Hello everyone! I’ve been away from the blog for a few weeks and I wanted to tell you why: I got married! Yes, after 17 years together we tied the knot.
It was a somewhat unconventional day—easy going and casual. I wore linen pants. There was a small ceremony with a dozen or so of us, lunch afterwards, then a reception with local friends and family (local means west coast) at our home later in the day.
We got married at the park atop Rocky Butte on Saturday morning.
We had been watching the weather closely for a couple weeks before the event and let me tell you—the mercurial nature of springtime PNW weather is not for the faint of heart when you’re planning an outdoor event. The good news is that we had no rain, and even a bit of sun peeked out at one point as we were getting ready. We also had dramatic skies and mild temperatures, which we were grateful for.
And since this is a food blog, here are the relevant details on the eats and drinks. After our quick ceremony officiated by a dear, old friend from our NYC days, we had lunch at the Kennedy School. I absolutely love that building and how eclectic the design is. It also was a location I spent time at during my earliest days visiting Portland, and in part influenced my decision to move here. It’s a comfortable space, whether you’re there for a meal, seeing some live music, enjoying a movie, or taking a soak in their soaking pool.
This time I ordered something off the menu I hadn’t had before and it really hit the spot: the Northwest Chicken Salad sandwich. It’s described as “creamy chicken salad with celery, red onion & dried cranberries on a toasted croissant with herb aioli, lettuce & tomato.” Also: ever since my job preparing deli sandwiches at the Swiss Colony (RIP Oxnard’s Esplanade Mall location) when I was 16, I’ve been a sucker for a sandwich made with a split croissant.
I’ll never tire of seeing the beautiful lights hanging in the Courtyard Restaurant at the Kennedy School. My uncle also found them interesting and appealing and asked one of our servers about their origins.
After that we picked up the cupcakes I ordered from Bee’s Cakes. We had chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream and funfetti cake with chocolate ganache. Crunchy pearls are awesome. The cupcakes were a hit! That vanilla buttercream in particular was just wonderful, especially on that moist, chocolaty cake.
We also ordered a Sicilian Ricotta Cake from Sebastiano’s (thank you, Judith, for picking it up for us). Everyone loved it! It’s sponge cake with a sweetened ricotta filling with chocolate (think a cannoli filling), covered in unsweetened whipped cream with slivered almonds on the side. Not overly sweet. This is one of my favorite cakes in Portland.
There was a little ricotta cake left over so I’ve been enjoying that for breakfast this week.
We had salty crunchy snacks to eat, too. The most popular ones I would say were the sweet/savory umami crunchy rice crackers (Trader Joe’s) and the almond flour crackers (Simple Mills); simple sliced cucumbers were also gobbled up quickly.
Thanks to Bill Oakley, who recommended Lyre’s non-alcoholic cocktails in an Instagram story, we picked up a couple options there, purchased at Total Wine & More in Vancouver (awesome store but sales tax is a bummer for this Oregonian). The Amalfi Spritz ( an Aperol Spritz NA dupe) was my favorite; the Dark N’ Spicy (like a Dark N’ Stormy, but NA) was also good. I took a chance on the Beckett’s cocktails, too—the Juniper Fly and Paloma were tasty (and terpene-infused). We had a bit of Athletic Brewing NA beer, and a lot of seltzer, too. And some alcohol for those who wanted to indulge.
We hung out until about 6:30pm, when it started to rain. We had worked hard on the backyard to get it into an acceptable level for public consumption, and it turned out to be a pretty nice party space!
So that’s it. I know I’ve stayed away from the blog for more than a week at a time for complicated health stuff, but this time it was all good. We did all the planning and execution for the day, so mental bandwidth was an issue; something had to give (even planning a simpler wedding takes a lot). I look forward to getting back into writing about Portland food news and views going forward.
Many thanks to Bee’s and Sebastiano’s in particular for their stellar cakes that really elevated the whole reception. And to all those west coast friends and family who attended. On to the next chapter of life!
Meg Cotner
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Congrats! Sounds like a great day. Definitely the approach we’d take if my wife and I got married today.
I see a lot of disdain for McMenamins, so I’m glad to see some appreciation for it. I think there’s definitely a place for their food and drinks. Definitely scratches a nostalgic itch, having grown up with it in the late 80s and 90s. Can’t convince me that anyone does tots better.
Thanks, RJ. We really wanted something casual and accessible, and no stuffiness. The views atop Rocky Butte are just stellar, so I’m glad it worked out weather-wise to do it there. That place is a true hidden gem in Portland. As for McMenamins, I am a fan and enjoy eating there. It caters to a lot of different tastes on their menu. Our friends’ kids have spent a lot of time there at the Kennedy School, so it was reassuring that they felt comfortable and at ease. The space itself is so interesting; I love it. And I love their tots, it’s true, as well as their Aztec Salad and tiny versions of their full-sized desserts. I think there is absolutely a place for McMenamins in the Portland food world but I’m a “big tent” person when it comes to being inclusive of all sorts of different kinds of spaces, traditions, and cuisines. The next day we took a walk over at Mt Tabor and got coffee (Coava) and some treats at Coquine, then some tacos. I love the breadth of eating opportunities in this town!
Haha, I was like, where have they been!
Congratulations!
Thank you so much!