher this is the annual shocking revelation that the end of the school year is already here?!  It’s the intellectual realization that you only have a little time left to get your students where you want them before summer break, and the emotional glee that you have successfully completed yet another school year (wow).  Because I teach elementary school, this home stretch to summer means state testing, last of the field trips, and making sure that Bobby, who is finally reading, keeps his vowel sounds memorized because he’ll have 3 months of summer vacation to forget everything I desperately taught him for the past 8+ months.  This has been a good school year for me (they are not always good), so getting close to the end is full of more appreciation than relief.  To all the Portland teachers…may your last 6 weeks of school be brilliant, enjoyable, and quick.