Armed with a pair of sturdy shoes, you’ll find release from the tyranny of exit ramps. You’ll wander downtown’s short blocks, marvel at all the trees (few things surprise first-time visitors more) and, almost effortlessly, get to know the city that pops up on more “most desirable” lists than Angelina Jolie.
 Word to Yo Mama
Brunch at Mother's Bistro and Bar-just like home, but with better food |
For a place its size (population 539,000), there might be no better eating city in the world than food-obsessed Portland. For breakfast or lunch, Mother’s Bistro & Bar is as good at creating lines as preparing classed-up American staples like meatloaf and Mexican chopped salad. Each month, the menu features dishes from an extraordinary local mom, so you might find Thai, Portuguese or Russian specialties accenting the regular menu. In Portland, a typically polite but impassioned discussion will be ignited by not mentioning any of the other 20 or so worthy candidates when we call Paley’s Place the restaurant to close everything from seductions to business deals (same thing, right?). Superfresh fare here includes local herbs, and often salmon caught a few hours ago. Paley’s may have received critical love from as far away as The New York Times, but, more important, praise for its Northwest cuisine comes from local winemakers who’ve made Paley’s a party-night standby.
Scratch that. It’s not “wine” in Portland, it’s pinot noir, as in “You’re either making pinot noir in Oregon, or you’re not in the wine business.” That from Sam Tannahill, one of the state’s elite vintners and co-founder of the acclaimed Francis Tannahill Winery. The infamously finicky pinot grape has been tamed by Oregon’s long dry summers, putting wine bars such as Noble Rot on the city’s hipster circuit. Based largely on pinot noir, Oregon wine sales account for $200 million in annual revenue. None of which means pinot has stolen the heavyweight beverage title from beer. From golden hefeweizens to stouts darker than Eminem lyrics, the national microbrew revolution kicked off here in the 1980s still dominates the taps. The local go-to grog? Deschutes Brewery’s Mirror Pond Pale Ale.
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But we’re supposed to be walking. Which means hitting Portland’s seemingly endless “up-and-coming” neighborhoods. For concentrated shops, restaurants, nightclubs and once-derelict warehouses converted to trendy condos, no area is more active than the Pearl District. Anchoring its west end is Powell’s City of Books, the landmark independent bookstore so immense that you use its store map the way you use a New York subway map. (You can also pick up a Pearl District walking map inside the store.) Just north of the Pearl, boutiques cram “Trendy-First and Trendy-Third” (21st and 23rd) streets, now only slightly less hip than the Pearl. From Powell’s, you can cross Burnside Avenue and take a free bus or streetcar (within downtown’s expansive “Fareless Square,” hop on and off all public transportation for free), or walk south along Broadway (between Sixth and Eighth avenues) into the heart of downtown. Here you’ll find what tourism flacks like to call “Portland’s living room,” the brick-paved public plaza at Pioneer Courthouse Square at Southwest Broadway and Yamhill. Detour to Huber’s along the way for a flaming Spanish coffee, and you’ll be taking in a Portland legend at the prettiest (and oldest) bar in the city.
Hit any of the aforementioned and you can lay claim to a solid knowledge of the City of Roses, but to see emerging pockets of gentrification, cross the river (OK, a car is finally helpful here) for dinner at the self-explanatory Bernie’s Southern Bistro in the Alberta neighborhood. Or get eclectic world cuisine at Equinox in the North Mississippi district. These are both artsy neighborhoods, but the reigning emblem of one of the most politically liberal cities in the country—a Slate magazine headline last year asked, “Is Oregon so progressive that Kerry could lose it?”—remains the beloved and still scruffy Hawthorne District. The beer-serving Bagdad Theater & Pub at the corner of Southeast Hawthorne and 37th Avenue is the epicenter of its neighborhood. In addition, you can find a decent brewpub at the Hawthorne Street Ale House; tie-dyed, time-traveling bongo enthusiasts from 1969; and walkable, tree-filled streets—the kind you might wish your own streets resembled a little bit more. —Chuck Thompson
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Accommodations “Big Deal” hotel bookings on the Portland Visitors Association Web site (www.pova.com) are updated regularly. For optimal walking, stay in the downtown core, generally denoted by SW in the address of major hotels. Restaurants Bernie’s Southern Bistro 2904 NE Alberta Street, 503-282-9864 Equinox 830 North Shaver Street, 503-460-3333, www.equinox restaurantpdx.com |
Mother’s Bistro & Bar 409 SW Second Avenue, 503-464-1122 Paley’s Place 1204 NW 21st Avenue, 503-243-2403 Nightlife Hawthorne Street Ale House 3632 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, 503-233-6540 Huber’s 411 SW Third Avenue, 503-228-5686, www.hubers.com Noble Rot 2724 SE Ankeny, 503-233-1999, www.noblerotpdx.com |
Other The handy map at the Oregon Brewers Guild Web site (www.oregonbeer.org/ mapport.html) shows the location of 30 local microbreweries. Bagdad Theater & Pub 3702 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, 503-236-9234, www.mcmenamins.com Powell’s City of Books 1005 East Burnside, 503-228-4651 (also 3723 SE Hawthorne Boulevard), www.powells.com |
