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Sunday, May 02, 2004

New Job, Great Burger, Sellwood

Finally, after months and months of searching I got a job offer, which I accepted. I am really excited to get back to work. It seems like a nice place, and the people there seem great. They have a ton of work to do, so I know I will be busy. I believe they are planning on putting me to work first thing when I get there on Monday. It has been a huge relief to get that burden off my shoulders however. So I start, Monday, May 3, 2004. It took me four months to find a job. Just Crazy! It is a new industry for me but I will be doing business proposal writing, which I had been doing anyway in the high tech.

Hillsboro is supposed to have one of the best burgers known to man at this joint called Helvetia Tavern. Felicia and I had been hearing about this place since before we moved here, so we finally decided to go and see what all the rave was about. Helvetia Tavern is in the rural countryside of Hillsboro. It was a beautiful day, and tad bit hot in the car to open up the sun roof without getting a little sticky. So we turned the AC on low and headed out. It was not far at all from where we live, and I even found a back road to Sunset Highway. Maybe that entrance ramp won't get so backed up.

Helvetia Tavern is basically a large red house that has been converted into a cool place in the country to hang out, drink a beer and have one hell of a heart attack on a plate. They are famous for their Jumbo burger, which is basically two 1/4 pound patties, special sauce they call goop, and tons and tons of cheese. Yeah, it tastes good. I had to go with the slightly smaller cheeseburger. Just thinking about eating 1/2 a pound of meat in one sitting makes me want to gag. The hand cut fries were good, very similar to Chester's Hamburgers in San Antonio for those in the know. I don't know if I would call it the best burger in Oregon, or even the best burger I have ever had the pleasure of ingesting, but it was pretty damn good all the same. Still, I would have to lean towards Huts in Austin or Longhorn in San Antonio. The drive was beautiful, the day was nice, and the food was good. I would say time well spent.

Portland is divided into districts or neighborhoods. I had been to most of the city's hoods on my various adventures. One I had not been to, was the Sellwood district. Located in SE Portland, Sellwood is mostly known for antiquing. It is a tad sleepy compared to the other Portland districts, but feels nice and relaxing when walking up and down the streets. There are antique shops, bars, restaurants, and coffee houses on the main strip. Unfortunately, I stopped by Sellwood on a Monday. Most of the shops are not open for business on Mondays, so I mostly just walked the street, and did a fair bit of window shopping. I did not make by Caprial and John's Kitchen. That is on my list of things to do. Caprial and John run a cooking school and bistro in the Sellwood District. They have a cooking show on PBS and Caprial has written more than eight cookbooks. Like most things in Sellwood, they are not open on Mondays. I will have to let y'all know how Caprial and John's fares once I get the opportunity to have a taste.

So tomorrow is the start of my new job. I'm excited. I'm sure I will have more adventures to tell.

-@