They even have valet parking, too

I am always excited to hear about a new restaurant in town. Much to our surprise, our little cow town here has a lot more to offer for our very frequent “Where do you want to go for dinner?” mullings than our San Franciscan suburb did. There in the Land of Much Sun, we had a wide choice of fast food, a Mexican place we still kinda miss, a tasty pizza joint, and a Chinese restaurant we really should have appreciated more. So we often found ourselves on a freeway to a neighboring suburb in search of yet another reason to avoid learning how to cook.

But here in the Land of Dusty Sunglasses, we have Thai and Mexican and great burgers and hot dogs and Italian and a brew pub and a bistro and a great coffee shop and pretty good pizza. Fifteen minutes more and the options sky rocket. Since I am still trying to keep cooking to a minimum, my ears always perk up when I hear a conversation about places to eat. So I was very perky when some friends were talking about one of their favorite secret haunts.

“It’s got really good food, the view is great, and the prices are amazing. It’s so cheap! We both can get made-to-order meals for under 10 bucks total. The helpings are big, too.”

Another couple in the conversation quickly agreed. They knew all about the restaurant, too. It’s been around for a couple of years and is absolutely busy enough to stay in business. Cheap, good, plentiful, and a view?? How had I missed this? I pleaded to be let in on their secret.

And so last week, the six of us met for dinner at a scenic table overlooking a wooded grove in the back of what we soon dubbed “The Treetop Café.” I had a chipotle grilled chicken sandwich and a jalapeno-stuffed pretzel. Rob had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and a salad. Our friends had salads, a huge baked potato, a made-to-order deli sandwich and a wrap of some sort. We might have spent $35 among the six of us. The restaurant was clean, well-lit, and indeed had a beautiful view. The service was friendly but gave us our space. It wasn’t too busy or loud although people drifted in and out at a pretty regular pace. We had a nice, lingering conversation over fresh cookies and coffee and then bussed our own tables on the way out. Rob and I agreed we’ll visit again soon, especially since the Tuesday Night Special of Chicken Parmesan sounded very tempting at $5.

So where is this hip, trendy dining hot spot amongst my friends in the know? Past the gift shop and Admitting, elevator to the third floor, past the Respiratory Therapy and Cardio Pulmonary Services, down the hall on the left.

Yep, a hospital’s cafeteria is where It’s At. And yes, my friends are a bit older than me. And yes, they have had more reason than I have so far to be in hospital cafeterias. And yes, they were able to provide a comparison summary of several hospital cafeterias in the Portland metro. And yes, I’m grateful the only reason I went there was to eat. And yes, next time I shall try the real ice cream milkshake.