Last Saturday's lunch at Por Que No, yum-yum

First let me say that I must return to Por Que No, at 4635 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., to take more photographs of the guacamole you see in the photo above. Perhaps I'll capture the green better next time. I did get a great photo of those margaritas, though!

Second let me say that I'd already been to Por Que No on Wednesday a week ago, at lunch with my friend at work Sarah. That's when I first saw the guacamole and realized I'd been a fool, a 100 percent fool, to forget my camera. That little bowl of green looked gorgeous! So gorgeous in fact that I decided to try it. You see, I've never, ever been a guacamole person. The few times I tried it in other Mexican eateries, I found it to be oily and flavorless. However, I took one look at that little bowl and realized that I'd be an even worse fool if I didn't at least try it. I mean the chips looked perfect, too.

I'm here to tell you that I couldn't get enough of that edible perfection. That's not totally true. I got plenty, sharing it with Sarah who had bought it for us--she'd eaten lunch there the day before and knew already just how good it tasted! And then I thoroughly enjoyed a carnitas taco and a pollo verde taco. All in an hour, including driving and parking time, in Sarah's vehicle.

Back at work, I couldn't stop thinking about that guacamole and the carnitas taco, the most flavorful of the two, to me anyway. So when my friend from work Marsha and I were talking about where to eat lunch on Saturday after the Architectural Heritage Center lecture about local architect Joseph Jacobberger, I naturally suggested Por Que No. She'd recently read a article about it in the Oregonian and smiled, saying, "OK!" (You too can read that same article in the link above, right under the photo.)

So on a sunny and sort of cold Saturday afternoon we rode the 14 bus and walked a couple of blocks to get in line to make our order, looking around at the interesting walls decorated with exotic keepsakes and vivid paint while we stood just inside the front door.



Peek-a-boo! There I am in the bottom of that mirror.



On the counter to the right stood gigantic glass jars filled with brightly colored fruit juice drinks--I missed them in this photo; yes, another good reason to return. When a relaxed, happy-looking man with curly hair and friendly, sparkling eyes asked, "Would you like something to drink while you wait?" I figured he meant something pink or yellow from one of the jars, but when he answered my, "What do you have?" with a list that included margaritas on the rocks, I blithely answered, "Yes!" "Salt?" he asked. "Just a little," I answered. He then turned to Marsha who grinned and said, "I'll have what she's having." Oh, somewhere in there we both ordered the pint-sized ones! (The recipe's at the top of that Oregonian article, the one you can read if you click on the Por Que No beneath the photo.)

Both hungry and thirsty, we ordered our food and invited ourselves to sit across from each other in two empty seats at a four-top table. The two ladies by the window graciously agreed to let us do that. Moments went by and the drinks arrived, followed by the guacamole and housemade chips that I had ordered for the two of us. We sipped and dipped and smiled and talked--after I took the photo. I'd remembered by camera! Somewhere in there, it dawned on Marsha (and me, to tell you the truth) that additional non-margarita-liquids were needed, so she said, "I'm going to get us some of that juice," and stood up as I said, "I'll take the pink one."

(Just now at Por Que No’s Web site, I found out their official name is Aguas Fresca.) Tasted freshly sweet and vivid.


A few minutes before our food arrived, I took this photo of the sign out front. When the man I was convinced must be the owner came to check on us, I showed it to him. He told me about the fluorescent bulbs he's substituted in the building's original sign, so I decided to be sure to get a shot of it from the sidewalk.


I took several bites of one taco before I remembered to take a photo. And I don't know which one I'd already taken a bite out of or which one is on the right--I had ordered the carne asada and the pollo asado, but I do know that the one on the left is the carnitas. It's still my favorite one--I saved it for last.

On our way out, when we bussed our table towards the back of the restaurant, Marsha noticed the open back door. I followed and came out into a charming back patio. "This will be so great in warm weather," I exclaimed. Marsha agreed.




I'm wanting to go back to Por Que No to eat again, before too long, not just to take another photo of the guacamole, but I have to get the green just right. I think it'll depend on the light coming through the windows. It'll probably take more than one visit.

July's Last Thursday on NE Alberta

Perfect! Mama and the guys and the gals came; so did Chris Cooley, our long-time Jackson bud who lives here now with his sweet girlfriend Leslie, who had to work, doggone it. No rain! Loads of people! Fun had by all! Each of us sold a little bit here and a little bit there, but it's not about the money--it's about the togetherness, the joy we take in expressing ourselves.

My sunflower hat gave many, many people of all ages a chance to grin as they made their way along the sidewalk--often saying, "I love your hat!" as they went by. For kids in strollers, it caused confusion to come over their faces and eyes.

Not long after we started setting up, an automobile stopped in the intersection as a pedestrian appeared in the street. The motorcyclist behind the car rear-ended it with a loud whomp. I looked over in time to see the rider fly up and off the cycle, to his left, land and then roll on the street. My heart raced, just at the sight of it. I cannot imagine how the young man felt. The woman driving the automobile looked totally put out with the whole thing.


Here's Mama! See our car reflected there behind her right shoulder?

Here you see how I displayed my photo cards, painted wooden items, collages, and purses. It looks way too crowded, now that I think about it. I'll have to work on that before August, right?

More of my stuff, including some of the art cars, rested on a metal TV tray, from the 1950s--Mama said that it was older than any of us there except for her--but she completely forgot about me! See the little stand beside the table? That's where Lamont and Chris had their T-shirts stacked, by size.

On this last table, you see all of Lindsay's great photos and her frames decorated with wine corks. At the back right corner, you see the T SHIRT the guys had had printed to sell. Its obvious wording spoke to loads of people who looked, pointed, grinned, read it out loud.

Leland and Christina walked a few blocks west on Alberta to get fish and chips for Mama and me, at Halibuts. Yummy!

Couldn't resist trying to get a shot of these bar accoutrements in Binks, catty-cornered across the street. The nice young lady at the door put our old-enough-to-drink-alcohol bracelets on Mama and me as we entered the door. All we wanted was the restroom, but rules are rules.

At some point this clown man drove along with his chimp puppet on his right arm, singing away over some sort of loud speaker system. For the life of me, I cannot remember the song!

This little parade represents the spontaneity and creativity of Last Thursday's followers.

Click on this to see the only pink poodle I've ever seen. Shocked at the sight, I couldn't get my camera on and up to take a shot until they were almost out of sight.

Think this shot represents Porsche envy? Take a close look at the guy on the back of the bike. By the way, when they rode back up the street later on, the guy on the back had the mattress on his head. I don't know if they'd switched seats on the bicyle or took turns carrying it on their heads.

All evening this great big ol' car cruised. If you click on it to enlarge the shot, you can jut make out the row of yellow rubber duckies on the dash.

As I stood up to begin packing things, Leland pointed out this guy on stilts. Notice the fire escape just above his head?

Is he mugging for the camera, or is it a reaction to the flash? Only the stilt man knows for sure.