Portland and Seattle.... and some points in between

Its been so long since I've done this I hope I remember where I left off.... So much has happened since last I blogged where do I begin?       Well, I spose I could start with the news of my youngest daughters engagement, her and Brian have decided it was time to make it legal,and her Mom and I quite frankly couldn't be more happier , Brians a great guy and I know he will treat her like the Princess she has grown accustomed to being..... Sorry Brian....    Lucky for us they were in town this weekend and joined us for breakfast today, on this My darling brides birthday eve, of course we went to Voulas, Msues nosh of choice,we were joined today not only by Brian and Cass, but Brians Dad Mike, and other friends Ron and Julie Printz and their son Hunter,so we had quite the the crowd with us today.      Not much to write about that you havent already heard, Voulas is amazing, Msue had the Greek Hobo, I had the "Vagabond Hobo", which consisted of eggs, potatoes, cheese, house made chorizo and assoreted peppers and onions, topped with Pico De Gallo...... pretty darned good ,and a lot of food, as I only ate a small  portion , lunch tomorrow!          Yes in my lack of Blogging, eat we still did, we were in Portland the first week of July,where we spent the week at the Hotel Monaco (courtesy of a great deal) procured from our little princess Cassidy , she works for the Kimpton hotel chain and is stationed at the Monaco.        Personally, I find Portland a little weird,that being said , weirdness aside, there is a ton of places to eat, and even more coffee houses, all the cafes seem to have really good coffee,as apposed to Seattle.        One of our stops was a little bar and grill named "Tasty and Alder"  ( a recomendation from Cass)  I had the Bim Bop,bacon and eggs, which was a bowl of rice, Kim Chi, and assorted veggies and of course bacon with a teryaki type sauce topped with a couple of fried eggs, and as the name sez...quite tasty.      The highlight of our dining experience wasn't for breakfast, we went to a place in Portland named the "Screen Door" for dinner, we were joined by Brian and Cass of course,and our friends Eric and Patty Baker (our Lake Oswegian friends)joined us as well.       The Screen Door is a little place in NE Portland specializing in southern home cookin.... we had Fried Chicken (Amazing) Hush Puppies, Catfish and Oysters,not to mention Collards and bacon....everything was fried and delish! along with that amazing experience, we were  going to have dinner at Cass and Brians one night , but after a long day of shopping with the kids, we ended up getting some Thai take out, it was a fun week all in all bumming around Portland, seeing the kids..... oh yeh! Kenny and Zukes Deli, got to mention that, no stop in PTown is complete without an Egg Salad san and some of their homemade Pastrami!        MSue had a great Idea, on the day we were going to leave, instead of eating in Portland, lets stop in Olympia at Darbys Cafe, another one of "Guy Fierris" Diner Drive ins and Dives  choices, we have been wanting to go for a long time, they serve Oysters.    I had the Oysters Benny... actually its been so long Im not sure of the name, but it was quite delicious. MSue had the Chicken fried  steak.. also delish...... one Caviat     Darbys, while the food was very good, the service was terrible, they didnt care and it showed, they even had a sign that read if you want your food fast? go to Burgerking, and with all of that, the place was still packed, although a few did get up and leave.   Darbys is also on the Diner Drive in and Dive list.. I had to get my own Coffee, and Msues Ice T, she finally got it with the food, but 2.5 hours later we were headin back home... will we  go back? Hell no! there is just not enough time in Life.     On a brighter note we have been to Daves Diner in Seatac.. Home of the Motherlode CFS, the size of a small roofing shingle, Maggies in Kent, home  of the bacon waffle and possibly the best bran muffin I'.ve ever eaten, I always get them to go., We went to the Buttered Biscuit in Sumner,tons of food and tons of people, Browns point Diner of course.. good bloody marys.....   Tomorrow night is Mary Sues Birthday dinner... We're Goin to Vinces... still the best Pizza in town. when inspired I shall blog again, until then oh yeh! I think I will end my blog with my Beer of choice for the month, I know its not breakfast... well ok sometimes it is.... drumroll please  ....................the IPA from Fremont Brewing!   Hoppy and Delicious, their Slogan is "because Beer Matters"    Im in total agreement.. Beer.... its not just for breakfast any more!    Beer is Food! or for my dyslexic friends   Reeb is Doof!