Texas Roadhouse

 

Texas Roadhouse is a famous steakhouse specializing in various steaks.  The restaurant always has a display of all the types of steaks that it offers for the day near the entrance of the restaurant.  Texas Roadhouse is also famous for its unlimited bread that it provides to every table.  The only Texas Roadhouse location in Oregon is located in Eugene, right by the Valley River Center Mall.  It is about 2 hours South of Portland.

We left Portland around 11AM in the morning and it was a raining day.  The traffic was not bad other than occasional heavy shower, but we got to Texas Roadhouse around 1PM.  When we got there, the parking lot by the restaurant was full of cars and there was a lot of people at the waiting area.  However, we did not have to wait for long to get a table.  We were asked to stand under "Step 1", and soon a hostess took us to our table at the back of the restaurant.

We ordered a Cactus Blossom as the appetizer and for entree we got an 8oz Sirloin and a 12oz Prime Rib.  Before our food arrived, we enjoyed the bread a lot.  It was fresh and warm.  The bread has a faint cinnamon taste and sweet.  It also came with cinnamon flavored butter.

The Cactus Blossom arrived shortly.  Cactus Blossom is a fried onion as a whole and opened up like a lotus.  There was a dipping sauce in the centre that was kind of sweet and spicy.  We did not enjoy the Cactus Blossom however.  The onion was sliced too thin and we could barely taste it and it was also a bit salty.

After about 10 minutes, the streaks arrived.  First, the 8oz Sirloin looked tiny and seemed to be a 6oz instead.  It was also over cooked and seemed to be burnt.  It looked pitiful.  We were disappointed at this.  The Prime Rib was good.  It was juicy and tasty with horse radish.

Overall, the service at Texas Roadhouse was great and the bread was amazing.  Other than that we were mostly disappointed with the Sirloin steak we got.  We may give it another chance in the future but it did not live up to our expectation.

Choza

 

Choza is a fine dining restaurant specialized in Mexican cuisine.  Choza is located South of Portland, in the shopping center of Bridgeport Village.  It offers various Mexican dishes such as nachos, tacos, burritos, and many other Mexican food.  It is one of the most popular restaurant choices at Bridgeport Village.

We got to Bridgeport Village around 12:30PM and there was a lot of cars.  We drove to the parking garage and it was packed with cars.  It was difficult to move forward because the parking garage area was only single lane and one way only.  Luckily, we were able to find a parking space rather quickly as someone was just leaving when we went into the parking garage.

When we went into Choza restaurant, the restaurant was about 70% full.  Half of the restaurant was dedicated for the bar.  The restaurant provided a bowl of tortilla chips and salsa sauce for free.

We ordered a nachos, a bowl of Pozole, Carnitas taco, Asada taco, Al Pastor taco, and Barbacoa tacos.  The Pozole soup was served quickly with a lot of vegetable stacked on top of the soup and with half of a small avocado.  Lot of pork meat was put in the soup.  The nachos came in a large place.  When it was served to the table, the plate was sizzling hot.  We did not add any meat on top of the nachos but it came with bell peppers, jalapenos, beans, and tomatoes.  The nachos was quite good.

The tacos came with amazing freshly made soft tortillas.  On top of each tacos, lot of cilantro was placed on top.  We didn't like cilantro that much but it was quite fresh and the taste of cilantro was not that obviously.  We really enjoyed the taco as the meat was juicy and the vegetables were fresh.

We really enjoyed the dining experience at Choza and loved the food there.  Next time we would try other Mexican dishes and see how they compare to others.

Tidal Raves Seafood Grill

 

Tidal Raves Seafood Grill is a classy seafood restaurant located at Depoe Bay.  The restaurant is located right on the coast and has an amazing view of the coast of Depoe Bay.  It is an amazing spot for a romantic dinner for couples.  The restaurant offers a variety of seafood dishes and also a large selection of alcohol for people to enjoy.

We went to Tidal Raves Seafood Grill after watching the whales.  We got there around 1:30PM after the peak lunch hour.  When we got there, the restaurant was about 50% full and all the tables along the window were taken unfortunately.  However, the seats on the upper deck were great as well since the floor was elevated.  The view from these seats was just as amazing as the seats along the windows.

We ordered a Salmon house special and a Ciopinno, which is a seafood mix dish.  Both dishes were served on a round black plate.  The salmon was a huge piece of salmon and cooked perfectly.  It was soft and tender.  The salmon was also sitting on a buttery risotto which was amazing as well.  Ciopinno came with a lot of clams and calamari.  The dish covered with tomato based soup with great taste.  There were few pieces of rockfish in there and 2 large shrimps.

Overall, the dining experience at Tidal Raves Seafood Grill was great.  We really enjoyed the food and the food taste as amazing as it could be.  Next time we would like to come here late in the afternoon such that we could see the sunset while we dine at the restaurant.  That will be an amazing experience.

Depoe Bay

 

Depoe Bay is a small town along the central Oregon coast.  It is about 10 minutes South of Lincoln City and about 2.5 hours from Portland.  Depoe Bay is known to be a great place to watch whale migration during the migration season.  There is a small whale watching center along the main street of the town.  Depoe Bay also houses the smallest harbour in the entire world!

We left Portland around 10AM in the morning and headed towards Depoe Bay.  It was a very foggy morning in the Portland area but we decided to go anyway.  Instead of taking Highway 26 to the coast first, we decided to take the smaller route through McMinnville to get to Lincoln City first.  It was extremely foggy all the way to Lincoln City.  However, once we got to Lincoln City, the fog disappeared and it was sunny weather.  We were really enjoying the sunny weather along the coast.

We then headed South to Depoe Bay to get to the whale watching center.  There was a lot of parking space along the street for people to park the car.  The watch watching center was not big, but there were about 15 people there with 3 other volunteers going over how whales migrate.  Everyone was holding a binocular trying to spot a whale.  There were 2 buoys out there in the ocean.  The first buoy was about 3 miles out and the second buoy about 5 miles out.  We were able to see whale splashing water about 8 miles out, which was quite far.

There was a second floor at the whale watching center but not much was up there.  It was probably meant to have more space for people to watch whales.  The space downstairs was just for restroom.

After whale watching a bit, we took a walk outside and saw the smallest harbour in the world.  The way for going in and out of the harbour was small and narrow with waves splashing along the rocky cliffside.  There were several gift shops along the street as well but not many tourists in the shop unfortunately.

Depoe Bay is a popoular whale watching place, but we felt that there is little to do in the town.  The shops along the street aren't too exciting either unfortunately.  Hopefully one day the down will be more lively in the future.

Philly Spot

 

Philly Spot is a food truck stall located at the Hillsboro food cart site, the Station.  It is one of the 20+ amazing food truck stalls at the side.  Philly Spot specializes in Philly steak sandwiches, but also offer other dishes such as burgers, hotdogs, and corndogs.  The Philly Spot food truck is located on the East side of the Station food cart site and it is right outside of the indoor seating area.

When we got to the Station, it was around 12PM and many food truck stall just opened.  We did see a few food truck stalls closed due to the day being a Monday.  We strode around to see what was available to try and came stumble upon Philly Spot.  The smell coming out of the food truck stall was so aromatic and made us even more hungry.

We then saw a lady picking up her order from Philly Spot and it was a giant box. This was when we decided to try Philly Spot for lunch.  We ordered a Philly Steak sandwich since we figured that it is the signature dish.  The cost of this was $16, so it was not cheap either.

After about 10 minutes, the order was ready.  It was indeed in a large box and it was so hot and fresh.  Other than just the Philly Steak sandwich, it also came with a large portion of fries.  The fries were the thick cut fries, which are the ones we really enjoy.  It also came with a small serving of sauce.  The taste of the sauce was similar to the sauce used in Big Mac burger at McDonald's.  The Philly Steak sandwich had a lot of meat in it, but we thought there were going to be more bell peppers in the sandwich based on what we saw on the picture, but there was very little bell peppers in there, which was a bit disappointing.

Overall, it was an average experience having the food from Philly Spot.  It is definitely a place to try but we will probably try a different food truck next time when we visit the Station food truck site.

Jonsrud Point

 

Jonsrud Viewpoint is a scenic lookout point at Sandy, Oregon.  The viewpoint looks out East towards Mount Hood and the river ravine below.  During the cold morning, thick fog form within the ravine beneath and the sunrise over the ravine simply looks gorgeous.  Thus this place has been a popular spot for photography enthusiasts for taking sunrise photo around Mount Hood.

We got to Jonsrud Viewpoint around 7AM in the morning.  It was still dark outside because the sunrise is at 7:45AM.  The parking area for this viewpoint is along a pull out South of the viewpoint.  There were only about 9 parking spaces and quite limited.

When we got out of the car, it was freezing.  We could see the frost on the grass and on the fence.  As we set up the camera, there were more people arriving to wait for the sunrise.  The parking lot was full.  Everyone was wearing gloves and hats because it was freezing cold.  We saw a dog walker placing a card board on the ground for his dog to stand on to protect the dog's paw.

Around 7:50AM, the sun rose above the mountain and the sun rays over the fog was simply beautiful.  The orange colour of the fog was too beautiful to dismiss.  The sun also made an orange grow on Mount Hood, it was quite amazing.

On the river down at the ravine, we also saw several fisherman there doing some early morning fishing.  It must be extremely cold down there on the river.

We stayed there for 30 minutes when the sun was well above the horizon and went back the car.  We were the last few people to leave but we really enjoyed this.  We would recommend to come here as early as possible to secure a parking space.

Crepe Neptune

 

Crepe Neptune is a famous bakery store specializing in crepe located in Cannon Beach, Oregon.  Crepe Neptune is located at the Northeast corner of downtown Cannon Beach.  It is right across from the tennis court.  Crepe Neptune offers various crepes in savory flavour and sweet flavours.

We got to Cannon Beach around noon on a beautiful sunny Saturday.  Before we went for a walk along the beach, we decided to get ourselves some treats to regain some strength from the workout in the morning.

We went to Crepe Neptune and saw 2 kiosks on both sides of the store front.  It was very convenient for its customers to order.  We ordered a Cape Lookout Crepe and a Smuggler's Cove Crepe.  This allowed us to taste both savory and sweet flavours.  After we placed the order, a text was sent to us with an order number.

After about 10 minutes, we got another text indicating that our order was ready.  The nice little girl gave us the crepe from a box.  Both crepe was so warm and very aromatic.  We took the crepe and walked to the Cannon Beach lookout just down the street to enjoy the crepe under the sun.

As we started eating the crepe, we just realized that the sleeve carrying the crepe had indications showing where to tear off the top of the sleeve.  There were 2 parts that can be teared off.  This really made crepe eating super convenient.

Cape Lookup Crepe had egg, ham and cheese in it.  It was very fresh and warm.  It was like eating an omelet but in the crepe.  Smuggler's Cove Crepe was the classic with nutella, banana, strawberry, and whip cream.  It was soft and sweet in a warm crepe.  We probably liked it the most.

We definitely would visit Crepe Neptune again to enjoy the crepe.  Next time we will try a different crepe.

Spirit Falls

 

Spirit Falls is a magical place in Pacific Northwest. The waterfall has huge volume of water with beautiful turquoise colour.  It is located near Cook, Washington state.  However, Spirit Falls is actually located on a private land owned by the lumber company and there is not an official trail to get to the fall.  The unofficial trail passes skirts around the privately owned land and hikers should make sure they don't trespass into the privately owned land.  Since the trail is unofficial, it is not maintained and hikers are using it at their own risk.  The trail is only 0.4 miles long to get to the falls but the trail is extremely steep.

We got to the trail head around 8AM and parked the car on the shoulder of the road right before the privately owned land.  Then we walked towards to the open area and the trail head is located at the Southeast corner of the open area.  The trail started off with a steep slope going downwards and we had to go very slowly due to large rocks on the trail.

Once we got down the first portion, we saw a path heading up the ridge and thought that was the trail, we went up the ridge and found that there was no where else to go.  We had to come back down the ridge, which was a bit scary due to the drop off on both sides.  When we got down the ridge, we found that the trail actually did a sharp left turn and continued downwards.

While heading down the slope, we were constantly checking our location on our phone to ensure we weren't crossing into privately owned land.  After about 25 minutes, we finally got to the waterfall.  The last part of the trail was very slippery due to the water flowing across the trail.

When we got to the waterfall, we were amazed by its beautiful turquoise coloured water.  Also, due to the thick foliage above the waterfall, there wasn't any sun light at the waterfall and it was just beautiful.  On the right side of the waterfall, there was a small narrow path heading down to the water level.  We carefully climbed down there and it was amazing there.  Note that getting down there is extremely dangerous due to the slippery rock and narrow path.  Do not attempt to do this if you are alone by yourself.

As we heading back, the climb up on the trail was tiring but it was easier than heading down.  The distance was also short so we were able to get back in 15 minutes.

This Spirit Falls was an amazing experience.  The water level is a bit low at this time of the year, we would probably try again in the future during an earlier time of the year.