Way too social

Been trying lots of eats around Portland lately. There's an intern and new team member at work who both live by me and they've been doing a good job of dragging me out of my house.

I just noticed that I complained about the price for every one of these places. I don't know if I'm just out of touch with what restaurant prices are these days or that I am a cheapskate. Probably a bit of both.

Olympic Provisions for happy hour: Just had some tastes from a charcuterie sampler--seemed pretty good though pricey. Will try purchasing one of there to-go cured meats another time. Can't say I'm particularly compelled to try them for a full dinner.

Laurelhurst Market: Not what I was expecting based on the name. Mainly a fancy butchery with a few sandwich selections. Super overpriced but delicious. I had a cup of meat-bean soup and a half of a ham sandwich thing that was $10.50 total for a teeny portion of soup and teeny half sandwich.

DiPrima Dolci: Possibly the closest I've ever seen Portland match an East Coast Italian style eatery. Love the atmosphere (zero hipsters) and that they sell freshly made Italian pastries. Not sure whether the food is worth the price, seemed like there was pre-cooked frozen peas/carrots in my bolognese sauce. Will come back here another time and try the pizza--has potential.

Broder: Swedish breakfast. Overpriced but worth it. Delicious round light fluffy pancakes with fresh lemon curd, wow. Decent potato hash with smoked trout, small little chunks of walnut toast on the side. Would have loved portion sizes that were about 25% larger...but I would definitely eat here again. Coworker from Europe said the food at Broder was better than any she'd had in Sweden. Apparently Swedish food is generally ill-prepared and that people there really do go eat at Ikea (akin to Americans eating at Costco).

Otto's: Always notice that people are hanging out at this deli as they grill sausages out front on the weekend. I didn't think the chicken sausage link I got was that fantastic for $3.25 (and that was the price without a bun)--but I enjoyed how un-zen it was to eat a sausage right after yoga.