at the Tapas Ride last night.
– Slideshow below/Photo gallery –
(Photos © J. Maus)
Portland is a city known for many things; including food, fashion, beer, music, and of course, bikes. At last night’s Tapas Ride, we did our part to cover three of those.
The ride was organized and led by Clever Cycles. Clever is the shop on SE Hawthorne that almost single-handedly introduced Portland (and North America to some extent) to the Dutch standards of city bikes (well-built and made for utility) and bike fashion (there is something beyond spandex!).
So, it was fitting that they led 24 very well-dressed and well-equipped people (a sell-out crowd) on a ride to some of inner SE Portland’s finest restaurants last night. Stops included Biwa, Noble Rot, Nostrana, and The Maiden.
After a nice spin through Ladds Addition we stopped at Biwa (SE Ash and 9th), where we drank sake and dined on a nice dish of pickled mackerel, swimming in a bit of peppers and a green onion. We also met Biwa owner Gabe Rosen. Besides running a great restaurant (and doing a lot of his deliveries via bakfiets), Gabe is leading a crusade to get on-street bike parking in front of his place. He feels like he’s getting the run-around from the Bureau of Transportation so he had us all sign a form with our email addresses so he can get us involved in his efforts.
From Biwa, we rode over to Noble Rot (11th and Burnside). Enjoying the fourth floor view, we enjoyed a very tasty glass of white wine and nice dish of fish salad with greens grown on their rooftop garden.
Next top was Nostrana, a casual and relaxed spot at SE 14th and Morrison. At a long table, which seemed appropriate for an Italian joint, we drank a tangy rose wine and feasted on a cool pasta dish with fava beans, drenched in sweet and hearty olive oil and other herbs.
(At Noble Rot, four floors above E. Burnside.)
Our final stop was The Maiden (SE 7th and Morrison). We sat out on the sidewalk in the warm evening breeze while enjoying drinks and a rich and creamy slice of chocolate cake.
It was a very satisfying night on many levels. Not only did I get to explore some fantastic new restaurants (all within just a mile or two from another), but I met some new friends and got to spend time with old ones as well.
For more photos, watch the slideshow below. Or, browse the photo gallery here.
Man, the more I see about it, the more I wish we had been able to go :-/
did that one dude explain how he got his cargo bike to levitate?
I’m surprised that only 24 people showed up given the huge amount of pre-ride commercial advertising for this event in the local weeklys. Maybe everyone thought it was going to be huge crowd because of all the advertising and stayed away as a result?
@BURR: I think there were only a certain number of spots available.
burr,
the ride was $45 per person and it was capped at 24 to keep the size manageable.
well, ‘not free fun’ would explain it…
It was a fun ride, and I had a great time – I reiterate my vote for these to be a monthly thing 🙂
if not monthly, at least regularly! mac and i both agreed last night that we’d attend them everytime. we had a great time and met lots of cool people. a perfect evening!
Yep, hope they do it again and often because I couldn’t make it this time either, and I’d definitely sign up if they did the same restaurants or others nearby.
The Future sez:
“did that one dude explain how he got his cargo bike to levitate?”
And I thought only PBR was a time machine!
Burr,
“not free fun” might explain your meow meow meow attitude, but not much else. Clever Cycles is a business. They advertise. Big deal.
45 bucks seems like a pretty suite deal for the fine food and fine time these stylish snazzy dressers seemed to be having.
I’m cash poor, but would love to go on this ride if it were repeated. How much did people end up spending outta their pocket at the taco ride, or the french fry ride? There weren’t no fancy sit down dining on those rides was there? And they got wine and chocolate cake to boot!
Hey, I was being facetious, I agree it sounds like it was a great time.
OTOH, Pedalpalooza seems a bit too overcommercialized this year, I guess that means it’s becoming a victim of its own success.
Agreed
here I go again getting personal, but I feel self conscious saying I’m cash poor but would pop for this ride. For me it would be one of my semi-annual treats. But if I still spent the better part of my day earning money, 45 bucks would be no big deal for a night out with snacks and drinks.
I’m ambivalent about the commercial aspect in some of the rides. I wouldn’t lead a ride in order to promote my biz myself, but on the other hand, I think it’s so cool to have this bike community growing and encompassing all kinds. And I think is so very cool to have biziness wanting to promote themselves to us… those were all bike-enthusiastic establishments, no?
I think it’s also cool to have the bike community supporting good local businesses – it’s a good reminder that getting people on bicycles does a lot for local shops – it’s easier to stop, there is more availability because bikes take up less space, less car traffic makes the streetscape nicer, and it just enhances the local feel of those small shops and restaurants having people getting to them by foot and on bicycles.
What a great “Portland” event! Bike friendly AND supporting local biz. Whoever thought this up should get some sort of pat on the back
I don’t know if this had anything to do with it, but:
http://www.portlandize.com/2009/05/what-ride-would-you-choose.html
suits and ties? gag me.
lycra and clown shoes….
snicker