Monmouth - Salem's Odd Little Neighbor

Okay, so I don't want to offend any Monmouthonians (Monmouthites? Monmouthers?), but it is an odd town. And I don't mean that in a bad way. It's just quirky. Every town has it's little quirks and Monmouth is full of them.

I started my Master's program over at Western Oregon University this summer and started up again this week for fall term. I did my undergrad there as well, so it's really fun to be back and I really do love being in Monmouth. Like I said, it's odd. Well, I happen to like odd.

You've got this town that has been dry for forever and a day and only just recently started allowing beer and wine to be sold within the town limits. It's got a University in the town, but a very small one. It's got a few restaurants most of which are some type of asian cuisine or fast food. A good half of the town is made up of the campus and a large portion of the rest of it is rental homes for students. It's just a funny little place that you can't help but love. Main street is straight out of a movie. I drove through last night and even noticed that there was a farmer's market still going strong at 7:00 pm! We don't even have that in Salem!

The other thing I discovered was Miyoma Sushi restaurant. I was astounded! Not because I didn't expect Monmouth to have good sushi, after all, they have the best teriyaki in the valley. I was astounded because there were very few other people in the place! Where were they? This place has excellent sushi and some pretty decent prices. They even made me some seared salmon sashimi with the brand new blow-torch they had just gotten even though it wasn't on the menu.

I don't know why the place wasn't packed. Possibly because there are only a few people in this town and they can't all eat sushi every night. Well, Salem, take advantage of this and head out to Monmouth for a sushi dinner some night. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Fall is in the Air...The Oregon Edition

Well, folks, looks like summer is officially over. There may be a nice day here or there, but you can feel the crispness in the air.

I really do love fall. I love the leaves falling off the trees and piling up on the sidewalk. I love the wind blowing and creating leaf gusts. I love the crisp mornings and the sunny afternoons. I love the fog and the rain - the sweater weather. I love that fall means cozying up with a blanket, pumpkin lattes, candles in the evenings, and Thanksgiving! I love all that stuff and more.

But, as so many Oregonians do, I realize that fall leads to winter and winter means rain and dark and no more Christmas lights and being constantly damp and not seeing the sun for weeks at a time and...and then I just feel depressed. Is this normal, I wonder? But then, I talk to a few people and realize it may not be normal, but it's common enough to warrant a name.

It is commonly known as SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. I'm not sure that I actually have that. I would refer to mine as pre-SAD. Like I'm not really depressed when winter actually arrives. It's the looking forward to months of it that makes me depressed. And all this happens when the weather is still at it's best!

I realize this may make me sound crazy and that's okay, because I know I'm not the only one out there that feels this way. You're not alone!! :)

Maybe this is actually just a mourning of the seasons as they pass. Sure. Let's go with that. Sounds more poetic...and less crazy.

A Pub Crawl, You Say? In Salem??

You know how sometimes you wander around downtown Salem and the place looks like a ghost town? Well, guess what? Tomorrow is NOT going to be one of those days.

Tomorrow is going to be rockin'! Tomorrow night downtown is going to be full of revelers. People will be laughing, drinking, meeting new friends, ringing bells. Tomorrow night is the Pub Crawl. That's right, people moving from bar to bar, eating, drinking, and having a good time. And yes, that will be happening right here in Salem.

And get this!! For the first time ever, there will also be a wine crawl. I think this is a great addition to this event. The wine crawl will go slightly slower and have a few less venues, but I think it will be a great, relaxing evening.

So come on down Friday night. Meet at 6 pm at Cascade Baking company and get your free wristband that allows you to participate in all the specials. If you can't make it at 6, wristbands will be handed out at the Rivers Condominuims on Front St. until about 10 PM, I believe. Either that or you can just look for the band of happy people parading to the next venue and tag along.

Oh, and don't forget to dress for the Back to School Fantasy Theme!

For more info, click here.

I Love Guacamole!!

Some days you just need guacamole. It's been one of those days for me for about 5 days now. I finally got some avocados on Sunday and made up a big ol' bowl of guac...which I have been eating for pretty much every meal ever since!

I had asked my local Twitter friends for some advice on where to buy avocados here in Salem and they mentioned Winco (which is where I eventually bought mine), Cash & Carry, and Safeway for good produce options. I also wondered if Morrow's on Silverton might have some, but I didn't get over that way to check.

Here's my guacamole recipe, which I have perfected after several trips to Mexico and watching my Mexican born friend make it for her family.

Caution: This makes a lot, but since it's pretty addicting that's usually a good thing. It'll be gone before you know it!

4 avocados
4 medium tomatoes (I used vine-ripened Roma's from my sister's plentiful garden)
1/2 an onion (I used red onion because that was what was in my fridge)
1 and a 1/2 fresh jalepenos (medium/hot spiciness, use more or less depending taste)
1/2 cup or so of fresh chopped cilantro
The juice of one lime

Chop it all up, mix it together, and then eat it all up! Yummmmmm. Happy tummies!

Mt. Angel Oktoberfest - Chicken Dance Anyone?

I can't wait for the Oktoberfest this weekend in Mt. Angel. For one, I love Mt. Angel. For two, I love chicken dancing. :) And for three, I love to wander around looking at booths and drooling over delicious dining out of small trailer-like kitchens. It's just a wonderfully campy adventure to the music of accordians and the smells of sausage and kraut.

Oh, plus the drinking. That's fun too, if you're in the mood for a little partying beyong the standard chicken dance in the street by the gazebo pavilion. I think I might try the wine garden this year. I hear they have good music as well as good wine!

Oh, and the people watching at Oktoberfest is always superb. It was even better back in the day, before the ban on grocery stickers (which was really a good thing) when you could watch people coming out of the beer garden covered in the strangest places with stickers that said things like fresh meat or hot. They were banned to keep people from sticking them on building all over town as they left and leaving a mess for the locals. A few contraband stickers always get in anyway, but nothing like the grocery sticker heyday.

This year I am going to do the Oktoberfest 5K run/walk on Saturday morning that supports the local high school track and field team. It's my first one and I am really excited. I hope the rain holds off! Wish me luck. :)

Vietnamese Cuisine in Salem

I am a big fan of Vietnamese food. I just love the flavors and the textures and the smells...soooo pretty much everything about it I guess.

My long time favorite restaurant in the Salem area is Kim Huong's on Silverton Rd. They have great summer (fresh veggies in rice paper) rolls, delicious Bun salad, and the Lemon Chicken is to excellent.

More recently, I discovered Vietnam Restaurant, which is situated just between my home and work, for an easy stop-off for dinner on the go. Vietnam Restaurant is on Center St across from the Rite-Aid parking lot. I must confess I can't say a lot about the variety of food because I've only tried the Bun salad with grilled pork and shrimp. It is just that good. I order it every time! I CRAVE it. So, that is the only thing I order there, and I never regret it. The service here is usually really good. I say usually, because periodically the family's son (looks about 10 or so) has the day off from school or something and decides to take over the serving. Usually his dad doesn't let this go on for too long, but the boy is quite a character, and having him serve you will be an experience you will never forget. :)

Now, for the Super Pho! I have been hearing about it, but the last time I drove by it was still closed (apparently I don't get to Lancaster much). I tried it out the other night for the first time and I must say the pho was super. Super taste, super sized, super service. The one funny thing we noted was that the place was freezing when we walked in. When we said something about it they said we just needed some pho to warm us up. Oddly enough, as we ate it we felt perfectly comfortable, but then when we were done, sitting and chatting, we froze again. It was weird. Who knew hot soup could warm you up 20 degrees or so. So don't plan and hanging out here after the meal is done. It's not a lingering place - unless you bring a blanket.

The server at Super Pho did mention that they are starting their to-go menu and a drive through window soon, so you'll be able to get your pho to-go and enjoy it in whatever temperature you prefer!

Even though we don't have multitudes of places to choose from for Vietnamese food in Salem, we have a few quality spots...and they really hit the spot sometimes. :) Sorry, folks.

Camping In Oregon

One of the things that I love about the Northwest is the abundance of camping options. I once upon a time lived in Ohio for a few years, and I remember trying to camp one year. Trying was the operative word. We finally found a KOA camp (nothing against the good people of the KOA, but it isn't exactly my idea of camping) on a small lake. And then came the thunder storms. You know those Midwest summer thunderstorms that are so great when you're cozy in your house? Yeah, not so cozy in a tent with the wind nearly blowing the tent over on top of you, dropping big branches dangerously close to your head, and the rain seeping in the seams of your brand new tent. Apparently I was spoiled by growing up in Oregon.

So this summer, as usual, I went camping with my family. We stayed one night at Detroit Lake, which is pretty and has flush toilets and showers. If living without your hair dryer sounds like too much of a sacrifice, then Detroit Lake is the camp for you. The downside of Detroit is that the lake is difficult to access in some places unless you have a boat and the camps are quite close together. It's only about an hour from Salem though, so that makes for a nice quick trip.

The next place we headed to was Suttle Lake. I really love Suttle Lake. It's about 20 miles west of Sisters which makes it about 2 hours from Salem. It's a beautiful little lake. Although motorized boats are allowed it is pretty quiet and peaceful. We stayed at the Link Creek camp on the west end of the lake. It does not have electricity, but it does have water spigots spread througout the sites and it has some pretty decent pit toilets. I mean, you can only expect so much when you're talking about a pit in the ground serving as a toilet, but this one actually had an air freshener, and almost no bugs. :) So I'd say that's pretty decent.

Sailboat on Suttle Lake

The best part about Suttle Lake is the big campsites and the easy lake access. It was great to be far enough away from your neighbors that it was possible to turn your chair towards the lake and forget they were there. The lake is accessible for swimming or rafting or whatever you want to do. It has a nice easy slope and the bottom is covered in small gravel (water shoes might be good for extended lake time as the gravel can be a little rough on the feet). The water is clean and cold, the views are classic central Oregon lake and tree views, and the people are friendly and far between. Just the way I like it! Oh, and the stars. The stars are amazing at night!

And after writing this, I realized I'm an anti-social camper. :) Sorry folks, I guess I go to get away from people.

Does anyone else have any great spots they like to camp? I'd like to try out some new places next year.

Blackberries Mmmmm!

My apologies on my lack of blogging this summer. I'm going to try to catch up and keep up now that my life is back to it's normal schedule.


Every summer I pick blackberries at Willamette Mission State Park. Until this summer. Someone on Facebook kept saying how great the blackberries were at the new Keizer Rapids Park, so I decided, hey, why not try something new. Another way technology is changing my life.

So I headed off to Keizer Rapids with a friend. Now, I've never actually been to this park before. If you haven't been there, it is quite a hidden gem. And I do mean hidden. You kind of have to either know where you're going or be ready for a little adventure. Things aren't exactly well marked. Most of the park is more like wilderness. Which is exactly how I like my parks, but can take a little of an explorer's heart to navigate.

So navigate we did. We finally picked a spot near the end of the frisbee golf circuit and picked our way along the paths. It was really beautiful out there. We ran across a beautiful swamp. Yes, I did say "beautiful swamp." It was full of wildlife and the frogs made beautiful music to pick blackberries by. :)

I'm not sure the pickings were as good as Willamette Mission, but there is no parking charge (I'm referring to the $3 parking fee for state parks) and it is less of a drive. It is also much more like being out in the wilderness. And I got PLENTY of berries for a beautiful blackberry cobbler using my grandmother's recipe. Delicious!

My blackberry pickings

Berry Pudding Cake made with my grandmother's recipe
Yummy!

Going to the Movies

So, I wanted to see a movie last weekend. This is actually quite an event for me. I might see two movies a year. I'm just not a big movie person. But, I had heard good reviews of the movie (500) Days of Summer.

Fandango.com said it was playing at Santiam 11 on Lancaster, so off we went to the movies. I must say, every time I go to a movie, I am shocked at how expensive it is. And then, the food prices!! Good lord, I can't pay that kind of money for popcorn! Fortunately, I wasn't hungry since we went to dinner beforehand at the Ram. (I love their patio and their Amber Ale Chicken Burger, but that's a whole different post!)

When we get inside the theater I am surprised to find that there is a whole row of pre-teen boys behind us. Uhhhh...this is a PG-13 movie, but it is a romantic comedy drama and not exactly meant for kids. Technically they stayed through the whole movie, except for the 18 billion times they got up to go get refills or something!! Now I remember why I rarely go to the movies and when I do, I prefer to go to the evening shows at Northern Lights that are over 21 only.

So, if you want to know about the movie, I'll give you my opinion. Remember it did get quite good reviews. I just didn't find it very satisfying. Slightly depressing, a little contrived, and overall a disappointment for me. I'm sure that many people will find it interesting. It is basically a romance gone wrong, but from the guy's point of view. It does make some interesting points, but altogether I just felt like I've seen too much of that kind of stuff in real life to make it an interesting movie for me. It mostly made me sad to see that kind of self-delusion portrayed as romantic. Okay, so now you know about my cynical side. :)

Salem Creative Pub Crawl = FUN

Have you ever gone downtown Salem on a Friday night only to see empty streets and half-full bars and restaurants. Everyone who has been in Salem for some time has probably experienced that at some point. But this was not the case last night.

This is the second month that there has been a pub crawl downtown on the third Friday of the month. And let me tell you it has turned into a major event. It seemed like it was almost twice as big as last month, although it's hard to tell with all the people milling around and coming and going. Although there is a map and an order to the event, lots of people go off on their own and do the route their own way. It was so fun to catch up with some of the people from last month, have some drinks, some laughs, some food specials, and support our local businesses.

The group is a big mix of people, ages, styles, etc, so if you are inclined to come along next month, don't worry that you won't fit in. You can come for as many or as few of the pubs as you want and you can even choose to stay at one the entire night if you find that you really like it. You can come for the drinks or the friends or the food specials, or you can just come for the people watching.

Most of all, the pub crawl is about getting out and doing something quirky and fun in Salem. It's about meeting other people from Salem and building a community of people that support the downtown businesses.

Look What Happened at Summer in the City

I am not going to review Summer in the City in downtown Salem since it has been done much better here and here and here, by other illustrious Salem bloggers. I will only say that I personally decided not to pay the rather exorbinant fee for what I consider a very new and quite unknown festival, but I did stop outside the fences for a bite to eat. As I stopped to listen to a few minutes of Curtis Salgado's performance on Sunday evening, I ran into this man enjoying the music.

Notice he's outside the fence, but he had PLENTY of room to dance! :)

The Roxxy's New Vibe

Well, folks, there's a new dance club in town. I, for one, was very sad to hear that the new Roxxy would not continue with the great music that Lefty's did, but apparently it's hard to pack the house when you are booking bands, so they decided to try the dance club routine.

The great news? Comedy nights are still twice a month on Thursdays and the food is still pretty decent for a club/bar. They aren't packing the house yet, but I think that's because people don't know about them. Saturday there was an article about clubbing in Salem in the Statesman which should help get the word out.

Friday night I went out with some friends for some music and dancing and we decided to check it out. It had nice atmosphere, great music (some old, some new, mostly pop/hip-hop/R&B, and all quite loud!), and great service. It will be good to see if the service continues to be so good as they get busier, but for the most part, it seemed well-run. A lot of the same employees who used to run Moonbaker were part of the show, so they should know what they're doing.

I felt the prices were pretty low to average for drinks in Salem. We didn't order any food on Friday night because it was late and we had gone out to dinner earlier. I ordered wine, another friend ordered a beer, and another two friends had cocktails. Everyone was happy with their drinks, even me, and I know better than to order wine in a dance club. I actually asked the waitress only to bring me the wine if the bottle hadn't been open for days and she laughed and said they used small, one serving bottles. :)

There were only a few other people there throughout the night as well as some that came and went after short stays. It certainly wasn't packed, but it looked like the word might be getting out. I'm sure it will start filling up soon.

While we were there, they mentioned that they had a Happy Hour from 7-9 pm every night where everything in the house is half-price. Wow! I decided to try it out on Saturday night with a couple other friends. We showed up a little after 7 pm and asked if that was still the deal. Sure enough. So we ordered drinks and some Roxxy Fries with cheese and bacon topping. Mmmm. :)

The fries were a huge portion, the drinks were strong, but not overpowering (well-mixed) and the server was friendly and prompt. Our entire bill came up to $12 at the end of our snack. Happy Hour indeed! I did notice that this happy hour was not advertised. I do wonder if it is just temporary to get people introduced to the new place. At any rate, it was very good, the music wasn't too loud to talk (as it had been the night before after 10) and the atmosphere was fun. I would definitely go back to try their pizza.

Late Night Dessert in Salem??

I was talking to a friend this evening who was going to take her little sister, who is turning 19, out for coffee and dessert later tonight. They were looking for a place to get dessert and it was getting close to 8:30. We had some serious trouble coming up with places that had dessert that were not bars or chain restaurants. We thought of La Capitale, but the bar is the only part open late. Word of Mouth closes at 9 and I'm not even sure they do desserts. Little Cannoli and Queen of Tarts close around 5. The one place I did come up with was Napolean's but apparently her little sister had been there for dinner and didn't want to go back. So, we finally came up with Bentley's which is open until 10 and has Konditerei cheesecake. So that's where they ended up going.

Does anyone know of any other good, late-night, dessert places that I missed on this list? The other problem in this situation was the fact that she is underage, so bars were out for them. I was struggling to come up with anything other than Applebee's and Red Robin. Surely, we can do better than that around here!

More Sushi in Salem

I'm very excited about the news of a new sushi restaurant coming to downtown Salem. It's called Sushi Mania and it should be located near La Capitale on High St. I'm not sure when it's opening, but I can't wait to try it out.

Of course, I still love Fuji Ricetime and Sushi Kyo, but I just think that Salem has been lacking in options for sushi. Sometimes those places are busy, or out of the way, or whatever and it will be nice to have another sushi option in downtown Salem. I certainly don't think that it is going to hurt the business of the other restaurants although it is very close to Fuji Ricetime. I have heard it is going to be a conveyor belt style restaurant, more similar to the Sushi Kyo out off Lancaster. That's a totally different atmosphere than Ricetime, so I can't see it being any real competition. Maybe Salem could actually start a Sushi District and have tons of sushi options in close range!
Hey, if it works for flower districts and fashion disctricts, why not sushi?

Anyway, I think we are long overdue for more sushi options around here, and sushi isn't getting less popular. At least according to my unscientific polls using the highly technical skill of counting how long the waits are for a table in a sushi restaurant.

If anyone know any more info about this place and it's opening date, please let me know.

Summer In the City 2009

After heading out to The Bite this weekend, I started thinking about festivals in Salem. Summer in the City is just around the corner! I remember Summer in the City being all about the sidewalk sales when I was a kid. I don't even know if there was music or drinks, probably because I was too young to enjoy such things. I just remember making a day of the shopping with my mom and my sisters where we would buy all our back-to-school clothes.

But what I do know, is that last year Summer in the City was rejuvinated, and it was a hit! I love that fact that they close the streets down for this event and bring out the music and booze. :) This year there will be a cover charge to get into some areas of the event, but I think if you make a day of it, it would be well worth the cost.

Last year, the highlights for me were the Casey's Cafe grilling delicious burgers in their outdoor kitchen, the wine-tasting, the music, and running into old friends. I'm excited to see what this year holds!