http://www.thehorseradish.com/

Lunch in Carlton, Oregon?  Check this baby out, baby:

Two things to know about Carlton, OR: 1) park and walk around, everything you might want is within two blocks and 2) Yah, what we were told about the sammich you see below turned out to be true. HINT: we’re making this thing at home.

While you were out learning The Sad Truth About Green Beer you missed out on St. Paddy’s Day lunch with the wine club at Remy Wines.  Remy and her team know how to throw an event and they are still hitting on all cylinders.  The corned beef, was it good?  Yes, indeed it was.  The cabbage, indeed, might have been even better if you can believe that.

Oh, and we had some wine.  You may have heard of it in previous dispatches.

What happened afterwards?  We went off and had some more wine elsewhere and Joyce handed me my assbones at Backgammon.  That’s all you need to know.

This post’s creation aided by Pelican Brewing’s “Bad Santa” Cascadian Dark Ale.  A beer as black as Dick Cheney’s soul, as dark as the jam between Batman’s toes.

Joyce is a member at Willamette Valley Vineyards, and those guys are good at having frequent events.  They also have numerous tasting rooms around.

Chef DJ MacIntyre brought out some tasty treats for a Valentine’s food and wine pairing at their tasting room near Forest Grove.

Beast.  It’s a place to eat in Portland, OR.  Three seconds on them intarwubs you’ve heard so much about will tell you more than I could possibly share.  We just did their brunch.  Anything good you’ve read about them, seems likely to be true.

I am now spoiled.  Breakfast will never be the same again.  Yeah, their brunch will hit the spot.

No, we won’t torment you with too much food p0rn.  Just imagine what you had for breakfast today, only it was basically perfect, and you didn’t have to do any of the work.  And yes, apparently we are they only people in Portland over the age of 30 who were able to afford to eat breakfast here.

There are words on this menu I hadn’t seen before in the wild.

Basically, the place is pretty much perfect.  If I could improve on two things that would be:

1. Portland Loud Restaurant Syndrome.  I don’t spend enough time dining out in other cities to know if this disease has spread beyond our fine city, but why can’t we carry on conversation without having to lean in close to hear what each other is saying?
2. This might be splitting the hairs too fine, but the perfect brunch is not just about great company and delicious food, but also a luxurious experience, which includes a luxurious use of time.  Don’t get me wrong — the team there did a lovely job and I’m looking forward to a future visit.  It’s hard to find something for them to improve on, but my request would be to work on the perception of the luxurious use of time.  There’s a bit of a feeling of being on a schedule.  The music and noise is a touch frantic… perhaps?

Hey kids, most probably you missed the Verboort Sausage Dinner, which explains why you have a deep-seated feeling of sadness.

http://www.verboort.org/dinner

The Verboort Sausage Dinner is one of those events that really keeps America great – ok, well fed at the very least. They’ve been doing this now they say for 80+ years. They put on a great down-home party with something for everyone from the craft fair through the “beer garden”.