On the road again: Portland, day 4

We grabbed lunch today from a food truck that made some kick-ass Cuban food. I love the food-truck scene here, but so many good places were available that picking one was difficult. After tasting my Cuban sandwich, however, I was sure we had chosen well.

Dinner was at Beast, where Top Chef Masters contestant Naomi Pomeroy creates a fixed menu each week and you eat it. Period. No substitutions. I quite enjoyed my last visit to the place and so was glad to be able to go back. Tonight's meal was good, with every dish (except the beet salad, for I do not love the beet) quite tasty, but it was also the weakest of the four Portland dinners. I'll probably weave another restaurant into the rotation the next time I'm here.

We couldn't resist stopping at the Ruby Jewel scoop shop on the way back to the hotel. I'm glad we did. The ice cream was excellent, and the neighborhood was alive with nighttime activity on this perfect final day of September. I was happy just to be there.

I am not, however, happy about having to get up at five a.m. to start the travel process, so I'm signing off.

I really do love Portland.