Portland: EAT

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).