When I was in Oregon it meant I had to eat out.  Darn!  My friends and I explored several places, I only remembered to get pictures at a few.

Day 1:  Dinner at McMenamins – Zeus Cafe.  Quite the variety.  One person has chickpea fries, one went with mussels for appetizers.  For dinner, I had a great thin crust pizza with grilled chicken, arugula, tomatoes and something else…I can’t remember what because it was so good!

Day 2:  Lunch at Yara Lebanese Cuisine.  Any place that makes Baba Ghanouj without dairy to put a ‘lactard’ on cloud nine is unreal (at least in my book).  So, we had a mixed plate/yara platter appetizer then I had a house salad, and friends had kababs.

Dinner at Pok Pok.  Yes, I had to use the bathroom and what did I find when I was in there?  Oh, that they were elected for The James Beard Foundation Awards.  This has happened for many, many years.

Anyway, other cool stuff on this place.  You go put you name in line/on the list.  They give you your buzzer and mention there is a bar across the street where you can wait.  They are connected to these guys so you can tell the other bar what your buzzer number is and they’ll take care of it.  They let you know when your table is ready.  Nicely connected!

When we got our table, jumping ahead a bit, great food!  I tried the Yam Tuna — thai style tuna salad with ginger, garlic, thai chilies, green onions, lemongrass, tomatoes and Oregon (oh, yes, local!) Albacore in spicy lime and fish sauce dressing.  Some of it had some kick!  I can see why this place is well known and recognized.

Day 3:  Lunch in wine country!!!!!!!!!!  Received several recommendations to try Red Hills Market.  People told me it was sort of like a Dean & Deluca on a nice local level.   You walk up to the counter, order and then they bring it to your table.  I enjoyed a nice salami and arugula sandwich and a delicious bean soup.  It was a sort of cloudy day so fit the weather perfectly.

Dinner was based on a recommendation from one of the wineries.  You can never go wrong with Mexican!  So, my friend and I checked out Verde Cocina.  Fresh, delicious, perfect!

For me, the three staples at a mexican restaurant are a margarita, salsa and guacamole.  Check!

Here, they serve you nice warm corn tortillas instead of chips with your goods.  Deadly…

For dinner, they had ceviche…SOLD!  I love the stuff.

Day 4:  Dinner at Petisco.  Little, local restaurant in the neighborhood where I was staying.   I was so thrilled because I was able to have French Onion soup for the first time in ages because they use olive oil (vs butter) in the base and the cheese on top…manchego.  What more could one ask?  Great way to end my trip in Oregon!