While Conferencing in Portland, or . .

March 3^rd began the Strategy Development Workshop for Weed & Seed. If you don't know what any of that means, click the link. Weed & Seed strategies for inner city communities are great! They help revitalize dilapidated neighborhoods, open opportunities for the underprivileged and start really good programs for at-risk kids. Weed & Seed also is one entity that helps previously incarcerated persons migrate back into society.

I could go on and on about Weed & Seed and the opportunities offered by the Department of Justice. But how much fun would that be?! Let's talk about the stuff surrounding the conference. Let's talk about the offerings of a city whose motto is "Let's keep Portland weird!"

Portland, Oregon is beautiful! A scenic Mt. Hood peeking through bountifully, fluffy clouds framed in a crystal blue sky. The crisp, clean air was a wonderful welcome and break from the on again, off again weather psychosis we're experiencing in Texas.

Our conference was held at the Hilton Portland & Executive Suites right in the heart of downtown. Many great stores (Nordstrom's, Ross, Nike, Couch, and Rite Aid) were within walking distance. And for the first time in a long time I cannot tell you about any great sales; other than the one at Macy's I only heard about. Everyone (even the men were raving about this sale). What I can tell you is where to get some really good eats! I mean food so good you'll hum through the meal.

Our first night in town found us at a very interesting restaurant for lunch. Southpark Seafood Grill & Bar is about three blocks away from the hotel. The cuisine is (according to my manager Kerry; a native of the area) popular Portland faire. Other than some Norwegian words the menu had a vast array of seafood and veggie choices.

I ordered a soup and sandwich. I know that doesn't sound very daring. But the soup was La Bourride - - shellfish & saffron with garlic aioli. This wonderful fusion of spices and seafood was delicious! I wish I would have paid closer attention in my French class in order to express this in the language of love. I don't think even Frasier Crane's vocabulary was extensive enough to express just how wonderful this soup was. Garlic bursting through a gently (sea) salted broth, as mussels and clams clung to their shells.

My soup was followed by an Oregon Albacore sandwich with avocados and apple wood smoked bacon. It would be a total and utter insult to refer to this as a Tuna Sandwich. You can get a tuna sandwich from Subway. This was a work from heaven! My sandwich came with home chips which were neither greasy nor salty; just crisp and tasty.

The unfortunate thing about Southpark was the service. It took ten minutes to seat us, fifteen minutes for a server to acknowledge us and another 10 minutes for our order to be taken. Nope. The restaurant was not packed. There were many open tables and what appeared to be many servers. When a co-worker mentioned (rather loudly) that I write consumer reports the service miraculously picked up.

As we left Southpark our discussion turned to something far more important than our lunch; DINNER! People on vacation and attending conferences will never let the little things come between them and their meals.

Our evening meal found us at Subway. No, Jared wasn't there. I just had the daily special and called it a night.

The second night we found one of the many great breweries in Portland. Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery is a cute, rustic restaurant that featured American style meals (burgers, ribs, Mac and cheese). What made it stand out from a typical burger joint was the presentation, portions and BEER!!!!

Like any brewery, Rock Bottom has a massive selection of beer. We were allowed to try a beer (three) before deciding on one. I choose a rich ale (and forgot to write down the name). This beer was unique in that it had an after taste (to me) of mangos. Several of my co-workers tasted it as well and thought I was hallucinating. I swear I wasn't. The beer was delicious and the mango back was just a cute addition.

For my meal I choose the Pub Tips. Pan-seared beef tips slow-simmered in a rich Brown Ale demi-glace with woodland mushrooms served over White Cheddar mashed potatoes with crispy fried onions and asparagus. Yum! Not heavy. Not salty. Just YUM!

Day three of this incredibly informative and enlightening conference brought us back to the Rock Bottom for dinner. Not only do they have good food but the service was outstanding. With 18 people to serve our hostesses (they had to have two) did not get any of the orders wrong, did not add anything to our tab and truly earned that 18% gratuity. Did I mention Oregon does not have a sales tax?

On this evening I had the sautéed shrimp, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, roasted garlic and a blend of four cheeses; tossed and baked with cavatappi pasta in a white wine cream sauce. I would have liked more garlic, but for the average palette, it was seasoned just right. This dish looked like Mac and cheese on steroids. It was served in a huge ramekin style container.

If I didn't know any better I would actually think they were catching the seafood from somewhere out of the back door, cleaning and cooking it right there on the spot. That's how fresh the shrimp tasted. I had my same mango fused beer with the name I forgot.

The best part about this restaurant - NO ONE had a complaint. I'm sure some of their great service is due to wonderful management and the altruistic spirit of the organization. Rock Bottom returns their blessings back to the community to help with homeless issues which are astronomical in the Portland area.

Day four of the conference ended with a walking tour, train ride (Portland has a free trolley for downtown) and an Italian dinner.

There is a very well known restaurant called Jake's. Jake's is not an Italian restaurant. Jake's serves steaks and seafood. I hear they are great. We decided to go to an Italian restaurant my manager pointed out called Pastini Pastaria. What a great way to end a conference. They apparently knew about my garlic fetish.

One of my conference buddies ordered the roasted artichoke-garlic spread with bruschetta. Oven-roasted artichoke hearts and whole garlic combined with five Italian cheeses to make a delicious creamy spread. It wasn't bad. I didn't enjoy it as much as my conference friends, but again, I love garlic. It just didn't have enough. BUT my main course compensated for what wasn't in the bruschetta and any other meal I ever had in life that may have been devoid of massive amounts of garlic.

I ordered a Caesar Salad which looked really good in front of the people at the next table. Unfortunately our waitress forgot to bring it so I have no idea what it tastes like. But, from what I could see from the other table, the presentation was awesome.

SPAGHETTI CON GAMBERETTI is its name. Ridiculously delicious is its game.

Oh my heaven!! Imagine if you can, spicy shrimp tossed with grilled tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, garlic, basil and pepper flakes. Amplify the garlic, toss in some ciabatta bread for sopping and then stand back!

What a magnificent presentation and flavor. Again, very fresh tasting shrimp. I topped this meal off with a rather sweet and very tasty Merlot (Red Diamond).

Lastly, what would any Italian meal be without the Tiramisu?! For the love of all that is holy. Light, creamy mascarpone, with the essence of espresso liqueur and dusted with chocolate. Unlike many Tiramisu I have tried, this one was not drenched in liqueur.

Pastini is another restaurant with outstanding service. We were sat right away, our waitress was cheery and very helpful. The wine was her recommendation. She also brought to my attention that she had forgotten my salad and would be taking that charge off of my bill.

As with all things, the fun and food had to come to an end. The conference wrapped up. I had an exit breakfast at the hotel (three cheese omelet - not bad). We were geared to take a walking tour of the city and enjoy some more of its lovely food, but due to a pending snow storm in Dallas all of our flights were cancelled.

As we scampered through the hotel making other flight arrangements, I was able to get out of Portland by way of Alaskan Airlines with a connecting flight through Orange County. I now sit at an Embassy Suite in Orange County, CA reminiscing about Pastini's and Rock Bottom. No conference mates to tour the town with. No desire to venture out and experience the area; mainly because I'm tired as heck and refuse to go anywhere (especially in a strange city) at night alone.

So I say thanks to Portland for a wonderful welcome and highly recommend this area for a conference, vacation, or honeymoon. My only complaint is that I didn't have a really good cup of coffee. Anywhere. Well . . . the hotel did have the in room packs which weren't that bad. But knowing that Portland is known for its beer, coffee and weirdness, I felt a little slighted on the coffee end.

All in all, the hotel has great views of the city, outstanding fruit in their restaurant, wonderful conference accommodations and lovely Crabtree and Evelyn bath products. The city has great food, wonderful scenery and enough weirdness to distract you should you run into a bad meal.

Bon appetite! Oh yea, and GO WEED & SEED!!!