We crossed the border to La Conner, Washington last weekend for the last leg of the tulip festival. When we got there, we spent most of the time snapping a billion photos and running around fields and fields of tulips. Quite an amazing site. The tulips were all in full bloom and came in purple, pink, yellow, orange and red. I didn’t have a favourite, I loved them all. Wouldn’t it be so nice to have this as your backyard?!
Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co. is a must visit Portland destination for homeowners and decorating afficiandos. The massive showroom is located in a 100 yr old industrial building that also houses their manufacturing and shipping center. It’s not just a candy shop for decorators – it’s more like Willy Wonka’s freaking Chocolate Factory. The brand’s signature products, reproductions of turn of the century American lighting, fill the space along with displays of the original-era molds that inspired them. On the day we were there, a group of college students were huddled around a long study table gathering reference from Schoolhouse Electric’s publicly accessible design library.
In addition to the lighting products that Schoolhouse Electric is best known for, the showroom also stocks a complete line of home accessories. The space is beautifully renovated, expansive and wide open while retaining the original factory feel. All the product displays and vignettes are finely curated and expertly styled – classic Americana filtered through an uncompromising modern lens.
For the products, for the space, for the styling, Schoolhouse Electric is full of inspiration and delight. And for extra enjoyment, there’s a boutique florist and coffee bar at the entrance. Highly recommended.
Bonus: watch this video to see more of the showroom and hear the owner of Schoolhouse Electric describe the backstory of the brand.
Tasty n Sons was recommended to us by many people and is on most Best of Portland lists. Located in the North Williams Ave neighborhood on a block of boutique shops in the middle of a residential area, Tasty n Sons is a true neighborhood restaurant. We went for brunch and were seated at a long communal table directly behind the front window bar seats. We shared a Breakfast Board ($8) and a Fried Egg & Cheddar Biscuit with Fried Chicken ($9). Luna had a couple of Chocolate Potato Doughnuts with Creme Anglais ($1.50 each); not a typical meal but probably no worse than a sweet, syrupy breakfast.
The Breakfast board contained a hard boiled egg, housemade jerky, apple slices, pickled beets, bread, crostini, yogourt with olive oil, pate and a strip of bacon. It’s a fun share plate with many simple parts that combine into different flavors. The combination of plain yogourt with olive oil was shockingly good. The whole is more than the sum of the parts, as they say, even when it’s just a simple 1+1. It’s an adventure to try out all the different elements on the board – all of which were delicious bites in and of themselves. It’s an interactive share plate and relatively light. Lots of fun.
The biscuit, on the other hand, is heavy and indulgent. We thought it would be served open-faced with a peice of fried chicken on the side but it’s actually served as a tall and oozey breakfast sandwich. Two buttery, flaky biscuit halves encompass a peice of crispy fried chicken, cheddar and soft fried egg. Yummy but schedule some time to take a walk after.
After our meal we spent some time walking around the neighborhood. Tasty & Sons is part of converted warehouse complex. The exit at the back of the restaurant connects to the other tenants. For design spotters, there’s lots of merchants to check out. There’s Chop (butchery & charcuterie), Hipcooks (cooking school and supplies), and Ristretto Roasters (coffee shop). We made an extended stop at SpielWerk Toys, a fun toy store with an awesome collection of classic and modern toys. The play area at the front of the store was a nice reward for Luna to let off some steam after sitting through brunch. Also in the building is Ink & Peat, a lovely floral and homeware store. We chatted with the friendly staff to get their recommendations for where to go next and Luna had fun smelling every single scented candle in the store. Also near by is Lark Press, for letterpress stationery and Lodekka, the double decker vintage dress shop.
So, everyone was right, Tasty n Sons is great and, as a big bonus, the surrounding neighborhood is fun to explore. Schedule at least a couple hours for your visit to this part of Williams Ave. Enjoy.
Clyde Common was one of our Portland favourites. We enjoyed it so much that we went there for dinner twice during our 4 night stay. We stayed at Hotel Modera which is only 15 minutes way by foot or by riding the Portland Streetcar. Conveniently, the streetcar is only two blocks away from Hotel Modera and stops right on the corner of SW Stark & 10th where Clyde Common is. Tip: public transit in downtown Portland is free. We didn’t save any time by taking transit but it kept us out of the rain and conserved some energy – both must dos when travelling with a little one who likes to be carried half the way.
Clyde Common neatly describes itself as “a European style tavern serving delicious food and drinks in a casual and energizing space.” The space is wide open with long communal tables, an open kitchen and a long bar area. There’s also a second floor overlooking the whole restaurant. We sat upstairs both times.
The first time we went, it was towards the end of Happy Hour (which is served 3-6 PM). We tend to dine early nowadays and getting to order from a Happy Hour menu was a nice bonus. Most restaurants in Portland have Happy Hour which is not something that is common, at all, in Vancouver. We got to save $3 per drink on our first round and got Luna started with some fries for only $3. The burger, at only $6, looked deliciously tempting but we decided to wait for the more creative dinner menu. I ordered Cream of Mushroom Soup and Fried Rabbit with Sausage Gravy, Potatoes, Beans, Dijon cream. Nerissa ordered the Buckwheat Cavatelli with Pickled Fennel, Oxtail, Chèvre. The Mushroom Soup was one of the best mushroom soups I’ve had because of its fresh and hearty mushroom flavor. Shreds of kale added for a surprising contrast in texture and bitterness. The Fried Rabbit is Clyde Common’s interpretation of classic Southern Fried Chicken. The rabbit tastes…just like fried chicken but not as oily, no real surprises there. The sausage gravy was amazing and tasted great with the potatoes & beans with dijon cream. The combination of the gravy and potatoes and dijon cream was one of the best bites on the trip. It was a take on mashed potatoes and country gravy; comfy food but with a creative twist. The Buckwheat Cavatelli with pickled fennel reminded me of a German spaetzle with sauerkraut. I’m not sure if that’s the inspiration but it would fit in with Clyde Common’s “Domestic & Foreign Cooking” concept. The plump, doughy pasta had the same texture as spaetzle dumplings and the sourness/texture of the pickled fennel was reminiscent of sauerkraut. The Chèvre goat cheese gave the dish some earthiness and the saucy oxtail added extra savoriness. There’s a lot going on. It’s a good dish, but if you don’t like sour notes or if you don’t like too many disparate flavors going into your dish, you should try something else. Or, if your name starts with “Ner” and ends with “issa”. We ended up trading mains. I still want my potatoes back. There’s no kids menu but the Cheese Board with local honey, summer jam and walnut bread was perfect for Luna.
What brought us back the second time on our short visit was the ambience of the room and the atmosphere of the space. It’s dark, intimate and lively. With Luna in tow, we always end up back at the hotel before the night really heats up. So, we wanted a sure thing one our last night – good food, fun vibes. Being in a room as fun and lively as Clyde Common allows us to live vicariously through others with more laissez faire schedules. By the time we were done our meals and on our way, we had soaked up enough merriment for the day while breathing in the energy of those who would stay behind and celebrate well into the night.
On our second day in Portland, we took the taxi to Broder for breakfast. Broder is a cute little neighbourhood restaurant located on SE Clinton Street that serves Swedish food. We’ve read about this place getting really packed in the morning, but luckily, with it being a Tuesday and rainy, we got a table right away. We were immediately served coffee and a glass of milk for Luna. It took me a little while to decide what to order as I wanted to try everything on the menu. But I went for the Baked Egg Scramble of the Day with a salad on the side and walnut toast. Peter ordered the Lefse of the Day (Norwegian Potato Crepe). There was a small selection of pastries at the bar and once Luna saw round chocolate loafs, that was that.
The presentation was folky with delicate precision. Baked Egg Scramble was nestled in a mini square pan delivered atop a wooden board. It tasted great but, if you’re only going once, I’d recommend something more adventurous – scrambled eggs tend to taste like scrambled eggs. I ended up liking Peter’s dish more as the potato pancakes were so tasty and something we’ve never tried before. That simple potato pancake was one of the best bites on this trip. I’m inspired to find a Lefse recipe to try at home. One of the things I enjoy about dining out is discovering new foods that can become part of our regular home menu and widen the at-home family table experience.
The space is really cute and quite small so I can see it getting really packed on the weekends. By the time we left, there were already a few people waiting. If we lived in the neighbourhood, I could definitely see us coming in for brunch every once in a while; it’s that kind of place.
Portland, what a place! We spent five fantastic days wandering the streets of Portland, eating at some of the best restaurants in the city, admired food trucks everywhere, consumed their local coffee and shopped at cute little boutiques. In the next few days, I’ll be writing about all the amazing places we ate at like Clyde Common at Ace Hotel, Tasty n Sons, Little Bird, Olympic Provisions, Grüner to just name a few and some shops we visited. Enjoy & happy reading!
We spent a few hours walking the grounds of Coba – a Mayan archeological site in the Yucatan Peninsula. It’s hard to believe that only 5% of the site has been excavated. Totally worth the visit. But make sure to wear sneakers as I made a mistake wearing flip flops and I spent most of my time running away from the giant ants!
Spoiled in Mexico. We spent our days doing absolutely nothing at the beach while listening to the waves roll in and coconut palms swaying in the wind. Total relaxation.
We spent a week in the Riviera Maya for a little holiday and wandered around a small Mayan village, walked the grounds of Coba, swam in a cenote, ate a whole lot of tacos, experienced a hurricane and enjoyed all the sun & sand Mexico has to offer. In the next few days, I’ll be posting more photos of our trip. Here are some photos of a modern Mayan Village.
Awhile back, I did a photo album on facebook of my collection of food photos from travels. Since food is such a huge part of our travel experience, wherever we go, we always make sure we only eat the local food of the region. I have tasted so many good food from our travels and some of my favourites are: trofie al Pesto from the Ligurian region of Italy, grilled seafood from the Philippines, pizza from Rapallo & Rome, fresh seafood in Nice, France and Basque style tapas in Barcelona. I have too many food photos collected throughout the years but this album is an edited version. Click here to browse through the photos. Enjoy and happy eating!
Our love of discovering new areas of the city led us to visit Antique Alley in New Westminster for the first time. With the heritage buildings, bridges, pedestrian overpasses and inner city grittiness, the area actually looks more like Brooklyn than Vancouver. Antiques and vintage finds, packed into the stores, overflow onto the sidewalks. There’s lots of junk, to be sure, but where there’s junk, there’s treasure. Although we didn’t find anything, it was worth a visit to scope out future resources. Our favorite store was Urban Treasures which stocks an extensive collection of antique hardware and building materials – definitely a store to keep on file.
Antique Alley has a really unique vibe as does New West. Unfortunately, in Vancouver, the city folk tend to poo-poo anything not in the city proper. I think we should develop more of the boroughs mentality and celebrate all the close-by adjacent cities. There’s lots in the metro-area to see and explore. I know because we’re still discovering and have a lot more ground to cover.
