Last Friday, I went on a canoe trip around Ross Island with Sarah and Aubrey. We ended up renting a canoe because the logistics of transporting my canoe proved too much of a hurdle without a car (I'm thinking about either finding a canoe trailer for my bike or storing it at Riverkeeper). Anyways, we locked our bikes up and put in by the Hawthorne Bridge, paddled past the Zidell barge facility and a beautiful heron looking resilient against a backdrop of concrete rubble, and hit the ground again at South Waterfront. We had one thing in mind: Bambuza.













Bambuza is the new Vietnamese bistro at the base of the John Ross tower. Whatever you think of the South Waterfront brownfield-to-urban-neighborhood project, this restaurant is worth a visit. The design aesthetic is perfect for the building and the food is fresh, delicious, and affordable. The papaya salad is particularly mouth watering. Last time I was there I got the catfish claypot and I think it may still be the most memorable thing I've eaten in a restaurant in Portland in 2008. Including anything at Pok Pok. Or Ken's. Or Toro Bravo (ok, that might be a stretch...). They were very patient with our load of bags, paddles, and life vests. I hope that a future Portland features many more people using the river for travel within the city.





Stay tuned for part 2 of this post, whereby we cross the river to Ross Island.