Saturday, March 8, 2014

A Plastic Fantastic Night Above Portland

Another vista of the river, and the city beyond it, but this time the sky is dark.

The Chart House restaurant on Terwilliger Drive is lively with a Friday evening crowd. From our tight circular booth on the back wall we can see above the other tables to the long row of windows. Through them the lights of the east side make a big mural, a white and yellow rolling carpet. Down on the dark ribbon of the river, a passenger ship passesby  lit with a string of lights from the mast.

Tonight we order the three-course menu prix fixe offered for annual restaurant month.

"Now this restaurant rotates, right?" I say to our server,  as an aside, motioning with my hand toward the windows, stirring in the air with my finger.

It takes her a second to realize we are pulling her leg. It turns out it's her third shift working there.

"Maybe if you drink enough wine," she says. We all get a good laugh out it.

We pad our tab with signature cocktails. As we drink them, we surreptitiously watch parties at the other tables.

An afterwork get-together of coworkers, or family night out? 

That two on the end---are they a couple?

Our conversation turns to old television theme songs. Improbably, Red can recite the lyrics to the theme to Mr. Ed.

After dinner, the valet attendant brings our car to us in the tiny parking lot.

When we are in the car, I say "let's consider the trip to start right now,"

We go back home and put the Surrealistic Pillow album on Spotify while we pack.

No comments: