If you don't leave this city
feeling like a big, round ball of organic, local, and humanely treated
goodness, then you have failed. You must eat, and you must do it every
chance you get. There are hundreds (or so it seems) of good options to choose from, so this is by no means exhaustive. But from my 36 hours in Portland, these are some places I tried and can highly recommend:
1. Splurge & Reserve: Le Pigeon
2. Worth the wait: Pok Pok
3. After dinner treat: Salt & Straw
4. Wake and taste: Tasty N Alder
5. Cart it up: Kargi Gogo
6. Caffeinate: Stumptown
1. Reserve & Splurge: Le Pigeon
New
twists on fancy french classics, but done amazingly right. Intimate,
cozy atmosphere with a soundtrack of bump 'n' grind 90s jams. My
favorite was the fried oysters app, which came over horseradish and
oyster diced/mashed potatoes and a creamy oyster soup. The mushroom
carpaccio was topped with lobster and some kind of sweet citrus fruit,
as well as foie gras shavings, and it too was the bomb. For the main
course, we had sturgeon that was served with blueberries, oyster
mushrooms, and pickled red onions, topped with a beef au jus -- original
flavor combinations that worked wonderfully. For dessert, the foie gras
profiteroles were decadent and divine -- definitely worth a try if
you're into the idea of foie gras ice cream. For this next level quality of food, the prices are more than reasonable. My meal with one glass of wine was under $60.
2. Worth the wait: Pok Pok
Way
better than its Brooklyn brother. the Vietnamese wings are my favorite
thing on the menu. the pork belly dish was also good, as was the glass
noodles with prawns dish.
3. After dinner treat: Salt & Straw
Anytime
I go anywhere, I am on the lookout for good, homemade, local ice cream.
This is that place. We went there after Pok Pok for dessert the honey
lavender blew my mind. apparently they had an off-the-menu flavor of
prosciutto and melon that was delectable and fine.
4. Wake and taste: Tasty N Alder
They
serve the food as it is ready in order to "ensure its integrity."
Luckily, the integrity of the food is indeed fully preserved. My granola
with ... was everything I want in a morning granola.
5. Cart it up: Kargi Gogo
I’ve never had Georgian food, but I’ve been wanting to try it ever since
I read about some good places in Queens in New York Magazine. Funny
enough I had the chance to try it out first at this food cart in
Portland. If this place was any indication, Georgian food might be a new
favorite. It’s a little bit of Mediterranean meets Middle Eastern. I
had the Badirijani, which is an eggplant roll stuffed with a walnut
garlic paste. It was a perfect post-lunch, pre-dinner snack.
6. Caffeinate: Stumptown
This Portland staple next to the Ace hotel served up cold brew as good
as any I’ve had. Which makes sense since Stumptown was one of the
original shepherds of the whole artisanal coffee craze. Plus they’re
friendly as fuck (in a good way).
