A caveat: I went on a Sunday night, and the chef/owner Oswaldo Bibiano was not there.

The service here is much improved. I'm not sure what happened, but something certainly did because the service is attentive.

I ordered a margarita, which is always good here, blended or on the rocks. They also offered a pomegranite version.

The menu is divided up between small & large plates, seafood cocktails, salads, soups, and sides. Large plates do tend to be generous enough that you don't need an appetizer or salad. Those run from $17-$20.

Seafood cocktails run from $12-$15; small plates from $3-$10; salads, $8-$13; soups, $7-$8; and sides, $4-$7.

Generally, there are at least a couple vegetarian and vegan options, but on the current menu, there is only one vegetarian dish.

We ordered a succession of food: pulpo al pescador, queso fundido con chorizo, and a couple of platillos mexicano. And they began arriving, along with three homemade salsas and freshly made corn tortillas, almost immediately.

The pulpo is an octopus cocktail. The octopus is sliced into small pieces and then combined with chunks of avocado and onions in a red chile sauce. It's served with saltine crackers. All in all, a very traditional dish. As always, the octopus was delicious, but I really wanted bigger chunks of it, and more of it.

At about the same time, the queso fundido arrived. This is basically a mexican fondue, made with oaxacan cheese and chorizo -- a heart attack in a little bowl. And it has the potential to be incredible. Not so on my visit -- the fundido was overcooked, leaving tough cheese, little islands of chorizo and puddles of grease. It still tasted good, and my companion and I scraped and scraped to get bits of cheesy goodness off. This was especially good with the black corn tortillas in our tortilla basket.

And finally, the main event. The platillo mexicano ($18) is made up of two enchiladas, in red and green moles, with a chile relleno. It sounds like your regular combo plate at your corner mexican joint, right? Wrong. If you're a fan of mole, you have to try this! The green mole is made from pumpkin seeds, tomatillos and serrano peppers, really rich and complex, over a simple chicken or cheese in a tortilla. The red mole is made from 8 kinds of dried chiles and nuts, and is better than any I've tasted anywhere. And the chile relleno is stuffed with cotija cheese, in a tomato sauce topped with crema. We were glad to have some extra, handmade, fresh corn tortillas to sop up all the extra sauce!

Other dishes I've tried before include the tortilla soup ($8) which was delicious. Camarones al autententico mojo de ajo ($20) are to die for, gorgeous, subtle and garlicky, and accompanied by rice . Anything with a mole sauce is worth seeking out, as is the pescado entero or whole fish. Tamales and tostadas are excellent too.

I've never tried the desserts.

All and all, it was not as good as I've had in the past, but still a very good meal.

By the way, check out their brunch.

We're lucky here in Portland, but that doesn't mean everything is hunky-dory. Portland restaurants offer a lot to be irritated by, too. Here's my short-list, but I totally want to know what bugs you too!

Restaurant Websites

1. Have one
2. Keep it current -- that means hours, and if you'll be open on xmas
3. Make it readable with Flash turned off!
4. No music! None!

At the restaurant

1. Don't have an Open sign on unless you are open
2. What time is Close, exactly? Saying you're open 5-Close doesn't really tell me your hours.

So, what bugs you about Portland Restaurants? Feel free to name names...

There are hands-on activities and something for everyone. Become more involved or just hang out and have fun. Stop by and say hello to KBOO, Kumoricon, My Story, Oregon Paranormal Association, PDXswap, Oregon Regency Society, Steampunk Society, Tolman Green Living, Chess for Success, S.C.R.A.P., Taoist Tai Chi Society, as well as Circus Cascadia, Ignite Portland, Portland Sacred Harp, and Portland Uke Association.



The Foundation 8 Year Anniversary Breakdance Battle
Saturday, November 8, from 7 - ?
Reed College Student Union
3203 SE Woodstock
The Foundation is an annual, nonprofit breakdance competition which gives local dancers the opportunity to meet and compete against their peers both from their hometown and on a national scale. The event has brought dancers to Oregon from CA, WA, FL, TX, and Canada and is known for its atmosphere, quality production level and unparallel audience energy and participation. As usual, this battle is a benefit for Ethos Music Group, which is a non-profit organization based in Portland, OR dedicated to providing affordable music programs to the community. Check out this video from 2007!



Live Wire!
11/8, 8pm
Aladdin Theatre
3017 SE Milwaukie
Wordstock Extravaganza IV - Come join us for a special 2 hour star-studded show celebrating Wordstock Literary Festival. Guests include: Cartoonist Lynda Barry; graphic memoirist Alison Bechdel; humorist, former literary agent, and minor television celebrity John Hodgman, along with his troubador sidekick Jonathan Coulton; two-time US national slam poetry champion Anis Mojgani; Jay Allison, producer of NPR's essay series, "This I Believe"; and, musical guests, The Long Winters.



Wordstock
11/8-9, 10:30-5:30
Oregon Convention Center
Wordstock is paradise for people who love the written word. It features ten author stages, a book fair with over 150 exhibitors, a special children’s area and children’s literature stage, a series of workshops for writers and for K-12 teachers, a special broadcast of Live Wire!, the popular public radio variety show, featuring writers from the festival, and more. Although it only began in 2005, Wordstock is already the largest celebration of literature and literacy in the Pacific Northwest, and is one of the largest festivals of its kind in the nation.

This year features Alison Bechdel, John Hodgman, Jonathan Coulton, and Sandra Tsing Loh!

Stop by the Community Cycling Center and pick up a reasonably-priced grocery-getter, playa bike, or college cruiser.

Save big on pre-loved, commuter-style bicycles in need of a little tender loving care on Saturday, August 16th and Sunday, August 17th. These bicycles will be for sale starting from $25 and our friendly retail staff will help you determine the repairs that each bicycle will require to get "road ready." Think of it as an everything-must-go yard sale staffed by extremely knowledgeable and helpful bike experts.

Don't have time to DIY? We would be happy to fix your new-to-you bicycle – we can give you an estimate of labor and repair costs on the spot!

The DIY Oversupply Tent Sale will take place under the canopy behind the Community Cycling Center shop from 10am-7pm both days.

The Community Cycling Center shop is located at 1700 NE Alberta St. We believe that the bicycle is a tool for empowerment and a vehicle for change. To learn more about what we do, check out CommunityCyclingCenter.org.

Check out The Tolman Guide to Green Living in Portland: Simple, Sustainable, and Affordable Practices, a totally cool resource on how to live greener. I just browsed several of the sections and was totally excited about the options of improving the way I live and impact the world.

To be absolutely fair, I learned about this via the Tribune where poor Chris Lydgate is now contributing to the Sustainable Life section. Still, the article came across a little snarky. For example, there's a remark about worms in the primary author's bedroom. And then, at the end of the article he complains that "Some entries fail to list a Web site where readers actually could find the article being reviewed — a puzzling omission in an online guide."

[Putting on my librarian hat now.] As you might be aware, a lot of publications don't publish their articles online, or if they do, they offer them for a fee. Tolman et al, being academicians, probably used the electronic resources available at the Portland State University Library to research the guide. But that doesn't mean you can't read the articles, or learn more about those topics.

Here's what you do: go to your library website with your library card in hand. It could be Multnomah County libraries, Washington County libraries, or your college or university library. Look for a link labeled Research, Databases, Find Articles, or Periodicals, and once there, select Academic Search Premier (I mention ASP because it's a huge full-text database). Once you get in the database, you can search for article titles, authors, keywords, really just about anything you'd like.

But back to the Tolman Guide; if you prefer to read on paper rather than on screen, they do have a PDF available for download (under the Download link, natch), Multnomah County Library also has several copies that will be available soon, but you can put on hold now.

The good news about Blossoming Lotus is that the food is decent. And the bad news is that the portions are small, it's kinda pricey, and it's slower than molasses in February.

Now that my beloved is vegan, I jump at the opportunity to go out to eat, and it tends to be places where we know the lay of the land, so to speak. So, we ended up at Blossoming Lotus yesterday.

Now, BL is in the reception area of a Pearl yoga studio, and it manages to be both high-end enough that you see the ladies that lunch (or yoga and lunch), as well as hippy girls with dreadlocks, and crusty vegan punks.

You grab a menu, and then stand in line to order; then grab a table if you are lucky. Because there's going to be a wait.

I've never seen folks in a kitchen move so slowly. I'm reading Michael Ruhlman's The Making of a Chef, which is all about culinary school and the urgency of getting the food made and made correctly and efficently, and believe you me, there is none of that hurry going on at BL.

Still, I like the food, and I liked it even when I was a bit unsure about vegetables.

The menu is made up of appetizers ($5-$6), salads ($6-$8), soups ($4-$6), sandwiches and wraps ($7-$8), bowls ($7-$9), and entrees ($8-$12). Raw food adherents will find options here, as well as juice enthusiasts and smoothie fiends.

We ordered the Cilantro Lime Paté ($5, made with sunflower seeds), served with flax crackers, slices of cucumber, and the ugliest pink cardboard tomato I've ever seen. I asked about the Thai Bowl, which is carrot, bell pepper, cabbage, broccoli stems, baked tofu, peanuts, fresh herbs and rice noodles tossed in a ginger-lime-peanut sauce, served cold ($9) — could it be made without the bell pepper? No, because everything is pre-assembled. So we still ended up with one Thai Bowl, and a Spicy Avocado Sandwich ($8, with chipotle aioli, baked tofu, lettuce and sprouts). These plus a lavender lemonade set me back $25 before tip.

And then the wait began.

Finally, after 45 minutes, we got our paté -- which basically just needed to be plated, right? Maybe 5 minutes after that, we got the thai bowl (again, just needed to be plated), and the avocado sandwich, the only thing that we ordered that actually needed to be made. Oh, and we got some serious attitude from the young woman who brought us our food who had exposed infected body piercings (oough!)

They say everything tastes better when you're hungry, and we certainly were hungry, and mine, at least, was great. My beloved wasn't that impressed with the thai bowl, and I think the dragon noodles at Red & Black are better (as well as faster, cheaper, and less surly).

I'm not saying I won't go back, but at least I'll try not to be hungry before I do.

This may be the best cheap lunch or dinner in town.

Of course you can buy groceries at New Seasons. But at their deli, you can also get hot food. Yay!!

We've been long time fans of the New Seasons deli, ever since we figured out that eating before shopping means we spend a lot less. But really, the food prices here can't be beat.

For example, tonight we tried the hot wok ($6.95 and up). Yum! You get a metal bowl and fill it as high as you can with goodies: noodles, rice, garlic, ginger, tofu and veggies. You can also add chicken, beef or shrimp, or white or brown rice to your wok bowl for a little extra. Now, choose from the 8 different sauces: most are vegan, a good number are gluten-free, so you have options. You can also get them to ratchet up the heat. Just a few minutes later, you have a huge hot meal on a plate. Grab a drink from the cooler, stop at the cashier, and then make your way to the dining area, stocked with condiments and magazines and lots of tables.

You can get a huge salad for $6.99 from their salad bar. Or if you prefer, they can make a caesar for you ($3.95 and up). They have 2 pastas each day, one veggie, one meat for $4.95 (and up). And two soups a day, one veggie, one meat.

You can get a bagel with lox, or cream cheese, or whitefish spread, or tofu paté (warning, not vegan!), or hummus, and veggies. You can even get your bagel toasted!

And then there are sandwiches. You can build your own from coldcuts, or tuna or chicken salad, or even grilled veggies. They have hamburgers, turkey burgers, veggie burgers, chickenwiches, even groovy hot dogs. And there's some specialty sandwiches as well.

If this isn't enough, there's always rotisserie chicken and chicken quarters, always pizza, always some type of roasted potatoes, and always some other yummy stuff. Chips and sweets are close at hand.

While the chicken and pizza leave me cold, the hot wok, salad bar, and sandwiches are consistently great, as good as you'd get in a restaurant -- but cheaper.

The only drawback is, if you're hungry and you're having them make you a sandwich or some other type of non-instant gratification, waiting may make you crazy. But no crazier than shopping with an empty stomach.

It makes perfect sense to me that the first week of spring should feature snow flurries and hail. But spring means so many things - the end of the grey season, the beginning of our surroundings looking alive and colorful again, time for crushes and baseball and asparagus!

For those of us who are trying to locavore, spring also means finally vegetables that aren't root veggies or greens. Not that either is bad, it's just, well, it's nice to eat something else.

And so, locavores rejoice: the Saturday Farmers Market at PSU will be back this Saturday! And, in honor of that, the altportland Farmers Market section is now fully up-to-date with 2008 information.

In the last two months, there has been a ton of activity in the East African restaurant business on NE MLK. It's doubled, and there may well be more in store.

At the corner of NE Russell & Rodney is a new restaurant that it appears the Queen of Sheba folks are involved in. At least, when I chatted with them, they neither confirmed nor denied.

Selam Market, previously known as the only place to buy crack baggies for blocks around, is now a restaurant.

The cursed location formally known as Aunties' Kitchen is now Sengatera Ethiopian Restaurant.

And the former locale of Horn of Africa is Burqitu, a halal breakfast, lunch & dinner place.

All of the restaurants had heavy, home-made curtains in the windows. None of these have menus or hours posted, so for all I know, they aren't even open yet. But I'll be curious to hear what you think if you visit any of these.

I wasn't planning to take three weeks off. But, there you go.