Handel's Homemade Ice Cream

Handel's Homemade Ice Cream is a chain with locations in 10 states, but that was started in 1945 in Youngstown, Ohio. Oregon has three locations, but we went to the one on NW Cornell Rd and Murray. (Oregon's other two shops are in Sherwood and Eugene.)

The menu is huge, so it is probably a good idea to plan ahead. Business is brisk, but so is the service; you can't count on having a long wait to make up your mind.

They can easily have over 100 flavors of ice cream available, as well as some frozen yogurt options. This appears to be through mixing the varieties in with the bases as you order. That sounds similar to Cold Stone, but instead of having your choice of a base and mix-ins, your choice is of the combinations, which is a lot to take in.

For example, one section of the menu lists five caramel variations: Caramel Apple, Caramel Cashew, Caramel Latte, Caramel Pretzel Crunch, and Caramel Corn w/ Nuts. From the descriptions, two of those start with caramel ice cream, but one with caramel espresso (probably a mix-in to the base, before the ripple is added), and then one that starts with green apple ice cream and one that starts with popcorn-flavored ice cream.

Obviously, making the ice cream fresh daily is not just a promise, but a necessity for that level of variety. It also means that there is no browsing the tubs and seeing how delicious each flavor looks. Also, even  before COVID, I am not sure that it would work to have those little spoons for sampling.

Again, it makes sense to think about what you want before you go, or it will be easy to be overwhelmed. Clearly that has not been a problem. Handel's has fans and merch and was listed as number 1 in National Geographic's 10 Best Ice Creams.

I don't know that it is really that much better than anywhere else. I would like to go back, but also now I realize I kind of want to go back to Cold Stone, and I wish my favorite Tillamook flavor (Fireside S'mores) had not been discontinued. Maybe ice cream is usually good. I am not making "hallelujah" jokes, but Handel's is good.

One helpful option is their Four Scoop Flight, where you can choose any four flavors together. My sisters were especially fond of the Coconut Cream Pie.

They had two benches out front that seem like they could be good places to linger with a cone or dish.

Some day soon.

https://www.handelsicecream.com/

https://www.facebook.com/handelshomemadeicecream/

Old Town, Portland: Voodoo Doughnut

 We got doughnuts!

You have all seen the classic pink box.

I like the rotating case. The doughnuts within really do look delicious. The mugs with a hole going through them are clever, though I am guessing they don't hold very much of your beverage of choice.

I would say that it is weird that it is so popular and so hated, but that's kind of normal.

It started as a late hours place where you could get weird doughnuts with cereal and Nyquil (the cereal doughnuts are still there), get married, or learn Swahili. It fit in well with the ethos of keeping Portland weird, and with all of the music venues in the area, the odds of people wanting a late-night snack were pretty good.

Now you can go in the day, and they take cards (it used to be cash only), and they brought in a guy with restaurant experience as CEO. I think some of the criticism comes from the hype and then the expansion that the hype enabled. Just because something started as a business venture, intended to make money, does not mean that people will not see success as a sign of selling out.

Some of the doughnuts are still pretty unique, but it is more to the point that they are also pretty good. Would we go downtown (or to one of the other eight locations) specifically for doughnuts? No, we have Doughnut Day nearby. But if we are in the area, sure, we will get doughnuts there. And, as a part of Portland's history, we would make a point of going there when in the area.

You can still get married there, but I don't think they still give Swahili lessons. Too many people have switched to Duolingo. Staff no longer rushes you -- they were really nice -- but I am not sure if that is a pandemic thing or permanent.

https://www.voodoodoughnut.com/

Pioneer Place and Bridge City Bakery

 We stopped by Pioneer Place on a recent Saturday to check out the food court.

There are tables and chairs now, though the increased spacing is noticeable.

Only Bridge City Bakery was open. I thought perhaps that was a Saturday thing, but that does not appear to be the case:

https://www.pioneerplace.com/en/dining.html

Lower volume has led to some adjustments, but they still have really good cookies, and at much better prices than some of these trendy newer places.

Some of the sandwiches and salads are not currently available, but they also offered a choice of the cookie included with a meal purchase. It used to be automatically Chocolate Chip (which is what I wanted anyway), but my sisters got their favorites, which normally requires buying additional cookies. (Which we did anyway. We have another sister.)

Staff was really friendly and helpful. Really, it feels like everyone is trying to do their best. Now that there is light at the end of the tunnel, let's all be really good to each other. 

Wear your masks, wash your hands, socially distance, and get your vaccine as soon as you can.

It's for everyone.

Portland, Oregon -- Lan Su Chinese Garden

We could not get tickets for the Lantern Festival itself, but decided to go to the garden during it, because the lanterns are still present, even if they are not lit. That included this handsome phoenix.

There are some flowers at the garden but the biggest influence is water. That does not mean just the central pond, but also the falling water here, creating sound and shaping stone.

Naturally the pond creates the shape, and is the base for many of the lanterns, but the waterfall allows a focus for one type of meditation.

I know many people who come to the garden more to sit and listen than to look.

The wood carving is exquisite, reminding one of harmony of design...

... but rockes carved by time show another facet of that.

Sometimes it all comes together, like when the shape of a doorway is reflected in the stones on the ground.

I appreciate all of that, but sometimes I like the colorful showiness of a giant dragon.

Photos and videos have shown us that the Lantern Festival would be well worth seeing. The tickets sell out fast, but that makes sense.

We were glad to still be able to get an idea of it. A lot of what we had hoped to see for February activities got iced out.

That's Portland.

https://lansugarden.org/

Hillsboro, Oregon -- Schoch Dairy & Creamery

 We have been out to Schoch Dairy three times now.

The first time was around Christmas, for egg nog.

It was very good egg nog.

On my first time, it was a little confusing. The farm store is largely self-service. There is a can for the cash, and a sheet where you mark down your items and our total.

The web page said cash and checks only, but I noticed some people had written down Venmo. It appears there are some digital options.

We had to go back, though, because that day they were out of the Schocolate milk. That is a thing I drink, and that is a really good name.

I didn't like it quite as much, but I think we get to something important here. This is whole milk. Store chocolate milks are usually low-fat. If you are used to that, it is an adjustment.

However, I also wonder if that is part of what made the egg nog so good. The glass bottle could also be a factor. Often egg nog is a little too thick, with the expectation that it will be mixed with rum. If you are not adding rum, it can be too much of a good thing. The Schoch egg nog had a really good flavor and consistency by itself. I suspect it would mix well too, but that's outside of my experience.

Of course the egg nog is seasonal, but at any time you can find whole milk in both white and Schocolate, as well as chicken and duck eggs, and sometimes there are cheeses and maybe honey.

On our last trip a new offering was live cultures for yogurt. It's fun to see what comes up.

Our third trip was to return the bottle. (We had already returned the egg nog bottle.) There is a deposit, but also it is helpful for the family. There was a notice about delays in getting new bottles from the manufacturer.

And of course, it is fun to see what is in. For returning customers it makes sense to check the Facebook page, which does a good job of updating with what has run out and when new batches will be out, but there is also some fun in just peeking in and seeing.

However, there was another reason that I really wanted to get back. Even though I had meant to, on our previous trips it was wet and I was shy and I did not visit the cows. What is the point of going to a real dairy if you are not going to see real cows?

This time could not have gone better. It was sunny so the cows were out in the pasture,  and we drove in right behind a hay truck. The cows found this very interesting.

A brochure I picked up listed some stores that carry the milk. I guess that can be convenient, but there is a whole experience in going out to get your milk right from the source.

This is farm-fresh, family-owned, and pretty fabulous.

https://www.facebook.com/schochdairyfarm

http://www.schochdairy.com/

Milwaukie Bay Park, and Kellogg Creek Park Rules!

The title is kind of a joke. I am not sure where we were, but we liked it there.

It started simply enough with us leaving Enchanté Choclatier via Monroe Street, and wondering what would happen if we went straight instead of turning onto McLoughlin Blvd. A map showed what comes next as the Trolley Trail. That sounded intriguing.

https://ncprd.com/parks/trolley-trail 

Now, if you just do keep going straight on Monroe, you do not end up with any good parking options. We tried that, and then we tried going the other way, and eventually we turned into what should be Milwaukie Bay Park, though we did not see any signs saying that.

https://www.milwaukieoregon.gov/parkssustainability/milwaukie-bay-riverfront-park

 

The most obvious sign was for the Kellogg Water Resources Recovery Facility, and while that is the building and not the trail ways, and its presence definitely has some influence on the park. 

It is obvious that a lot of the design and planting is set up to facilitate water runoff and good drainage, which is an excellent reason to watch your step when moving between parking areas. Sometimes there is unexpected depth.

We also noticed this sign. It was not out, but it was ready because sometimes it may be needed.

This park does have recreation, but that is not its only purpose.

The recreation is nice. We saw people on bikes, scooters, and skateboards, as well as one person carrying a kayak, and several humans and dogs on foot. It seems like roller blades and paddle boards could also fit in well. Also, there's no reason you couldn't bring a picnic basket or a frisbee.

I liked the look of this old set of steps into the water, but there was also a modern boat ramp.

That is a reminder that the parking spaces were generally very long, the better to accommodate boat trailers. Because of this, the parking lot can fill up quickly, especially on good boating days. If you are biking the trail, it may be easiest to come by MAX. You can do so from the SE Park Avenue Light Rail Station, on the Orange Line.

We noticed many people stopping and looking down from the pedestrian bridge. Checking it out on our way out, we discovered the sluice, no doubt also associated with the water treatment and overflow.

It was interesting, and we enjoyed our time there, but where was there? Nothing said "Milwaukie Bay Park.

This was a contender for "Riverfront Park", but that seems pretty non-specific and part of something that goes on for miles. Then we saw this sign:

Not having seen "Milwaukie Bay Park" on the map the first time, we took this sign as definitive. Here were the Rules for Kellogg Creek Park, therefore, Kellogg Creek Park was where we were.

Logical, but apparently wrong. The map and the parks department both seem to defer to the Milwaukie Bay, which is apparently where Kellogg Creek gets treated on its way into the Willamette River.

Maybe that sign was just a vote of confidence. Kellogg Creek Park may not officially exist, but it rules!