Diversity Rules Magazine

19 Diversity Rules Magazine January 2015 a must-see when you're in Portland, but go early, be- cause they don't stay open late at night. Cacao also has a second store, at the Heathman Hotel in Downtown, where we started the tour. Besides Cacao, we visited three other chocolate shops. e first was Moonstruck (at right). ey make hand- crafted chocolates the American way, with little to no cream or milk – and had some adorable little clownfish chocolates and the cinnamon to-die-for Mayan choco- late truffle – they're an Oprah favorite. Also on the tour – Teuscher (www.teuscherportland. com) – a boutique chocolate operation from Switzer- land with just 23 stores worldwide. What we liked about this one – the champagne-in- fused chocolate, the mocha they make with espresso over one of these divine treats, and the fact that the owner of the company is gay. Leonidas Portlandey also sell same-sex cake toppers, by the way. :) And finally, we visited a Belgian chocolate store – Le- onidas (www.le- onidasportland. com) – whose chocolates were much more creamy than the american choco- lates, and a much bigger operation, with something like 1,500 loca- tions worldwide. We also visited Benessere (www.benessereoil.com)- lit- erally wellbeing – a shop specializing in imported Ol- ive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. ey served us some amazing combinations of oils and vinegars, including a dark chocolate balsamic vinegar mixed with a blood orange olive oil, and also with a walnut oil. Amazing – would make a fantastic salad dressing. If you enjoy chocolate, you'll love this tour – it's just 2 1/2 hours, and an easy walk with no hills. Check Out the Zoo Just like the city of Portland, the Oregon Zoo (www. oregonzoo.org) is built to a human scale. It's a decent sized zoo with most of the "wow" animals (no lions or tigers tho), and has a great, open, green feel. Goat at Portland ZooIt's nestled in the hills above the city, and is easily accessed via the light rail. Get on one of the west-bound lines anywhere in downtown, and ride the train a few stops west to the Washington Park stop. Take the elevator up, and you're literally right at the entry to the zoo. e zoo has a great central meadow for picnicking (as well as snack bars if you don't bring your own food), and a cool little Elephant Museum with a full-scale skeleton of an elephant inside. You can see the whole thing comfortably in a couple hours. Check out the JAW Festival in Late July Every year in Portland in late July, Portland hosts the JAW theatre festival (www.pcs.org/jaw/) – Just Add Water – an intense two week workshop for four aspir- ing artists and four budding teen playwrights, that cul- minates in three nights of free readings for the public, all paid for by local arts groups. We chanced upon the festival while searching the Pearl website for things to do for our upcoming trip, and the dates worked out perfectly. It's he;d in the gorgeous historic Armory building. We caught two full plays and two short one-acts – and of the four, three were gay-themed. But before the play, there was entertainment – a local rapper and some break dancers that kept the crowd enthralled. e first full-length play at 4 PM – Complex, by Dom- inic Finocchiaro – was about a condo complex where a series of escalating murders happen, a comical farce that had some very funny moments but never quite gelled for me. Maybe it was the format – (Con't on page 20)

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