This summer Vance and I are headed to Portland, OR for a week. Call it a belated one-year anniversary rendezvous. Here are the first ten ideas (mostly food-related) I have for things we should do while we're there:
1. Eat lunch at Tábor food cart. From a truck that looks like a gypsy cart, Czech specialties like fried eggplant on ciabatta, slathered with paprika spread and horse-radish. Stark St. near S.W. Fifth Ave.; schnitzelwich.com
2. Grab breakfast at Moxie Rx. Lighter-than-air buckwheat waffles, buttery biscuits, salads, smoothies, and juice drinks. N. Mississippi Ave. at N. Shaver St. moxierx.com
Photo: John Clark
3. Eat lunch at Garden State food cart. Farm-to-table Italian-style chickpea polenta sandwiches, divine arancine (fried risotto balls), and a meatball hero to make an Italian mama proud. Next to 7875 S.E. 13th Ave. gardenstatecart.com
4. Eat lunch at Tastebud. At their store and at four farmers’ markets, these folks make chewy, smoky pizza with toppings like asparagus, shallots, and dandelion marmalade. tastebudfarm.com
5. Visit the ecru paperie. I visited this place when I went to Portland for the first time. Paperies are one of my little indulgences; it's like a little art gallery for people who see art in everyday things. 1215 NW 11th Ave. ecrupaper.com
6. Visit Bridgeport's Brewpub. Bridgeport is Oregon's oldest craft brewery. Maybe we'll stop by when we spend a day in the Pearl district. bridgeportbrew.com
7. Spend an hour at Powell's City of Books. Powells is the holy grail of bookstores. I stumbled into it while I was (purposely) lost in Portland over two years ago and it was like I opened the door to a magic wonderland. powells.com
8. Drink a latte at Stumptown. This one probably should have been #1. But these are not in any particular order. I spent parts of at least 4 of my days in Portland in the Stumptown coffeehouse. Their coffee is hands-down the best I've ever had. This one is not optional. stumptowncoffee.com
9. Do the wednesday Lunch Buffet at Horn of Africa. I found this idea in the Not For Tourists guide to Portland and it looks amazing. Plenty of food I can eat and even more food Vance will love. Nom. And just in case they take it down, here's a coupon with no expiration date. Mother would be so proud. ;) hornofafrica.net
10. Do breakfast at the Tin Shed. This one's also from the NFT Guide. From their website, "we pride ourselves on providing only the freshest, most wholesome products. Our beef, chicken and eggs are all free-range. Our coffee is organic, shade-grown and blended to our specifications right here in Portland. Our dairy products are packed locally using no growth-hormones, the salmon is wild...you get the picture. And when you are done, we compost 100% of our left-overs. Because its not just the destination, but the journey." You know I'm there. tinshedgardencafe.com
Thanks to Sunset.com for providing inspiration!
