Why We Vote As We Do

With the exception of two school years (Spokane) and one summer (Burns) spent in the Far West (“Settlement largely controlled by corporations or government via deployment of railroads, dams, irrigation mines; exploited as an internal colony, to the lasting resentment of its people.”), I have lived my entire life – Eugene, Portland, Eugene again, Seattle, Arch Cape, back to Portland, Santa Rosa, and again Portland – on the Left Coast. (“New Englanders [by ship] and farmers and fur traders from Appalachian Midwest [by wagon]. Yankee utopianism meets individual self-expression and exploration.”)

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Easter Dinner Reviews

Poppa and Gram’s Easter Dinner

★★★☆☆ (18 ratings)

 

★★★★☆

The green bean & mushroom casserole was the bomb! I asked Gram for the recipe, but she said it’s a family secret passed down through generations! The sweet potatoes with the toasted little marshmallows on top were dope. The only reason I’m not giving this five stars is there was no PBR beer to wash the meal down with.

★☆☆☆☆

The food wasn’t bad. I would’ve given more stars if I’d felt welcomer. I took a picture of my plate and was putting it up on Instagram when Poppa said he’d really appreciate it if people would not use cell phones at the dinner table. It’s not like I was talking on the phone or anything! If they expect grandkids to come over for dinner, they need to let us text and stuff. It’s like they’re living in another century!

★★★★☆

I have eaten here regularly for many years, breakfast and dinner. Usually it’s been pretty good although the portions were often too small. The food would be brought to the table with the announcement of how many slices of bacon or how many pieces of roast we were each allowed. And then if we didn’t eat it all, no dessert. I’m glad to see that now the servings are of a reasonable size.

★★☆☆☆

My wife told me I would really like this. It was supposed to be a family-style dinner. We drove a long way with our children and then Gram told them they had to sit at a separate “kids” table. Our kids are well behaved. Being kids, of course sometimes they get a little rambunctious. That’s no reason to not let them sit at the same table with the others or to get so upset because one of them threw a couple green beans at another or knocked over a glass of chocolate milk.

★★★★★

The ham was better than Honey Baked. My only criticism is the slices weren’t perfect like the spiral ones from Honey Baked. The brown-sugar glaze made up for that, though. And Gram and Poppa were really nice, too. Gram made sure I got all I wanted to eat. And the pecan pie – Wow! With REAL whipped cream in a spray can. And they had my favorite, Bud Lite.

★☆☆☆☆

I went to a lot of trouble to order a “Happy Easter” cake from Costco for the dinner. I think it was very rude of everyone to eat the pecan pie that Gram made and not mine. They probably just didn’t want to hurt her feelings. At least I got to take the cake home so I can eat it later.

★★★★★

This has to be my favorite pop-up restaurant. You could tell every dish had received the personal attention of the owners. Part of the charm was after the meal we all pitched in with clearing the table and taking care of the dishes. Not sure why none of the guys did, though.

★☆☆☆☆

I really don’t like this place, but my husband makes me go.

★★★☆☆

I thought by now Gram knew that I am a vegetarian. I know ham with brown-sugar glaze is the tradition, but does anybody think about the living conditions of the pigs before they are slaughtered? I didn’t make a fuss but I will definitely have a conversation with Gram before Thanksgiving. I also will tell them I’ll bring the wine next time. Nobody drinks white Zinfandel. I gave three stars because I think they really do try.