Coffee Anyone?

I have been on the road the last couple of weeks in the Pacific Northwest and as is my routine on these jaunts, I drank a lot of coffee. Portland for all you uninitiated is Mecca for coffee drinkers. Now I know someone is going to write me and say it is really Seattle, but they are just wrong. And I can tell you why in one word, Stumptown. Stumptown Coffee in Portland is not coffee, it is a religion. A way of life. And with good reason. The java served by this place is fantastic. Couple that with free Wi-Fi, and they are hands down better than their main rival, Starbucks. I think one of the main reasons for this is their size. Because they only have a handful of locations around the city, they can keep an eye on their coffee quality. And believe me, for Stumptown, quality coffee is king. Another little place I visited is called Silk Espresso and Pastries. Now when you look at this place, it comes across as just another strip mall coffee joint, but it so much more. Owner Leah McMahon has done a fantastic job of putting together the neighborhood coffee shop. As I sat there working, again on the free Wi-Fi, [seeing a trend here?] I noticed that the employees working there knew almost every customer who came in by their first name and their drink of preference. It literally was like I was living in an episode of the old TV show Cheers, complete with Norm and Cliff. Finally, one place I stop every time I am in Portland is Papa Haydn's for dessert. Suffice to say, in my opinion, there is not a better place for a cup of after dinner coffee and dessert. Here is a picture of what I ordered. It is called Autumn Meringue and is Swiss meringues layered with rich chocolate mousse and pot de creme, wrapped in ribbons of chocolate. Know that it was fantastic and tasted as good as it looks.