THE DINING REPORT – ACADIA

Privates Flashing Through The Darkness

Yes, the is the Restaurant Roulette Dining Report, not a porno blog, but you’re going to have to wait until later to find out just what this edition’s title means (I’ve got to force people to read this stuff somehow.)

Three years ago, In February of 2007, RR visited Acadia. Originally the “guest list” was for 18, two tables worth, but as often happens, attrition took its toll and we all ended up tucking into one table as a cozy 13. There were 8 new people that night, including two new couples, and fun and good food were had by all. Back then Marnie had Leo had become regulars, and Marnie and I blabbed on and on in the blog what an entertaining evening it had been.

Fast forward, three years ahead. Marnie and Leo established themselves as Oregonians long ago (at that time they were relatively brand new) and have moved on to choosing their own restaurants and alternate social activities. IMG_1399Only one person from that dinner remains a regular, although back then he was part of a couple, and now he flies solo. I’m lucky enough, since last fall, to still number one really fun couple amongst my regulars, but each dinner, I seem to have to scratch and claw for five or six attendees. The economic crisis has spread gloom and doom throughout the restaurant scene, and several of the places our little group has visited are gone (Olea and Assaggio being a couple off the top of my head.) Acadia seems to still be Acadia though, largely a good thing.

On this evening we welcomed two new members to our fold, friends Martha and Cherie. When she replied to the RR member ad I posted, Martha mentioned that she was new to Oregon and hoping to go to some new places and meet new people. I suppose “new” is a relative term, since it turns out that for Martha and Cherie, “new” meant less than three years. I have had others join the group who were also “new” after about four years in the region, so I suppose newness or oldness can be a state-of-mind, rather than a strictly chronological concept. It might also have something to do with geographic locale, as Martha and Cherie both live in the Newberg area, and had not spent a ton of time going places outside of wine country. Somehow, I can imagine it might be rather easy to feel isolated in an old-fashioned little place like Newberg. Our table had expressed surprise when Martha and Cherie mentioned coming from Newberg, as it sounded like such an ordeal, but they said it was no big thing, clearly indicating they were probably from Southern California (bingo! L.A.) Considering I’ve had other members from Newberg (I remember you Lisa, 911 specialist) and even Hillsboro, I suppose Newberg isn’t that far, it’s mainly just traffic choked travel. (more…)