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Seattle Post- Article

Fortunately, Portland has a fun, funky and fancy selection of downtown lodgings, from quirky to classic in a variety of price ranges, featuring impressive collections of local and national art, memorable cuisine and proximity to theaters, museums and river recreation. “While there are lots of similarities to Seattle in terms of weather and ambience, Portland is smaller, more accessible, and it’s so easy for Seattleites to zip down for a couple of days,” said Shoshanna Cohen, spokeswoman for the Ace Hotel, which attracts travelers seeking economical lodging options. “Portland has so many creative juices flowing in terms of our film festivals, First Thursdays art gallery walks and worldclass art right here in our hotels.”

Here is a wide range of lodging choices:

Ace Hotel

The Ace Hotel is in Portland’s West End, next to the popular, eclectic Pearl District and famous Powell’s Books. The Ace’s lobby is a casual hangout for those who want to slouch on the couch and take advantage of the wireless Internet, or to finish sipping their cup of fresh-brewed from neighboring Stumptown Coffee. The hotel has one creaky, slow elevator that you’re not encouraged to take, because the stairs are faster — something to keep in mind. A flophouse years ago, the building has been transformed into an immaculately clean but casual, affordable hotel. The rooms are aligned on a long hallway, with a choice between brighter-but-noisier street views, or darker and quieter rooms on the other side of the hall. It’s a definite consideration since sounds from the lively neighborhood have been known to keep rocking into the wee hours. The rooms have the building’s original woodwork and tile, and local artists have unleashed their talents on the walls themselves, or have their art installed throughout. Some rooms have clawfoot tubs, army canvas door coverings and turntables — with instructions on how to use them (a bit of a giveaway to the youth of many of the lodgers). However, Cohen insisted that guests include families and visitors in all age ranges. “Our affordability means that people can spend their money on food and shops, rather than on hotel things you don’t need,” she said.

Off of the lobby is the Clyde Common restaurant with an expansive cocktail menu and communal-style seating, serving organic, rustic American cuisine. On the other side of Stumptown Coffee is Kenny & Zuke’s Deli, which offers delicious, in-house smoked and cured meats, freshly made bagels and amazing breakfasts. The Rueben is terrific, but the side of fries covered with melted Swiss and chunks of pastrami is an artery-clogging immersion into delicious decadence. “A lot of our visitors stop off at Kenny & Zuke’s for breakfast before heading up to nearby Mount Hood for a day of skiing,” Cohen said.

For a more polished flavor in lodging, the midcentury modern Modera is at the opposite end of downtown, a block or so from the Keller Auditorium and down the street from the Portland Performing Arts Center.

The recipe for creating the Modera was straightforward: An old Day’s Inn was gutted, its modern lines kept and it was refurbished with luxury amenities and local art. A stunning portrait — “Venus in Wax” by Tyler Marchus — dominates the lobby and rises over embracing chairs modeled after Italian handbags. Along the Modera’s hallways are soothing infrared photos of natural settings, and in each room is a faux fur bed covering and an original nude done in charcoal. The engaging room colors are louder than any sounds from outside as the wellinsulated windows keep street noises at bay. Valet parking on-site resolves another headache.

The outdoor patio is dwarfed by a large, vertically planted garden wall. Visitors can relax around the fire pits and enjoy wine tasting Monday through Saturday, and the hotel’s new restaurant, Nel Centro, opens in April. David Machado, who created the popular fish eatery South Park, and the Italian Pazzo’s, is designing Nel Centro, with a menu inspired by cuisine from Nice and Genoa. Another terrific choice nearby for a meal is Higgins, which has French bistro-style offerings using Northwest ingredients. Since you won’t want to stay in the hotel the whole time, the quickest way to gain an appreciation for Portland’s outdoor beauty is to walk a few blocks toward the river and stroll along the Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park — a flat, 1.5-mile stretch of lawn that hugs the west bank of the Willamette River. It’s home to many nationally renowned festivals, including the upcoming Cinco de Mayo event in which about 300,000 people celebrate along the waterfront during a three-day multicultural collage of music and dance. Next, walk across the Steel Bridge and take the pathway along the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade. This 1,200-foot floating walkway is the longest one of its kind in the United States. Walkers can return to the west side using the Hawthorne Bridge. This loop allows the best glimpse of the city’s riverfront skyline, as well as breathtaking views of Mount Hood to the east and the still-active volcano, Mount St. Helens, to the north. To get even closer to the Willamette River, take a paddle around Ross Island with Portland Kayak Co., situated on the docks at RiverPlace. The tour is a pleasant float under Portland’s soaring Marquam Bridge and through a nature preserve.

A stunning and popular lodging choice is the Hotel Lucia. I was wowed by its lobby’s collection of art, its friendly staff and the cozy library, where I found a warm fire and a guest knitting. Throughout the hotel is a vast collection of David Hume Kennerly’s photos of the Kennedy family and other world leaders, such as Leonid Brezhnev and … “Seinfeld’s” Kramer. In the relaxing, elegantly furnished rooms, guests can choose different pillows or even select from a spiritual menu, with texts for followers of many of the most popular religions and spiritual pathways — or you can just watch TV. Just off the lobby is Typhoon!, one of the city’s finest Thai restaurants. Even better, it provides room service.

Just a few blocks away is the Hotel Lucia’s sister property, the newly renovated Hotel deLuxe, which takes the shimmering elegance of Hollywood’s golden era and runs with it. In this rainy city, the deLuxe brightens the mood with light, alligatortextured hallway wallpaper, and buttery yellows and lime-sherbet-colored rooms. Each floor has a classic film theme: The Rebels (adorned with photos of Ford, Wells, Kazan), the Immigrants (Wyler, Preminger and Lang) and others. In the lobby is Gracie’s restaurant, as well as the Driftwood Bar, in case you don’t feel like venturing out. The Hotel deLuxe is a few blocks off Broadway, but Portland’s public transit makes it easy to enjoy local foods, festivals and fun. While Portland is easy to navigate, it’s friendlier to pedestrians and bicycles. So unless you enjoy circling one-way blocks looking for elusive parking spaces, at most Portland hotels it’s best to throw your keys to the valet for the duration of your stay and take the easy-to-use Max light rail and street car. Or, just take the train from Seattle. If you fly, the Max light rail goes from Portland International to downtown.

Portland’s newest hotel on the scene also is one of its most upscale. The Nines was built atop the Meier & Frank building kitty corner from Portland’s living room: Pioneer Courthouse Square. The Nines has a wealth of meeting and celebration space (13,000 square feet), a roomy and well-kept fitness center and a world-class, 419-piece art collection. Its 331 guestrooms receive twice-daily maid service, 42-inch highdefinition TVs and the amenities one would expect from a luxury hotel. Urban Farmer, the restaurant in its lobby, is dedicated to local farm-totable fare. The bar menu spreads its wings pretty far, featuring an absinthe menu, moonshine and a large selection of barrel-aged whiskey. This April marks the opening of its new, Asian-cuisine rooftop restaurant, Departure.

Evergreen Aviation Museum

“The “Spruce Goose” or ‘crown jewel’ is the center piece of the Evergreen Aviation Museum. The giant Spruce Goose is also known as the Hughes Flying Boat H-4 (HK-1) Hercules.  The Spruce Goose is an aircraft designed and built by Howard Hughes’s Hughes Aircraft company.

It first and only flight was in 1947, by Howard Hughes himself only about one mile until he detected a vibration or pulsating in the aircraft frame or in the control wheel right after he lifted off and decided to set the H-4 back down rather than take a risk that it would be uncontrollable if he gained more altitude.  It was also said that he was just proving that it would indeed fly for the senators and that he wanted to prove his point so he only flew a short distant.

The Spruce Goose is the largest airplane ever built, the wing spans 320 feet—20 feet longer than a football field, it has enough cargo space to carry 2 (two) railroad cars. It has eight massive engines with 17-foot propellers. The weight of the Spruce Goose is 300,000 pounds. And it is made of wood even though it is called Spruce Goose it is made out of mostly birch.    

The museum also houses a large number of aircraft from U.S. aviation history in its 121,000 square-foot facility, including the Apollo Lunar Module.  The museum features a replica of the Wright Brother’s original 1903 craft as well as fighter jets, commercial planes and, in the spirit of those aviation pioneers, home-built aircraft from the 1990s.

History of the founding of the Evergreen Museum:

First envisioned by Capt. Michael King Smith, son of Evergreen International Aviation founder Delford Smith, the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum is the realization of his dream.  The museum first began with a small collection vintage aircraft on display in a hanger located at the headquarters and was called the Evergreen Museum. In March 1990, the current owner of the Spruce Goose, the Disney Corporation announced that it was closing the exhibit located in Long Beach, California.  The Aero club of Southern California was notified and they immediately began the search for a new home for the Spruce Goose.  In 1992, the Evergreen Museum won the bid with a proposal to build a museum around the aircraft and feature it as a central exhibit.

The disassembly of the aircraft began in August 1992. The plane was disassembled and shipped up the coast and up the Columbia River from Long Beach, Ca to Portland, Or. Where it was transferred to trucks and driven to McMinnville to the museum in February 1993. For the next eight years, the plane went through a detailed restoration, where volunteers removed all old paint and repainted the entire aircraft. This was only a small part of what was done as restoration.

In September 2000, the main parts of the aircraft were completed.  The fuselage, wings, and tail were all transported across the highway and into the new museum building, which was still being built at that time.  For the next year crews spent their time assembling the wings and tail to the fuselage. These were completed in time for the museum opening June 6, 2001. The control surfaces (flaps, ailerons, rudder, and elevators) were assembled later.  The last piece was put into place on December 7, 2001.

As of mid-June, 2008, there are now two main large exhibit centers open to the public, consisting of aviation, where the Spruce Goose acts to anchor the other exhibits, and space flight, in another, matching, new large building.  The current center of the space flight exhibit building is occupied by the SR-71 ‘Blackbird’, which originally rested under one wing of the Spruce Goose.  The Museum plans to obtain the ‘Enterprise’ space shuttle at some time in the future, then it will become the centerpiece in the flight exhibit center.  Flight simulators for space shuttle are available for use by visitors now.

Also at the museum there is a farm store and a tasting room.  The wine tasting is free and does not require admission to the Museum.

The Evergreen Vineyards Spruce Goose wines and juice, also they have hazelnut produce—biscotti, gift baskets and sweets.  The tasting room is open seven days a week, 11am-5pm. The Spruce Goose café is also opened daily from 9am-5pm, and also a gift shop for unique selections of aircraft gifts, educational toys, and clothing, and one of a kind gifts.

                                 
 
“Hi all Y’all Kramer wine lovers,
 
The Valentine winemaker dinner for Wine Club members was a hit, and with all those aphrodesiacs, we may be guilty of contributing to the local population boom due mid-Nov, 2009!  We are sorry that you all couldn’t be here to experience this fine dining opportunity—the food was scrumptious, the wine legendary, and the company gregarious.  Toiling backstage in the kitchen, the only time I heard a hush was at the commencement of the main course.  The decorations were red and sparkly and the lights were romantically low.  We received many kudo’s for the menu—mostly for the grilled oysters, but we heard that the pomegranate-raspberry sorbet was the best!  And the Secret Admirer chocolate dessert had a secret aphrodisiac ingredient (–no, not Viagra)!  We hope to see more of you new members next year at this event.  Don’t forget to hold a spot on your calendar for the mid-July and mid-August ‘Under the Stars’ winemaker dinners.
 
Well, the winter’s over and we have turned over a new leaf.  The early spring wine club release will start ~March 17.  No, I can’t tell you what it will be at this time, we need to taste the newly released wines before making a decision—what a tough job!!  We have made changes to our website www.kramerwine.com. 
 
Three events to consider:  the Carlton Wine Auction on Sat March 7, the Sip 47-The Road Less Taken ‘Spring on 47‘ event, March 7-8 and the McMinnville Sip March 13-15.
 
One at a time….We will be serving Kramer wine at the Flavors of Carlton wine auction on Sat, March 7, starting at 5 pm.  This is a fun event with (really good) local wineries, food vendors, music, and 50 artists displaying their crafts.  It is a benefit for Yamhill-Carlton youth after school enrichment and community programs.  A very worthy cause—admission is $50 (covers wine and food).  Meet some local dignitaries and winemakers and artists and bid both the silent and hand auctions—you wouldn’t believe some of the art and wine (some older vintages too) they have auctioned!  As well as luxury vacations, winemaker dinners and tours, hot air balloon rides….
 
Each winery participating in the March 7-8 Sip 47 ‘Spring on 47’ has their own special happening—ours is an Earth Bag Roundup.  Bring your Kramer Earth Bag (the one you got with the Holiday Wine Club release), fill it with six bottles of wine and get 15% off the total purchase.  Although that’s the same deal that Kramer wine club members get every day, please tell your friends and neighbors.  If they don’t have a Kramer Earth Bag, we’ll give them one when they buy 6 bottles of Kramer wine! Check out the Sip 47 website www.sip47.com for other winery special events.  Don’t forget to visit Plum Hill winery (RJ and Juanita Lint worked here at Kramers and now have their own tasting room to tend) on old Hwy 47.  Plum Hill will have live music and a ‘dip your own’ bottle waxing experience.
 
Kramer will be at the McMinnville Sip at the Evergreen Aviation Museum (my favorite venue) to serve you a selection of Kramer wines Fri-Sun, March 13th-15th.  We received a bronze medal for our 2005 Chardonnay Barrel Select, the only chardonnay at competition to get a medal.  We also got a bronze medal on our 2006 Cardiac Hill Reserve Pinot Noir, one of only two Pinot Noir’s to get a medal.  Residing in the lap of one of the best Pinot Noir areas in the world, and only two got bronze medals???  What’s wrong with this picture?  Come and see if you agree with the judges.
 
Anyway, we have had several lovely sunny days and folks have picnicked on the deck.  Expecting many more…..come visit and enjoy the splendor that is Kramer Vineyards!  We are waiting to serve you!   Marilyn/Kramers (503) 662-4545
 
PS  Don’t forget to put marilyn@kramerwine.com in your address book so you don’t miss a critical communiqué!  Cheers! ”

There’s a reason why Oregon wines are recogized around the world:

“Sunday evening the White House hosted the 2009 Governor’s Dinner, the first black-tie dinner of the administration. The menu of all-American organic and sustainable foods featured the Archery Summit Estate 2004 Pinot Noir paired with Wagyu Beef and Nantucket Scallops.
That evening, President Obama raised a glass of wine and delivered his first formal dinner toast. “To the nation’s governors, to the United States of America, and to the certain hope that – despite our current travails – we will all emerge more prosperous and united.”
 
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Hi Friends,

I have a show opening here, in Portland, in December. It opens on First Thursday, December 4th 6:00-8:30. Since the gallery is not hosting a first Wednesday, I’ll be giving a gallery talk on December 13th at 1:00 in the afternoon. Eva Lake will also be interviewing me on KBOO first Thursday at 10am.

I would be delighted if you could make it by to see the show.

Attached are a couple of images of work in the show and the press release sent out by the gallery. Please excuse the quality of the photos – haven’t yet had them professionally shot so these are just my studio photos and are of much lesser quality.

Katherine Ace
kat@katherineace.com

“Dear Friend,

 I am calling upon you to help those in need this holiday season. The Governor Hotel is taking food donations for the Oregon Food Bank from December 1^st to 4^th. You can drop off your much need donation from 8am to 6pm. You don’t even have to get out of the car, just hand your can of food to one of the hotel valets. Please pass this email onto anyone living in the Portland Metro Area. Our goal is to fill at least one 150lb barrel per day. Thank you for your support in advance.

 Sincerely,”

614 SW 11th Avenue – Portland, Oregon 97205

Direct Line 503.241.2120

Fax Line 503.224.9426

 www.governorhotel.com/concierge.html

 www.grandheritage.com

Estate Grown- Biodynamically Farmed- family Owned

Here we make wine only from the grapes we grow and farm 100% of our 230 acres of grapes using the strict methods of Biodynamic farming in addition to honoring Demeter’s winemaking standards in our winery practices.  

Our mission is to create unique wines that are true to their varietal characteristics as well as this special corner of the Willamette Valley.  

Our tasting room and grounds are open to visitors daily.  Here you will have an opportunity to sample our core wines as well as small bottlings, and wines that can only be found in our tasting room.   We  welcome your visit.

Here at Montinore,we will be doing something a little different. this year.  We have two tasting options for you;

The Traditional $10 ($5 for our wine club)
Choose any 5 wines that strike your fancy  and take home a logo’d commemorative Riedel glass.

Smoked Salmon Mascarpone Mousse on Herbed Red Potato Coins
2007 Estate Pinot Noir