Oh Worzi, you make me homesick :)

Enjoy !

"Now that's a rationale I can get behind."

Yeah, I suppose it's not a bad idea to have tourists help pay for our mistakes. ;-) But, I'm still trying to understand the appeal of what basically amounts to a hospital elevator with a view.

Okay Worzi, where'd you have dinner last night? Details! ;-)

Sounds very nice, where did you end up in the Pearl for dinner? Ten 01, Park Kitchen, Fenouil, Carlyle, Olea and Park Kitchen are a few places we have enjoyed in this area! :)

Novelty coupled with a good view, I suppose.

One last bit of tram clarity, as this topic does seem to come up a bit.

OHSU tried to keep a ridership breakdown during the first July the tram was operating.

Total rides: about 123,000

OHSU workers or students at OHSU: 101,000

Patients (mainly outpatients, as OHSU actively discourages tram use by inpatients, according to the article): 2,269

Fare payers (ie, people riding for pleasure):18,055

"Okay Worzi, where'd you have dinner last night? Details! ;-)"

Well it was'nt that great :/ I was over ruled by the group I was with and we went to the Oyster House. When we got there we waited for about 15 minutes before being seated. Then the manager brought our "special" menus. Since our group was so large (20+) they decided we could only have stews, salads or choice of 3 fried items. However, since I'm allergic to shrimp and oysters, there was'nt much I could eat on the "special" menu. So I sampled the Widmer Beer and ended up at McDonalds later.

So, tonight we will be going to Jakes Grill followed by a tour of the shanghi tunnels and then off to enjoy the night life. Tomorrow night I plan on sampling the french cuisine.

Was that Dan & Louis Oyster Bar? Too bad you couldn't enjoy it, but at least you can say you ate at a Portland "institution". Same with Jake's, except it's got a better menu for you. Sounds like you're having fun!

Glad you are enjoying your time here. And yes, Jakes should be a good fit for you.

As far as the tram goes, I have not been on them. But DH has for work, and then a friend who works at OHSU. My friend gets really irritated because she has seen too many on it being disrespectful. She has told me stories of people who are either on vacation or just acting like it (doesn't matter) and then people on it that are stressed and worried and headed to visit sick family or friends. The two just don't go hand in hand very well. DH saw the same thing, but he only rode the tram a few times. She does it daily and it really has become a pet peeve of hers, and she says of many others that work there as well.

Jake's has wonderful escargo - if you aren't allergic. The smoked trout appetizer is so good - the smoked fish, with the chopped onions, the sour cream style dressing/dipping sauce - I'm hungry just thinking of it. The pan fried trout entree is also so good that sometimes I have the smoked trout and then the pan fried trout. My husband always has the steak or steak and lobster. Salads are also good. Leave room for the cobbler for dessert - oh, and the upside down caramel apple pie. Now I am really hungry.

The usually have an excellent bottle or two of a Ken Wright pinot - if they have the reserve or old vines (can't remember what term they use) and you are so inclined to try wine you will not be disappointed.

Let us all know how you liked it.

If you go to Fenouil for french food tomorrow ask for Lisa as your waitress. She is very knowledgeable about the food preparation and always gives you great suggestions on choices. My husband loves the kobe beef. I usually have one of the fish preparations. We always start with the escargo (again - not sure of your allergies though).

Lots of wine by the glass.

If the weather is nice they might have some of the glass doors open. You might enjoy that. If you are rather cold, ask for a table by one of the fireplaces.

Sometimes they have great guitar music - live - on Fridays.

If Chris is at the bar, you will have excellent service. Though we've never had bad service. Chris is just our favorite!

We liked the french waiter at Fenouil with the long hair :)

But all the times we ate there, we never had a waiter that we didn't like.

Another great place for dinner close by is Piazza Italia..I miss their Caprese salads at a sidewalk table in the afternoon and I guess I will have to hurry back to Portland for their Squarciarella..I have no idea if that is spelled correctly lol

www.piazzaportland.com