'Special' Eye Candy

A while back we authored a post about our good friend Marly and her amazing chalk art. She's still at it folks, and for those of you who are unable to make it into the cafe I thought I would share the following photos which detail a few of her recent woks. Enjoy...

Cafe Closed This Weekend

Everything needs a little tune up from time to time.

First things first...

the cafe will be closed this Saturday and Sunday, September 27th and 28th, for scheduled maintenance.

We know, the timing is no good. Trust us, we don't like having the cafe closed during an entire weekend any more than you do.

Remain calm. The huge national deficit, present financial crisis, and looming election have nothing to do with this unforeseen break in the action. Nor do they have anything to do with our lack of recent blogging (apologies).

On the contrary, thanks to your amazing support, the LRBC is presently chugging along just fine. So feel good about that coffee, dangi donut, or egg sandwich you are buying. You're darn near a saint. Give yourself a giant pat on the back and get out and go for a ride this weekend. The Portland area weather forecast is calling for sunshine all weekend long with temperatures reaching the low eighties by Sunday afternoon. Enjoy the amazing fall weather, and take comfort in knowing that we will be back to business as usual come 8am Tuesday morning.

What's For Dinner

A meal fit for a king...or a pug who thinks he's a king.

Things have been pretty busy for the LRBC these past couple weeks. Some of the busiest weeks the cafe has seen thus far to be exact. No time even for pictures. That's why this what's for dinner actually features a snack we whipped up for our dog Zeus.

While preparing a late dinner for ourselves, we thought we would invite Zeus in on the munchy session, so we crafted a special treat using various items we had around the house. Zeus' late night snack:

lowfat plain yogurt, organic cherry tomatoes (from our neighbor's yard), EVO red meat small bites, and a salmon oil drizzle.

We know. He's spoiled.

Oh no she didn't!

So blue.

Yes she did.

Two new batches of ice cream, done and dusted:

Double Salted Caramel with Candied Bacon

Milk caramel ice cream seasoned with sel gris, with bits of candied bacon folded in. Served beneath a sprinkle of fleur de sel

Oregon Blueberry Cheesecake
Tangy cheesecake ice cream with hints of lemon zest, Oregon blueberry coulis, and buttery graham cracker bits

And one in the works for the weekend:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Peanut butter ice cream with Oreo cookies and fudge ripple

Dr. Morton Rosenberg

Dr. Morton Rosenberg is my grandfather. Today we named a special sandwich after him that would be right up his alley...if only he had the opportunity to eat it.

Dr. Rosenberg

deviled egg salad and green leaf lettuce topped with fresh chives and smoked paprika, served open faced on a toasted bagel

As I've mentioned before, my grandparents live very far away and unfortunately this distance and their aging years kept them from attending our wedding. Their presence was missed tremendously. Fortunately my sister's impending wedding in October has our whole West Coast family East Coast bound and I cannot wait to arrive in NYC and see my grandpa to indulge in the dance this bride was promised. Until then it is with great pleasure that I say today, Grandpa, this one's for you. XO

Is this a dream?

This photo contains 99.9% post consumer recycled imagery:
A mini peach pie from last weekend. Not actual size.

Has the whole world gone crazy?

After we closed yesterday afternoon Marly came to the cafe and made two beautiful peach pies. So excited was I by her latest creations, that rather than putting bagels on display (par usual), I decided to merchandise one of Marly's pies out in front for all to see. I had a hunch that the pies wouldn't last very long.

Who doesn't love a slice of pie and coffee for breakfast? And who can resist a slice of pie 'a la mode' to share after lunch? Well, apparently many out there have some serious will power, as we only sold one slice...all...day...long.

May Sunday be a day of redemption. May both pies sell out, thus proving that hell is not about to freeze over, and that today was simply a fluke. Perhaps the pie was not supposed to sell today so that it may enrich the dining experience for tomorrow's customers. Whatever the case may be, if there are any leftovers come Sunday afternoon you can rest assured that at least one slice of said pie will find its way into this blogger's belly.

Horse Heaven

R.I.P. 2008-2008
'We never even had a chance to name him'

Ironic that our yellow onions come from a farm named 'Horse Heaven,' as one of our new toy horses outside the cafe bit the dust this past Tuesday, at the hand, or should I say foot, of an unknown passerby. I cannot offer specific details as it was my day off, but from the many witness testimonies which were compiled the story went something like this:

It's early morning...a sunny September day in Portland, Oregon.

Outside the Little Red Bike Cafe...commotion. The sound of plastic snapping and feet stomping.

A small crowd of people quickly gather around a middle aged man who is stomping a toy horse into tiny plastic pieces. A cafe regular who is inside watching the incident transpire rushes outside to stop the man. "What are you doing?!?" he asks the attacker.

"It's too weird," the man says, "they're child molesters! It's too weird." Perhaps disturbed by the people who begin to encircle him, the attacker stops stomping the tiny horse, and begins to make his way down North Lombard St towards the mean streets of St. Johns.

The people left behind in his wake stand watching, confused and disturbed, the plastic remains of the horse and its armor strewn amongst their feet. Who would do such a thing? And why?

A few days have passed and we have been unable to uncover any new truths surrounding the incident, other than the fact that the horse's armor was not as strong as it may have looked. All we can do now is try to help one another heal, and take comfort in the idea that this little guy is somewhere up in toy horse heaven, galloping through the plastic grass and sleeping comfortably at night inside a Lincoln Log barn.

We are accepting donations to help offset the cost of the little guy's toy-veterinary bills. Please make checks payable to the Little Red Bike Cafe. Thank you for all of your support during this difficult time.