Burgerville, the Pacific Northwest’s environmentally-conscious quick serve restaurant company, today announced it will allow bicyclists to order and pick up food through its 39 drive-thru lanes, making it the company’s latest sustainability innovation.  The company will announce a formal bicycle drive-thru program within the next two weeks.

Burgerville is creating a chain-wide formalized bike-friendly policy, which was galvanized yesterday in part due to an experience chronicled by Sarah Gilbert, an avid Portland cyclist. Ms. Gilbert attempted to order cheeseburgers at Burgerville’s Southeast 25^th Avenue and Powell Boulevard drive-thru and was rebuffed.  The company previously had an ad hoc approach to serving bicyclists at drive-thru windows, leaving the decision up to its individual general managers. Due to the Company’s ad hoc approach to serving cyclists, the Burgerville team member staffing the drive-thru window was uninformed about that location’s willingness to serve two-wheeled vehicles.  Burgerville has since issued an apology to Ms. Gilbert for the inconvenience.

“We’ve been handling bikes in the drive-thrus on an ad hoc basis and Ms. Gilbert’s experience helped accelerate our decision to develop a formal bike-friendly program. Her experience highlighted inconsistencies in our bike policy,” said Jack Graves, Burgerville’s chief cultural officer.  “Opening up our drive-thrus to the large cycling community in our area is a natural for us and is very much in line with our overall values. While we are sorry that Ms. Gilbert was inconvenienced, we appreciate the passion she brought to the issue and her commitment to the environment and our food.  We are excited about the positive impact we will be able to make through our new bike policy.”

The formalized bike-friendly drive-thru lanes are the latest sustainability innovation by the company which has previously instituted wind power for every location and is recycling its vegetable oil for biodiesel fuel production.  Burgerville also sources its many fresh ingredients from local providers.

Burgerville expects that all 39 of its locations will be able to accommodate cycle-thru orders within the next two weeks as the company finalizes operational and safety aspects of the program.

I’m a huge fan of Belmont Station. Their tap line up is consistently the most enjoyable in Portland.

Tonight they’re doing a tasting of a huge variety of Rouge Beers.

Here are the details:

6-8PM ROGUE TASTING. Taste the brand new Yellow Snow IPA & 2008 Santa’s Private Reserve, plus Juniper Pale Ale, Independence Fresh Hop Ale, Chocolate Stout, Hazelnut Brown Nectar, Morimoto Soba Ale, Brutal Bitter, Dry Hopped St Rogue Red, Track Town 200 Meter IPA, Track Town Triple Jump Pale Ale, & XS Imperial IPA.
Rogue Independence Fresh Hop Ale on draught.

To me the Hazelnut Brown Nectar sounds like a little slice of heaven!

Belmont Station is at 4500 SE Stark, it’s both a beer store and a ‘Beircafe’.

The Amazing Potato Champion

Despite our often wet weather, Portland has a phenomenal selection of food carts. Some of my more memorable Portland meals have been at carts.

Now there’s an online resource totally dedicated to the Portland Food Cart phenomenon:  Food Carts Portland.

The site breaks down cart reviews by cuisine and neighborhood, each with a handy map to help you find the sometimes elusive carts.

Some of my personal favorite carts: Sip Portland, Potato Champion, India Chaat House, Taqueria Los Gorditos (which Food Carts of Portland needs to review) and Flavour Spot!!

Food Carts Portland also enables comments and some of the best info comes from reader submissions and updates.

Local Wiki company About Us continues to enhance it’s local relevance with a new section devoted entirely to Portland Cofffe Shops. (Created by Bram Pitoyo)

The list, which is constantly growing and updating is a fantastic resource to quickly get info on the coffee shops in an area.  Since all Coffee shops aren’t created equal, this new resource breaks each one down by:

• Atmosphere
• Amenities
• Ideal For
• Wifi Rating

As with any Wiki,  readers are encouraged to contribute their knowledge and help make this resource as comprehensive as possible.

Another great resource on the About Us site is the Portland Tech Twitter Page, an invaluable resource if you want to connect with Portland’s tech community.

With the presidential election looming most people are myopically focused on voting for president, but the second most important vote you can make right now is with your dollars. Times are tough and not all businesses are going to survive this recession. Already this month several notable Portland restaurants have announced that they are shuttering their doors (Rocket, Mercado, Banh Cuon Tan Dinh and Kalga Kafe)  and more are soon to follow.

The dollar may be down on the world market, but it’s never been stronger here at home. With each dollar you spend you are making a vote, you’re voting for the business that you give your money to and perhaps voting against the places you aren’t. During tough economic times people often default to the lowest cost option out there. Companies like McDonald’s and Wal-Mart thrive because people think they get more for less there – something in tough times sounds appealing. If this current economic mess has taught us anything it’s there’s absolutely no such thing as a free lunch and today’s low low deal might have some unintended consequences tomorrow.

So I encourage you to think about the long haul. Want a beer? Skip Rock Bottom Brewery and pick your beer up at Belmont Station. Want a movie? Rather than Netflixing it ensure the future of independent cinema and local art houses and catch a movie at the Hollywood Theater or Cinema 21.  Want some food? Support local farmers at your local farmer’s market or visit the People’s Food Coop Farmer’s Market.  Chose Voodoo Doughnuts over Krispie Kreme,  Laughing Planet or Los Gorditos over Taco Bell, Pad Thai Kitchen over TGIFridays…. and yes Stumptown, Cellar Door and Z Beans over Starbucks.

There’s never been a time in your life where what you spend and where you spend has mattered more. So pick the places you love and give them your business, odds are they’ll be around to thank you when this whole economic mess is all over.

What local business are you rooting for to survive?

Had very fine salami, cheese, hot pepper & tomato plates at Bar Avignon on Division. Then off to see Calexico at the Crystal Ballroom, a Arizona-based Yo Lo Tango style band. I’m a sucker for live trumpets! And many parking spaces near the venue, which just rocks.

So for those of you who didn’t know… or didn’t remember, Friday was International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Oddly enough, the boyo and I had learned at Guardian Games the night before where he learned how to play a large scale game of the Pirates Constructable Strategy Game that the Portland Pirate Festival was this weekend.

So we went to check it out today. I like to think of it as… the Ren Faire for pirates… with all sorts of pirate gear, pirate people, and yes… even pirate bands! If you’re going to go, take some cash! There are beautiful hand made things like clothing, pouches, and even leather tankards! Seriously, I could have spent a good amount of money. ANNDDD what’s a pirate festival without beer? The good people of Rogue Brewery were there providing good eats and great beer, as usual. If you stick around/ get there at the right time, you can even see a battle involving canons and a pirate ship.

Seriously, it’s at Cathedral Park, which is the perfect setting for this festival, and it’s on tomorrow from 10am to 6pm. Tickets are $15 at the gate and $8 for kids, with those 2 and under in for free. Yes, there’s a TON of stuff for kids to do and even a puppet show (which the boyo and I had to stop and watch).

So if you can, go! Take the kids, take yourself, just GO… and have a great time pretending to be a pirate. I DO warn you, though, there are a lot of neat things to buy there, so either be prepared to go and spend, or lock up your ATM card and go just to drool.

I’d go again but I’m trying NOT to buy a new coat, leather pouch and other odds and ends….

Belmont Station (4500 SE Stark St) is one of my very favorite spots for beer in Portland. It’s a great store and pub where the focus is on great tasting and unique beers.  In a move that shows the absolute difference between being a beer connoisseur and beer snob Belmont Station is having a Michelob Brewing Tasting on Wednesday September 17th from 6-8pm.

Here’s their blurb which speaks volumes:

We try real hard not to have an attitude. Sometimes it still creeps in, like when they told us the new line of Michelob beers are vastly improved and truly delicious. So we said bring it on. Let the people taste them. Here’s your chance to taste Michelob Porter, Pale Ale, Dunkelweisse, Amber Bock, Pumpkin Spice & maybe more. And take home 6 packs on sale.

Tastings are Free and open to all over 21.

On a recent trip to Texas, I was educated in the ways of the Michelada. It’s served at most authentic Mexican food joints and my, is it awesome. The Michelada is basically beer poured over a mix that similar to a bloody mary, and the rim of the glass can be salted or unsalted. Please don’t confuse this with “red beer”, a Mid-west concoction of beer and tomato juice that is absolutely vile. The Michelada, done properly, is spicy, tasty, and quite refreshing. Perfect on a warm, summer day. We’ve got a few left, so you should get one. You can get them at La Calaca Comelona on Belmont, but I’m not sure where else. Any pointers?

We are truly blessed in Portland. We have over two dozen craft breweries that call our city home. At a moment’s notice, we can enjoy beer from the likes of Roots Organic, HUB, Hair of the Dog, the Old Lompoc, and many, many others. But even the most obnoxious beer snob is caught drinking a PBR from time to time. When you’re camping, out fishing, or just trying to stay cool on a day like today, sometimes a cheaply made American lager is just what the doctor ordered.

I’ve never been much of a Pabst fan. I can drink it when I have to, but it’s rarely my first choice, even when beer slumming. On tap it has a strange aspirin-y taste that kinda gnarlifies it. Out of the can it’s slightly, uh, oily. If I’m going cheap, I prefer cans of Orangeboom, found at Trader Joe’s – although a recent price increase has almost made them not worth the bother. There’s always “Old German”, an east coast cheapie that can be found at Belmont Station. It’s inexpensive, and completely suitable for your beer slumming needs. If you’re not in the neighborhood, there’s always Miller High Life – “the champagne of beers” (just don’t try to make a mimosa out of it). I was also a big fan of Blitz, until the brand was discontinued after the Weinhard sale. And one can never forget the cheap bubbly wonders of Oly and Hamm’s, readily available at your local mini-mart.

So, what’s your favorite?