Ever been to Portland?

No, but I think I’m about to…

Portland tl;dr

• Lots of microbrew
• There’s a tram that will take you from the airport to downtown
• Did I mention the microbrew pairs well with food trucks?

Got a Free Weekend? Visit Portland

If you’re looking for a getaway think about taking a weekend trip to Portland. Portland is a great destination to check out and understand what all the fuss is about regarding the food and local micro brew scene. During a recent weekend in late February, we did just that, a Fri-Sun, lets leave town and explore trip to Portland. Below is a quick overview of our itinerary and what we ended up checking out during the weekend, despite the rain!

1st Day | Downtown

• Flew into Portland Friday night
• Used the MAX Red Line to get into the City Center
• Checked into our hotel.
  • We stayed at the Westin Portland
    • UPDATE | Just found out that this location was closed.

• Snacked at Elmasry (got a HUGE chicken shawarma- pretty good and definitely 2 can split)
• Drank at Deschutes Brewery & Public House: One of the famous local microbreweries in Portland.
  • Closes at 12 midnight

• Located right by the famous Powell Books
  • (huge bookstore and worth seeing, don’t need to spend a lot of time unless you are very into books)

Day 2 | Downtown

• Ate breakfast at Blue Star Donuts
  • So good! every donut I had there was good, you really can’t go wrong.
  • I’d suggest getting there early so the line isn’t super crazy, this was walkable from our hotel.
• Walked to Portland Saturday Market
  • The nation’s largest weekly open-air arts and crafts market opens at 10am
  • In the inside area they offer a free wine tasting
    • There are some really good local fruit wines (the blackberry wine was my favorite) that’s definitely worth trying.
  • Next to Tom McCall Waterfront Park ( a pretty area to walk around).

• Snacked at numerous food carts row on Alder & 10th St merely steps away from our hotel.
  • One of the more impressive food carts here is the seafood hand made noodle (can’t remember the name of the truck)

• After all that food, we decided to take a bus and check out the famous International Rose Garden.
  • While I imagine this is beautiful during the months of May to September, the best time to visit since the flowers are in bloom.
  • When we went, nothing was sprouting and it was practically all shrubs.
    • However, it was a beautiful area with a nice view of Portland.

• Bar hopped first at Clyde Common which happened to have a decent happy hour menu with drinks/food!
• Dined at Tasty n Alder who offer a delicious foie gras dish entree!

Day 3 | Vernon

• Woke up to coffee at Public Domain Coffee.

• Breakfast at Pine State Biscuits who serve an amazing Southern type food but may be a little heavy!
  • I got the Reggie deluxe which was delicious and filling.
  • Nothing goes better with heavy breakfast like great drinks!
    • My favorite was their version of the old time classic Bloody Mary

• We took a bus to the brick and mortar, Nong’s Khao Man Gai, literally the most famous chicken and rice “food truck”.
  • Their food truck location across the street from the hotel is unfortunately closed during the weekend.
  • If you want to try what the fuss is about, you’ll have to check out their other location further away.

• Relaxed at the hotel, then went to the Alder & 10th St food carts to try the sweet waffles from The Gaufre Gourmet.
  • Basically they serve gourmet waffles, both savory and sweet and we got the chunky monkey and another with bacon.

• We tried another local tap room called Bailey’s Taproom near where we were planning on having dinner.
  • Great selection of local beers and a chill place to hangout.
  • They have the most fancy TV beer menu that we have ever seen.
  • If you check in on Foursquare, it will highlight your check in running along the top of the screen.
  • They also have another TV highlighting the bus schedule so you never miss another bus or drink.

• We enjoyed our last dinner at Little Bird
  • A fairly small restaurant with tasty dishes:
    • foie gras
    • bone marrow
    • oysters
    • charcuterie
  • Everything was solid and you get a delicious small dessert on the house after dinner; ours was a little macaroon.

Portland is Delicious

About this weekend trip to Portland, all in all, was a wonderfully jam packed weekend filled with great sights, tasty foods and thirst quenching drinks! I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

If you’re staying in the downtown area you definitely do not need a car to get around. I’d just highly recommend putting on your walking shoes and getting ready for some exercise and maybe an umbrella.

:)

Portland