Out to Lunch}Blueplate Counter

As promised, today I am sharing one more great Portland grilled cheese sandwich location.

First we had the food cart, The Grilled Cheese Grill.

Then there was the more upscale grilled cheese sandwich at Paragon.

Today’s featured grilled cheese sandwich location falls in between the food cart and the upscale Pearl District restaurant – it’s a lunch counter!  A real life, old fashioned lunch counter and soda fountain – Blue Plate Lunch Counter and Soda Fountain located in downtown Portland at 308 SW Washington Street.

Blue Plate has been featured on Diners,  Drive-ins and Dives.  Blue Plate is only open for lunch from 11 – to 5, so go for lunch or an early dinner.  It is a popular lunchtime spot for the downtown working crowd.

Housed in a former department store there are lots of fun architectural details to give the place some character.

The menu is limited but when it’s all good you don’t need a lot of choices.  Of course our first choice was the grilled cheese and tomato soup.  You have the option of adding bacon and tomato but we kept it pure. The tomato soup was wonderful and we licked the bowl on that one.

We also ordered some Northwest Sliders which came with a yummy basil spread and Tillamook cheese.  They also come with a side of mashed potatoes but we opted for a side salad.  The sliders were juicy and yummy and just the right size!

Both the grilled cheese and the sliders are regulars on the menu.  There are two specials each day too so check out the menu on their website.

There is also a great selection of soda fountain treats including some not so typical choices – vanilla honey sodas and the PR  Nelson Milkshake which is made of  huckleberry ice cream blended with the house made purple haze hibiscus syrup.  Next time we will go just for dessert!

And if that wasn’t enough for you – there is always the penny (10 cent) candy!

Enjoy a fun lunchtime experience downtown at Blueplate Lunch Counter and Soda Fountain!

Out to Lunch}Paragon

We have a bit of a theme going this week on Homebased Portland.  The theme is grilled cheese!

Monday we shared with you the very fun and funky Grilled Cheese Grill.

Who doesn’t love grilled cheese and tomato soup!?

If you are looking for a little bit more sophisticated atmosphere then a food cart and a refurbished bus but still want a yummy grilled cheese and tomato soup head on down to The Pearl.  Paragon is located on  the corner of 13th and Hoyt in The Pearl.

Famous for their grilled cheese and tomato soup, it is a popular lunch time destination.  They use a wonderful artisan style bread for their sandwiches and the tomato soup is creamy and smooth

So if you want a little bit of comfort of home but in a little more upscale environment Paragon is perfect.

I celebrated my birthday there in January with a group of girlfriends and the service was excellent.  The majority of us went for the grilled cheese and tomato soup but I am sure the rest of their menu is amazing too!

Believe it or not we have one more Portland grilled cheese hot spot to share – coming soon!!

Do you have a favorite place to get grilled cheese in Portland?

The Grilled Cheese Grill}Food Cart

Portland is a mecca for food carts!

Last Saturday we were doing a little browsing over on N. Mississippi.   There is a great row of food carts on N. Mississippi   – Mississippi Marketplace but we decided to check out a new one we had heard about – a food cart that just serves grilled cheese.

Grilled cheese and tomato soup is one of our favorite comfort food.   I think we grew up on grilled cheese and tomato soup at our house.

The Grilled Cheese Grill is located at 1027 NE Alberta Ave., Portland, 97211  and is open starting at 11:30 each day except for Mondays when they are closed.  Check out their website for specific closing hours.

The Grilled Cheese Grill is celebrating their first birthday tomorrow – Tuesday, April 19th so head on down and join the celebration.

The kitchen is run out of a little trailer.

There is outside seating but the best place to sit is in the bus.

They have brought in an old school bus and outfitted it with booths and a nice long counter and stools.  Hundreds of old school photos decorate the table top and counter top.  Maybe you’ll see someone you know!

The painting on the ceiling is amazing and will keep you entertained for hours!

There are lots of fun grilled cheese combos on the menu or you can make up your own.  Any combination you can think of they will make! (as long as the ingredient is listed on the menu)

We went with The Gabby which was a combination of cheddar, colby jack, swiss, mozzarella on white bread.  We lived dangerous and added potato chips to it – yes, potato chips.  I loved the addition of the salt and the crunch.

Our second choice was The Pops which was a combination of tomato, Havarti and honey mustard on Dave’s Killer Cracked Wheat – so good and my favorite.  Of course we added the tomato soup too!

For dessert we couldn’t resist The Jaime especially when it said that “you might need to eat this in private.”

The Jaime was a combination of marscapone, Nutella, and grilled banana on grilled cinnamon swirl.  It was amazing and I don’t even like bananas!!!

The food was great and how fun is it to be able to eat lunch in a school bus!  Check out The Grilled Cheese Grill!!

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm

If you have never visited the amazing Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn – you need to!

You still have time!  The tulip festival runs until April 25th so don’t delay.  The tulips are in full bloom right now and did I mention they are amazing?

There is a $5.00 per car charge on the weekdays and $10.00 on the weekends.

Wear your rain boots because the fields are muddy.

Besides amazing tulips to look at there are fun games for the kids and even a cow train to ride!

There is a gift shop that sells tulips of course and on the weekends there are also craft vendors.

And did I mention there are tulips?  Acres and acres of tulips!

The different varieties of tulips are identified with signs and you can order the bulbs you want!

So grab your camera and enjoy a visit to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm!

Best Breakfast}La Provence

I went to Paris for breakfast last Saturday.

Or at least it tasted and felt like I did.

Discover a little bit of Paris right here in Portland at La Provence.

Thanks to blog reader Amber who raved about La Provence!  She commented,

“If you truly want the most amazing breakfast in the Portland area YOU HAVE GOT TO TRY La Provence Bakery and Bistro in Lake Oswego off Boones Ferry. It is like walking into a European Cafe (so I’ve been told) and it has the most AMAZING morsels of yumminess to choose from. PLEASE go soon…you will not be disappointed!

So we went.

She was right – we weren’t disappointed.

La Provence has several locations in the Portland area -  NE Alberta, SE Division, Lake Oswego and one in The Dalles.

La Provence first opened in 1996 when it’s owners arrived from France and wanted to share their passion for French patisserie with Portland.

We took Amber’s recommendations and my husband had their corned beef hash which he thought was one of the best he has ever had.

Based on another Amber’s suggestions Tessa ordered their french toast stuffed with cream cheese and a berry sauce – so good!

And I enjoyed crepes!  Everything was delicious.  I also ordered a pain au chocolat to go because Amber said I must!

We truly felt like we were enjoying a morning in Paris.  Even our water was French.  We loved talking with Francois!

We’ll be back.  We hear the lunch and dinners are fabulous too.

La Provence serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and hours vary through the week so be sure and check out their website. It was busy on Saturday morning.  We arrived about 10 am and waited for 20 minutes.

Maybe you’ll be lucky and get Francois as your waiter too!