I’m now contributing pieces for the Travel Oregon website. This will be another great outlet for my Oregon based travel writing. The exposure from Travel Oregon probably won’t hurt things either. You can read my first article for them here. It’s essentially a piece I did for Portland Family Outdoors some months ago. Same piece, different target audience.
Another one of my family’s favorite spots. I swung by this place again just yesterday, and it’s still as breathtaking as ever. Click here to read the column.
Located deep within Washington’s Wind River watershed, Panther Creek Falls is one of the most unique, awe-inspiring, and yet somehow tranquil waterfalls I’ve ever visited.
Samurai Blue is new. Not toddler new, infant new. At just about six months old, the place hasn’t been on Mississippi Avenue any longer than I’ve had my current bottle of ketchup. 
But clearly, owners Tommy and James didn’t need much time to get their legs underneath them. Serving contemporary Japanese cuisine, Samurai Blue has already garnered a reputation for having some of the best sushi in Portland. The dining area at Samurai Blue is subtle and clean. It’s a comfortable space that’s as suitable for casual lunches as it is for date night. But on this particular day, Kassidy and I were there for drinks.
The drinks at Samurai Blue shouldn’t fly under anybody’s radar. They’re good. Lead bartender, Zachariah, has produced a menu of creative, Asian inspired mixed drinks that are as tasty as they are potent. 
House infused liquors and fresh ingredients are the focus. Zachariah was cordial, quiet, and self-effacing, but don’t let that fool you. Anybody that has a tattoo of an Osterizer blender on their forearm is probably serious about their drink-makery.
Zach started us off with a Cucumber Martini comprised of house infused cucumber vodka, cilantro, lemon, and a few drops of Tabasco. By the way, the Tabasco gave it a nice back end without making the drink spicy. It was also about this time that Tommy produced the Tuna with Goat Cheese plate. The two primary ingredients are plated with sesame oil, sun dried tomato, balsamic vinegar, basil, Fuji apples, and honey. 
It was as delicious as it sounds; savory, sweet, and satisfying without being filling. I would later be very happy we had it.
Next we had a Ginger Mojito made of house infused ginger-rum, mint, sugar, lime, and soda. One more time, house infused ginger-rum. Put it on your Christmas list.
We were then we were given a Black Belt. The drink features house infused blackberry vodka, house made blackberry syrup, cranberry juice, and rice milk. This drink was sweet, fresh, and a prime example of Zach’s willingness to experiment.
Then Zach brought in the closer, the Samurai Tai. This fancy number had rum, house made grenadine, orange liqueur, fresh lemon, fresh lime, and pineapple. In typical fruity drink fashion, it tasted like god’s fruit punch. It would also render your limbs useless and make you forget you had children if you drank more than two.
Thanks to Tommy, James, and Zachariah for their time, and for providing us with outstanding food and drink. I need to pitch a story idea about sushi to somebody.
Before the construction of Interstate 5, Mississippi Avenue was the heart of Portland’s African-American community. Once the neighborhood’s backyards and porches were replaced with a freeway, 
however, the area began a multi-decade slide into crime and financial hardship. Thanks to forward-thinking city planning, long-time neighborhood residents, and astute business owners, North Mississippi Avenue began its journey on the road to recovery in the late 1990’s.
Now, after a steady influx of one-of-a-kind shops, eateries, and businesses, the area is one of Portland’s destination neighborhoods. It is diverse, eclectic, and inclusive. A bar patron I met one evening described the transition to me as a refreshing revitalization and not a gentrification; an important distinction for locals.
The Equinox Restaurant and Bar mirrors the soul and the spirit of the Mississippi movement. 
One of the original businesses to establish roots during the revitalization, Equinox is intent on handling every aspect of the business with the community’s needs in mind. The building was furnished with materials from another community cornerstone, the Rebuilding Center. It is not uncommon for the owners of Equinox, Michele Stultz and Tara George, to borrow supplies from other Avenue businesses when they run out, and vice versa. It’s also not all that rare for folks in need, to work the occasional odd job at Equinox in exchange for food or money.
Being rich with community-minded good intentions does not, however, assure you a thriving business. That’s where good food and drink come in. 
And on this particular sojourn into the neighborhood, it was all about the drink. My friend (and assistant for the day) Kassidy and I where met by owners Tara and Michele, who were kind enough to answer a quick set of questions before heading behind the bar themselves to assemble a series of drinks. A gorgeous set of drinks I might add.
First out was an Applewood Smoked Vodka Bloody Mary that was so chock full o’ delicious that every Bloody Mary over the next 2 months will be bitterly disappointing.
Next was a perfect warm weather drink, the Garden of Eden. This little number had vodka, muddled basil, cucumber and limes, 
and simple syrup with a sugar rim and cucumber garnish.
To balance that out, our next beverage was the EQ Café Espanol. What their Bloody Mary did to me, their Spanish Coffee did to Kassidy. 151 rum, Stumptown Coffee liqueur, Cointreau, coriander tincture, coffee, and whipped cream.
To finish everything off, Michele whipped up an off the menu gem that was essentially a Lemon Drop Martini made with lilac simple syrup, and garnished with lilac trimmings from the garden. And just to make sure we didn’t leave on an empty stomach they provided us with a plate of crispy wontons stuffed with mushrooms, Danish bleu cheese, and chives, served with a sweet chile-lemon dip; their Wild Mushroom Bites.
Big thanks to Michele, Tara, and the attentive and patient staff of Equinox. Kassidy and I have plans to attend brunch there this month so we can try out the food (and another Bloody Mary or three).
This pic is from a few years ago when I visited Hood River Mountain. Typically most of the photos you see from Hood River Mountain feature wildflowers in the foreground, with Mt. Hood Majestically framed somewhere off in the distance. When I got home that day and looked at the photos I had taken, this one from the back side of the mountain stuck out as my favorite. I just really dig the layers of flora and color. The only bummer is that there’s a nice clump of lupine in the foreground that hadn’t bloomed yet. That would have been sweet.
I read somewhere that photography and alcohol don’t mix. That may be true, but I think writing and drinking pair off nicely. I was recently given an assignment from Northwest Travel Magazine to cover the happy hour scene on Mississippi Avenue. 
By the way, that’s a story idea I pitched to them. If you know me at all that shouldn’t be much of a surprise.
Since I sincerely believe that in-depth research and subject immersion are the keys to insightful writing, I have taken it upon myself to visit as many of the bars along Mississippi Avenue that will have me. This coalition of the willing includes newer places, older places, upper end hot spots, and borderline dive bars. Last night I had the privilege of visiting moloko.
Going on 6 years old, moloko is owned and operated by Christian Fitzpatrick. What he’s created is a comfortably eclectic place to hang out. 
It’s modern, it’s vintage, it’s soul and hip hop. It is also mesmerizing fish tanks. It’s where George Jetson and Common might meet up for a drink; and then be joined by a handful of regulars.
My mixologist for the evening was James. Despite the burden of being distractingly good looking, James was able to pour a series of creative and spot-on drinks. In addition to all the standards, Moloko has a lineup of house infused liquors. I started off with a couple of summer inspired cocktails.
The Smoldering Fruit Bomb was comprised of habenero infused vodka, fresh squeezed orange and lime juice, pineapple juice, agave and soda. It was equal parts “hello there” hot and fruit juice sweet that made the beverage remarkably refreshing.
In terms of refreshment though, you’d be hard-pressed to top the Aaah Jamye. My second drink of the evening was made with muddled cucumber, 
jalapeno-lime infused tequila, fresh squeezed lime and orange juice, agave, and soda. Good luck finding a better warm weather drink than that. Perhaps the only downside is that the drink goes down way too easy. I suppose depending on where you stand (or wobble), that’s not a downside at all.
Since the article I’m writing might be featured in the winter edition of the magazine, James finished things off with the Gingerly. The drink has orange-ginger infused whiskey, fresh squeezed orange and lemon juice, honey, nutmeg, cinnamon, and hot water. It’s garnished with a cinnamon stick and a clove stuffed orange slice. Man oh man if this thing didn’t have me briefly pining for colder weather. Briefly.
Big thanks go out to Christian, James, and the delightful young lady at the bar who provided good conversation. I’ll be back.
May is around the corner.
Wet is a good look. Obviously, I’m not the first person to think that. Have you ever noticed that sidewalks and streets are frequently wet on TV and in the movies? Wet streets appear clean, provide better contrast, and just look more appealing. I think the same holds true for wet forest trails, perhaps even more so. Greens greener, browns browner, all forest colors just seem to be richer when wet.
Aside from the colors, hiking after a good rain is exhilarating. The air is clean and sweet. There are far fewer people on the trails, and the wildlife is omnipresent. There’s also a good chance that there’s still cloud cover hanging around; providing that exquisite diffused natural light that photographers in the Pacific Northwest crave. I present this collection of wet trail photographs from my backyard (Portland’s Forest Park) in support of my argument. Click on any shot in the gallery for a larger view.
It’s been a while since my last write up for Whatsthesoup.net. Let’s rectify that. Here’s a piece about the Savor Soup House. My good camera was in the shop when I went out to sample their wares. Not bad camera phone pics though, huh? Damn fine soup by the way.
Adam Sawyer 