Per usual, Mr. Chips is being way to kind towards others involving our recent, shared dining experience at Portland, Oregon’s famed:

Jake’s Famous Crawfish
401 SW 12th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97205
503 / 226-1419

As Mr. C noted, our dinner took place at the more than century-old Jake’s Famous Crawfish — the predecessor to the McCormick & Schmick’s chain ([:0]). It was at this Pacific Northwest, fresh fish mecca where I met up with Portland’s "Prince of Provisions," Mr. Chips and his child bride, Trudy. (Poster Bill Voss was also supposed to meet us but some garbled message from him about bail money, second mortgage, blah, blah, blah was lost on me.) Mr. Chips was the first to arrive and so we sat in Jake’s convivial bar area feasting on both microbrews (me — most notably a pint of Bend, Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery’s delicious Mirror Pond Pale Ale). Most notably shared and enjoyed were a couple of orders of Jake’s fantastic salmon cakes (which wanderingjew previously touted here and whose photo from the aforementioned hyperlink I will steal and post here if just for the obvious drool-inducing factor:)

Later, Trudy joined us and all three of us enjoyed a highly-conversational and enjoyable meal made even more pleasurable by Mr. C and I both ordering that night’s special, a perfectly grilled fillet of locally caught sturgeon. Trudy ordered the salmon and all parties remarked at what perfectly prepared fish dishes they were enjoying. Mr. Chips and Trudy proved wonderful dining companions and their knowledge and enthusiasm of all things Oregonian was both appreciated if not contagious. They are the PERFECT couple to consult if anyone else is planning a trip to this country’s 33rd state.

One addendum: Before that same evening was over, and after saying (wait for it…wait for it), "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," it was a quick cab ride over to what MSN recently hailed as a "hipster-friendly hole-in-the-wall in downtown Portland (which) tests sensory limits with super-sweet (and often adult-themed) creations, bright colors and guilty childhood pleasures just try getting through the Captain Crunch doughnut without succumbing to sugar shock" otherwise known as:

Voodoo Doughnut
22 SW 3rd Avenue
Portland, Oregon
503 / 241-4704

The goal here was to find something to bring home for the kids. A Voodoo Doughnut baby doll t-shirt proclaiming that "Good Things Come in Pink Boxes"? Um, no. A black, concert-like t-shirt with a skeleton protuding from a doughnut hole with the heading that "the magic is in the hole." Yeah…no. A box of "Voodoo Doll" doughnuts each resembling, well, a voodoo doll including an inserted pretzel in the doll’s midsection serving as a "pin" and filled with (yo,29,332109.001,1,14245,70.169.166.136
332109,332109,0,2007-09-27 07:49:01,Chips and Trudy N Meet the legendary I-95″