The day started far too early, as Alfie was giving a virtual talk at the University of Kent’s annual medieval and early modern studies conference — 2pm there, 6am here. It seems it went well, but he and I were very bleary for the rest of the day.
On Eleanor’s insistence, our day proper began with Stumptown Coffee, where I enjoyed my favourite cold brew and sadly passed up the chance to buy a sticker (why is everyone so obsessed with stickers now?!). A presumably homeless and mentally unstable man outside the café was gesturing aggressively at us through the window and undressing himself. Nothing gives me so much impostor syndrome in my reasonably-put-together-humanness as encountering someone like that.
Alfie and I decided that Blue Star Donuts could not be missed, despite the fact that they don’t have gluten-free doughnuts for my celiac grandmother (shame!). I tried the buttermilk old-fashioned with lemon poppyseed glaze, a nicely tangy and crunchy riff on the original. Okay, that’s my favourite doughnut ever. We also spent some time in Powell’s Books, where I once again showed remarkable fortitude in forgoing the adorable soft toys (stuffed acorn, banana slugs, and mushrooms, oh my!), delightfully patterned socks, and other assorted delights.
Having made our way to the rose garden once again, we went around looking for the best varieties. I of course, smelled every one. Categories of scent started to emerge: no scent, generic faint flower smell, peachy-sweet rose, zestier lemony rose, downy ‘rose water’ rose, rose hand cream, hyacinth (weird), grapefruit (yep), and fermenting dessert apple cider (really).
A fun tram ride along Portland’s industrial waterfront took us to Double Mountain’s Overlook taproom in the north of the city. Alfie and I wanted somewhere with WiFi to work on our laptops; we were feeling more beer than brew, and we knew this place had good beer from my cider judging training there two weeks ago. The local-fruit krieks Eleanor and I went for were, indeed, very nice — I especially liked the gentle funk and apricoty freshness of the yellow Rainier cherry influence in mine. However, all of us had only eaten a doughnut each thus far that day, so the tipsiness set in fast, and no work was accomplished.
We ate a delicious/ridiculous barbecue place down the road afterwards (in fact, it was right next to Hat Yai). I probably needed a bit more vinegar and vegetables to appreciate the brisket, but it did remind me how much I want to visit the Deep South for its food culture (especially after watching Mind of a Chef’s series with Sean Brock). Then, we bussed/walked/rolled home.