Stephen and I made time for a Christmas date and got to experience a slice of our quirky city.

First, we drove over to Milwaukie along the east side of the Willamette River to see the Christmas ship parade. When we got there, a bonfire was roaring on the river’s edge, and we stood watching the lighted ships parade in a circle before heading down the river.

For dinner, we chose PDX Sliders since we’d sampled their sandwiches back at the cheese festival in the fall. The burgers were ah.ma.zing! It was the best burger I’ve ever tasted, by far! I told Stephen I didn’t even want to talk, just eat. The truffle fries themselves were well worth the visit.

Then we had a truly Portland experience for dessert. The Rimsky-Korsakoffee House hides just nearby our church. It’s a residential house turned coffee and dessert place with no signage out front. It was listed online as a great place to get a late night dessert, and it didn’t disappoint.

Coming up to the place, I was reminded of the old black and white movie Arsenic and Old Lace and felt a little creeped out since we weren’t sure what to expect. Inside there was a sign to seat ourselves, so we found a little table by the window and sat down. The place was crowded with people around small tables eating dessert, drinking coffee, and listening to a pianist playing classical pieces on the piano. The ceiling had odd decorations hung from beaded strings that were duct taped to the ceiling. In the dim, orange glow of the twinkle lights, the place looked almost pretty, but although it was garishly decorated it was strangely inviting too–like we were all part of the community gathered to hear some beautiful music and to sip tea and coffee together over intimate conversations.

Per the online suggestion, I had their Chocolate Raspberry Fool and an egg nog latte. I’m not sure what kind of pudding or gelato was in that dessert, but it was fantastic!

Best. date. night. ever.