The Beatles - White Album

I once heard a well known comedian rating all his favorite bands on Letterman and he did not have the Beatles in the top 10. When Letterman asked him about it he said, "they made a lot great songs, but they also made a lot of crap.

I have to agree with that. I am not much of a Beatles fan. But, I don't think you can have a great record collection without The White Album. This is the Beatles most experimental album, they swing from country -- "Rocky Raccoon" -- to I am not sure what, with "Number 9." It also has my favorite Beatles song, "Let's do it in the Road."

You can easily go out and buy one of those Greatest Hits records, but I think you will really miss out on an amazing beginning to end experience if you do not add The White Album to your collection.

The Keeper of the House by Shirley Ann Grau

There is nothing like reading a book in a place that has a connection to the story. Shirley Ann Grau is a great southern writer that lives in New Orleans. Reading the book while staying in a French Quarter rental house added that little extra to the story.

And it is a great story. The "house" is a huge southern mansion that has been added to over the years by the generations that have lived in it. The Howlands settled the land and basically own everything as far as the eye can see. Their interaction with the town is strained at best. The story is told from four perspectives and Grau does an amazing job of capturing the voices of the "keepers:" a Southern land barren, his black mistress, and the daughter who marries a striving young man hoping to make a name in politics. The interaction between the races and the sexes is gripping, and the characters are consuming as we cover the lives of three generations. This is a classic southern novel, that was rewarded with the Pulitzer Prize in 1965, and is a must read.

Andina Restaurant

Andina is not a great place to have your anniversary dinner. This restaurant is more conducive to larger groups of people than romantic dinners. It is close quarters in the dining room and it can get quite loud. The food is great, and I recommend sampling a lot of different things off the tapas menu as opposed to going with a dinner entree -- another reason to get a big group, so you can share a lot. The seafood tapas are the best, especially the ceviche.

Also, make sure you save room for desert, the selection includes some Peruvian specialties.

Andina Restaurant
1314 NW Glisan St

Portland, OR 97209-2717

Phone: (503) 228-9535

Hours:
Mon-Sat 11:30am-2:30pm,

Sun-Thu 5:30pm-9:30pm,
Fri-Sat 5:30-10:30pm

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

This is a case of, I read a book and liked it so much I scoured the author's back catalog to see what else they had written that might be interesting. In this instance I did not have to go too far. Marilynne Robinson is the author of the novel Gilead (which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction) and two books of nonfiction. Housekeeping is her first novel.

The narrator is Ruthie a young school-age girl who lives with her sister in Fingerbone, a small town somewhere in the northwestern U.S. The novel begins with the death of her grandfather, before she is born, in a spectacular train accident. The train derails and plunges into the lake on the way into town. Ruthie's mother takes her own life by driving a car into the same lake, some years later. Subsequently, Ruthie and her younger sister Lucille move in with their grandmother and enjoy several stable years before she passes and the caretaker role is taken over by two elderly and worrisome great-aunts, who are not able to cope. They abandon ship as soon as they can get the girl's aunt Sylvie to move home and take up "housekeeping." Unfortunately, Sylvie is more into long aimless walks, collecting cans and newspapers and sitting in the dark than taking care of kids. Lucille, seeking a more conventional life, ends up breaking from the family, while Ruthie becomes consumed with the transient lifestyle.

Robinson is an elegant, if wordy, writer. Her writing is more like poetry, than prose in many places. One funny thing I found when I was reading the reviews, was that it is hard to know where the book is set and how old several of the characters are, yet many of the reviews say it is set in "Idaho" and give specific ages for Sylvie and Ruthie. I will agree with the review that calls this book a classic, no exaggeration there.

Steve Forbert - Jackrabbit Slim

Ever heard of Steve Forbert? If you haven't you are not alone. This is a guy that has been putting out quality records since 1978, his first Alive on Arrival is considered by many to be one of the best records ever made, but he has never made it big.

He moved from his home in Mississippi in the mid-70s to play on he streets of NY city. With his harmonica and acoustic guitar, Rolling Stone magazine dubbed him the next Bob Dylan, no pressure.

Based on that review I bought his second record Jackrabbit Slim, which produced his only top 40 hit, Romeo's Tune -- if you don't recognize it by the title, you'd probably know it if you heard it: "Meet me in the middle of the night, let me hear you say, every thing's all right." Anyway, this song will get you off on the right foot and allow you to discover the rest of this great record, and hopefully you'll become one of the dedicated few who buy every record he puts out.

Wild Abandon

Wild Abandon is a restaurant we have been to many times, so this is more of an update than an initial review. Usually we think of eating here in the summer and sitting out on the deck, but a cold winter night is just right for the hearty winter menu updates. You can start with any of the great cocktails, our favorites are the Lemon Drop and the Manhattan.

Next you can share a couple of our favorite appetizers, a goat cheese torta layers creamy chevre, pesto and roasted garlic. The Willamette dream salad combines soft blue cheese, honey-glazed pecans, grilled apples and sweet currants over organic greens with lemon-basil vinaigrette.

This is the hard part, you now have to decide how "hearty" you want to go on the entree. There are several great pasta dishes, including a ravioli of the day; or if you want to step it up, the pork loin or steak are great. The salmon is always wild, no farm raised fish here, and delicious. On the most recent trip we tried the Beef Bourguignon, which was amazing and filling (I had to take some home) and the Angel Hair Pasta with Clams, which was also great.

The wine list is not very extensive, but there are several great options. We ordered the red wine special which was a wonderful Argentinian red I had never heard of before.

If you are looking for a romantic cosy place to huddle up over comfort food, Wild Abandon is the place for a great winter meal. Then when summer comes, you can retreat out onto the deck and discover it again.

Wild Abandon
2411 SE Belmont St.

Portland, OR 97214-2820

Phone: (503) 232-4458

Hours:
Mon, Wed-Fri 4:30pm-10:30pm, Sat-Sun 5:30pm-11pm