Hog heaven

After ten days split (almost) equally between Seattle and Portland, I am home and finally posting again. I have to admit that during my vacation, I ate like a pig and drank an excess of coffee every day while also walking ridiculous distances across, over and through each city. I was left to my own devices on a solo vacation. What can you expect?

I don't want to chronicle every last detail here but I will share the general over view and a few highlights. This is going to be messy. I am tired. You will get better posts another day.

September 17 - Seattle
13 Coins - late dinner and coffee

September 18
Cafe Tiesto - mediocre americano
Cow Chip Cookie - sugar overdose while eating a cookie bigger than my face, will never do this again (though it was a damn good cookie)
Cafe Umbria - burnt coffee and snobbery, no thank you
Uptown Coffee - looks like a chain but is heaven in the form of espresso and orange zest

September 19
Cafe Ladro - local chain but reliably good coffee
Cafe Vivace - good coffee served by snobs, ugh
Top Pot - slightly industrial-looking donut shop tucked between houses, perfect place to have a yummy donut on a rainy day after being pissed off by coffee snobs
Boulangerie - I now know what pain au chocolate is supposed to taste like, I have to sit down and savor every bite, I almost propose to the baker
Cafe Vita - cozy, with good coffee, open late
El Diablo Cafe - most unique coffee shop in Seattle, Lucy and Desi themed bathrooms, book store next door

September 20
Bedlam Cafe - the interior design made me think it would be better than it was, but I've certainly had worse
Macrina Bakery - after almost killing people who don't understand how lines work and a long wait I was seated at the best table in the entire place and fed a delicious meal of brioche french toast with honey crisp apple slices, hazelnuts, lemon whipped cream and chicken sausage
Cafe Besalou - their pastry smelled delicious but I got only an espresso as I was saving myself for the next meal (which I had been looking forward to the entire trip)
Delancey - opened by a husband and wife (I follow her blog, I have her book), at the outskirts of a neighborhood that gives you no inclination of what is actually tucked away on a side street, I had an amazing pizza with padron peppers, mozzarella and Grana with a glass of amazing wine (I made the waitress write the name down) followed by a dark chocolate chip cookie with grey salt, I licked the chocolate off of my fingers (blame the wine)
Bauhaus Coffee and Books - among the worst coffee of the trip but open very late and provided some amazing people watching

September 21
Zeitgeist Cafe - large space with good coffee
Stumptown - went for a free cupping and fell a little bit in love with one of their employees, want to make a life like the couple who did the cupping with me (in town for the day just to try out new food stuff in the cityw they roast their own coffee beans and make their own pizza dough and are just generally really nice and warm)
Remedy Tea - puh-erh tea and chocolate pepper tea cookie, I finished my book and enjoyed the sunset
Molly Moon's - in my defense I was expecting to buy two tiny NYC scoops of ice cream with my five dollars, I got a massive bowl, one scoop of balsamic strawberry, one scoop of Theo's chocolate, I think I licked my fingers again... don't ask

September 22
Odd Fellows Cafe - I was not expecting to like this place as much as I did but how can you go wrong when the space is huge and sunny and they serve you warm peach coffee cake?
Beecher's Cheese - handmade cheeses, grilled cheese with two different cheeses, tomato and basil = gooey yumminess
Stella's Cafe and Wine Bar - bad cappuccino and the girl at the counter is entirely too perky, no I do not want chocolate sprinkles
Bookstore Bar - the length of the bar was full of single malt whiskeys... danger

September 23
Three Girls' Bakery - blackberry scone
Cherry Street Coffee House - my last coffee in Seattle, not the best by any means

September 23 (Portland)
Stumptown - you just can't go wrong here
VooDoo Donut - oh god the unhealthiness, I had an oreo, chocolate and peanut butter donut, odd as it sounds it was amazing
Pizzicatta - pizza with feta, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic and peppers, entire pieces of roasted garlic
Rogue Brewery - honey orange wheat beer, wet hop ale (which I actually enjoyed despite not being the biggest fan of hops)

September 24
Stumptown - the other location in Portland
Tin Shed - hashbrowns with eggs and bacon gravy, so messy but so good
Last Drop Coffee - good coffee, they serve Stumptown like everyone else
Barista - the most amazing coffee of the entire trip, that's all I can say
Jake's Grill - penne with shrimp and scallops in a white sauce can never be bad, I was forced to eat part of the chocolate bag that Jennifer got for dessert (dark chocolate in the shape of a bag, filled with white chocolate mousse, whipped cream, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberry coulis), another sugar overdose

September 25
Half and Half - wins for cutest tiny cafe, breakfast sandwich and coffee
Sydney's - tucked away where you wouldn't expect anything much less a coffee shop, acoustic guitar on a Friday morning goes perfectly with chai lattes
Koi Fusion Truck - I tracked it down and had decent but overly messy tacos
Crema - cappuccino and a ginger molasses cookie are the perfect reward for walking five miles in the sun

September 26
Kenny and Zuke's - latkes with homemade applesauce and sour cream, only justified by the fact that I have not actually had latkes since I moved to NYC
Albina Press - distantly related to Barista, just as good
Stumptown Annex - another cupping, this time with a friend, I love their Ethiopian coffees
Doug Fir - I officially solved Christina's craving for a burger and milkshake and it was a damned good meal, bison burger with onions and Tillamook cheddar

September 27
Byways Cafe - I would be a regular among the regulars here if I lived in Portland, I had a basic breakfast but fell in love with the pumpkin coffee cake that Jennifer had