My Portland List

I just typed up this hella long email about things to do in Portland for Rodin, and I wanted to post it and see what other local favorites are. Comment on the things you can't believe I left out! I also discovered how many typos I make when I'm excited and drooling thinking about food. Sorry about that email, R.

Eastside
One of my favorite things to do in Portland is to go get a beer and catch a $3 movie at McMenamin's Baghdad or Mission theaters. If you go to the Baghdad, you won't be far from a Stumptown Coffee Roasters - one the the highly lauded coffeeshops with outlets around the city and a country-wide following for their beans. And if you need some food with your coffee, Zell's is a wonderfully hidden brunch/lunch spot. Walking up and down Hawthorne st, Belmont st, and Division st will bring you thru the main hipster scene in Portland, with pricey, little boutique stores, dog-friendly bars, and the requisite ladies in Land-Rovers. There's quite a few decent places to take a vegan around here - my favorite was Kalga Kafe. The tempations of the stores will be many, but try to make it to Rimsky-Korsakoffee for a pick-me-up: Rimsky's is an awesome coffeeshop with live music at nights, and secrets that I won't tell you about beforehand. If Rimsky's whets your appetite for the less money-ed, artsy, hipster scene where everyone has U-locks in their back pocket, you can then wander around NE Alberta st or SE Woodstock st. Alberta is part of old Portland, and is slowly being yuppie-ized but fighting it. It also has the Tin Shed (one of my fav breakfast places) and Bernie's (good fried chicken). You'll miss First Thursday and Last Thursday, which is when the galleries open and have wine tastings and when Alberta is taken over by hippies and artists selling their wares, but maybe another time. After all this walking/driving, you'll want a beer and a bit of music, and the Goodfoot is perfect for that. It's a concert venue downstairs, and a pub/pool hall upstairs. They used to have breakdancing nights on Wednesdays, but I'd need to double-check my memory. If you do make it to Woodstock, hit Ottos or the Delta Cafe, where I like to get a cucumber margherita and a catfish Po'Boy. However, since Alberta and Woodstock are basically the North and South border of what I consider the heart of Portland, it's possible you might not get to see everything. Go East out to 84th if you want asian food and such stuff - we recently got our first decent Malaysian restaurant out there. Then when you're about to pass out but need dessert first, one of Portland's newer dessert phenoms, Pix Patisserie has decently late hours.

McMenamin's (many locations)

Stumptown Coffee Roasters
3356 SE Belmont St
Portland, OR 97214

Zell's Cafe
1300 SE Morrison St
Portland, OR, 97214

Kalga Kafe
4147 SE Division St
Portland, OR, 97202

Rimsky-Korsakoffee
707 SE 12th Ave
Portland, OR, 97214

Tin Shed
1438 NE Alberta St
Portland, OR, 97211

Bernie's Southern Bistro
2904 NE Alberta St
Portland, OR 97211

The Goodfoot
2845 SE Stark St
Portland, OR, 97214

Otto's Sausage Kitchen
4138 SE Woodstock Blvd
Portland, OR, 97202

Delta Cafe
4607 SE Woodstock Blvd
Portland, OR, 97206

Malay Satay Hut
2850 SE 82nd Ave
Portland, OR, 97266

Pix Patisserie
3731 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR, 97214

Westside
I love starting the day off with a solid breakfast, and my main love is Byway's Cafe. It's also within walking distance of Portland's main tourist draws: Powell's Bookstore. The downtown one is the only cool one to go to until you give up and start living in the suburbs and drive a minivan. Once you're finished being overwhelmed by all the books you have yet to read, walk down the street to Powell's Technical Bookstore. And then up a block to Pearl Bakery for the best bread in Portland. While you're in the Pearl District, you can swing by one of Portland's many breweries, and make a reservation at last years (maybe the year before) Restaurant of the year, Andina. (Only the fanciest places in Portland require reservations, but if you are inclined to plan ahead and have the $, I've included some favorites below.)

If you feel like seeing more of the westside, take a drive to NW 23rd street where you'll find the yuppie hang-out of the year. This street has a store entirely devoted to making dog biscuits, if that tells you anything. It also has Pizzicato, an old family standby when we are getting takeout. (Get the caesar salad-it'll leave you with garlic breath for two days). Once you're overwhelmed with all the rainy materialism that walking thru Portland's boutique-lined streets can offer, stop at St. Honore (aka The Best French Bakery I've found on the west coast) for recovery with a Chai, an Almond Croissant, and a Cannelle. Popping into Moonstruck is a good choice for a gift for the girl - locally made, artisanal chocolate in uber-cute molds, and hot cocoa to rival Burdick's. There's the Lompoc if you want a beer, or a McMenamin's on 23rd and one on 21st. Speaking of 21st, if you're feeling frisky, wandering up/down it is also fun, with an awesome indie theater to hide from the rain in called Cinema 21, or go listen to the concert scene in old, restored dance hall called the Crystal Ballroom (another McMenamins branch). If you're going home at odd hours, try stopping by Voodoo Donut for a Bacon Maple Bar.

Byways Cafe
1212 NW Glisan St
Portland, OR, 97209

Powell's Bookstore
1005 W Burnside St
Portland, OR 97209

Pearl Bakery
102 NW 9th Ave
Portland, OR 97209

Rogue Ale House (can't remember if I've actually been here and can vouch for this one)
1339 NW Flanders St
Portland, OR 97209

Andina
1314 NW Glisan St
Portland, OR, 97209

Fancy restaurants:
Clarklewis - (503) 235-2294
Paley's Place - (503) 243-2403
Le Pigeon - (503) 546-8796
The Heathman - (503) 790-7126
Caprial's - (503) 236-6457

Pizzicato
530 NW 23rd Ave Ste 109
Portland, OR, 97210

St. Honore
2335 N.W. Thurman St
Portland, OR, 97210

Moonstruck
526 NW 23rd Ave
Portland, OR, 97210

New/Old Lompoc
1616 NW 23rd Ave
Portland, OR, 97210

Cinema 21
616 NW 21st Ave
Portland, OR, 97209

Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside St
Portland, OR, 97209

Voodoo Donut
22 SW 3rd Ave
Portland, OR, 97204

Typical Day
Ok, so I've just bombarded you with more info than you probably wanted on fun (food-centric) things in Portland. Here's a typical day in my world. Get off work, go climbing at Portland Rock Gym or go run the stairs of Mt. Tabor, and then go get a beer/dinner on the eastside.

Portland Rock Gym
21 NE 12th Ave
Portland, OR, 97232

Mt. Tabor - Portland's own extinct volcano.
SE 60th & SE Salmon Street
Portland, OR 97253

Random Tidbits to tide you over:
Saint Cupcake - I'm sure you've seen the trend of cupcake bakeries opening everywhere. I've had these, and they're not bad, but ...eh.
407 N.W. 17th Avenue
Portland, OR, 97209

Portland City Grill - Bar/Restaurant at the top of a building with panoramic views of the city, and a bunch of rich old guys picking up high maintenance women. Awesome piano bar on the weekends at night, with a good, fancy happy hour. More Ahi Tuna here than you can shake a stick at, if you're not DONE with seared Ahi like I am.
111 SW 5th Ave
Portland, OR, 97204

Henry's Tavern - seriously good fries. Also a big meat-market money scene, which is why I only save it for when I want golden, shatteringly crisp, perfectly salted fries.
10 NW 12th Avenue
Portland, OR, 97209

Burgerville - an entirely Pacific NW fast food chain that is our answer to In-N-Out, without the religion and with better fries and shakes and a seasonal, sustainable menu. Their fries taste like potatoes, but they're not as crispy as Henry's.

Saburo's - I refuse to eat sushi anywhere else in Portland but here. It's got better fish than Todai (who doesn't though, really?), and the pieces are ginormous and oh god I'm drooling just thinking about it. (OK, there are two places in Beaverton that I'll go to, but this is a Portland guide) If you go, be prepared to stand in line for a while.
1667 SE Bybee Blvd
Portland, OR, 97202

Noho's - for the incredibly intense Hawaiian cravings that sometimes call. Awesome poke.
2525 SE Clinton St
Portland, OR, 97202

My favorite bar that I can't remember the name. It's a good bar. That may explain the memory loss. Amazingly good bar food and live music thursday-sunday.
SE Ash and 2nd (may be SE Oak. right around there)
*edit* Produce Row is it's name.