Local, Hero
I gained a pretty quick “freshman 15” after moving to Lake Oswego. There’s an easy excuse: many good restaurants were nearby. Go we must. And we did; often.
My favorite cuisine is the world of Tex-Mex--tacos, southern spices, tortilla soup, guac--and we found two good ones: Jefe and Holy Taco. Seasoned locals know they are owned by the Lee family, making it harder to pick a favorite. Holy Taco is a bit like its name: whimsical, breezy, fun. Grab a table inside, or better, an outside table right in the middle of Millennium Plaza hubbub. Jefe also physicalizes its title (the boss). Off Boones Ferry Road, the interior feels more established, the food a bit more complex, designed, deep.
So, my favorite between the two? It’s not even a contest. It’s Holy Taco.
Because I can walk to it.
It’s been a year since my wife and I--new empty-nesters--decided to go live somewhere outside the 25-mile circle we had lived in our entire lives around Seattle. We found our way to the Old Town area of Lake Oswego, a small 2 x 4 street grid of houses, condos, townhouses, and apartments smashed between Highway 43 and the Willamette. It’s so different from where we had lived for the last 20 years. If I wanted to walk to a business then, the biggest attraction would have been a 7-11, more than a mile away. But why go there? Slurpees are only free once a year.
The car was used for everything else.
But not in Old Town. I’m less than a 5-minute walk from George Rogers Park and the gateway to the river. The other direction I can get to the Duck Pond, sorry, Lakewood Bay.
But it’s the non-natural destinations that are such a convenience: Whole Foods and Ace Hardware are less than two minutes away. Petco, the Salvation Army, my new physical therapist, an exercise club, two theaters, and wonderful restaurants from classy Italian (Nicoletta’s Table) to steadfast Mexican (Taqueria la Marquesa) are 3-5 minutes away. Take three more minutes and get into the world of Millennium Plaza’s shops, restaurants, and Saturday Market.
I’ve been a movie fan for decades and even was paid a few years to see films. But did I ever drive to Bridgeport Mall or another cineplex upon moving here? Nope. If it didn’t play at the Lake Theater & Cafe, I didn’t go. Well, for almost a year and then BarbieHeimer hit, and I had to go to Bridgeport to see them opening week. And then I was done. With going to the mall. The traffic, the parking, all those people…. I ran back to Lake Theater. Because, you know, I can run there.
Now I think if I can’t walk to it, does it even exist?
I realized a year after we bought the house, I had never looked up Old Town on Walk Score, the internet site that ranks from 1 to 100 how walkable your neighborhood is for things that you’ll need. I assumed Old Town was 99 or 106 for that matter. Funny thing, it’s a mere 80. It’s not near any schools. Which would be important…for someone else.
To live in a place where others vacation has its perks, but you don’t often think of your hometown as a destination. So, I started looking at Lake Oswego as a tourist. I went to Trip Advisor to get a list of the Top 10 restaurants. Luckily, I had been to most while gaining my freshman 15. One highly rated spot I had not tried was Riccardo’s Ristorante, an Italian place near Jefe. Looks like a good, classy place. Have we been there?
Nope. If I need Top 10 Italian, Nicoletta’s Table is 75 seconds from our front door.
Also published on the Old Town Lake Oswego Neighborhood Association blog. All photos by the author, an expatriate of Washington State.
