My Saturday night movie double feature

The new 4K remastered version of one of my favorite SF films, The Fifth Element. 

Then, the relatively new American Blu-Ray anniversary release of another fave of mine, Streets of Fire. 

I can tell you the many flaws of each, but I love them both.

Home again

And mighty happy to be here. 

Both flights unrolled in fine fashion, and I even got to enjoy an upgrade for the five-hour trip from PDX to CLT, but I am way past ready to sleep in my own bed for a few nights. 

Many times during this trip, a song would play in the background, and I would flash back to where I was and who I was when I first heard that song.  I love that music can do that to me, though I'm not usually in the mood to let it.  For whatever reason, this past week, I was, and the background music of my days was all the more enjoyable for these time traveling moments. 

Another reason I love Le Pigeon

Chef Gabriel Rucker and the Le Pigeon team hold a special Halloween dinner each year.  I've read about them in the past, but earlier tonight I was able to attend this year's special meal.  Its theme was to spoof a certain spike-haired food TV personality. 

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The menu looked both appropriate to the theme and intriguing. 

Every single dish was delicious.  I'd be hard-pressed to pick a single favorite, but I did absolutely love the small cup of brisket chili,

the foie gras eggroll dish,

and the General Tsao-Kung Pao shortrib.

Heck, I truly enjoyed every course. 

As I've said many times, if you live in Portland or just visit here, you need to make Le Pigeon a regular stop on your food journey.  Rucker's inventiveness and gift for combining ingredients in unusual and unexpected ways is second to none. 

When you're in Portland, eat at Willow

If you live here and haven't eaten at Willow, what are you waiting for?  Make a reservation now, and enjoy one of Portland's smallest and finest restaurants.  If you're visiting or planning to visit the area, be sure to set aside a few hours one evening for a meal there.

Chefs and owners Doug Weiler, who mostly stays in the kitchen cooking, and John Pickett, who emcees your meal, do everything at Willow.  They hustle every second you're there--and most certainly for hours beforehand.  They create and cook the food, clean the dishes, serve the food and drinks, and literally do everything else. 

The experience is intimate and interesting, but most importantly, the food is delicious.  Earlier tonight, a group of five us from PT enjoyed dinner at Willow, and every dish wowed us.  Every single bite I had was a treat--and one of the dishes featured squash, an ingredient I generally dislike.

I hope to eat many more dinners at Willow, so I encourage everyone here or visiting here to support Doug and John.  Eat at Willow, and when John greets you as you come up the stairs, tell him I sent you. 

Two Portland happy snaps

The weather out here has been absolutely lovely, crisp and clear and soft.  The trees have embraced fall and keep drawing my attention.  Today, I particularly adored this one.

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I could just imagine a gaggle of Impressionist painters working feverishly to capture all the shades of color in the leaves.

After dinner, while grabbing ice cream at the wonderful Salt & Straw, I fell in love with this ice cream cone light fixture.

Magic and beauty really are, like love, all around.

Walking from the car to the restaurant tonight

here in Portland, I saw and was smitten with this tree.

Click the image to see a larger version.

Standing at the edge of a parking lot, resplendent in shades of yellow and red, the tree summed up perfectly the slight chill in the fall air and the sense that though winter was indeed coming, it was far from here yet. 

I don't spend enough time noticing the magic on display all around us all the time, but every now and then I get lucky.

How to make my Sunday crazy

Have to leave the house Monday morning at 5:30 a.m. to catch an early plane to the West Coast.

Oh, yeah, that'll do it. 

With high-pressure work on which I'm late, my own bills and other money stuff to handle, packing, and the usual amount of weekend work, this looming Monday wake-up call becomes particularly significant.

I know I shouldn't complain, because I'm fortunate enough to have a job that pays me well and a company that treats me well on travel, but in this case, I'm still going to whine a bit.

Okay, that was enough:  whine over.

Back to it.