McMenamins

Here's an excerpt from Frank Delaney's Ireland: A Novel (2005). Have a look... you might need this info on Sunday, St. Patrick's Day...

McMenamins Grand Lodge, located in Forest Grove just 25 minutes from Portland, is now offering two corporate meeting specials:

First up - the Sweet Retreat: book a midweek retreat at the Grand Lodge and receive complimentary coffee service with McMenamins' freshly roasted coffees replenished throughout the day, a complimentary cookie break, 15% off guestrooms during your event and 15% off spa services for all retreat guests who are staying in the hotel!

It's Valentine's Day and have we got a sweetheart of a deal for you! The Grand Lodge is offering a 2013 wedding special. So if you are recently engaged or just haven't found the perfect venue for your special day quite yet - we have an offer you may not want to refuse.

Join fellow spirits imbibers at one of our popular Winter Scotch Dinners to hear about, smell, taste and enjoy this selection of scotches, all paired with a menu of courses to complement the flavors. Your host is the charming and edifying Stuart Ramsay.

McMenamins Grand Lodge (Forest Grove, Ore.) is hosting a Wedding Open House on Saturday, February 23, from 11 a.m. ‘til 4 p.m.

We offer onsite catering and provide waitstaff, bartenders, indoor tables, chairs and linens. With the complimentary event space, set up and service staff once the food and beverage minimum for the space is met, planning couldn't be simpler or easier on your budget.

The Billy Scott Room at McMenamins Grand Lodge (Forest Grove, Ore.) has undergone a makeover! Named for a local poet who lived at the lodge in the 1940s, when it was a home for aging Masons, this elegant, private event space now has two comfortable seating areas - a cozy space with easy chairs near the fireplace, and a new larger area surrounded by windows with couches, love seats and (you guessed it) more easy chairs. And what could be behind the glass-paned door in the corner? Why, a bar, of course - complete with more books and a couple of rocking chairs

We are pleased to announce that as of December 1, 2012, the Grand Lodge's Compass Room Theater is available for private rental until 11 p.m., making it the perfect venue for business meetings, holiday parties, dinners, birthdays, anniversaries and more.

I'm just going to say it:

Florence & The Machine was one of the best shows I've ever photographed...

When Ringo hits the stage flashing peace signs, you can't help but smile...

Ben Harper took the stage solo and started with some acoustic songs, setting a mellow mood for the rest of the show. The crowd was quiet, just taking in the music that was perfect for a warm summer night. Here are some of my favorite shots:

Foster the People -- wow, what a show these guys put on. I would like to note that it is tricky to dance and photograph at the same time, but it can be done.

This week's blog post is gonna be a quickie, but a goodie.

Will West has been holding down a lot of forts for us lately – heading up the White Eagle's “Eagle Time” and “Add Love” showcases, kickin' it at Rock Creek Tavern, etc.

We like West for his hand-clappy, call-and-response approach to Americana....

Unless you've been living under a moss-encrusted rock somewhere on the nether side of Mt. Tabor, you know that Portland's beloved Wild Flag will be gracing the Crystal Ballroom stage on May 4.

If you like rock 'n' roll even a little, teeny bit, go. Go to this show. Wild Flag puts on one of the best shows you'll ever see.

But today's blog post isn't about Wild Flag. Today's blog post is about one of the support acts -EMA-  who will be playing this show. 

I'll be honest: I'm not a big fan of Celilo's occasional new age driftings. But when the group corrals its inner Enya and sticks to its own brand of mellow California 70s rock, it's fun and groovy and gently rocking, in a Laurel Canyon kind of way. It's a sound as airy as sea foam, but rooted, too, like a sequoia. If that makes any sense. 

Meet the Growers
McMenamins Coffee Roasters (421 N.E. Knott St., Portland, Ore.)
Thursday, April 19, 4:30 p.m.
The event is free and all are welcome to attend.  Light refreshments will be provided.

Later this week, our department will have the opportunity to represent McMenamins at the Specialty Coffee Association of America's annual symposium being held in Portland this year. This is sure to be a highly informative event filled with the excitement that will come with having the year's largest coffee convention right down the street. As we gear up to attend workshops, see new products, and meet coffee professionals from all around the world, there is one event I am looking forward to above all else – our own Meet The Growers presentation...

Last week I wrote a blog post (here) with some preliminary thoughts about the nature of "Americana." I use quotes around that word because I mean the nature of "Americana" as a term -or at least that's how I intend to start the conversation -because it's a term that gets bandied about like a mofo and I wonder if it's lost some meaning in the process. It might be interesting to unpack it a bit.

Pinning down the definition of music genres is something I think about a lot (Seriously. I know, I'm a nerd. But I once wrote a 1,200-word piece on the true definition of "emo" and got all sorts of hate mail about it, so obviously I'm not the only nerd who cares.), and my interest was re-piqued by Frank Fairfield's recent stint at Al's Den.

Spring is in the air at Edgefield. The plants are blooming, scattering the property with beautiful colors. Come on out and have a look for yourself. Here are some of the plants you might come across...

Daphne odora 'Variegata' (Winter Flowering Daphne

I'm pretty astonished at how little has been published about coffee, and about coffee roasting. There are some all-you-need-to-know books out there, but they all seem to be pretty outdated. There is of course, plenty of info online, however this can prove to be challenging to compile and turn out to be an untidy read (considering all the copying you'll need to do to).

There are a few staple books that most coffee roasters and enthusiasts seem to give collective thumbs up to: Mark Pendergrast's Uncommon Grounds (Basic Books, 1999) is a sprawling, comprehensive account of the history of coffee and how the product achieved its global reach. I really enjoyed the pace of this book -- Pendergrast makes the reading of coffee history exciting and compelling, and although the historical content is dense, I found it a hard book to put down. I have found several other books on the subject of the history of coffee, most notably: Stewart Lee Allen's The Devil's Cup (Ballantine Books, 1999) and Bennet Alan WeinBerg and Bonnie K. Bealer's The World of Caffeine (Routledge, 2001).

As you enjoy your coffee each morning, do you ever wonder where it comes from? Did you know that when coffee is first harvested it looks drastically different? The bean that helps millions of people wake up every day is actually the seed of a cherry. Right off the tree, coffee is a small, round, dark-red piece of fruit that resembles a grape. So how does this become a cup of coffee? After harvest, the cherry needs to be processed. The various processing methods that are used in the coffee industry each affect the taste of the bean in their own way.

In the wet or washed method, the fruit is removed from the seed which is then dried. This generally produces a clean, lightly bodied, acidic cup and is widely used in Central American nations such as El Salvador and Guatemala, among other regions. After harvest, the cherries are brought to the wet mill where they are sorted in tanks of water. The ripe fruit is dense and sinks to the bottom of the tanks while the unripe and defective cherries tend to float at the surface to be removed along with any other unwanted material.

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Note: Local artist and beloved McMenamins contributor Joe Cotter passed away on Saturday, March 31, 2012. This is the second post in honor of his lovely, magical artwork that can be found throughout McMenamins' establishments. We have lost a friend and one of the color masters of the company. Cheers, Joe.
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From McMenamins Artist Jenny Joyce:
Losing Joe is still something I am still having trouble believing. He is the reason I started working for McMenamins, and he was also a founding member of Artback, our artists' co-op in Estacada, Ore.

Did you know that he led the fight to reinstate community murals in Portland? That battle lasted almost 10 years, I believe, and Joe, being Joe, would not let it rest until the issue was resolved fairly. He put in untold hours hammering away at the legalities. He was tenacious in that battle. He was also such a hardworking artist. He never took a short cut, always did what needed to be done without compromise. He was also one of the smartest people I have ever met.