Gateway Breakfast House

Woke up Saturday morning with a day to myself… Or it would have been if I have any ability to stay away from thrift stores. (Explanation: Roomies = Extended Family Sisters, Brother in Law and niece/nephews were going back to school shopping. I couldn’t resist! But I did try. I have no spawn of my own so must resort to playing “parent” to the children of others.)

I had a once in a blue moon hankering (Dear Gods, I think the Redneck Widow is infecting my vernacular!) for some breakfast starch namely pancakes. The Parental Units can attest that this is a rarity for me. So in an attempt to further my cause of trying new places I opted for the Gateway Breakfast House. About a 5 minute drive from home, sounded perfect.

Upon arrival I discovered that I was gravely underestimating the appeal of breakfast out to Portlanders. The place was PACKED! I was third in line for a table when I got there, and before I was seated there was another 10 people behind me. Had I done any research at all I would have learned that President Obama made an unscheduled stop here when he was in town. Lots of publicity, lots of hullabaloo and yet quite a few regulars as well. Waitresses were greeting customers by name and exchanging news about each other’s families and friends.

The menu was extensive and offered quite a selection, but I’m a sucker for a good deal so I opted for the 1,2,3,4 Country Special marked at $8.25 with coffee. My total came to $9.75 before tip and let me show you what I got for that.

[Check our Facebook Album for photo]

That is two pancakes, a ham steak at least 7” across and ½” thick, two eggs scrambled with cheese, and a slab of hashbrowns. It was so big I was quite intimidated. I settled for dicing the ham steak and mixing it with the hashbrowns and eggs before setting that aside and tackling the pancakes. I managed about 3/4ths of the pancakes before I just couldn’t stand it anymore. Got the rest in a to go container and made my way out the door. There was still a line out the door, people just didn’t stop coming!

I knew that if I went immediately home after that carb load I would end up back in bed despite my best laid plans so I met up with the shopping expedition and did my best to be helpful.

Still, what a way to kick off the weekend.

Gateway Breakfast House, friendly staff, great value, wonderful food. I highly recommend, but make sure you have some time to wait for that table. Very popular destination.

So many things...

Okay, returning from the sick/ exhausted place. Last weekend was shopping with the girls and a stop at Cartlandia (write up with pics soon) and then Olive Garden. Tuesday was a little cooking and all that fun stuff. Coaxing a few more contributors to sharing their dining experiences so hopefully there will be some more active voices on here soon. Fingers crossed!

Not dead, just a brief intermission while the Stage Manager gets the back of the house in hand. Until we see you again.

On Location...Idaho part 2

   Saturday morning we passed on the frozen breakfast sandwich fare being offered at my sisters and went on a hunt into town for food I can eat.  ( No eggs or pork for me)  We ended up in Cottonwood, Idaho at a great little place called The Hangout. 

    This is a great little place.  Vicious and I walked in to 2 larges tables taken up by about 30 girls in team sportswear hanging out, eating, and having fun.  I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with a green salad.  (Are you detecting a pattern here yet?) Vicious had a mushroom burger with tator tots.  When we sat down I looked around and could tell that whoever owned this place was a supporter of sports, their community and progress.  They had a station set up with 3 or 4 laptop computers.  Yes folks, we found an internet cafe.  We waited a bit for our food but, that was alright with me as they were obviously busy. I like to have my food cooked to order so I don't mind a wait.    Vicious noted as we waited that we had finally found a restaurant with no flies.  This reminds me I forgot to tell you about our stop at Jack in The Box Friday in Umatilla, Washington.  Let me just say... Don't eat there. 

   We got our food from this great woman who came all the way out to our table.  (We ordered at a counter so I expected to go back up to the counter.)  She apologized profusely for the wait.  I told her it was no problem.  The food was great.  My chicken breast was moist and the food very fresh.  The portions were good and I really enjoyed this place all around.  If we had stayed in town longer we would have gone back.  We headed home that night and ended up at a Burger King we found along the road.  I don't even remember which city it was in.  The food was ok but,  more flies.  

On roadtrips I tend to like stopping at the Mom and Pop, Greasy Spoon kind of places.  I like an adventure and they usually have great portions.   Soooo..... If you are ever in Cottonwood, Idaho please stop at : 

                                                                                             The Hangout 
                                                                                             603 Front street
                                                                                             Cottonwood, Idaho 83522

    or try their email: hangout@mtida.net

Next time I will tell you about my adventures into Fubonn territory.
                                                                                           













http://www.cottonwoodidaho.org/

Cartlandia (Food cart pre-crawl)

Saturday was a day of grand plans, a little bit of compromise. But everything turned out well. Redneck Widow and myself were to be picked up by PainterLady and BellaBabe for a day of picking over the bones of a dying clothing store chain. Sad for the chain, good for us. I did the math and over 5 trips to the stores (spread out over a 3 week period) I acquired some $1,500 retail value of clothes for roughly $175. Completely revamped my wardrobe and without breaking the bank. Very, very, happy girl here. But you're not here to read about my shopping finesse.

We met up at about lunch time and after a fortifying stop at Dutch Brothers for caffeine (all hail the Dutch) we were on our way. Our goals were the Clackamas location, Eastport Plaza location, and then MAYBE the Cascade Station location if there was time before returning the Gresham Wunderland for a cheap seats showing of Snow White and the Huntsman and then dinner at the Olive Garden for their endless pasta bowl…Mmmm Pasta.

That was our goal. That was not what happened. The Clackamas location was LOOOOONG gone. The storefront empty, most of the signage removed. So on our way to the Eastport Plaza location we swung into Cartlandia, despite Redneck Widow’s misgivings. One thing Cartlandia has up on other food cart pods I’ve been to is the available parking, very nice.

BellaBabe and I led the charge, up and around the carts, investigating menus, what sounds best, what sounded good… Samples? Sure!

After walking the entire loop and inspecting every menu we settled on splitting a margherita pizza eith white sauce from Krust Artisanal Pizza and a couple of pasties (one Traditional and one Cheese and Onion) from the London Pasty Company while PainterLady and RedneckWidow had hotdogs and fries from Relish Gourmet Hotdogs.

BellaBabe and I ordered the pizza first and then headed across the way to the Pasty cart. The owner of the London Pasty Company was very helpful and understanding about our questions involving the ingredients (allergy issues) and very cheerful with a mesmerizing accent. Which is always fun. Also very emphatic about liking them on Facebook, which in this modern social media age I suppose I understand.

PainterLady and RedneckWidow found a shady table near Relish where they could listen for their orders to be completed. Both were telling us about the sweet couple who owned the cart saving up for a wedding and how very nice they were. Our pizza was delivered to the table and we took the requisite (now apparently gone) photos before digging in.

The pizza had a cracker style crust that seemed to have been pre-cooked and warm sauce ladled on (a bit heavy for our tastes) and then the sliced mozzerella was allowed to "melt" in the residual warmth from the sauce. The tomatoes were cold. BellaBabe and I thought back to Pyro Pizza's crispy crust, hunks of artisinal mozzerella and heat toasted basil... This was not what we wanted. On to the pasties!

Sad, so sad. The "Traditional" was as dry and flavorless as saw dust and left us begging for water. We were hoping for a moist filling with thickened gravy, no such luck. It didn't even appear that gravy had ever been involved in the equation. The Onion and Cheese was.. Well is was overly cheesy mashed potatoes stuffed into a pastry shell. It was a baked pierogie. It was... bland.

So while I know it doesn't excuse the tardiness of this post, remembering this experience was sad.

The highlight of the trip was PainterLady's garlic cheese fries, so good. But I'll let RedneckWidow share her portion of the journey.

Until next time, be tasty!

Fubonn Marketplace OR A Threeway Foray into the Unknown

Yeah, yeah, yeah I like to think my post titles are clever. I'm sure I'm not really as funny as I think I am, but then I reduce some people into asthmatic laughing attacks which makes me think... Maybe I am... Any who...

Last night Apocalypse.Mom, RedneckWidow, and I headed out for Fubonn and I found myself filled with excited energy. Like a hyper puppy. Really... I'm embarrassed for my friends as there was dancing in the aisles, skipping up and down aisles in search of the ever important soy free "red sauce" and other general obnoxiousness. Good thing I drove as the others may have been tempted to otherwise abandon me.

Of course I'm sure it will happen again. As most of my friends can attest I am easily excited, soon babbling away at such high speeds as to be nearly unintelligible. But I can't help it...

My food geek flag just flies to high it takes me off with it to new heights of embarrassment. Of course in the moment of ultimate geekery when I am practically vibrating with excitement; wanting to see, touch, smell everything all at once I am prone to attacks of utter gooberism. The high point of my night was that I was NOT the first one to offend the locals. That was RedneckWidow, and I'll leave the explanations to her.

We started by packing in the rear lot (shady spot) which is surprisingly large and you'd never notice it from the front of the building. Passed through the large circular archway over the doors and wandered through the complex, a little sadly empty, but still interesting with the variety of businesses housed inside. Lawyers, Realtors, Loan offices, Bubble Tea, Salons, Jewelers, Video shops, Seamstresses, and of course the Massive grocery outlet itself.

Apocalypse.Mom spoke up with the wisdom of eating something before diving into the grocery store as an attempt to prevent massive over spending. RedneckWidow and I agreed and we discussed food options. There is of course a deli within the market, as well as both a Korean BBQ and Pho shop located on the outside of the building.

 We opted to try the SokongDong Tofu & BBQ first, one with a grill on your table and where you order an assortment of meats and grill yourself. While things smelled wonderful, a peek at the menu revealed that this is not a "quick bite and run" establishment. For these prices it was a linger and enjoy the company type of place. Not in our budgets for the evening.

Unit #11
SokongDong Tofu & BBQ

Tel: 503-808-9990
Hour: 11am - 10pm

So we tried the Pho Ngon Vietnamese Restaurant

Unit #2
Pho Ngon Vietnamese Restaurant

Tel: 503-775-1373
Hour: 9am - 9pm

Much more in line with what we were looking for. Like an idiot I failed to take pics of our food when it arrived, but it was pretty and very tasty. I believe that Apocalypse.Mom ordered the #44 (none of us remember what it was called just that there was lots of fried fish over a metric TON of vermicelli noodles. And that it was good.). Redneck Widow attempted the Chicken Teriyaki, always a gamble given her allergy to soy. But it worked out. No adverse reaction and she cleaned her plate. Well... Almost.

I opted for the "SUPERBOWL" which was Pho (beef of course) with flank steak, well done brisket, honeycomb tripe, tendon, AND meatballs. Mmmm tasty. Point of note, the main difference between Asian meatballs and the more familiar Western variety is texture. Western meatballs are primarily a coarser grind of meat with a little binding agent to keep them together, while Asian meatballs are more of a hot dog consistency. Which can sometimes lend the sensation of chewing on a bouncy ball if over cooked. But these were quite good!

I failed to take before pics of our meals. I promise I'll get back into practice. I'll also have to improve my plan for getting a camera... Apparently wishing doesn't make it come true. Lamesauce. Any good (and reasonably priced) camera suggestions from the crowd?

The only down side to the dinner was the service. It was a bit... I don't know, very pushy at the beginning. The waitress seemed very exasperated with us when we asked for a minute to figure out our order. I get the impression that this place is used to people ordering before they even sit down. And at the end of the meal we had to get our own to go containers for leftovers and track down someone so we could pay. Very strange. Not a determent from returning, but very strange.

After dinner there was shopping! I gleefully plunged into the market, doing my best to not physically DRAG Apocalypse.Mom and Redneck Widow behind me. I may not have been as successful at this as I hoped. I happily grabbed raisin bread off the shelves, giggled and cooed over the bright snack packages while Apocalypse.Mom got to the serious business of grocery shopping and Redneck Widow plunged on in her quest for the soy-free.

I poked and prodded fresh Lychee for a project of BellaBabe, found some drinks. Some snacks, babbled incessantly about foreign produce.. Thinking back I start to wonder if maybe I was drugged, I was just... everywhere. Like those bouncy balls with all the knobs on the outside? Bouncing erratically from habeneros to duck eggs, from lemon grass to rabbit saddles, snapping random pictures and occasionally tossing things into the cart Redneck Widow was pushing for me.

I clearly recall dancing down an aisle using a shaker of dashi and another of "Umami seasoning" (straight MSG) as maracas to emphasize the beat in my head. It was like a fever and a frenzy of delight. We never found the red sauce. Does anyone know what it's called? The red sauce you get in Chinese restaurants for the dipping? NOT sweet and sour, there was at least a 10 foot long section of aisle dedicated to that.

I took pictures of things I found interesting, odd, or just... I don't even know why I took a photo of the live clams, and one of frozen fish? But I took them and here they are for your... Amusement?

Those are my highlights of the trip, other than that Apocalypse.Mom and I both bought 3 bags worth of items and she spent less than half of what I did. Clearly I have things to learn. Teach me oh wise one!

Please feel free to comment on my insanity. Talk to you all later!

Ritz Diner (or Breakfast with Fuzzy)

A weekend in Salem was wonderful. Made cinnamon rolls with the parental units (tasty tasty rolled pastries... Mmmm). Attended my Aunt's beautiful wedding to a delightful Irishman. Got a hefty dose of sarcasm from my blood relations. Happy sarcasm, we're a snippy and clever bunch of folks. Refreshingly irreverant.

This morning I kidnapped my good friend Fuzzy and took him to breakfast.

A smidgeon of back story. Fuzzy and I both reside in Portland, but our parental units dwell in Salem. About 6 blocks apart from each other. And usually when we're in town we eat at buffets, well known Chinese restaurants, or *gulp* Shari's. In light of the renewed blog efforts I opted for a tiny little diner at the corner of Lancaster Dr. and State St. We've both passed it a million times, but never stopped in.

So we took one of the 8 tables in the place and gave our orders. The German sausage special for him and the corned beef hash for myself. Both came with eggs and a choice of bread products.

I will admit that when my meal came I was hungry and tucked into it before I took a picture. But I did take a pic...

You see how I mixed my eggs into and all was one. Up in the corner is the unused jam, not a fan of strawberry. Blackberry is where its at. But more importantly... Do you see the large shreds of homemade corned beef? This stuff NEVER saw a can and tasted glorious!

Fuzzy was jealous. His German sausage was good... But couldn't compare to the homemade corned beef. Soo good.

Now I am stuffed on homemade tacos ala UnderMom. Talking about food is hurting just now. So hot. Going to go find somewhere cool to digest and prepare for the onslaught of the week. Fun times.

Siam Grill *Or* The Power of Cravings

Got off work today and knew that I didn't want the corndogs and tatertots that Redneck Widow had planned for dinner. (This is by no means disparraging her dinner plans, I just don't care for corndogs without... An herbal appetizer.) Spent the max ride home plotting on where I would hunt my own dinner.

There has been a taunt of green curry chicken for nearly a week now. Costco had a premade package and I bought it for Apocalypse.Mom, Vicious, and myself to enjoy a spicy thai dinner. Due to allergies we've been trying to wait for an evening when Redneck Widow isn't here... But she NEVER leaves!

As a result I found myself driving down Halsey chanting "Thai, Thai, Thai, Thai..." When I saw the sign for Siam Grill I whipped into the parking lot. Right behind this...

Four moon roofs! FOUR! And you can't really see the black on black flames on the fenders. Isn't it nifty? I thought so.

Anyway. Siam Grill.

Tiny little hole in the wall restaurant that smelled absolutely wonderful. So I went with it. My general thai restaurant order is the green curry with chicken, leaving out the bell peppers. Because I despise the texture of cooked bell pepper, slimy nastiness. And they were okay with it. My to go order was ready in under 10 minutes. So home I went.

And the verdict? Tasty. Not burn your face off spicy, actual flavor. Just the way I like it. And they deliver to my house with a $20 minimum order + a $3 delivery fee. There's hope for me yet.