Lorien's Fruit Tart, YUM!
We went out for pastry and coffee, tried to go antique shopping (everything was closed!), and gave Lorien a tour of the college campus where I work. It was a nice, sunny day, with weather in the 50′s. It was nice to catch up, and spend some quality time with my best friend 
—Danielle
My 10,000 calorie delight, which I ate with relish before finishing Lorien's pastry for her!
Today Matt and I ventured to Troutdale, OR, to visit the outlet mall. We both needed new running shoes, and yours truly needed some new pants. A visit to the Addidas store took care of our footwear needs, and a the Levi’s store (and 40 pairs of pants later) had two perfect pairs of pants for me!
SInce we’ve lived here in the Gorge, we’ve passed the Charburger billboard on the highway innumerable times, and always said that someday we’d stop there for a burger. We both like burgers, and an independent burger house is something Matt and I have a lot of love for.
Enter disappointment.
Obviously the people running the place don’t give a damn about food, because it was total crap. Our money would have been better spent at Burger King (yeah, that bad), and we would have spent much less of it. Cafeteria style ordering was our first clue that all was not well, but we’re hopeful people, and instead of leaving immediately, we ordered burgers and sat down. About five minutes later, our food was delivered. I took pictures of both our meals, but my plate was so repulsive that I can’t in good conscious post it here. Here’s Matt’s burger, which looks better than it tasted.
Cheese that came wrapped in plastic, hamburgers that were obviously frozen, and EVERY implement (the ketchup, salt shaker, lettuce tongs at the “condiment” bar) were sticky and had to be handled with napkins. If you refuse to spend money on quality food, you could at least be clean Charbuger. Thumbs down. Way down.
When we were living in Portland, we took it for granted that we could eat out at a great place whenever we wanted, in just about any price range. In our SE neighborhood, we had fantastic Thai food, Mexican food, bar-food, and that famous bastion of southern cuisine, The Delta.
Here in The Dalles, it’s another story.
We’ve had bad luck at almost every eatery: bad service, bad food, or worse—both.
However, we found Petite Provence cafe and bakery, I think by accident. It’s a chain of some sort, as I hear that there’s a location in Portland. I can’t confirm this, but I can tell you that the bakery is amazing, the coffee strong, and the breakfasts to die for.
Pretty much everything else in town falls squarely into the “probably edible” category.
On the plus side, Matt’s been getting in touch with his inner chef, with great results. He’s mastered a few dishes, and he’s planning to tackle some more. I’m looking forward to this new phase of life.
The above photo is from the outdoor seating area at Petite Provence a few weeks ago.
-Danielle
