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Reels
The Marriner S. Eccles Building on Constitution Avenue — about a mile from the Treasury, and holding the one lever the Treasury can't pull. Photo: AgnosticPreachersKid, via Wikimedia Commons, licen…
The Librarian Six Billion Dollars Against Seventy-Four, and Yields Went Up Anyway
The house Pho Hathanh operates out of. The drinks board out front covers boba and Vietnamese coffee; the food menu is inside.
The porch sign.
The same crest, lit up on the wall inside.
The bar, and the rice-terrace mural behind it.
The herb plate — bean sprouts, Thai basil, perilla, cucumber, and enough jalapeño to matter.
Not my plate, but worth a photo. Whatever it's actually called, it looked great.
The Librarian Bún Chả, the Hanoi Way, at Pho Hathanh
The IMF's headquarters at 700 19th Street NW, Washington, D.C. Photo: Tony Webster, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 2.0 (cropped).
The World Bank Group's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Photo: Ifly6, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).
The Librarian Older Than the United Nations, and Never Asked to Join
The sign out front — a bowl of noodles worked right into the logo.
A full room, mid-service.
Dozens of steamer baskets, just for decor.
Scan, order, and the vinegar and soy sauce are already on the table.
Xiao long bao, straight out of the steamer.
Steamed pork buns — the pillowy Q-Bao style.
The Librarian The Dan Dan Noodles at Dough Zone
The Librarian A Washington Apple Haul, Bound for Cider
The Librarian A Washington Apple Haul, Bound for Cider
The taste test — fresh, unfiltered, and not yet cider-cider.
The Librarian A Washington Apple Haul, Bound for Cider
Ondus — the logo is a wave, which tracks, for a restaurant on a river.
Before the room filled in — clean, modern, a little hotel-lobby-adjacent in the best way, since that's exactly what it is.
The POG Rum. Good drink, better view behind it.
The Shrimp + Toast Cazuela. This is the dish that earns the drive across town.
First plate down, dining room going about its evening behind it.
The Mediterranean Salmon — blackened crust, orzo salad, a swipe of hummus.
The Waterfront Burger — Tillamook cheddar, bacon, and truffle-parmesan fries on the side.
The bar, mid-service, blue light and all.
The Librarian A Burger a Size Too Big, and Shrimp Worth the Drive
The board. Meats by the half-pound, sides, banana pudding — I went straight for the ribs.
Indoor seating under a wood-beamed ceiling, with HEIST spelled out in salvaged metal on the wall.
Green leather chesterfield couches in a lounge corner. Good luck getting back up once you sit down.
The bar, for anyone who wants more than a Coke. That's a lot of taps for a building that used to count money for a living.
The Tacos Fita plate from the same visit. Carne asada, pickled onion, cotija — the same combination that made the earlier write-up a five.
The Librarian The Best Barbecue I've Ever Had, at Bark City BBQ
The whole menu, hand-lettered. Cheesesteaks down the middle, cold subs on the right, and a homemade mango honey habanero hot sauce for sale at the bottom of the board.
"An East Coast Deli." The shirt on the right says 25 years — they opened in December 2000.
Order at the counter, sit anywhere. Chips, a fountain, and a cooler of bottled beer and soda.
The Librarian Tiger Sauce on the Italian, at Philly Bilmos
"El taco es más rico a la parrilla" — the taco is tastier grilled. Their words, and they're right.
The full menu — asada is the protein to get, and the tacos build exactly the way they taste.
The order window. It moves fast, even with a line.
The Librarian Worth Driving Across Town For, at Tacos Fita
The case, mid-afternoon rush. Whole pies under glass, each one labeled by hand.
The back room. Pinball, video poker, and a TV over the machines.
The oven, working through the afternoon's orders.
Slices, pies, pasta — and a happy hour list on the chalkboard next to it.
The Librarian Three Stars and a Wall of Pinball, at Pizza Roma
The dining room. The lanterns are doing a lot of the decorating here, and they're doing it well.
The bowl, the spoon, and the cup of hành dấm off to the side — everything the bite above needs.
The vegetable tray. Untouched by me, but there for anyone who wants it.
The Librarian The Correct Way to Eat Pho, at Pho Hung
Baggage claim, not a departure lounge — you don't need a boarding pass to see this part.
The skybridge to the garage, under the same canopy, with a living wall running the length of it.
Sheridan Fruit Co.'s airport outpost, under the mural telling its own history.
The Librarian Is PDX the World's Most Beautiful Airport?
NE 117th Avenue, a little after 8:30 on a Friday evening.
The Sourdough Jack. Toasted sourdough over a regular bun, every time.
Held up for inspection. The shell holds together better than the question of what's inside it.
The Librarian The Cheapest Tacos on the Planet (Possibly Not Beef)
July, from the outside, at the wrong hour. Note the opening times on the glass: Tuesday – Sunday, 4pm – 9ish. I like a restaurant that admits to an "ish".
Rigatoni, house meat sauce, parmesan, parsley. Sixteen dollars and no adjectives.
Ten inches, crumbled fennel sausage, and a rim that has clearly met a wood fire.
Two ovens, one lit. The clock over the hood said 6:42.
July, midday, through the glass.
Thursday, half six, from the inside.
The Librarian The Best Bolognese Since France, at Chuckie Pies
The birthday burger. Free, and — I'll get to why — slightly better than the one I grew up on.
A surfboard on the wall, a long way from any water Habit Burger started next to.
The dining room, patio umbrellas visible through the door — brighter and more open than most fast-food seating.
The Librarian The Time It Beat In-N-Out, at Habit
Not a packed house. The bartender was working alone and the wait still added up.
One of the steaks that came out — the ribeye, a $7 upcharge over the base entrées, and the thinner, drier plate of the two.
And the New York strip, from further down the table. The better of the two plates.
The Librarian A Dry Ribeye and a Long Wait, at Black Angus Steakhouse
$12.99 for the gyro that made this whole trip worth it.
The deli case runs most of one wall.
Outside: a shared lot, and a sign about it.
Inside: nicer than you'd guess from the lot.
The Librarian A Lamb and Beef Gyro, and a Request for Sunglasses
Eighteen dollars. The bleu cheese is not a garnish.
Fries or a side salad. The salad is worth taking.
Thursday, half past six. Not a quiet room, and better for it.
The Librarian The Black and Bleu, and the Nicest Ladies in Town
The consomé, on the left. Thinner than it wants to be.
The torta, halved. Tortas are $10.89–$11.59.
Combination plates, $14.29–$16.49.
A quarter past eight, Fourth Plain Boulevard. You could look right at it.
The Librarian Quesabirria, and a Sun the Wrong Color
Two of three left. $13.49 on their own, or the appetizer half of the "2 for $25" deal.
Off the skillet and onto the table, still sizzling. $16.49 on its own, 1,500 calories before the fries.
A quieter corner, still holding some of the old wall photos.
The newer stretch, closer to the bar. Louder, and a lot more screens.
What's there now. Perfectly functional. Not, anymore, a water hole.
The Librarian O-M-Cheese, and a Water Hole That Isn't Anymore
The door policy, printed and taped up — you don't wander a shared practice building unescorted.
The lobby, stone fireplace and all.
Self-serve water, sun through sheer curtains, and a hallway where the actual work happens.
The Librarian Waiting for Blissful Heaven, at Healing Garden
Seven days a week, seven till four. The whole business closes before dinner, which tells you which meal it cares about.
The covered patio at half past nine. Heaters overhead, bistro chairs, and not one free table.
The salmon Benedict, on a table carved with the restaurant's own name. That is the corner of the sauce bottle at the top right — we will get to the bottle.
Twenty-four ingredients, reportedly. You can count perhaps six of them by eye and the rest is their business.
The mezzanine, the chandelier, and a rack of croissants the size of a door.
CAFÉ, set into the mosaic. The espresso comes off an Illy setup, and the latte in the picture had been on the counter about ninety seconds.
Petit Déjeuner, Bon Appétit, and a pain perdu recipe nobody asked for.
Bonjour, and the soup of the day: cream of broccoli.
Handwritten cards on every single one. Nothing here is printed from a template.
Les Canelés de La Provence, plus baguettes, mini brioche, and — genuinely — a Porsche Studio Edition macaron collaboration.
The Librarian Twenty-Four Secrets in a Bottle, at La Provence
Fuhrman and Eastlake. Underneath, the building itself — Burger & Spirits Emporium, and the old bird in the circle.
Bar to the left, ball game on, booths round the curve. Friday, and the lobby bench was full behind me.
Off the tray and onto the table. The cheese is already going over the side of the patty.
The Librarian Mad Love and a Seattle Corner, at Red Robin
Five dollars, plus two for the goat cheese. Not for me — but handsomely done.
Mid-week, early evening. The yeti is a nice touch.
The Librarian A Good Burger and a Locked Gate, at Dick's Primal Kitchen
"Ask for your sub Fully Involved" is printed right on the board — just not next to the Steamer.
Captain Sorensen's holds down the mild end of the rail — deliberately, given who it's named for.
"Founded by Firemen" isn't a slogan tacked on — it's printed on the sauce bottle itself.
The dining room's mural — a Vancouver Fire Department engine, the Interstate Bridge, and fireworks over the Columbia. The theming goes well past the napkins.
The Librarian Fully Involved, at Firehouse Subs
The door sign, on the way in. The tagline underneath the logo is doing more work than most café slogans bother to.
Sunday, mid-morning. Every table taken, a line still at the register.
The retail corner. Beans, drip-filter packets, and a still-life of cinnamon and dried orange that's purely for show.
The whole ritual: glass, hot-water bowl, and the card that tells you what you're about to drink, in case the foam didn't already give it away.
The counter — digital menus overhead, a line the whole time we were there.
Ottoman Ice Milk Coffee Set
Roman Ice Milk Coffee Set
Legend Milk Tea
Oatmilk Matcha
Ice-Blended Sesame Coffee
The Librarian The Egg Coffee at Trung Nguyên Legend
The order line, late Sunday morning — a good sign for a bakery this far from downtown Portland.
The case at the counter — baguettes, viennoiserie, and the sandwich board overhead. Everything in this photo is made in the building.
The Brie Bartlett Panini, off the grill. The cheese had gone all the way through the bread by the time it reached the table.
The July specials board, chalked by hand, next to the retail jam and wine.
The Librarian The Prosciutto and Brie Panini at St Honoré Boulangerie
The counter, mid-scoop. The board above lists this season's specials.
The corner entrance, downtown Lake Oswego.
The Librarian Reading the Flavor Board at Salt & Straw
The host stand — a waiter statue that's been greeting people here for who knows how long.
The steak yaya roll — griddled hard enough to hold its shape when cut, with all three sides on the plate rather than crowded on top of it.
The fried fish taco. That green sauce in the cup is doing more work than a garnish usually does.
The Librarian The Sandy Sauce at Cactus Ya Ya
Inside — white marble, gold trim, a chandelier over four small tables. The whole room is styled like the pastries in the case.
The case, mid-morning. Pink Lady on the left, Cocoa Noir — a dark-chocolate entremet — on the right for scale.
The Librarian The Pink Lady at Artisserie Fine Bakery
7:14 PM, a Thursday. This is not a photograph I staged.
The whole board, in the window. Worth reading before you go in — the queue moves faster than you'd like.
The 龍馬 lantern over the pass. Through the window on the left: 紀伊國屋書店.
The Librarian The Chashu at Ramen Ryoma
Animal Style, cut open. The peppers didn't make it into frame — they were already inside.
The whole board, photographed 25 July 2026.
State-specific merchandise, which apparently now extends to Washington.
The Librarian The Trick with the Peppers, at In-N-Out

That's all of them.

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