Stepping Stone - On the corner of NW Quimby and 24th in Portland, OR.

This is one of those legit Portland hot spots. The staff is young and hip, the food is dang good, they play great music (like Led Zeppelin), and it has that diner ambiance that I love – not the “am I risking my health by eating here” diner ambiance, but the “these people are all normal people with normal problems/and if they are weird, they aren’t any more weird than I am” diner ambiance. When you get there, you have to put your name on a clipboard and sometimes the wait can be kind of long. If you go alone or with one other person, you can sit at the bar, and as long as there is an open seat, you don’t have to wait.

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Stepping Stone Website

The Galley - On Metairie Rd. in Metairie just outside of New Orleans, LA.

My father and I have been to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival several times and we are always looking for new things to try, including new food places, since we both love food. This year we were talking to a local couple and they suggested The Galley. In turn, I would definitely suggest this place to anyone that is going to be in the area. The food was fresh and extremely delicious. The prices were reasonable and the staff was very nice. It’s worth noting that if you get a Po-Boy, they will let you do half and half – I got half catfish and half oyster.

FYI their Bread Pudding is amazing!!

As much as I love the different parts of New Orleans (the French Quarters, the Garden District, etc.), it’s nice to see other areas; and Metairie is a beautiful suburban area.

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Burrito Bar - On the corner of NW 9th and Hoyt in Portland, OR.

This place is kind of the typical Fresh-Mex/Mexican American place. Don’t go expecting a culinary revelation and you should have a good experience. I thought it was much better than places like Baja Fresh and Taco del Mar; more on the level with Chipotle.

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Bangkok Duck and Chicken - Food Carts on 10th Ave. between Washington and Alder in Portland, OR

I’m not sure what to say about this place. The food was pretty good but I doubt I’ll go back. It wasn't bad but it wasn't really great either. The quality of the ingredients was good, the guy was nice, and the price was reasonable, but it just didn't do it for me. I would like to talk to someone else that has been here to see what they thought.

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Sweet Basil - On the corner of NW Glisan and 17th Ave. in Portland, OR

This place has good Thai food. I liked the combo plate because it comes with a small salad and the Jasmine rice, and I thought it was kind of a lot of food. It’s nicely decorated inside and I got my food quickly. It wasn't anything that I’m dying to go back for, but I would happily eat here again if I was close by.

Sweet Basil Website

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Movie - The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)

This is one of my favorite movies. It takes place in a small village in Spain in the 1940s. A little girl watches James Whale’s Frankenstein when a traveling movie theatre comes to town. She becomes fascinated with the monster and sets out to find it.

Wikipedia:

- The disintegration of the family's emotional life is symbolic of the emotional disintegration of the Spanish nation during the civil war.

- The barren empty landscape around the sheepfold represents Spain's isolation during the beginning years of the Francoist regime.

- At several points in the film Fernando describes in his writing his revulsion at the mindless activity of the beehive, this is possibly an allusion to human society under Fascism; ordered, organized, but devoid of any imagination. The beehive theme is carried into the manor house which has hexagonal panes to its leaded windows and a honey-colored light.

- At the start of the film, the authorities are using the Frankenstein film as a warning to the population about man's godless creations which have to be killed for the safety of the public. This is a veiled propaganda attempt to justify the violent overthrow of the elected government in the civil war by intimating the monster to be the "godless" socialism of the Republic. This metaphor is repeated later in the film when the hunted republican soldier takes on a role similar to that of the monster in the 1931 film. When Ana calls on the spirit of the monster to return, she is symbolically calling on the spirit of the Republic to return.

- Ana represents the innocent young generation of Republican Spain around 1940, while her sister's Isabel deceitful advice symbolizes the Nationalists who are obsessed with money and power.

- As the film closes we see a warming of Teresa's feelings and the possibility of a future revival of the family's emotional life and by inference the life of Spain.

IMDb

Movie - Arlington Road (1999)

This is a fantastic, action packed movie with an awesome ending! A college professor suspects his new neighbors of being terrorists. However, recent traumatic events in his personal life, and research into terrorist sub-societies may just be making him paranoid.

IMDb

Nong's Khao Man Gai - Two locations: 10th and Alder or 4th and College in Portland, OR

This place has gotten some really good reviews so I decided to give it a try. I liked it because it is simple, inexpensive, and delicious. The cut of chicken was moist and tender, and the sauce and rice were really good. There are at least two carts that I know of, one on 10th and Alder and one on 4th and College, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there are more around somewhere. This is definitely one I would recommend.

Nong's Khao Man Gai's Website

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Movie - 400 Blows (1959)

If you are looking to watch a movie like Transformers or Oceans Eleven, this is not it. This is a deep and profound movie that follows a young boy that lives in a rough world. Things never go his way and luck is not on his side. I really liked it, the end was about as beautiful as it gets, but it was very sad in many ways, and my heart ached for the kid. For me, the beauty was in the idea that kids are extremely resilient to hardships, more that adults give them credit for, but even so, everyone has their breaking point. Society should be setting kids up for success and parents should be supporting and loving them, but this movie shows just how much that is not the case. The other things that I really love about this movie are the cinematography, the scenes of Paris, and the way that it accurately captured the way that kids see the world – that kind of spontaneity and responsiveness in the adventurous way that possesses qualities of carelessness, irresponsibility, and a very non-adult kind of logic/reasoning (which may be very illogical and unreasonable but seems perfectly logical and reasonable to kids).

IMDb

Dosirak - Food carts on SW 4th between Hall and College in Portland, OR

This cart is a great deal!! For $7 you get a salad, two gyoza, and teriyaki chicken with rice. I’m full when I’m done, it’s tasty, and it doesn’t break my wallet. I keep going back.

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