Work for Beer

Last night, Jesse and I rode our bikes over to the east side to see a band that I like play at a local bar. We arrived pretty early, so we stopped at a Cuban restaurant, Pambiche, for happy hour. I had every intention of just getting a drink, but when we looked at the menu (with their Cuban Creole fare) we decided to make that stop dinner. The happy hour menu consisted of small plates ranging between $2-4 and they were delicious! I'm still kicking myself for forgetting my camera at home. (The photo above is just a random shot from Google images. We didn't actually get the empanadas, but you get the point. It was delicious.)

We shared a plate of codfish and potato croquetas, black-eyed peas frituras (sort of fritter-like), fried plantains, Masitas (pork with garlic sauce), and Cuban pepper stew. Everything was really tasty, but my favorite was the Masitas. It was slow-cooked pork that was cut into large pieces and then battered and pan fried with the garlic mojo sauce on top. Seriously, out of this world! I washed it all down with a fresh pineapple juice mimosa. We're definitely going back soon! Actually, I'm dying to try out their breakfast menu, so the next person to come visit us here in Portland might get the pleasure of sampling the Cuban steak and eggs.

We enjoyed happy hour so much that we arrived a little late to get a seat at the bar. Actually, the place seemed no bigger than our apartment and I felt pretty boxed-in. So, we hopped on our bikes to ride out to Mississippi Avenue for another free concert (I know, only in Portland). We cruised through several NE neighborhoods that I hadn't seen before, so it was a great (impromptu) search for new places to live. Hockey, played a great, if not a little short, show. I feel like I worked for my happy hour beverages last night. As we rode home, the sun was going down** and we stopped on the Broadway Bridge to admire the view. Jesse looked out over the river and repeated over and over, "this is our home, we're not just visiting." I agree. It's pretty awesome.

Date night has been officially resurrected after long winter hiatus. Now that the weather is turning for the better, I think we're going to schedule regular date nights again, but with destinations that force us to ride to new places.

**Don't worry Mom(s). We have blinky lights on the front and back.