Today's FoodDay section of the Oregonian is dedicated to the "100 Things We (Absolutely) Love," highlights from 2008 chosen from the submissions of staff and contributors. They picked 18 (!) of my faves and, listed by category, they were:

• Things we like to read, watch and click on: Documentaries made by Cooking Up A Story; the movie "King Corn"; and Mark Bittman's blog Bitten.
• What you'll find in our cupboards: Spices from Fiji Emporium; and castelvetrano olives marinated in fennel pollen, orange zest and olive oil.
• What we love from the farms:...

PORTLAND, OREGON - November 18, 2008 - Marking the 75th Anniversary of the 21st Amendment's ratification, Repeal Day , on December 5th celebrates the end of Prohibition. In honor of this diamond day, the Pearl District hot spot 50 Plates will offer a Manhattan cocktail tasting featuring the classic Applejack Manhattan, Rye Manhattan, and Bourbon [...]

I don't have any details that I can go into, but I have been informed by a reliable source, that Randal St Clair, chef at the newish 50 Plates restaurant in the pearl district has moved on.

"A group of us decided that we would meet at this new restaurant in the..." by drivingjay

I have to admit that happy hours do just that. They make me happy. I'm happy when someone suggests meeting for a happy hour drink. I'm happy all that day just thinking about it. That evening I'm happy to be sitting and ordering my happy hour drink and little plates of happy hour food. And I'm happiest of all when I get the happy hour check and it's way less than it would be during regular hours.

So when my cousin Julie called and suggested meeting for happy hour, you can imagine how...well...happy I was to accept. We settled on 50 Plates...

in Pearl District
333 NW 13th Ave
(503) 228-5050

We needed our strength. Ansley and I were headed to Battle Ground, Washington to go to a Barn House Sale. We stopped by the Wordstock office to get some programs and posters to pass out along the way and were headed to Ken's Artisan Bakery to grab some goodness to eat in the car.

But then. We drove past 50 Plates, which appeared to be open this fine, chilly Saturday morning. We decided to check out their breakfast.

It was empty - it's more of a coffee shop setting in the morning. The two people tending to the counter, a short-haired blonde girl with fashion-conscious glasses and a young man with dark hair, were talking about Sarah Palin. "She's on Saturday Night Live tonight," I said. "I know! We were just talking about that." The conversation then turned to Obama and McCain. The girl made an anti-McCalin comment. "Oops," she said, "I probably shouldn't have said that."

"Oh you're okay," I said, "This is Portland - you are pretty safe to make a comment like that." We talked a little bit more about the election and how we hoped that Obama would be elected. We talked about how amazing it was that it was such a close race. I mentioned that one of my sisters is writing in Mitt Romney's name for President.

...

. Phone: (503) 228-5050 Address: 333 NW 13th Ave, Portland OR. 97209 Hours: Mon-Sat 7:30am to close Website: 50Plates.com