Archives for February 2008

The Virginia Cafe is dead, long live the Virginia Cafe

February 29, 2008 by Dave 4 Comments

A whiff of varnish, not the bar-y spice of cigarette smoke, greets us as we enter the new Virginia Cafe (820 SW 10th Ave).

On Monday the bar moved from its old (since 1922!) space on Park. Thursday we needed a beer.

The new location is smaller. The bar is on the left now. The booths, almost snug-like, are the same as before (including the broken off coat hooks). Natural light, not filtered through gossamer smoke, permeates the new space; larger windows face west and command a view of wide 10th Avenue, passing streetcars, and the pale facade of the Central Library. The restrooms, in the back past the lottery machines, are still clean.

The menu, service, and drinks, however, are all, comfortingly, the same.

I like the new VC. It’s more convenient; I’m at the library a lot more often than Nordstrom’s.

Dave finally gets out of town

February 28, 2008 by Dave Leave a Comment

Just a day trip to the coast, but as I’ve mentioned before, one of the few disadvantages of being carfree is that the weekend jaunt becomes problematical.

And not only did I get out of town, but I found a new victim, er, friend to regale with my dubious information and silly stories for a whole day. I overheard said friend planning a day trip to the coast, so naturally I invited myself along (we carfree types have to be assertive).

Naturally I would blog the heck out of the trip, but Heather has done a much better job than I could so I just stole her map (below) and now I direct you to her blog post and her fantastic blog: Mile 73.

Portland’s real edge

February 28, 2008 by Dave Leave a Comment

City Limits: Walking Portland’s Boundary by David Oates

Writer and Professor David Oates set out to walk, and kayak where necessary, Portland’s Urban Grown Boundary.

The result is personal and informative essays. Oates deftly describes the terrain he traverses while sharing his robust opinions and philosophies about Portland, the UGB, and our Oregon culture. At times he travels with companions, including William Ashworth, Ana Maria Spagna, and David Bragdon, who contribute essays as well.

I gained insight not only into the philosophies supporting the UGB, but also the geography of the region I’ve called home my entire life. An impressive number of topics, and miles (260), are covered admirably by the small book (a mere 125 pages including index).

Where to find it: Library | Powell’s | OSU Press

Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour – a 30-something Portlander’s flashback (#2)

February 27, 2008 by Dave 9 Comments

Update 11/19/2009: Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour Returns to Portland

In the 70s and early 80s in Portland, if you were a parent with a sensitive child who didn’t like to be the center of attention, Farrell’s was the place to bring him on his birthday to thoroughly embarrass and humiliate him.

Bright lights, banging drums, sickening quantities of ice cream, and teenagers disguised as members of a barbershop quartet: a recurring nightmare and also my childhood memory of Farrell’s.

The first Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour opened in Portland in 1963, followed quickly by numerous franchises (58 by 1970). The heyday of the chain lasted through the 70s and into the early 80s. (You can read the whole story here.)

The locations I recall having reluctantly visited, thankfully in some cases for other poor kids’ birthdays, were the Farrell’s at Raleigh Hills, Lloyd Center, and Washington Square Mall.

Farrell’s lives on in various places, including California and Hawaii. Bob Farrell, the founder, is now a motivational speaker, known for the suggestive phrase “Give ‘Em the Pickle!”

You can read the first installment of a 30-something Portlander’s flashback here.

Canadians like us too

February 16, 2008 by Dave Leave a Comment

Over the last few years the New York Times has flattered the Rose City with gushing articles about our bikes and breweries, the Ace hotel and the restaurant scene, travel highlights, and Todd Haynes (and that’s just a sampling).

Now the Canadians are on to us. Or at least the Canadians at the Globe and Mail.

Portland: The Rebirth of Old Buildings

PORTLAND, ORE. — Why build a brand new hotel when you can recycle a turn-of-the century building into a new cutting-edge facility?

When Alex Calderwood and his partners saw the 1912-era Clyde Hotel in a slightly dodgy neighbourhood of Portland, they saw something they could work with.

Can Portland provide answers?
A Victoria delegation recently visited the Oregon city to get ideas on how to end homelessness in the B.C. capital. This is what they saw

PORTLAND, ORE. — The question puts Larry Bishop on the spot. The formerly homeless man looks relieved that it is being asked in a quiet place with no one besides a reporter to hear his answer.

Mr. Bishop, 59, leads guided tours of the shelters, social agencies, soup kitchens and other fixtures of this city’s Old Town-Chinatown district to emphasize the humanity of the homeless. “I want the façade dropped of, ‘They’re all drunks and alcoholics; they’re all criminals.’ They are not,’ ” he says.