I like to find places that I like, and frequent them. Consistency is a good thing. If you know your meal, service, and atmosphere will be good the majority of the time, you're more likely to relax, and have fun while you're spending your hard earned money. There's a place that my wife, friends, and I enjoy a lot, it's the Portland City Grill. We've only eaten at the restaurant twice, both extremely special occasions, one paid for by my folks as an anniversary gift, and once on our dime. But don't fret, because there's a way you can experience the great views, great food, and great atmosphere, significantly cheaper. Happy hour. I know they do it during the week but don't know the exact details. I'm going to tell you about Sundays at the Portland City Grill.

Every Sunday, they open at four and have happy hour until close. The best way to get in and assure you'll have a seat (read good seat), and totally enjoy yourself is to ENSURE, you're there before 4PM. We try to get there w/ at least 5 to 10 minutes to spare. Their address is:

30th Floor
Unico/US Bancorp Tower
111 SW Fifth Avenue
Portland, Oregon  97204

You can park right in the garage of the same building, they'll even validate your first hour of parking. 

The Grill is located on the 30th floor of the U.S. Bank building just a few blocks off Burnside on 5th. If you take Pine S. from the waterfront side, you'll drive right into the garage. Park near the elevators, you'll see signs to the Grill. Here's the catch, most people wait in the lobby until the elevators are unlocked allowing access to the 30th floor. We typically get in the elevator in the garage about 3-5 minutes before 4PM. And like a kid using an ATM, or elevator, heh, I just keep pressing the 30th floor button until it finally lights up.

Just last week this tactic got us in front of the mass of people that rushed in. You'll only need to employ this tatic if you want a window seat, and trust me, you do. Happy hour is only good in the bar, so once on the 30th floor, you briskly walk in, and find a good window seat, we like to sit as far from the bar out overlooking the river. The prices are CHEAP (for food). Appetizers range from a paultry $1.95 - $4.95 and include things like Sushi, a yummy burger, fries, Caeser salad, prawns, mini pork sandwhiches, Bruscheta, and a ton more. Four of us ate about 3-4 appetizers each, had 2-3 drinks each, and a $10 dessert, with tip spent less than $100. Not bad for a night out on the town. After 5PM there is a piano player, and the music is pretty good.

This is a great way to enjoy seeing Portland from a vantage that you won't get to that often, and keeping your night out on the town very reasonable. The picture above was taken from our seats about an hour after sunset.

I was able to find the happy hour menu on their site.

Switch the frogs to the opposite side within 2 minutes.

Green Day - American Idiot.

All I can say is this has to be one of my top 10 albums ever. Green day calls it a rock 'opera', I understand what they were going for, the album is awesome from start to finish. The second track, "Jesus of Suburbia" is a 10 minute song that changes tempo 3 or four times. It's probably the best track on the album.

If you get a chance, check out the live concert of the American Idiot album, where Green Day plays a live show in England to 130,000 people over two days. It's called "Bullet in a Bible". It's produced well, and is well worth the $14 (especially if you have a video ipod).

Anyways, I know this album has been out for several years, but I just have to say how great it is, start to finish.

I was tagged by Travis, so here's my five things:

I've worked for some pretty amazing clients as a web developer:

Right out of college I worked at a web development agency that gave me the choice of working on the http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/ corporate site, or the U2 World Popmart Tour Web Site (not online anymore...). Ummmm hmmmmm which one would you choose. I've done work for Reba McEntire too. Just about three years ago, I had an opportunity to do three professional poker player site's in conjunction with UltimateBet.com. Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, and Dave "the Devilfish" Ulliot. I'm an avid poker fan, and have seen all three of these guys all over TV. While I did not get to meet any of them, I did get an autographed book from Phil Hellmuth.

I used to be a snow ski instuctor. I taught snow skiing to kids as young as two, all the way to sixty plus years old for about seven years. I originally did this job starting in high school to subsidize the cost of skiing, and found that I really liked teaching and working with people. I worked for a ski school at Snoqualmie Pass, WA, at the Ski Arcres ski area. I worked for one of the largest ski schools in the country.

I'm an avid wood worker. I've taken a break for the past year or so, mainly because there's no furniture left to build, but I feel like I'm about to start up again. I primarily like to make furniture, and I tend to find something I like somewhere, and then duplicate it, building it better, stronger, and for about 1/3 of the cost usually. Along with wood working, I can pretty much do any sort of home improvement thing. I have ALL the tools, and a lot of the skills. I worked for general contractor for a few years, he taught me many things.

I've recently become an aspiring photographer. Well I guess I can't call myself a photographer yet, but I'm going to take some classes, and learn about photography. I purchased my first digiatl SLR (well any SLR for that matter) just a few months ago. And while I'm still an 'automatic' shooter right now, I'm enjoying the things a SLR camera can do, that a point-and-shoot can't. It's awesome to be able to shoot five or six photos in a second or two. I'm excited about becoming better, and sharing this with people.

I have a highly addictive personality. When my work got an XBox 360, it became pretty apparent to me that I needed to get one at home, as I easily could have snuck away to play it at work too much. I tend to go in long spurts of addiction, and right now my addictions are (in no order of importance): xbox, poker (I have limits, and no, I don't have a problem), learning photography, and my major addiction is electronics. Yeah, the second I saw the iPhone, I knew I'd have to have one. It's a sickness really.... :). I'm lucky to have a very cool wife, and while the electronic purchases sometimes push the envelope, she's a damn good sport.

I'm tagging Jon, and Jason.