For some time now I’ve been wanting to highlight some local restaurants and places that I enjoy frequenting here in Lake Oswego. Today I want to let you know about 3 wonderful restaurants on the Lake Grove side of town. All 3 are practically institutions in the area, having been in business for many years. They are also located in a cluster along the same stretch of Boones Ferry Rd, the main road through the West end of town.
La Provence is the youngster in the group. The founders of the restaurant, Pascal, Didier, and Alain came from France in 1996 wanting to share their passion for the French Patisserie, which is a bakery that specializes in pastries and sweets. Don’t be fooled by the outstanding selection of breads, tortes, cakes and croissants that are showcased as you walk-in. This restaurant offers first class food well beyond the temptations of sweets. When the restaurant first opened it specialized in breakfast and lunch. My favorite breakfast choice has long been the smoked-salmon hash. Served over crispy hash browns, the smoked salmon is topped by a poached egg and creamy dill sauce. The homemade bread makes delicious toast, and the coffee is outstanding. For lunch I recommend the French onion soup. It is the best I have ever had. And in the last year or so the restaurant has begun to stay open for dinner service. I recently had a wonderful dinner there at a time when they were offering live music. I consider the pricing to be affordable and the food highly reliable. The atmosphere is relaxed and sunny with bright splashes of color from the art work and provencial-style table cloths. Located at 15964 Boones Ferry Rd, you can find menus and more information at their website, www.provence-portland.com/
Next door to La Provence is Gubanc’s. Gubanc’s and I have something in common. We both came to Lake Oswego in 1976. I guess you could say that we kind of grew up together. Owned by Tony and Anne Gubanc, this restaurant is a neighborhood classic. The atmosphere is classy while being comfortable. Not too expensive, you’ll find the food to be Northwest with an interesting flair. The restaurant is most famous for its soups. They have 80 different varieties that were personally created for their menu. While the traditionals like clam chowder are available, you will also often find unusual selections like Chicken and Pear or Santa Fe Chicken with White Bean. Yum. A great deal at lunch is the Soup Board. For $7.50 you get a generous bowl of homemade soup with a side board of bread, cheese, and fruit. Dinner options include South Western Pork Wraps, Chicken and Dumplings, and Halibut Provencial. For dessert they are well known for their Fresh Fruit Cobbler. You’ll find it busy every night of the week. There is a full bar and I think there are quite a few regulars who eat dinner here several nights a week. To continue to fill the dining room night-after-night for over 30 years, you know they must be doing something right. Located at 16008 Boones Ferry Rd. For a copy of the menu and more information, visit Gubanc’s website at www.gubancspub.com.
Finally, I want to brag about Riccardo’s. This is my favorite “special occasion” restaurant in Lake Oswego. Not that you would only want to go there on special occasions, like an anniversary or a birthday. I have gone there with friends for a casual lunch or dinner many times. It’s just that I’ve also celebrated many birthdays and anniversaries there. In my mind, it is a special place that provides just the right atmosphere for a special night out. Opened in 1980 by Riccardo and Georgette Spaccarelli, it is very fine Italian dining at it’s best. The Spaccarellis are known for their annual trips to Italy where they visit wine producers and make selections to offer with their food. The entire meal is extremely authentic. It’s also mouth watering and complex. My favorite item on the menu is the Penna Strozzapreti. Penna pasta with a sauce of cremini mushrooms, black olives, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes in a light cream sauce that is then dusted with parmigiano reggiano. That is comfort food to me and a real taste treat. There are two dining rooms. The inside room seats 55 and is very nice. But my favorite, and where I always make it a point to dine, is the outside patio. It seats 75 and is surrounded by high walls that in the summer are topped with flowers. There are terra cotta tiled floors and several fountains. The perimeter tables do have a roof over them and in cooler weather they have numerous heaters to keep you warm. No, I don’t think you’d be able to dine out there in January. But for most of the year you can. It is not only comfortable, you will feel like you’ve gone to Italy. Riccardo’s is just across the street from Gubanc’s and La Provence at 16035 Boones Ferry Rd. You can find their menu and more information at their website, www.riccardoslo.com
There are other great restaurants in LO. I’ll work on giving other recommendations in the future, but this is a good starting point for a new resident in the area. And just like the long-time residents, you’ll go back again and again.
It’s time to showcase another of Lake Oswego’s wonderful neighborhoods, Westridge. Westridge is not very large. According to 
Second, it has two terrific parks. Cooks Butte Park is on the Eastern edge of Westridge. It’s 42 acres of natural area. It’s what is called a passive park. In other words, it is left quite natural with soft-surface trails for hiking, but not a lot of development such as picnic structures or play grounds. It is best enjoyed for the trees, the trails, and the views. The top of the park has an elevation of 718′. It’s a wonderful spot to hike up to and then sit and watch the sunset. The other park is Westridge Park. It’s adjacent to Westridge Elementary School. It’s 2.2 acres and has a playground, a volleyball area, and a soccer/little league field. This is where you take the kids to burn off some energy and to enjoy a fine, sunny afternoon.
Housing in Westridge is all single family homes. There are no condominiums or apartment buildings. The pricing of what is currently for sale goes from a low of $498,500 for a 2670 square foot home with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, to a high of $899,900 for a 3243 square foot home also with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. I would say that the most basic criteria for the variation in pricing is whether the home has been updated or not. The neighborhood was mostly built in the 1970’s and 1980’s. So if the house still has original kitchen, baths, woodwork and windows, it is just not going to be worth as much as a house that is
I want to point out a house that Linda and I visited on Broker’s tour on May 5th, 9 Westminster Dr. This home is an excellent example of great value. Built in 1976, it has been extensively updated. The kitchen and baths are all recent. There is new paint and flooring. The house has 3814 square feet, with 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. Probably the most distinguishing feature is a wonderful sunroom that allows you to sit and enjoy the garden all year round. The landscaping is exceptional. There is extensive brick work in patios and outdoor entertaining areas. The yard has sprinklers and it looks to me as though a professional was involved in the layout. It is really wonderful. Priced at just $597,000 it is a stand out for value. I tell people that in this market it is both a beauty pageant and a price war. I think this house wins in both categories.
While waterfront living is not for everyone, it is certainly a feature that draws people to Lake Oswego. Think about it. You are 15 minutes from downtown Portland, but you can water ski in the morning before you go to work. Or if you don’t water ski, you can canoe, and swim, and just enjoy the serenity of living with a view of the water. If you are someone who thinks living on the lake sounds like a wonderful idea, there are a few things that you’ll want to consider. I am going to discuss the 3 specific areas of the lake and the current pricing for those 3 areas. I am not going to go into the history of the lake or the details of its management. For that, I’d like to refer you back to a previous post : 
Let’s start with the Main Lake. This is where you will find the highest prices. The most expensive house for sale in the lake right now is a private island that is accessed from Northshore Rd. It’s priced at $19,500,000. The house has 13,500 square feet, with 5 bedrooms, 6 full baths, and 2 half baths. The island is pretty good sized. I recall years ago calculating that it could be divided into multiple home sites. So there is a good deal of value in the land and not just in the house. The least expensive house on the main lake is priced at $829,000. It has 2484 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths. OK. That is just amazing. Why? Because the availability of buildable lots on the lake is extremely limited. 3 years ago there was quite a lot of buying and tearing down of old houses in order to build a new house. And the going price on the tear downs was running about $1,400,000, which made land value alone over a million dollars. So to see this house for sale for $829,000, that’s pretty amazing.
There are a couple of characteristics to houses on the main lake that affect the home that buyers select. First, the North shore of the lake has much better sun exposure. If you want to have full sun while you swim, you should look seriously at the North side. The South side has a large hill immediately South of it, which creates shade and less full sun. In addition, with the sun coming from the South, the front of the house will get more sun than the back, and the lake is on the back of the house. You should also know that on the North side there is a rail road track that runs very close to many of the houses. So if you think that the sound of a train will bother you, then you should be looking on the South side of the lake.
feet, with 4 bedrooms and 3 and 1 half baths. The least expensive is priced at $1,395,000. It has 3190 square feet, with 4 bedrooms and 3 full and 1 half baths. One of the unique areas on the bays is the Cabanas. These are homes that are built out over the water. They have a very small front yard and no backyard. Instead, they have decks that hang out over the water. You could literally fish off of your back deck. In addition, many have attached boat houses. Just like you enter a garage from a home, these cabanas allow you to get into your boat right from your house. It is an easy-care lifestyle for those who would rather go boating than mow a lawn.
square feet, with 5 bedrooms and 3 full plus 1 half baths. The least expensive is $599,000. It needs quite a bit of work, but still strikes me as an incredible deal with 3458 square feet. It has 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths.
I hope this helps you to get a sense of what pricing is like to live on Oswego Lake. I’ve been around Lake Oswego for a very long time. One of the things I see is that when people want to live on the lake, they often start out in a condominium or along a canal. And then as they mature and their income increases, they move to get onto the main lake. I also know of one couple who buys the run down houses and lives in them while they fix them up. They have lived in many homes on the lake, and made a good deal of money too.
It feels like the new listings are coming onto the market in a fairly consistent way with 15 to 20 new listings, not “refreshed” but actually new, each week. Last week we saw 16 new listings. There were 4 pending sales and 5 closed listings. I keep waiting to see evidence of the spring market kicking in. That would be reflected in an increase in both pending and closed sales. So far, it remains a bit sluggish. On the plus side, we have one pending sale at close to $1,000,000. The remainder of the pending and closed sales continue to favor the more moderately priced homes. I am also continuing to see that the cumulative days on the market continue to embrace both extremes. It seems like houses that were over-priced, and that have gradually bitten the bullet to bring the price down to a point where price meets market demand, are selling with very long market times. The other extreme are the new listings that are able to look at current market conditions, price realistically, and are selling in a very short period of time.
Two weeks ago I posted information about Tryon Creek State Park and mentioned that there are two neighborhoods in Lake Oswego with trail access into the Park. One is First Addition and the other is Forest Highlands. In our archives you’ll find a neighborhood profile for 
There is, in fact, a beautiful condominium development in Forest Highlands, Red Fox Hills. The condominiums are all townhouse style: they are attached on the sides but do not have neighbors above or below. Amenities include expansive lawns and gardens as well as a pool and a recreation facility. Current pricing ranges from $226,000 for a 2 bedroom, bath and a half unit, to $399,000 for a 3 bedroom, 2 full bath unit. All units have garages.
And then there is that wonderful proximity to Tryon Creek Park. The entrance from Forest Highlands is at the turn about at the end of Boca Ratan Dr (right behind Red Fox Hills).