This afternoon I joined a walking tour of an area called the "Alphabet Streets" in NW Portland. The purpose of the tour is to get acquainted with local food and restaurants by tasting their food and meeting their owners and chefs. Generally the tour has twelve people but, today, there were only four of us so we had a very personal experience and it was nice getting acquainted with the other three people; two from Mountain View and one from Auburn, California. Our tour guide was charming and knowledgeable.
We visited seven places; three restaurants, a sandwich cart, coffee cart, a cookie bakery and an interesting commercial kitchen where the owner prepares cooked dinners for pick-up using farm fresh ingredients. In the summer they sell farm produce baskets to subscribers who pick up the produce once a week.
We were served food at every stop so it turned out to be both my lunch and dinner. Fortunately, we walked almost two miles so maybe that helped. Did I mention the champagne, beer and old fashioned cocktail?
The most unexpected place that we visited is a food cart that serves peanut butter grilled sandwiches. What - you ask??? Yes, really, and you won't believe the ingredients. One sandwich has jalapeno peppers, with bacon and cherry jam (with homemade peanut butter), grilled on fresh baked bread. I hesitated taking the first bite, worried that it would be spicy hot and after that first taste, I didn't stop until it was eaten. It was definitely an unexpected pleasant experience. I'm looking forward to taking friends and family there when they visit Portland.
I'm also looking forward to introducing my friends to a cafe "Besaw's" where they serve what is called "comfort food" but made with fresh, organic and healthy ingredients.
It was a great way to spend an afternoon - and - it didn't rain, even though it was in the forecast !
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