Traveling Feast

I claim that Spokane’s Donut Parade has the best maple bars in the Western Hemisphere (possibly the planet since large swaths of the world have no access to this pinnacle of raised donut perfect).  Yet food gurus Jane and Michael Stern have a different opinion in their fun volume entitled 500 Things To Eat Before It’s Too Late.

They claim the best maple bar they’ve had is at Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland where the iconic bar comes topped with strips of bacon.  I’m looking forward to trying a Voodoo bar, but believe a truly classic maple bar needs to stand on its own without a pork assist.

This leads me to their second recommendation: Countryside Donut House in Mountlake Terrace in the Seattle metro area.

Chance would have it that I’m in Seattle today for a family emergency, but I have a break this morning in my duties long enough to head to Countryside.  Who knows?  Maybe a fine maple bar delivered at the right moment could help in the family emergency.  I’m willing to try.  And I’ll get a chance to see how the bars at Countryside compare to Donut Parade.

None of the personal dining tips I’ve collected for Portland quite fit the bill for dinner tonight.  I wanted memorable as well as fairly cheap that wouldn’t cause a last minute mutiny with three kids who have eaten a fair amount at the edge of their comfort zone over the last two weeks.   I thought something Lebanese might fit the bill and used Yelp to locate a good bet within walking distance from our hotel in downtown Portland: Habibi on Morrison and 10th (1012 SW Morrison Street).

Megan remarked that the man who waited on us was the friendliest server we’ve had during the whole trip, and the food was equally well received.  Habibi serves up a smooth hummus and warm soft pita bread that could be a meal in itself.  Equally welcome on a hot night were the various lemonades served over ice with fresh mint to add complexity to the sweet.

Peter ordered an excellent Sharwarma Chicken and Mushroom Calzone ($6.50 for a huge portion) and I went the Chicken Sharwarma route as well with a platter that came with seasoned rice ($8.50 and also excellent).  Mine was served on a plate in the form of a huge gold leaf.

Mentally, I’m a Super 8 or Shilo Inn traveler.  Four star boutique hotels are out of my league.  But I took a chance on Priceline last week to see what might be possible.  I knew we were headed for Portland and didn’t yet have a spot to stay.  Median room prices for Priceline’s four star properties came in at $215.  I put in a bid for $85 and the Hotel Monaco downtown took me up on the deal.  Fun.

One caution with Priceline bids: they don’t seem to let you specify how many people / beds.  The reservation was accepted at $85 + tax, but I ended up needing to upgrade to a larger room to handle our kids.  This was done with the Hotel Monaco directly and added $30 more to put us in a suite with two beds and a couch.

Skip anything that resembles your typical fast food if you are in the Portland metropolitan area, and instead head east and south to Best Baguette @ 8308 SE Powell.  You can get several safe and recognizable sandwiches here in the “French Sandwiches” section, but Best Baguette is at heart a Vietnamese sandwich shop which brings together wonderfully crusty French baguettes (baked fresh each hour) with marinated meats, fresh vegetables, and flavors that taste nothing like the sack lunch specials of my childhood.

Try a Number Four (Grilled Pork) which packs the perfect baguette with thin slices of lemongrass-soy marinated pork, shredded carrot, pickled jicama, fresh cilantro, and jalepeno slivers.  At $2.85 it is a brilliant deal.

Best Baguette also offers cream puffs for a $1, well-executed ’salad rolls,’ and plenty of Boba drinks.  All this and a drive-thru.

No visit to downtown Portland is complete without an attempt to get lost in the city block of used and new books that is Powell’s.  Located at 10th and Burnside at the edge of the Pearl District, Powell’s is just the spot to spend an hour (or possibly a few days) wandering the stacks.  Outside are appropriately literate bike racks.