Doggie Dash

This morning was the Oregon Humane Society's 23rd annual Doggie Dash. This is one of the biggest events Barbara puts on all year and it is a huge undertaking. There are three events you can take part in. One is the bridge to bridge run, which is 2.5 miles, there is also a walk on the same route and finally a short walk down Interstate and back up the waterfront. Of course everyone does this with their dogs. This year there was a record breaking crowd of over 6,000 people. We took both our dogs down to participate.

The day began with a ride into town on the MAX. I don't think the dogs enjoyed that very much, they were shaking the entire time. When we got there we enjoyed the pancake breakfast that the volunteers were making and took a walk around all the booths - everything from the pet hospital to Starbucks. At 9:00 AM the runners took off and at 9:20 the walkers followed. There were a lot more walkers than runners. Luckily the weather was great, so the walk along Naito Parkway to the Hawthorne Bridge was great, but this i were we hit the first bottle neck. The crowd thinned out as we crossed the bridge and walked along the eastside esplanade to the Steel Bridge and back to the start. We didn't stick around too long, but there was a lot of food and music for those that did.



This evening was the pinnacle of the restaurant tour with dinner at Genoa. We started with a great cocktail, Italian sparkling wine with a scoop of sorbert. Genoa serves five courses for $55 and you get a choice of pasta and main course.

The first course was Fregula con Cocciule- Puget sound clams steamed in a soffritto of garlic, parsley and tomatoes then baked in their shells and served with Sardinian couscous. This was followed by the choice of Culurjones de Patate- delicate pasta stuffed with potatoes, and mint tossed with butter, fava beans and topped with grated Fiore de Sardo cheese or Malloreddus- traditional handmade semolina pasta flavored with saffron and shaped like little gnocchi served in a savory ragu of pork and veal flavored with rosemary. The salad course was Insalata de Ricotta Pecora Fresca- a composed salad of creamy sheep’s milk ricotta with fresh English peas, pea shoots and grilled green garlic drizzled with Sardinian extra virgin olive oil. For main course there was the option of Aragosta con Bottarga di Tonno- broiled Maine Lobster with smashed baby turnips and wilted turnip greens finished with a complex sauce of lobster essence and cured tuna roe or Quaglie con Funghi e Ortica- Pan roasted quail stuffed with wild mushrooms, nettles and herbs served over grill asparagus and finished with a Cannonau wine reduction or Arosto di Agnello- roasted leg of Oregon lamb served with roasted fingerling potatoes and artichokes and topped with a rhubarb and caper compote. I had the lobster and it was excellent. I also tried a taste of the lamb which was very rich and delicious. For desert we decided to go with one of each of a creamy lemon zuccotto, rhubarb crostata, and fried ravioli dolce with orange blossom ice cream.

Overall the meal was amazing and the service was top notch. Genoa is back in a big way.


Genoa Restaurant
2832 SE Belmont
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 238-1464