Portland "4T"

Trail, tram, trolley and train. Really, it's not 4T, it's TATSCMAX. That's not as clever though, is it? In case you're wondering, that's Trail, Aerial Tram, Street Car, MAX. In our case, we started with MAX. I'm getting too picky here, aren't I?

Anyway, we started at the Galleria stop and got on MAX. We rode it to Washington Park and let the adventure begin! Gag. Anyway, up the elevator and we headed toward the zoo. The signs were easy to find (all saying "4T"). It heads down to Hwy 26 and over the freeway. The oddest part of the loop is probably that the trail head is halfway down the on ramp. Whatever works, I guess. As expected, the trail heads up up up to Council Crest. I knew it was going to be uphill since it claims to go to the highest point in Portland. Overall, not too hard of a hike. It was nice to have Council Crest at a little past midway in the hike, especially since it was a beautiful day. It was nice to have a break and look around the park.

The hike then went down to what I believe to be the Marquam Nature Park. I was hoping that it would be downhill all the way to OHSU, but it just went down to go back up. Again, not too bad though. Aside from a short part of the trail that went up to Council Crest, it was all on an actual train and stayed off the city streets. There is an "urban" option that would likely have been less up and down between Council Crest and OHSU, but this was probably more scenic.

The trail wasn't the highlight of the trip, however. The views were the highlight. The pictures posted below leave out most of the view from Council Crest because I plan on going up there on a perfectly clear nice day and taking pictures and posting about that park itself. The best views from this trip were probably from OHSU. There is a large deck with views of the city and mountains near the tram. It's a small park all on its own. The tram should have been the highlight, but it wasn't very exciting. It went down, we got off. The views from the tram weren't even any better than the views from the top. Maybe on a clear day they'd be better, but nothing spectacular.

From there, we took the streetcar back into down and got some food. All in all, a good way to start our monthly summer hikes.

Here are the specifics:
Fee: TriMet all zone pass - $2.30 currently. If you go around the loop clockwise instead of counter-clockwise, the fare becomes $8.30 (The tram is $4 going up, free going down. One TriMet all zone pass is $2.30 and lasts only two hours on the MAX, but all day on the streetcar.)

Pets: Prohibited

Facilities: Restrooms at certain locations, picnicking
Attractions: Trail, wildlife/bird watching, native plants, views
Round Trip Hike: 3.95 miles (one-way, but public transit covers loop back)
Hiking Difficulty (out of 5): 3

Camping: No

Season: Year round

Coordinates: 45.510623,-122.717328 - Brochure suggests starting at Washington Park, so that's what these coordinates are.

Governmental Agency Land: Metro, City of Portland, OHSU

Nearest town: Portland, Oregon (2.5 miles from downtown)

Nearest 10,000+ city: Portland, Oregon

County: Multnomah, Oregon

My rating (out of 6): 6 for beauty, 3 for crowds, 5 for play availability, 5 for surroundings - 5 average

More Information: Portland 4T

My Current Location: Home - Portland, Oregon

Trailhead on Highway 26:
Trees at Council Crest:
Trilliums on trail:
Aerial tram:
View from tram:

The Melting Pot

I haven't posted in over a month. Does this mean I haven't been anywhere in over a month? Actually, pretty much yes. I finally got out of town, in a matter of speaking, last week but will start with my review of the Melting Pot instead. I'll get there.

The Melting Pot sticks in my mind as one of my favorite places to eat in Portland (Oregon, of course! If you want my favorite in Portland, Maine, I'll have to tell you all about the Portland Lobster Company, but it is the only place I've eaten there). This time, we went here for a friend that was moving away. My opinion changed a bit compared to what I remember. This may be due to Tim being there (he has a way of making me question my thoughts on everything, being more critical of my memories). We spent $211.08 before tip. The tip was added at 18% automatically since there were more than 8 of us. My complaints about this practice abound, but I realize it's an industry-wide thing so there isn't much I can say about any one place in particular. I will say, however, that it means the waitstaff gets an 18% tip. I usually tip 20-25%, so they're really just hurting themselves. I never go over the presumptuous 18% and I will complain if the service doesn't deserve it. The staff here, however, has never not deserved it. They are well trained and what you expect from a fine dining establishment. I will also add that we had drinks galore and paid for part of our friend's dinner and the card/balloons (more on this later).

So, two complaints. First, the price. The food really is very good, but it's overpriced. You're buying the experience, but you can get the food at other places for less money. There aren't many fondue restaurants in Portland though. It's something that you don't do often. To give a more realistic view of the price, the decent dinner including dessert is around $100 for two people. If I may make a recommendation, I would suggest that you skip the salad and don't go with the around $100 "Big Night Out". Just get the rest ala carte. If you're going to be eating cheese fondue with bread and vegetables then cooking lobster and several other tasty meats in a well flavored broth (don't get the oil) and then finishing it off with chocolate fondue, why bother with a salad? This isn't what the Melting Pot does, they do fondue. If it doesn't come with something that gets heated in that bowl in the middle of your table, don't do it. This complaint wasn't much of one, was it?

Second complaint. This one will truly be a complaint. My grandfather went here and asked for the card and flowers that they'll have ready for you on the table beforehand for my grandmother. Of course you get charged for this. He wasn't very happy when the card said "from the Melting Pot". When you pay for a greeting card from Hallmark, it doesn't say "from Hallmark" does it? I hope not. My father wanted to do the same for my mom on her birthday, but he was aware of this and asked what the card would say. He was told that this should not have happened to my grandfather and it wouldn't happen to him. Of course since they were called out on it, it didn't happen to him. Go figure, it happened to our friend. Her going away balloons had a card that was signed "from the Melting Pot". This couldn't be more wrong.

Overall, a very good night. I was very happy, but that may have been the 5 or 6 drinks I had. Some places just make them too easy to drink! I'll go back, but it won't be until I want to sacrifice a car payment for one meal.

Here are the specifics:

Price: Covered above. $$$$$ (out of 5)
Cuisine: Fondue/Fine Dining
Reservations: Absolutely required unless you want to eat at 10:45pm
Pets: No

Parking: Street parking or validation for 1/2 of parking garage

Address: SW 6th & Main - Portland, OR 97204 (I can't find an actual address)
Nearest town: Portland, Oregon (Downtown)

Nearest 10,000+ city: Portland, Oregon

County: Multnomah, Oregon

My rating (out of 6): 5 for service, 5 for food, 5 for decor, 0 for view - average 4.5

More Information: Melting Pot

My Current Location: Home, Portland, Oregon

Let's Go Local

Well, local to me at least . . .

This is a travel blog, but I feel that even something across the street is travel. If not to me, it probably is to you. Either way, travel is really about taking something in. It's about the culture and people, the man-made and natural sights and just about experiencing what the world has to offer.

Look at me, I'm justifying posting something to my own blog. It's mine. I'm posting it. Get over it. There, that's better.

Le Happy has become, without a doubt, my favorite restaurant within 2 blocks of my house. That doesn't sound like much of a rave, but living in the Pearl District of Portland there are 9 restaurants within two blocks. I'd also go so far as to call Le Happy one of my favorite restaurants in Portland. Since my favorite restaurants are in Portland, I suppose that makes it one of my favorites in the world. Okay, enough of the rambling.

Le Happy bills itself as a crêperie restaurant and bar. I don't have any experience with the place as a bar in terms of "whoo hoo, it's 1am and I'm at the bar," but I do have experience with the bar as a place that provides me with alcoholic beverages. They're tasty. Well, the prickly pear margarita is tasty. This is my favorite drink and it's hard to find anywhere else, so that's all I have when I go there. The people I've been there with seem to like the other drinks though. Good enough for me.

The menu is simple. What do you want in your crêpe? Sure, they come up with fancy (or not so fancy - e.g. "Le Trash Blanc") names for some of their favorite options, but these are really just suggestions. The options are, while statistically calculable, immeasurable. If your crêpe doesn't taste good, it's your fault. After all, they make it right, it must be that you ordered the wrong combination. The food is consistently good.

Crêpes may be technically French, but this place is all Portland. It's liberal, it's quirky, it's unique, it's just plain . . . bizarre. Maybe it's the disco ball in the middle of the room. The waitstaff is quintessentially Portland as well. Unfortunately, this isn't necessarily a good thing. Portlanders are in their own world. The trend here has not been buc`ked. Be prepared to wait a bit. Be prepared to not be quite sure if you're not exactly welcome. After a number of visits to Le Happy, all I can tell you is that you are welcome there. It's how everyone is treated. The service will usually be slow, but you'll get the food. It does almost seem like the place knows it has good food and no matter how the service is, you'll still come back. They're right. Luckily the service isn't deporable. It's just tolerable, and I can handle that.

Oh, I almost forgot! This is the only place that I consistenly order dessert. Do it. You know you want to. Do I really have to say why? It's crêpes. It's not too rich, it's not too sweet. It is, as Goldilocks would say, just right.

Here are the specifics:

Price: Reasonably priced. As little as $4 for an entree, up to $13.
Cuisine: Crêpes
Reservations: Generally, no. The place is small so be there at an off time or be prepared to wait.
Pets: With the outside seating, I would assume so.

Parking: Street only

Address: 1011 NW 16th Ave - Portland, Oregon
Nearest town: Portland, Oregon (Located in Pearl District of Portland)

Nearest 10,000+ city: Portland, Oregon

County: Multnomah, Oregon

My rating (out of 6): 3 for service, 5.5 for food, 5.5 for decor, 4 for view - average 5

More Information: Le Happy

My Current Location: Home, Portland, Oregon

From Le Happy's website. I could go for the two block walk to take my own picture, but I'm feeling lazy.