Firstly, my hotel was fine. It isn't in the greatest area, and there are a lot of cheap motels around there. I found The Monticello to be clean and spacious, with little to no extras (no lobby area, just a small office off the rooms. No coffee, breakfast, internet e.t.c.) It is however, clean, spacious, and within 3 blocks of the MAX station, which was beneficial.
My very first Portland thing that I did was hit up Lucky Devil strip club for my friends birthday. As you may know, Portland has A LOT of strip clubs. I had a blast, and saw girls do things I have never ever seen in a strip club before. Nothing nasty, but as my Portland friend says.."There should be a Strip-U for up and coming strippers here." And he ain't kiddin'.
My 2nd day in Portland, I headed downtown to wander, and eventually go to the Chinese Gardens. I stopped in for lunch at the Morning Star Cafe, and ordered a vanilla latte (my first in Portland, and it was gorgeous) and the Felipe sandwich (turkey, cheddar, stone-ground mustard, cilantro, onion and tomato $8.00) which was tasty. It was not at all dry, and the hint of cilantro with the mustard was a lovely assertive pairing. I fueled up for my trek through old Chinatown (which is barren and mostly empty), and for the Chinese Gardens!
The Chinese Gardens were lovely. A small circular area with a combination of outdoor nature, asian architecture, flowers, walkways and indoor spaces with art and setups of old fashioned rooms. They have a tea room which serves food and has a serious selection of teas, and styles of serving it.
Meeting up with a friend of mine later on, we chose 50 Plates. It was on my list as a good happy hour spot, so we went around 10 pm to take advantage. 50 Plates is quite trendy and modern. We sat at the bar, and got our own glass bottle of water, adorned with the 50 Plates logo. Very nice. For the happy hour, I ordered a modified version of the Dark and Stormy (dark rum, ginger beer and lime. $5) and opted for vodka instead. My company opted for the regular Dark and Stormy. Both cocktails were excellent, and served in a solid short glass, with rocks of ice. I was drinking in style. Our bartender was very friendly, humorous and knowledgable. Off the happy hour menu, we ordered Hush Puppies ($2) and the Cheeseboard ($5). The Hush Puppies were soft, savory and very comforting, and the Cheeseboard was refined and share-able. After that, we ordered an Old Guardian Barley Wine (him) and a dirty martini (me.) We left there a whopping $28 lighter. Afterwards, we stopped into the Rogue Distillery and Public House, and then 'round the corner onto the upstairs bar at Touche for some drinking.
The next day, I had crepes on the brain. Chez Machin was on my list, so I headed downtown, and then got a Radio Cab to the SE quadrant. One problem with my list of places is that many of them were in that area, and that ended up being a bit far from my hotel. I found the surrounding area to Chez Machin to be quaint and nice, with a ton of little cafes and such. Inside Chez Machin, I ordered the french onion soup ($4, cup) and the La Percheronne (Black forest ham, brie, avocado, mushrooms & crème fraîche $10.) The french onion soup was excellent, very savory and cheesy! I did not care for the crepe, unfortunately. I found the mushrooms and brie to be overpowering, and the creme fraiche on top added nothing. The crepe itself was a little bland, and not as soft as I thought it could be.
Afterwards, I decided to head back downtown for some happy hour at Clyde Common. I'm the type of person who wants a happy hour that offers something I normally would not be able to afford to drink, and Clyde Common meets that criteria. After a 20 minute search by foot (the only time I got a little turned around in Portland, a miracle for me), I found they were closed, due to what seemed like a wedding party. No one was inside, but there were people outside in wedding attire, having pictures and video taken. I wasn't too crushed, as Clyde's looked very upscale, which isn't my thing anyways.
In need of something close, a drink, and to sit down, I ended up around the corner at Mothers Bistro. I found Mothers to be very organic feeling, earthy and refined. I ordered a Moscow Mule, and then a Vesper (Aviation dry gin, Crater Lake vodka & Lillet Blanc, served up with a twist.) The bartender suggested a drink in between, which I received and did not care for. She happily offered to make something else. Very classy, and friendly.
For my farewell lunch, my friend and I went to Mio Sushi. Mio is a cute little sushi place, which felt very inviting. We ordered a coffee (that comes in your own little french press), the Shumai/Gyoza appetizer ($4.50), a spicy salmon and unagi nigiri (2 for each of us), and a Super Eel roll (Crab, cucumber, avocado inside, eel, sesame seeds, unagi sauce outside -$8.95). I was overall not impressed, and thought the sushi tasted too fishy. The shumai and gyoza were fried, which caught me off guard, and were a little bland without the dipping sauce.
After we ate, we stopped at a place for some coffee that I cannot remember the name of! It's a little coffee place across/down the road from Miho Izakaya on Interstate. I bought some Be Bop biscotti to take home, and my friend and I sipped and reminisced.
I didn't get to do even a fraction of the things i wanted to. Unfortunately, many of the restaurant in my list were in the SE area, which was a bit far from my hotel, requiring cabs, or many MAX and bus transfers. My biggest misses were Le Montage Bistro, Gold Dust Meridian, Pok Pok, The Art Museum, Ground Kontrol (an old school arcade!!), Tasty N Sons (which I was going to go to, but they were closed due to a shooting of Good Eats...), and I never did get to eat any Mac and Cheese! I did get to spend a few hours strolling through the entire Saturday Market, which was a highlight of my trip! I loved the festive and funky environment. I walked past a street performer who was singing my very favorite Sublime song. I bought a few little things, and got to see the food truck scene booming in front of me. I didn't get to eat any food truck fare, but the variety and choices are dizzying! Reindeer sausage! Porketta! Pho!
I did walk past Powells and Voodoo Doughnut. Voodoo Doughnut seems to be just..a bakery. Which would mean more to me if my sweet tooth were a little stronger, I suppose! I would have gone into Powells, but it's HUGE and I really had to pee (almost impossible when wandering downtown. Thank you Noodles and Co, for letting the public use your bathrooms.) I walked by Pause and Saucebox, but never got to go in.
Overall, Portland exceeded even my highest expectations for it. I felt comfortable, happy, and was able to get around with little to no problems, which surprised me because I am very directionally challenged! I liked the weather (remember where I am from), the funkiness, the cleanliness (first dual flush toilet I've ever seen!), and of course the plethora of places to eat and drink! Most of all, I really liked the people. The people were friendly, genuine, and open. And no one was bothered about the fact that I was just visiting. I intend to make this a yearly (at most) vacation spot, and will consider the possibility of moving there someday.
I still miss Portland, even a month later.
50 Plates cheeseboard
Chez MacHin
Chinese Garden Tea Room
Chinese Gardens
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