Tea Time-r?

Getting to know the edible Portland is fun. I suppose I love getting to know all places through its food.

When I backpacked through Holland, Belgium, France, and Spain for a month, that's exactly what I did--I ate my way through Europe. Hmm, perhaps I'll dig up some food photos and reminisce with y'all.

Actually, I hit a lot of cultural spots, too. I remember getting to Madrid (the last stop) where I stayed with my friend, Benji (Oh, Benji, I miss you. You are a terrific travel companion and life-saving American-speaker!). He suggested going to the Royal Palace or the Prado Museum that first afternoon and I practically rolled my eyes at him and said something like, "I've seen sooo many palaces and museums." Can you imagine? I'm a little embarrassed by that but I was just so over-saturated by the centuries of history and culture. Anyway...

So here we were at Tea Zone and Camellia Lounge for, uh, tea. They take their steeping so seriously that they gave us each a timer! Once the timer was done, we removed the strainer basket full of leaves from the pot and pour. Look at that fancy one with the metal frame and cool orange sand (above). I'm so used to the cheesy, plastic ones that come with Boggle or Taboo.

I believe that Steph got an oolong (there were several) while Dan and I shared a green tea (also several).

It was new year's day and they were closing early. The staff was quite friendly to us even though we showed up 25 minutes before closing. I remember back in the retail days in high school when customers would come right before closing. I was never rude to them but boy did I wish they would get done quickly.

Tea Zone is in the Pearl District which is in the northwest part of the city. There's lots to do in that area so after you get your shopping done at Powell's Books or seeing a Portland Center Stage play, wander over to Tea Zone to relax with a hot tea, good service, and a cool timer. Their tea selection rivaled the beer selection at Lucky Baldwin's Pub in Pasadena, California.


Tea Zone and Camellia Lounge
510 NW 11th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Tel: (503) 221-2130

JADE

In southeast Portland, there's a neighborhood called Sellwood. It's a couple miles from my place in Eastmoreland and the family lives there so we go pretty often.

It's famous for its Antique Row, antique shops galore. But I go there for the food. This time my sis-in-law, Liz, with her baby, Gabe, and I hit Jade for some Vietnamese sandwiches. The last time I remember having a good V-sammie was back in the Bay Area. There was a place just outside my old apartment on Clement St. in San Francisco. Tho', there was also a really fantastic place in the San Jose area that my friend, Bernadette, used to take me to. I don't remember where or what it was called.

Anyway, it's been ages since those tasty pickled veggies in a crusty French baguette have touched these chompers. I was very excited.

Liz and I split this BBQ pork sammie, a bowl of udon, and a pot of Feel Better tea.

Oh, did I mention that it's a tea house, too? The owner, April, blends her own teas. Her mother, Lucy, is the chef and bakes all the bread and pastries in the basement. Apparently she went to France for some time and learned the tricks of the trade there. The place is immaculate and recently opened.

They are very kid friendly. There's even a rocking chair in the back because the general manager's fiancee is pregnant. But hey, you don't have to be her or pregnant to sit in it.

Anyway, everything tasted great. It didn't taste like the $2 sammies I used to get at the bakery next to the bar in SF. But then again, this place is much more upper crust (excuse the pun) and the clientele is different. I would have preferred more pickled carrots and radish in my sandwich and a little bit more fish sauce (sorry, Alyssa) in my pork. The BBQ pork in the sandwich was more Chinese than Vietnamese. But then, with the udon, which was also good but not like the stuff I've had in Japan, there's a bit of Asian mingling in the menu anyway. The baguette was outstanding!

I need to try the French pastries. They were beautiful and the little girl at the table next to us couldn't get enough of them. Jade has very tasty food at reasonable prices.

The staff and owner are really friendly, too. Such a bonus. So check them out if you get the chance:

Jade
912 SE 13th Avenue
Portland, OR
Tel: 503.477.8985
Open for lunch and dinner. Closed on Sunday.