Review — Page 5

Mississippi Avenue Street Fair 2010

July 15, 2010 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The 2010 Mississippi Avenue Street Fair took place Saturday, July 10th. Heather and I made the rounds (as we did in 2009 and 2008!)

No Future home of Starbucks prank this year, Mississippi Records‘ front porch hosted work from the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative.

Most of the vendors were standard Portland Street Fair fare.

Non-profits, like Friends of Trees were manning booths too.

Mr. Green Beans, a new Mississippi Avenue do-it-yourself coffee roastery, isn’t quite open yet, but they set up a booth to introduce themselves to the neighborhood. (As a childhood fan of Captain Kangaroo, I’m already a fan!)

Lots of bands signed up.

And of course there was lots of delicious grub!

See you next year!

Review: Milk Carton Boat Races 2010

June 14, 2010 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Summer debuted with gusto this past weekend. Saturday bore the brunt of it, delivering to many of us our inaugural sunburn of 2010. Between the Rose Parade, USA vs England at Director Park, and Cirque Du Cycling, it was hard to keep in the shade.

There was one last event to attend to Sunday, and the sun looked like it was staying out for a second day. In the morning Heather and I reluctantly slathered on the sun screen we had forgotten Saturday, and headed down to Westmoreland Park with a pair of lawn chairs.

Yup, we were on our way to the 2010 Milk Carton Boat Races.

After a several year hiatus, the races returned last year. In my review of the 2009 event I groused a bit about the lack of a beer garden, the predominant boat-building choice of milk jugs over milk cartons, and the lack of spectacularly disintegrating boats. But this year, knowing better what to expect, I enjoyed the event much more. It’s a family friendly event, as it were. So though no beer garden, there was free chocolate milk, strawberry yogurt, and root beer floats.

And gorgeous weather.

The Dairy Farmers of Oregon had the coolest boat, but it was just for the conveyance of dairy princesses.

Friend of the blog Mike Vogel entered the race this year.

Damn straight, that’s a fourth place participant ribbon! (Mike was originally going to enter an amazingly creative looking boat in the showboat category, but there were papier-mâché issues.)

Notice the fine chicken wire and broken off wood support workmanship on Mike’s entry:

Here’s one of the rare boats actually made from milk cartons:

Here are two of the show boats. The one it back, as you can no doubt tell, is a school bus. Or something. The one in the foreground was one of the best build milk carton boats I’ve seen. And it was pretty fast, with the peddling and the kayak oar. It was christened the Dairy Air.

A wholesome time was had by all. Like last year Heather and I are inspired to enter a boat. In all probability the enthusiasm will dissipate by this time next year, but stranger things . . .

Read Heather’s much more entertaining take at Mile73.com: Hello Summer

2010 Multnomah County Fair

May 31, 2010 by Dave Knows 8 Comments

2012 Multnomah County Fair details here!

Sunday afternoon the weather improved for a few hours, and Heather and I made our way to Oaks Park for the 2010 Multnomah County Fair.

Unlike the Elko County fair we visited last summer, the Multnomah County Fair features hardly any cowboys or cattle, and no rodeo or horse racing.

Both fairs, however, feature plenty of red necks, funnel cakes, and award winning vegetables.

The enormous carrots below, however, were my favorites. They were very deserving of the blue ribbon.

And check out this amazing flower arrangement – it’s called Kicking Up Your Heels:

The Multnomah County Fair has a few things that the Elko County Fair doesn’t, though, including the Northwest Challenge X-treme Air Dogs Jumping Competition!

Dog jumps into the water from Dave Knows on Vimeo.

And robot soccer!

And chainsaw sculptoring! Heather would not let me get this awesome bench for our living room 🙁

Here are the sculptors in action:

Chainsaw Sculpting at the 2010 Multnomah County Fair from Dave Knows on Vimeo.

Really though, the main draw for us was the animal exhibits, and the fair delivered.

This guy was in the Walk on the Wildside exhibit. He’s a black and white something or other:

I am 38 years old and I only learned the origin of the phrase “pig pile” yesterday:

The ponies all looked bored. Why don’t we say “bored as a pony”?

Nigel the Camel had a lot of energy:

And my favorite part of the entire 2010 Multnomah County Fair? The cute bunny!

Go read Heather’s view of the fair – Multnomah County Fair: Bunnies – We had such a great time, we needed two blog posts to describe it all!

Grasshoppers at Mee Sen Thai Eatery

May 27, 2010 by Dave Knows 7 Comments

Mee Sen Thai Eatery (3924 N Mississippi) features traditional Thai noodle soups, in addition to a number of Thai restaurant staples. They also have a full bar with interesting house drinks like the Tamarind Whiskey Sour and Tom Yum Cocktail. At Happy Hour, impressively, they give you discounts on beer and wine, regular menu small bowls, specialty cocktails, and a special menu.

And on that special Happy Hour menu (pdf), one item is particularly interesting:

HH10. TAK KA TAN TOD
Fried grasshoppers $5

I was dining with Heather the first time the grasshoppers were brought to my attention, but she inexplicably demonstrated not merely disinterest, but actual repulsion at the suggestion we should put in an order. Alas, the kitchen reported they had run out.

Yesterday, however, found Heather safely ensconced in Beaverton (shopping for a bridesmaid dress) for a few hours after work, so I met Jake and Laurie at Mee Sen for happy hour.

We ordered the grasshoppers.

I was surprised at their appearance when they arrived at the table (sorry – no photo! I only had my iPhone, and it takes crappy photos in low light Update: added photo below 07/15/2010!). I expected something cricket sized, and coated in batter or breading. But these were grasshoppers. Big ones, about 2 to 2 1/2 inches long. With legs and everything. They had a slight reddish tinge to them.

I tried a few.

They have a faint saltiness, but really there is not much flavor. A slathering of the red pepper sauce from the condiments dishes on the table improved them. I am not one to eat sunflower seeds in the shells or shrimps with the heads – and that’s sort of what the grasshoppers reminded me of – the legs and carapace were crunchy and clearly un-digestible. But the abdomen was less crunchy, and had a bit of meat to it. I can see how these have come to be recognized as food around the world. I may well order these again sometime (when Heather is not present). They go down easy with a cold bottle of Singha.

February 18: Portland Premiere of The Waiting List

February 1, 2010 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The Portland Premiere of The Waiting List, a foul-mouthed, sex-obsessed, back-stabbing comedy about preschool enrollment takes place Thursday, February 18th at the Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd).

This is the first feature film from Portlander (and friend of the blog) Mike Vogel. He made the film for less than $1500 over three weekends at an elementary school where his brother teaches first grade. The story is based on an actual experience he had waiting overnight to get his daughter into a preschool, and it stars local actors Jayme S. Hall, Audrey Walker, Bryce Flint-Somerville, Amanda Englund, Teresa Decher, and Mercedes Rose.

Heather and I have had the privilege of seeing it already, and we can attest, it’s a friggin funny movie. You’ll never think of Disney princesses the same, also it will make you not want to have children.

And Mike promises the Portland premiere of The Waiting List will be a freaking event, Portland style:

We’ll be promoting other Portland movies, web series, blogs, artists, podcasts–basically anyone doing their own thing–prior to the screening (more on that in a few days). After the movie, there will be a Q&A with some of the actors. Your admission ticket will also enter you in our speed raffle to win stuff, like being one of the first people to own the DVD. This is not just a screening of some local indie movie you’ve never heard of… this is going to be a freaking event!

Admission is only $5, and show time is 7pm on Thursday, February 18 at the Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd).

Enjoy the trailer below, and then go read what Heather has to say at Mile73.com – Attention: This Is Pretty Awesome

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