Soon after I moved to the Portland, Oregon area six years ago, my oldest daughter told me I would love eating at Tad's Chickin'N Dumplin's restaurant located on the bank of the Sandy River. It took me six years to test her opinion, but she was sooooo right! This past weekend my youngest daughter and I were able to eat there and we both loved Tad's and want to go back many times.
The first photo of Mt. Hood with a weeping cherry[?] tree in the foreground was taken from a spot along Lusted Road near our house. To get to Tad's I accidentally took a detour by turning the wrong direction on the Historic Columbia Highway. My youngest daughter took a picture of a highway sign that features Teresa Kasner's sketch of the Columbia River Gorge. Teresa has several wonderful posts about her visits to Tad's that also encouraged me to want to visit Tad's myself. My youngest daughter and I ended up stopping at the Women's Forum Overlook to call Tad's and figure out where it was from where we were :) So while we were at the Overlook we had to take some photos of the snow on the mountains of Washington on the north side of the Columbia.
When we finally made it to Tad's we easily found parking, were welcomed into the rustic country setting by top notch staff and were graciously led to a riverside table we requested. While the menu is varied, we opted for forms of chicken for our first meal at Tad's. My daughter ordered Tad's famous chicken and dumplings and I had a broiled chicken breast with a baked potato. First we were served Portland made Thomas Kemper Ginger Ale, which has a lovely hint of honey with the ginger flavor. We were given a relish tray of fresh vegetables, then beautiful salads, then our entres with green beans and bread. The portions were so generous we took home lots of leftovers so that we could have a scoop of ice cream or sorbet. It was a deliciously memorable meal in an equally beautiful and memorable location.
Do you have a favorite restaurant you want to tell me about? I hope so :)
xx,
Gracie
