Let's dance little stranger...: SFO -> PDX

The Willamette River and Burnside Bridge

Portland was not somewhere I had envisioned myself visiting. It had never registered on my internal map of places to see, I had no reason to go to Portland, and I couldn’t imagine what I would do once I got there. But recently, I had a spontaneous choice to make: go to Portland for the weekend or not. I thought about it and figured, “When the hell else am I going to have the chance to go to Portland…why not?” So I booked a flight and landed in Portland a few days later.

Having done a quick Google search (and rewatched half an episode of No Reservations in Portland), I realized Portland is a foodie’s paradise. So, being a big fan of food myself, I decided this was going to be a weekend long search for anything delicious…and boy, was I right.

My fellow Portland newbie (and foodie extrodinaire) and I spent the weekend voraciously eating our way through the city, with the one exception of Powell's City of Books – where I could have happily found a cozy corner to curl up in and read book after book.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Portland was that everyone had tattoos. Tattoo parlors were aplenty, and I saw more than one freshly inked arm in my short time there. The atmosphere was definitely not what I'm used to: totally down-to-earth in a I-wear-tshirts-and-jeans-listen-to-rock-music-and-dye-my-hair-funky-colors kind of way. But despite the tough-guy appearances, no one was rude or pretentious, everyone wanted to share with us their favorite places to eat and everyone was genuinely friendly.

Every place we found was delicious. Portland may have a relaxed vibe to it, but Portlanders are very serious about their food and beers.

Day 1 (Evening):

Grain and Gristle - We had their Fressen pretzel with spicy mustard and a lamb-wich with onions and garlic aioli. I can't remember the exact names of the beers, but one was a Vaporizer and the other was Modo something.
Nest Lounge - Cool bar with a really great outdoor area with ping-pong and what looks like outdoor movies.
The Know - I was definitely out of place at this biker/rocker bar, but the bartenders was friendly and beers were good.
The Hilt - Loungey type bar with a pool table and interesting cocktails. We had a whiskey infused with sweet tea with Sprite, and a tequila infused with jalapeño.

Day 2:

Little girl picking peppers at the farmer's market

Food carts downtown

Farmer's Market at Portland State University - We bought an assortment of delicious foods to make our own little picnic: goat cheese with olive tapenade, venison pate, a freshly baked baguette and a local brewery's beer.
Powell's City of Books - My heaven on Earth: 5 floors of books.
Deschutes Brewery - We had a Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Jubelale. I'm not a huge fan of really hoppy beers, but the Mirror Pond was just right.
Saturday Market next to Voodoo Donuts on SW Ankeny St. - We made a stop at the Rogue Brewery stand, but I can't remember the exact beers we had. I know one of them was a Morimoto one.
Dan & Louis Oyster Bar - Oysters and martinis on the patio - fancy!
Food carts on Alder St. - Some really quick and delish Pad Thai in the rain.
Cascade Brewery - After lots of walking in the rain, we found Cascade and spent a few hours trying their tasty sour ales. Favorites of the night were the Apple Pie and Sang Royal sours.
Belmont Inn - Billiards and beers to start the evening off.
Triple Nickel Pub - Pinball champion of the night! We also met some awesome people who taught us a dart game they had invented that "anyone can play and is really fun when you're drunk" - which rang true when the self-proclaimed worst dart player won the game...twice in a row.
Food carts alleyway on SE Belmont, between 34th and 35th Ave - Our last stop of the night was this small alleyway of food carts. They had an awesome tent in the back with music and tables, but despite being in the middle of all the bars, it was completely empty! We had something from each truck: dumplings, chicken curry crepe and a Mexican torta.