Willamette Week | Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

State Rep. David Edwards Hopes to Go Hollywood

12:49 PM February 9th, 2010 by Nigel Jaquiss
Culture / Legislature / News / Screen | No Comments »

State Rep. David Edwards is one of the rising stars among the Oregon House Democrats—leadership selected him last year in his second term to sit on the powerful budget-writing Joint Ways and Means Committee. But the 43-year-old Hillsboro Democrat’s ambitions also tilt toward the silver screen.

Edwards, who studied screen-writing at the University of Southern California, has had two screenplays optioned (but mired in “turnaround”). And he wrote the script “treatment” for an HBO miniseries on Joseph Stalin.

While Edwards has filed to run for a third legislative term (after recently mulling a campaign to replace powerful Washington County chairman Tom Brian, who is retiring), he has made significant changes in his non-legislative career. The founder and CEO of a market research firm that helps tech companies choose new products, Edwards is selling that business to focus more time on movies. Last fall, he established a production company called Imperiad Entertainment LLC.

Emperiad produced a trailer for a horror flick that Edwards hopes to make. He is seeking financing for that film and says a trailer for the movie, titled “Nightscape,” appeared recently in the New York City Horror Film Festival.

An Evening Concerning the Future of Alberta’s Popular “Last Thursday” Arts Festival

10:52 AM February 9th, 2010 by Ari Phillips
Multnomah County / News | 5 Comments »

Mayor Sam Adams and City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who oversees the city Office of Neighborhood Involvement, held a meeting last night that Adams hoped would air out “the positive, negative, and everything in-between” of Alberta’s Last Thursday.

Adams began the evening at the jam-packed Acadia Ballroom by informing people not to jeer, comment or clap at the testifiers. Asked instead to use silent “jazz hands” or “spirit fingers” to show support for speakers, at times the event felt like an overnight camp get-together.

Most of the people at the hearing seemed to agree with Justin and Bianca Young, owners of Binks on Alberta St. They called Last Thursday a “huge treasure” and asked people to remember why the area is called “the Alberta arts district.” Jazz hands ensued.

Last Thursday costs the city about $13,000 to put on each month when the weather gets warm. That expense combined with the issues of noise, trash and public urination on Alberta and other neighborhood streets have put the festival’s future in doubt. One resident said he now has the Portland Parking Enforcement on speed dial after all the times he’s come home during Last Thursday to find a car blocking his driveway.

In her opening comments, Fritz suggested rotating Last Thursday around the city. That option, along with the idea of charging vendors – which Justin Young said belonged in an “art censorship district” – suffered from a lack of spirit fingers.

Whether Last Thursday is a community nuisance or a community builder, it’s good at what it does – drawing more than 10,000 people each warm month and helping market Portland to tourists and young people, according to Bill Rowlins, an Alberta Street art gallery owner. He said 80 percent of his business comes on Last Thursday.

The night’s strongest showing of jazz hands might have come when one woman said “the city has a responsibility to fund Last Thursday to perpetuity, especially because of all the positive economic reverberations it causes.”

Some other funding suggestions included adding features such as a parade (pets and hats were among the suggested parade themes) that would charge attendees; building a much larger volunteer corps to help lower costs; and putting a locked donation box on the street.

Video thanks to our news partner at KATU.

Bend Bulletin Reports On Legislative Leaders Settling Scores After Tax Measure Win

10:36 AM February 9th, 2010 by Nigel Jaquiss
Legislature / News / Politics | No Comments »

The Bend Bulletin has an intriguing account of score-settling, Oregon-style in today’s paper.

Bulletin reporter Nick Budnick (formerly of WW) details the efforts of House Speaker Dave Hunt (D-Gladstone) and House Majority Leader Mary Nolan (D-Portland) to turn the heat up on lobbyists who worked unsucessfully to defeat Measures 66 and 67. Among those lobbyists is “No” campaign manager Mark Nelson and Jon Chandler, who represents The Oregon Home Builders Association.

Democrats, who enjoy a 36-24 majority in the House, pushed hard for passage of the measures, which preserved $727 million in legislatively approved personal and corporate income tax hikes. Here are some excerpts from the Bulletin piece: Read on »

Wieden+Kennedy Hates Your Girlfriend, Wants You to Buy a Dodge Charger

7:25 PM February 8th, 2010 by Aaron Mesh
Culture / Screen / Shopping / TV | 10 Comments »

When Chrysler hired Portland ad agency Wieden+Kennedy to launch a new campaign for the Dodge Charger at the Super Bowl, the bailed-out car company was looking to make a statement.

It certainly did. Now the question is whether the statement—”Your lady is a demanding shrew, so get your balls back with a fast car”—will attract customers as well as attention.

The Wieden+Kennedy ad, called “Man’s Last Stand,” is at the forefront of a raging post-game controversy about whether this year’s Super Bowl ads were uncommonly hostile to women. (By “raging post-game controversy” we mean “people who don’t want to do real work talking about things they will forget tomorrow,” but perhaps that’s a given.) Here’s the ad:

And here’s a sampling of reactions.

The Atlantic:

…[M]ost bluntly, a Chysler [sic] Dodge Charger ad stares into men’s defeated faces as they count off all the ways they’ve promised to emasculate themselves to please their bosses and wives. “I will be civil to your mother,” goes the voice over. “I will put the seat down. I will take my socks off before getting into bed. And because I do this, I will drive the car I want to drive.” And the words plastered over the awesome, manly image of a black Dodge zooming down the street: MAN’S. LAST. STAND. In other words: I will be miserable, and because I am miserable, I will drive a Chrysler. No, thank you.

The Guardian:

Automaker Dodge’s “Man’s Last Stand” spot shows bored, oppressed blokes staring vacant-eyed at the camera, as the narrator recites the litany of modern manhood’s daily drugeries (”I will shave … I will sit through two-hour meetings”). Surprise: Dodge would have us complain about our girlfriends, and how they make us put the seat down after we pee, put our underpants in the laundry hamper, take our socks off before getting into bed. The escape? A Dodge Charger muscle car (”And because I do this, I will drive the car I want to drive”).

Among the chores our girlfriends inflict on us, according to “Man’s Last stand”: separating the recyling [sic]. Manhood means the freedom to race a 19 mile-per-gallon crate down the highway and toss your beer bottles into the trash, where they damn well belong. Caring about the earth is an unmanly pursuit best left to your harpy arm-candy.

Huffington Post:

Before last night, I never really understood how horrible and unfair it must be to be a man. Having a job. Dressing oneself and taking out the recycling. Practicing basic human hygiene. A devastating existence made more trying by the presence of a demanding, overbearing woman. You might even have to carry her lip balm. The horror. Luckily for all the desperate men out there, Chrysler, Dove, and FLOTV produced spots on how to buy back your manhood. Buy a car. Buy some soap. Get a miniature TV. Never have to put down the toilet seat ever again.

Closer to home, Portland Mercury food editor Patrick Alan Coleman has Tweeted his discontent:

This Charger commercial pisses me off. … I mean, boo-hoo, you go to work, you put the toilet seat down, cry me a friggin river. She gave birth. She should get the car SHE wants. … Nut-up and get in the Mini-van, you d-bag.

At WW, a land of knuckle-dragging cavemen eating rotten meat in the parking lot, the consensus was that the ad was actually pretty amusing, though it did nothing to convince anybody that a Dodge Charger is man’s last anything, or even the car you would buy if you wanted to make some kind of principled stand that assures you never have sex again.

High-School Redesign: School Closures, Boundaries, Board Elections and Union Impasse

3:55 PM February 8th, 2010 by Beth Slovic
Education / News | No Comments »

The busy state of Portland Public Schools’ high-school redesign and teacher contract negotiations bring this omnibus update, in advance of tonight’s School Board meeting:

• Parents in the Grant High School cluster met last week to organize against Grant’s possible closure as a neighborhood school. Between 200-300 people attended the meeting, which included entertainment from Grant’s Royal Blues chamber choir (pictured above). Grant parents now have lawn signs, a Facebook page, a Google group and a new website domain name, www.don’tclosegrant.org, even though no decisions about closing Grant (or any other neighborhood high school) have been made.

• The Portland School Board will not hear a resolution tonight on the future number of neighborhood high schools, despite opposite indications at the Jan. 25 School Board meeting. At that meeting, Superintendent Carole Smith’s chief of staff, Zeke Smith, said staff would present a set of resolutions tonight that spelled out not only the district’s minimum requirements for the types of core classes each neighborhood high school would offer beginning in 2011, but also the district’s targets for neighborhood schools’ student enrollment. Instead, the resolution [PDF] reads like a wish list of desired outcomes instead of an actual plan. It does repeat the goal of giving all students access to two world languages and Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses.

• The School Board will consider a new $75,000 contract with Tampa-based Seer Analytics, whose CEO visited Portland this fall as a participant in the Council of the Great City Schools conference to talk about using new school boundaries as a tool for “increasing diversity and efficiency while building community participation and buy-in.” The $75,000 contract falls under the board’s business agenda, which board members typically approve with little to no discussion.

• The possibility of neighborhood high school closures, the creation of “focus” schools in their place and the proposed redrawing of catchment-area boundaries made me wonder if the boundaries establishing the School Board zones might be redrawn in the future. School Board elections in Portland are at-large, meaning everyone inside PPS’s boundaries can vote for every seat. But to be eligible to run, a candidate must live in the zone that has an opening. There are seven zones, and zones currently correspond loosely to neighborhood high-school catchment areas. Lincoln High, for example, is in one zone. Wilson is in another zone. But three high schools (with some of the least politically powerful parents arguably) are clustered into one zone — that’s Trudy Sargent’s Zone 6, which includes Madison, Marshall and Franklin high schools. Turns out the boundaries are reconsidered once a decade with every U.S. Census report. They were last redrawn in 2001, according to PPS. They could be reconsidered after the release of the 2010 Census. Something to think about.

• Finally, an update on the district’s declaration of impasse with the Portland Association of Teachers union. Both sides have until Feb. 11 to submit final offers to the state. One upside of an impasse? Negotiations have required the help of a state mediator since August, at the request of PPS. By declaring an impasse, PPS has priority over other management groups in the state when it comes to scheduling sessions with a state mediator, of which there are currently only two in all of Oregon.

Jesse Cornett Expects To Get Public Financing And Other City Council Election News

2:57 PM February 8th, 2010 by Hank Stern
City Hall / News / Politics | No Comments »

First piece of city election news today in Portland: Jesse Cornett, one of the seven candidates running against City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, says he expects to qualify for $150,000 in public financing for the May primary.

That achievement, which requires 1,000 signatures and $5 matching donations, would make Cornett the only candidate to qualify for that financing this election season in Portland . And it vaults him into the position (at least until one of the other candidates shows the ability to raise the kind of private cash needed to take on an incumbent) of being Saltzman’s main challenger.

Second piece of election news: There’s a new, fourth challenger in the mix to Commissioner Nick Fish in the primary. He’s printing press operator Tim Youker, and he expects to spend less than $300 on his run.

Oregon Republican Beats The Crap Out of Somebody Over The Weekend

11:56 AM February 8th, 2010 by Hank Stern
Legislature / News / Politics | 2 Comments »

Chael Sonnen, who’s running for the Republican nomination in a suburban Portland district, got a big win on Saturday that had nothing to do with politics.

The GOP hopeful in House District 37 (taking in parts of Washington and Clackamas counties) crushed his opponent in UFC 109 to get a shot at the middleweight title.

And Sonnen also got a lot of attention to comments he made about mixed martial arts. To use two of the hoariest cliches in politics, that’s a win-win for Sonnen, a proven battler.

City to Judge: Move Chasse Trial to Eastern Oregon (Pretty Please?)

10:13 AM February 8th, 2010 by James Pitkin
Cops / News / courts | 1 Comment »

Those who are following the city’s attempts to fend off a lawsuit by James Chasse Jr’s family know that the city is trying to convince U.S District Court Judge Garr King to move the trial out of Portland.

City lawyers requested the move last month, arguing they couldn’t get a fair jury trial in Portland because of the deluge of media coverage about Chasse’s 2006 death in police custody. Attorneys for Chasse’s family countered the request was unjustified and the court has no jurisdiction to order a move.

King asked the city for its response by last Friday, Feb. 5. The city’s filing (PDF) cites legal precedent for the move but then seems to concede that the judge may not be willing to move the case outside Oregon.

Besides Portland, there are three other divisions in the federal court in Oregon: Eugene, Pendleton and Medford.

Of those three, Eugene is quite a bit more left-leaning than rural Pendleton and Medford. Is it just a coincidence the city’s request to King at the conclusion of their filing treats Eugene as a sort of second-tier afterthought?

“[T]he defendants respectfully submit that the Court could and should consider ordering trial of this matter elsewhere within this District, giving consideration to Pendleton and Medford, as well as Eugene.”

Stay tuned for King’s decision on the change of venue.

Here’s A New Baseball Idea For Portland (UPDATED with Mahalic comment)

9:59 AM February 8th, 2010 by Hank Stern
City Hall / News / Sports | 6 Comments »

As the countdown toward the death of Triple-A minor league baseball in Portland continues, there’s at least one long-time Portland baseballer with the germ of an idea to keep pro baseball here in the summer months.

Big League Chew inventor Rob Nelson, who pitched for the endlessly entertaining single-A Portland Mavericks in the mid 1970s, wrote Oregon Sports Authority CEO Drew Mahalic last week with the following idea (Nelson’s proposal takes the team name from Matt Groening’s Homer Simpson:

Read on »

EVENTS ROUNDUP: Valentine’s Day for your stomach.

8:29 PM February 7th, 2010 by Kelly Clarke
Culture / Food & Drink | No Comments »

Valentine’s Day is approaching, whether you want to admit it or not. The silver lining of this cheesy consumer lovefest? It gives local restaurants an good excuse to cook fabulous prix fixe meals with fun themes (scroll down to the Heathman to see what I mean). Take charge of your fake holiday plans and reserve a table for you and your beloved (or, alternately, for you and a group of hungry friends who hate all of you people with your crap ass beloveds). After all, if there’s one thing that this town truly loves, it’s to eat.

Please call to make sure reservations are still available. Scads of nookie-seekers more organized than yourself may have already nabbed seats. Email kclarke [at] wweek.com if there’s an event you want WW to know about. And why yes, that is Alma Chocolate’s excellent anatomical chocolate heart pictured above. If I were you, I’d buy one right now.

WW Valentine’s Distillery Tour
Shameless-promotion-of-our-own-excellence alert: Sample Portland’s best local spirits, from House Spirits to Artisan, and local grub from Farm Cafe and Saint Cupcake among others—and when you become drunk (with the awesomeness of Portland food and drink), snuggle close to your chosen one and ride it out in the back of one of PDX Pedicab’s pedal-powered vehicles. Tour meets at Jupiter Hotel. 4 pm Saturday, Feb. 13. $25 per person. Reserve your seat at 445-2764 by Thursday, Feb. 11. 21+.

VALENTINE’S DAY EVENTS AT LOCAL RESTAURANTS

V-Day at Andina

The Peruvian dining room seduces with three course dinners plus a half-bottle of bubbly, live Latin tunes from Danny Romero Trio and a “Peruvian Love Potion” of purple açai and tamarind nectar at the bar. Andina, 1314 NW Glisan St., 228-9535. Seatings available 5-9:30 pm Sunday, Feb. 14. $75-$195, depending on the champagne choice. Call to reserve seats.

V-Day Bar Avignon

No reservations? No problem. Wine boite Bar Avignon’s got three courses for $30–oysters on the half shell, salad, a Carlton farm chop and chocolate pots de crème included. Done and done. Bar Avignon, 2138 SE Division St., 517-0808. Available 4-10 pm Sunday, Feb. 14. $35, wine not included.

My Beery Valentine

Local suds-lovers Brewpublic partner with adorable NoPo pub Saraveza for a tipsy lineup of fruit and chocolate beers (among other drafts). We’re talkin’ fascinating stuff like Upright’s cherry wheat Saison (Four Play), Vertigo Razz Wheat, made with 12 pounds of raspberries per barrel) and Love Potion No. 9, Block-15’s “chocolate raspberry oatmeal stout” made with roasted freakin’ cocoa nibs. Plus, chocolates from Equal Exchange. Even better? Proceeds benefit Mercy Corps efforts in Haiti. Cheers! Saraveza, 1004 N Killingworth St., 206-4252. All day Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 13-14. Free entry.

Carafe

French stalwart Carafe gets busy with four courses of goods like scallops with Meyer lemon jam, saucisson en brioche and frozen mocha soufflé. Carafe, 200 SW Market St. 248-0004. Dinner hours Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 13-14. $72 per couple. Call for reservations.

V-Day at Belly Timber

Get hot n’ heavy on Hawthorne with Northwest menu choices ranging from pork cheek and kale lasagna and duck sausage with black trumpet biscuits or “Stumptown custard and caramel foam.” Psst: It’s one of the last dinners original Belly Timber chef David Siegel will prepare before jetting off for his world tour. Go say goodbye. Belly Timber, 3257 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 235-3277. Dinner hours Sunday, Feb. 14. Call 235-3277 for reservations.

Foster & Dobbs Chocolate & Wine Tasting

Local artisan foods shop Foster & Dobbs represents the two substances most responsible for sex with a free tasting of Taza Chocolate and Triage wines, plus hazelnut goodies from Willamette Valley Confections. Grab anything else off the shelves to buy for your beloved while you’re there–giving goods from this shop for V-Day equal an automatic makeout session. Foster & Dobbs, 2518 NE 15th Ave., 284-1157. Tasting 4:30-6:30 pm Friday, Feb. 12. Info at fosteranddobbs.com.

Din Din V-Day Dinners

Portland’s Din Din supper series has a clear theme this V-Day: “The theme is sexy: sexy food, sexy drink, sexy people,” co-organzier chef Courtney Sproule write. That means chestnut Madeira custard, hanger steak and buerre rouge, panna cotta and honey-poached figs… All served at the intimate Chef’s Studio. This is gonna be good. The Chef’s Studio, 2818 SE Pine St. 7:30 pm Saturday, 6:30 pm Sunday Feb. 13-14. $60, includes wine pairings. To reserve your seat mail check to Courtney Spoule, 900 NE 81st Ave., #114, PDX, 97213. Include number of guests and phone number. Call 971-544-1350 or visit dindinportland.com for info.

V-Day at Beast

Over-the-top food orgasm alert: Naomi Pomeroy and crew whip up a special, sexy one-seating feast that undoubtedly involves all things pig. Beast, 5425 NE 30th Ave., 841-6869. 7 pm Sunday, Feb. 14. $175, includes wine and gratuity. Call to reserve seats.

Ace Hotel/Clyde Common New Continental Breakfast Party

Start your romance off early with a sneak peek at the Clyde’s new breakfast menu (Olympic Provisions cured meats, eight-minute eggs, Pearl Bakery breads, Stumptown coffee and breakfast cocktails) served buffet style at the Ace Cleaners. Plus, the management’s promising live music, photo fun and crafty Valentine’s card making supplies courtesy of Readymade magazine. Ace Cleaners, 403 SW 10th Ave., 228-2277. 10 am-2 pm Sunday, Feb 14. $20 advance, $25 day of (cash only), $15 for Ace Hotel guests. Drinks not included. Tickets available at the front desk of the adjacent Ace Hotel.

V-Day at Genoa and Accanto

The newly revived Italian house boasts a bountiful five-course Venizia menu for V-Day (cannelloni stuffed with chard, roast duck with whole wheat pasta, scallops with squid ink sauce, pear brandy soufflé, etc.) while it’s cheap date little sister Accanto woos with happy hour prices on tagliatelle with Dungeness crab, duck croquettes, fritto misto, micros and cocktails all day long. Wow. Genoa/Accanto, 2832 SE Belmont St., 238-1464 (Accanto, 235-4900). Genoa menu available through Sunday, Feb. 14. $55. Call for reservations. Accanto V-Day happy hour Feb. 14 only.

V-Day at East India Co.

Get spicy this V-Day with a surprisingly inexpensive Indian feast including paneer, saffron-infused chicken kabobs, jumbo prawns, rosemary naan, chocolate kulfi and more. East India Co., 821 SW 11th Ave., 227-8815. Dinner hours Friday-Sunday, Feb. 12-14. $60 per couple. $80 per couple with wine pairing. Call to reserve.

Julie & Julia Dinner & a Movie at the Heathman

Okay, this is damn sweet idea for the obsessive foodie dork in your life. The Heathman screens the charming Julia Child biopic Julie & Julie while you grub on a six-course dinner revolving around recipes from Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, from the infamous duck en croute to lobster thermidor and tarte tatin. I know, best idea ever. The Heathman, 1001 SW Broadway, 790-7752. 6:30 pm Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 13-14. $75 per person. Call to reserve.

V-Day at the H50 Bistro

Hotel Fifty’s swank little bistro touts four-courses for under $40 this V-Day, with tastiness including rocket salad, seared diver scallops and whimsical “marshmallow gnocchi” with Nutella pudding and “smoke.” V-Day for Two hotel package also available (room, bottle of sparkling wine, chocolates, long stem roses, $100 dining credit at H50) starting at $219. H50 Bistro, 50 SW Morrison St., 484-1415. $39 per person. Call to reserve.

Kenny & Zuke’s Cheap Date

Bless the frugal bunch at Kenny & Zuke’s. The deli boys are pimping two three-course meals (a pair of fully loaded sandwiches and sides, soup our salad and a sundae for two) for $20 a couple. Kenny & Zuke’s, 1038 SW Stark St. 222-3354.Dinner hours only Sunday, Feb. 14. $20 a couple.

V-Day at Meriwether’s

The Northwestern chalet promises a roaring fireplace, candlelight and a four-course dinner packed with squash soup, duck egg raviolo or lobster and beignets in a bag. Meriwether’s, 2601 NW Vaughn St. 228-1250. Dinner hours Sunday, Feb. 14. $75 per person, $95 with wine pairings. Call for reservations.

V-Day at Lincoln

The North Williams dining room makes love to your mouth with three courses of Northwesten eats, with choices like pork paillard with polenta, sorcetti with mustard greens and bittersweet chocolate terrine with griottine cherries. Bonus: local florists Quince will deliver flowers right to your table if you plan ahead. Lincoln, 3808 N Williams St. #127, 288-6200. Dinner hours Sunday, Feb. 14. $50, not including drinks or gratuity. Call for reservations. Contact Quince at 407-2999 or inquiries@quinceevents.com.

Jupiter Hotel Distillery Row Sleepover

The Jupiter Hotel knows the secret to getting busy: a deal that includes a tour of local distilleries, from House Spirits to New Deal with transportation there and back, and a cushy “deluxe metro” hotel room to play in afterwards. The deal also includes a pair of $20 coupons for bottles at participating liquor dens. Free breakfast too. There’s also a “Love & Lust package that involves thong underwear too if you’re so inclined. Jupiter Hotel, 800 E Burnside St., 230-9200. $169 for one night, $259 for two nights. Call to make reservations or visit jupiterhotel.com.

For the Love of Nigori

Oddly enough, sake and chocolate are a perfect match. Let Forest Grove’s sweet wine maker SakeOne elaborate with a cacao and sake tasting blowout. This year, 15 percent of proceeds are donated to Haiti relief. SakeOne, 820 Elm St., Forest Grove, 357-7056. 11 am-5 pm Saturday-Sunday Feb. 13-14. $10.

V-Day at Nostrana

Make this V-Day a literary feast. Romantic Nostrana lady Cathy Whims creates a big, seven-course Italian feast inspired by author Marlena de Blasi’s love story A Thousand Days in Venice. Chapters include baked oysters, leek gratin, tortellini, quail sausage and the “mythical orange tart of Anacapri” and more. The end. Nostrana, 1401 SE Morrison St., 234-2427. V-Day menu available dinner hours Friday-Sunday, Feb. 12-14. $50. Call to reserve a table.

V-Day at Ned Ludd

The wood-fired oven obsessed eatery presents a clever idea for V-Day: a six-course dinner with drink pairings, where each couple gets two different dishes during each course, from smoked trout with lemon cream to scallops and escarole. Get it? You’re gonna have to get close and share to taste everything. Ned Ludd, 3925 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 288-6900. 5:30 and 8 pm Sunday, Feb. 14. $85 per person. Call for reservations.

Rogue Beer and Chocolate Tasting

Genius! Observe V-Day with the two things Portlanders love most: beer and chocolate Rogue holds an event pairing 10 beers with the sweet stuff this Sunday. Rogue Ales Public House, 1339 NW Flanders St., 222-5910. 6 pm Sunday, Feb. 14. $35. Call for tickets.

V-Day at Metrovino

The oenophilic Pearl District restaurant with a four-courser boasting everything from a stellar charcuterie board and oysters with Dungeness crab to salmon with lobster sauce or short ribs and a chocolate and sesame semi freddo served in a “phyllo nest” with bruleed bananas. Metrovino, 1139 NW 11th Ave., 517-7778. Available 5-9 pm Sunday, Feb. 14. $60. Optional wine pairings $25 or $50. Call for reservations.

V-Day Mint & 820

Saying “I love you” at Lucy Brennan’s wee dining room and adjoining cocktail hideaway means lamb osso buco, crab cakes with ginger-caper rémoulade and cinnamon infused caramel chocolate fondue among other vittles. Plus, an avocado daiquiri or two never hurt anybody. Mint, 816 N Russell St., 284-5518. Sunday, Feb. 14. Call for reservations or visit mintand820.com.

V-Day at Proper Eats

St. John’s homey vegan market and eatery spreads the meat-free love this year with a four-course feast, wine/beer included. There are even gluten/soy free options for loved ones with allergies. Proper Eats, 8638 N Lombard Ave., 445-2007. Seatings at 5:30 and 7:30 pm Sunday, Feb. 14. $30. Call for reservations. Info at propereats.org.

V-Day at Saucebox

The original downtown swank scene, Saucebox, pimps this VDay with a special cocktail spiked with Schizandra, a potent Chinese herb that apparently fixes everything from irritable bowel syndrome to skin disorders in addition to “strengthening sex organs.” Saucebox, 214 SW Broadway, 241-3393. Dinner hours Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 13-14. Call for reservation or visit saucebox.com.

St. Valentine’s Dinner at Suzette

New Alberta crêpes haunt Suzette gets sweet with a Roaring ’20s theme dinner complete with silent Rudolph Valentino flicks, swoony music and a prix fixe menu of crostini, savory crepes (crab, leek and gruyere; three mushroom), garden salad and bittersweet chocolate soufflé tartlet for two with port poached cherries. Suzette, 2921 NE Alberta St., suzettepdx.com. Seatings at 5:45, 6, 7:15 and 7:30 pm Sunday, Feb. 14. $20. For reservations e-mail jehnee@suzettepdx.com.

V-Day at Simpatica

Portland’s friendliest dining hall celebrates with four-courses for $55. We’re talkin’ wood grilled oysters, blood orange salad with a “Dungeness crab puff,” beef cheeks with truffled spuds and frozen chocolate mousse. Simpatica Dining Hall, 828 SE Ash St., 235-1600. 7 pm Sunday, Feb. 14. $55, plus wine and gratuity. Call to make reservations or email rsvp@simpaticacatering.com.

V-Day Dinner and Brunch at Salty’s on the Columbia

Live with a view of the Columbia River this weekend. The special menu includes smoked salmon Gruyere fondue or shucked oysters, lobster ravioli or king crab and mocha porter cheesecake among other treats. Salty’s on the Columbia, 3839 NE Marine Drive, 288-4444. Dinner hours Friday-Sunday, Feb. 12-14. Three courses for $52.95-$79.95. Call to reserve.

Teardrop V-Day Cocktail Pairing Dinner

The mixology masters at Teardrop (David Shenaut and chef Chris Degenhardt) unleash a high class liquor and food journey with a grape-based theme for V-Day. There’s only one seating, at the bar, so reserve your seat asap. Teardrop, 1015 NW Everett St., 445-8109. 6 pm Sunday, Feb. 14. $100. RSVP to daniel@teardroplounge.com.

V-Day at Ten 01

Chef Michael Hanaghan gets diners in the mood with oysters, braised pork belly, Wagyu culotte with crispy bone marrow and chocolate fudge cake with a salted caramel core. Ten 01, 1001 NW Couch St., 226-3463. Dinner hours Sunday, Feb. 14. $65 per person. Call for reservations.

V-Day at TeaZone/Camellia Lounge

Sip tea and nibble on scones, Devonshire cream and lemon curd with your Valentine all weekend. TeaZone, 510 NW 11th Ave., 221-2130. 11:30 am-4 pm Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 13-14. $18.95 per person. Reservations required, call to reserve your seat.

V-Day at Urban Farmer

The Nines dining room scores one in the theme department with its “Foods to Feed Each Other” menu, which includes cold water oysters and caviar with hominy cakes. Urban Farmer, 525 SW Morrison, 802-4900. Dinner hours Sunday, Feb. 14. Menu prices.

EARLY VDAY: Wildwood Chocolate Dinner

Northwest hub Wildwood gets a little crazy with a fabulous, five-course chocolate-themed dinner dreamed up by pastry chef Michelle Vernier that’s got dishes like short ribs with bitter sweet chocolate on the roster. All proceeds benefit local nonprofit ChristieCare. And you’ll walk out with a box of Wildwood chocolates. Wildwood, 1221 NW 21st Ave., 248.9663. 7 pm Friday, Feb. 12. $125 per person. Call for reservations.

Whole Foods Chocolate Fest

The fancy pants grocer helps out the V-Day cause with a cheap Chocolate Fest at local stores. Stuff your face with tons of local and artisan chocolate; all proceeds go to mental health nonprofit ChristieCare. Whole Foods, all local stores. 4-7 pm Friday, Feb. 11. $5. Store info at wholefoods.com.

V-DAY RAW MATERIALS

V-Day To Go Meals

Planning to skip the restaurant hassle and serve your beloved in bed? Local markets can help make that happen. Elephant’s Deli (elephantsdeli.com or call 299-6304) offers a whole V-Day meals at $19.95 a pop that include everything from crab stuffed mushroom caps and Florentine steaks to chocolate dipped strawberries and housemade Ding Dongs.

The Meadow Chocolate Class

Salt masters hold a class on their other favorite subject: chocolate. Trace the sweet process from bean to bar with plenty of tastes in between. Reminder: FYI–You ought to swing by the shop for excellent V-Day gifts in any case. Himalayan salt blocks are sexy. Double FYI–The Meadow’s got an artisan salt event coming up on Feb. 23. Reserve a seat now. The Meadow, 3731 N Mississippi Ave., 288-4633. 6 pm Thursday, Feb. 11. $20. Visit atthemeadow.com for tickets.

CLASSIFIEDS

FINDER

NEWS

CULTURE

MUSIC

SCREEN

DISH

PERFORMANCE

VISUAL ARTS

WORDS

OUTDOORS

MATCHMAKER

PROMOTIONS

GET A PAPER

News and Culture