It’s coming up on green beer time. And in Portland, the biggest green beer game in town is Kell’s. A nice old-school Irish bar every other day of the year, with music and darts and whatnot, it becomes the St. Patrick’s Day mecca from March 13-17. They need an entire week to do it.

There’s food, dancing, music, drinks of course and all kinds of Irish-inspired frivolity to be had. As for music, they’ve got people performing all day in the pub or the tent behind, as well as dancers. Not sure how Everclear fits but they’re even playing on Sun. night.

And then on St. Paddy’s Day itself the bar opens at 7 a.m. That’s a commitment. So my advice is to pace yourself. Take your time. Have some bangers and mash. Listen to some music. You’ve got a long day ahead of you.

Erin go bragh,
Keith

(photo courtesy of Grundlepuck on Flickr)

I see the bumper stickers more and more around town asking me to help keep Portland weird. Alright then. Here’s a starter kit:

•    Voodoo Donuts on SW 3rd or NE Davis – It’s time you try your first ever “Memphis Mafia.”
•    McMenamins – I think they were the first geniuses to combine beer and movies. The Kennedy School may just be the weirdest place in town.
•    Glowing Greens – Haven’t we been counting the days till glow-in-the-dark, pirate-themed mini-golf?
•    Lucky Lab – Beer’s never weird, but drinking it with your dog is kind of. You can do that at any of their places.
•    Cat’s Meow – This place is all cats all the time. OK…

And that’s just the tip of the weirdberg. Don’t even get me started on the naked cyclists…

Later,
Keith

Everywhere I go I hear people virtually complaining about how many great new restaurants keep popping up in Portland. This is a dilemma? I say, bring ’em on!

The other night a friend told me to get ready and that he was taking me to a mystery spot. When we arrived at Por qué No? on SE Hawthorne he said I could now stop complaining that the best tacos were served from the “roach coaches.” And I have.

Por qué No? has nine varieties of tacos (including calamari and porque tinga, my favorite), mucho grande salads, inventive vegetarian choices, the best guacamole I’ve ever tasted and housemade tortilla chips. And after a couple of pint-sized margaritas I wobbled out one happy señorita.

They also have a location on N Mississippi. Visit one or both, but visit Por qué No? you must.

Hasta la vista,
Emily

Discovered a great store this past weekend. If you dig music, and also want to rack up some good karma points, this is a good spot for you.

We headed out to SE Hawthorne last Saturday (had a great breakfast at the Bread and Ink Café ― if you haven’t been to the waffle window I just don’t know what to say to you). Down the street is Global Exchange. That store rocks! Everything is imported, fair trade. And it smells great in there.

But the best part is the instruments. They have these cool drums from Indonesia, bells from Ghana, and these noisemaker things from Peru. We bought a recycled tin thumb piano from Burkina Faso and cruised down the street, plinking away, celebrating our find and our good karma.

Later,
Keith

OK, one last last thing about movies… Had to mention you can now buy tickets online for the Portland International Film Festival (Feb 5-21). I saw Miriam’s Wedding at the festival before anyone had ever heard of Toni Collete. OK, on to something non-film-related.

You know, ol’ Mark Twain said, “Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it,” (or something like that). Except, you can: Get yourselves bundled up and head out on a walking tour of Portland’s China Town.

Starting at the amazing gateway at NW 4th and Burnside, you can wander the streets and happen upon great little tea and traditional Chinese medicine shops, curio and book stores, and even art galleries. Stop for dim sum at Fong Chong (NW 4th and Everett) then walk it off at the Classical Chinese Garden at NW 3rd. Happy hunting!

Later,
Emily

I’m going to write another post about movies.  I know that this is the second in a row about movies and we really do have more going on in Portland, but the weather has been decidedly lousy.

Anyway, we, because Keith is with me on this, have to speak up one more time (until the next time) about what has to be the premier movie event in our fair city. I’m talking of course about the Portland International Film Festival.

It’s the biggie, and they’ve got an absolute United Nations of movies to keep you occupied till your eyes fall out of your head. The trip gets under way on Feb. 9 and doesn’t land until the 25th. So get cracking.

Later,
Emily (& Keith)

Maybe music is your bag. Maybe movies are your bag. Maybe movies about music is your bag. If so, you’re one lucky cineaste. We’re right near the end of the NW Film Center’s Reel Music Festival.

I have to give credit to Keith. He got me to go. I’ve already seen a couple over the last two weeks. Exodus has been the highlight so far. About Bob Marley. And I don’t even like reggae.

The series has been great so far, but it’s almost over (only runs till Jan. 31)! Check their calendar. Maybe you’ll find a last minute show that grabs you.

See ya,
Emily

Shopping and stores are usually Emily’s domain, but I just learned of this new spot that deserves mention.

It’s on the other side of the Hawthorne Bridge on Madison and is called the Retro Image Apparel Company. The place has some of the coolest, most unusual cycling jerseys. Stuff I’ve never seen before. A lot of the images are taken from what look like old posters. But there are others with the Grinch on them or Popeye.

They share the huge space with BicyclingHub.com, which itself has a huge selection of clothing, gear and whatnot for the bike-minded person. But Retro Image is worth checking out. So ride on in. And there’s stuff for men and women by the way. Forgot to mention that.

And thanks to bikeportland.org for pointing me there.

Later,
Keith

I trust everyone’s New Year’s revelry had fewer lasting effects than fair Keith of the wee hours. Mine was decidedly understated. I didn’t watch Ryan Seacrest, because that’s no way to start a new year, but it was quiet nonetheless.

Since then, I’ve had time to do some idle web surfing and ran across this Portland art festival that I’d never heard of. Anyone know of Fertile Ground? Its secondary title is “A City-Wide Festival of New Work”. A curiously named event.

The story is its 10 days of world premiere plays as well as workshops, readings and what they call “happenings.” Never been to a happening so that’s got me piqued. If you need some happening in your new year it starts Jan. 23 (till Feb. 1) at different locations around town. I’ll let you know if I learn more.

See ya,
Emily

Oh, I do remember one thing from new years and that is celebrating that it was the last night for smoking in bars and taverns in Oregon. Hallelujah. I’ve been avoiding certain places forever because of the smoke.

It was actually a pretty big topic of conversation during the night. And a couple of people said they thought certain places would just take the fine. But I really think they’re only going to get more business. They’ve not seen me in there for months. The bartenders can’t dig it either.

Once it’s had a chance to air out a bit the first place I’m looking forward to going would have to be Horse Brass. That means there’s an espresso stout in my future. Happy new year.

Later,
Keith