Going to Portland

[Traditional_Ale]

I really dislike the city of Portland. Sorry for my lack of contribution.

[Stumptown]

Everything SeeBass said.

The bar at the Hotel Deluxe (the Driftwood Room) is probably my favorite bar in town. The Ace is good if you're into hipsters, but I've heard the beds are not comfortable (futons? really?). The Jupiter Hotel if you're really into the rock and roll lifestyle, but be prepared for lots of crowd noise at night from the attached club. Or, as BigBrodieFan mentioned and if you're into funky and eclectic, there's the McMenamin's Kennedy School or their new Crystal Hotel that just opened downtown. The food and booze at all the McMenamin's places (and there's A LOT of them) is just passable, though.

There's a never-ending supply of good restaurants in town, in pretty much every neighborhood. I'd be happy to point you to restaurants if there's something in particular that you like to eat, or if you know what neighborhood you'll be staying in. Lots of excellent restaurants that use only local ingredients, and of course our world-famous breweries and distilleries (and wineries a few miles south and east). You pretty much can't go wrong with any of the brewpubs, but the bigger ones (Rogue, Bridgeport, Deschutes) are very crowded and touristy. If you are anything of a beer nerd the industrial east side is the place to go, not the Pearl district north of downtown. (again, let me know if you want some more specific recommendations)

Of course Powell's Books - still Portland's #1 destination. And speaking of shopping - there's no sales tax here, so some things do tend to be a bit cheaper. Besides the Adidas and Nike outlets, there's also the Columbia Sportswear outlet. I'm not much of a shopper, so I'm probably not the best source for tips in that area.

Unless you plan on getting out to the Columbia Gorge, Mt. Hood, the Coast, or the Willamette Valley (where the wine is) you shouldn't need to have a car to get around. Our public transit is very good, goes just about everywhere and is easy to use. Biking is also a good way to get around, there's a lot of bike paths and most of the major streets have bike lanes. Also a very pedestrian-friendly town.

I love to point visitors to some of the more off-the-beaten-track things to do here that aren't necessarily going to be in the travel guides, so if there's anything you're curious about, don't hesitate to PM me.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by MRCboicgy

Voodoo donuts: the magic is in the hole.

Wow, I must now go to Portland, damn you.

[Hemi-Cuda]

i found downtown Portland to be incredibly dull when i was there, compared to Seattle when we did a roadtrip. it just seemed to be endless concrete blandness and even the waterfront was boring. i will say however that they have some excellent micro-breweries, since drinking was the only interesting thing we found to do there

[Stumptown]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i found downtown Portland to be incredibly dull when i was there, compared to Seattle when we did a roadtrip. it just seemed to be endless concrete blandness and even the waterfront was boring. i will say however that they have some excellent micro-breweries, since drinking was the only interesting thing we found to do there

True, downtown is really NOT the place to be, especially at night when it's completely dead. Downtown Boise has better nightlife than downtown Portland. During the day in the summer it can be more fun, but I wouldn't call it a destination. I hardly ever go downtown, except to transfer buses or on my way to Powell's. The sole reason for the waterfront's existence anymore seems to be to host huge festivals that no one who lives here ever goes to. The area just north of downtown (the "Pearl District") is our city's attempt to be Vancouver, and appeals to a certain segment, but I really don't enjoy it. The good stuff is scattered in clusters all around the neighborhoods - Hawthorne/Belmont in SE, Alberta in NE, North Mississippi, NW 21st and NW 23rd, and most recently East Burnside and the SE industrial district. But all are pretty close in and easy to get to.

[Josh]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

I really dislike the city of Portland. Sorry for my lack of contribution.

There's a reason I live in Beaverton and avoid the actual city of Portland whenever possible.

[MRCboicgy]

Don't forget to visit the world's smallest park.

[Stumptown]

Here's a few links to help plan your visit to Portland:

Food Carts Portland - including maps of where they all are. Some move around (like the aforementioned KOiFusion) but most are stationary and clustered in "pods." Downtown is mostly just for lunch, and some of the ones in SE are open very late for that after beer-o'clock snack (beer o'clock is 2 AM, btw).

Barfly Magazine - find the perfect bar to fit the moment/location. Tons of search criteria, though listings tend to fall out of date. FYI - we have two classes of bars: full bars and taverns which only serve beer and wine. Tavern licenses are much easier to get, so there's a lot of those and not all of them serve much in the way of food. Full bars tend to have more food options, and some bars (of both types) are among our best restaurants.

Eater PDX - List of the 38 hottest restaurants. Haven't eaten at all of them (actually only about 1/3) and agree with all but Jade Teahouse and Little Big Burger. Both I find flagrantly mediocre, and cannot understand why the keep making lists like this. Le Pigeon and Beast have both recently won major national awards.

And our two weekly newspapers: Portland Mercury and Willamette Week. The WWeek is more mainstream and the Mercury is more hipster, but both have good listings for what's going on. WWeek is better for restaurants, Mercury for music. Sadly, both of these papers are better than our daily fishwrap.

[SeeBass]

I went to the food cart show a couple of months back, bought the VIP passes.

That was some good food.

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by BigBrodieFan

http://www.mcmenamins.com/ramshead

^ great pub in Portland, by the Kennedy School Hotel, which is an old elementary school converted. The rooms still have the original chalkboards in them. Very 'quirky' and fun place.

I lived in Portland in another life and used to frequent this place. Had a lot of fun there and the food and entertainment was always great.

Also, don't miss the Saturday market downtown. There is tons of booths and entertainment. Helium is one of the best comedy clubs you will find in any city. There are always 'name' comics performing there (Gilbert Gotfried this weekend and Jay Mohr at the end of the month)

[Northendzone]

All this talk about getting food from a truck is crazy talk - there are pizza professionals working at the mall to deliver the pure goodness of sbarro to you and your family - give the wife a break and take her out tonight

[SeeBass]

A little off topic but there is a food truck (Thai I think) in Canmore anybody try it yet?