Moonstruck, Yet Again

After sushi, right there on NW 23rd, you've gotta get Moonstruck (again).




This time I got a milk chocolate cow (he was so adorable, how could I resist?) and a Conquistador Hazelnut praline.

The cow was all right. Get it for the cute factor, but the Clear Creek Pear Brandy Truffle is still the very best by Moonstruck!

Yuki

We were in the mood for sushi. Which was a good thing, because we got sushi. More sushi than I've ever had in my life. I think there was a little mixup with our order: somehow two soups turned into two of each other thing that we ordered.





The miso soup is a visual delight, as well as being interestingly salty. When it was brought to us, it was just a cloud of yellowish soup, but as our conversation waned and our attentions went back to our soup, it had settled down into a miniature contoured sea bed:



As for the rest, we sampled avocado rolls, California rolls, spicy tuna, spicy salmon, tai, tako, and the Sake Bomb: spicy tuna with avocado, topped with salmon.

The Hutch

Let me just start out by saying that The Hutch is a great place to go when you have arrived home from a long, mind-numbing day of retail to find that, once again, you have locked yourself out of your house and your roommate is not home to save you from your inevitable fate of not being able to check Facebook for a few hours yet.

Not that I myself have ever done that. I mean, I have a smartphone.

But in any such event, mosey on down to The Hutch on SE 42nd and Holgate. They'll set you up with some gorgeous lemonade, perhaps:




And a few stuffed and fried mushroom appetizers:



And, of course, a delightfully grilled chicken sandwich, out in the evening shade of SE Portland.

Bread and Ink Cafe

Just popped over to Hawthorne for a bit of brunch and catch up with my cousin. I haven't done much breakfasting on this blog (not much of an early riser, I'm afraid) but I probably should!

The Bread and Ink Cafe is a hopping place on a Saturday morning! If you don't have a large party, you should be fine, though.

Contrary to what you might think, they serve much more than just bread and ink. (That was a joke). They serve a variety of breakfast and brunch items, sweet and savory, local and delicious!

We ordered blueberry pancakes, and Belgian waffles (served with fresh strawberries and whipped cream today), with a side of Carlton Farms sausage patty. They were so pretty, it was hard to actually eat them! I'm most glad I did, however. Drizzled with some of their house syrup, mmmm. The sausage patty was nice and "homey;" round and lumpy and freshly sizzled. Delicious.

Arleta Library Cafe

On the hunt for brunch today, I stumbled upon this little place.

With a name like Library Cafe, I figured it oughta be good. Also, the promise of Stumptown coffee lured me right in.

The cafe is a cute little thing on SE 72nd and Harold, near Mt. Scott park. The walls are decorated with local art and library books, and there's a pleasant little nook at the front of the store, with a window bench.




They were out of Pane Dolce, so I went with their Portlander breakfast - scramble with mushrooms, Tillamook cheese, and bacon crumbles. The bacon was most excellent, guys. Also, the waitress brought me their homemade strawberry jam for my toast, and also their house ketchup for my fries. Let me just say, that was the best damn ketchup I have ever had. It was pasty thick, and sweeter than your usual out of a bottle -- really well done, you guys!