Wednesday night arrived in Portland, Oregon. After we checked into our hotel we drove to the Pearl District in search of delicious food. We chose Lardo because it wasn’t crowded and we were excited with the menu. Paul chose a mortadella and pork sandwich and I chose the Korean bbq pork shoulder and kimchi fries. I never get to eat kimchi and I love it every time I have it! For an appetizer I ordered a dish I’d never tried: fried crispy pig’s ears. They were served with a molasses honey sauce and fried rosemary. They were absolutely delicious. I’m so glad I married someone who will try any food with me!
Thursday we spent the entire day exploring the city by tracking down record stores. For lunch we tried Bamboo Sushi. Paul is crazy about sushi and it was such a treat to try fresh Alaskan salmon. The appetizer again was the main event: fried spicy cauliflower with cashews. The batter was thick and crunchy like peanut brittle. After walking all over downtown and then up and down Hawthorne Paul had collected a huge stack of records and we Fedexed them home. For dinner we ate near Portland State University at Hot Lips Pizza. There was a signed poster of the Decemberists by our table. The pizza was delicious and it was the first place I’ve ever been that let me order a half gluten free pizza. I also tried a yummy Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwich for dessert.
While Paul hiked in Mt Rainer National Park all day I spent a heavenly foodie day all over Portland. I spent a few minutes in the Made in Oregon store before meeting up with a guided food tour of the city called Portland Food Carts and Neighborhoods Tour. Led by the amazing Angela Johnson we spent three hours driving to all the quadrants of the city visiting food pods. She described the way the city works, the history of the city and the history of food pods. I ate and laughed the whole time. I felt like I was touring the city with friends since we were a small group. Here are some of the foods we ate:
Bao Bao steam buns (curry vegetable and savory pork and I walked back later after the tour to try the red bean one!)
2 waffle sandwiches with chocolate ganache/almonds and lemon curd with fresh blueberries
Philly cheese steak bowl
Lefse crepe with meatball, goat cheese spread, pickled and regular cabbage
Bulgogi taco with kimchi
After the food tour was over I spent over an hour in Powell’s Books picking out Christmas presents and cookbooks that the store mailed home for me. I sat in their coffee shop sipping an iced coffee and then started walking a slow weaving mile of more coffee, more sweets and finally a Hawaiian plate to take back to the hotel. I had never tried a Hawaiian meat and three. I chose spam, fried egg, rice, pineapple and passion fruit salad and macaroni salad.
Saturday morning I woke up and walked over to the nearby farmers market where I saw marionberries, red currants, huckleberries and boysenberries. As well as foraged mushrooms, fresh bread, coffee, mind-soul-body booklets, and so many other gorgeous foods. I walked back to Pioneer Square for a few more souvenirs, had a huge, delicious falafel plate at the downtown food truck village (and saw the wonderful Angela leading another food tour!) Then on a whim I texted my dear friend Jenny Hendrix from Dodge City. Her mom had posted on FB that Jenny was in Portland too. 20 minutes later she and her best friend Mark appeared in front of me at Starbucks!! We caught up, hugged a lot, posed for several pics, visited St Cupcake, Blue Star doughnuts and then hugged goodbye. It was surreal and I was so ecstatic to see her and meet Mark! I am so lucky to have lived in Dodge City where there are so many wonderful people!
Portland is an entire city of all the good stuff. Independent bookstores, breweries, record stores, coffee shops, friendly people and of course food pods! It was even better than I thought it would be! I can’t wait to visit again and explore all the neighborhoods all over again!
Thursday we spent the entire day exploring the city by tracking down record stores. For lunch we tried Bamboo Sushi. Paul is crazy about sushi and it was such a treat to try fresh Alaskan salmon. The appetizer again was the main event: fried spicy cauliflower with cashews. The batter was thick and crunchy like peanut brittle. After walking all over downtown and then up and down Hawthorne Paul had collected a huge stack of records and we Fedexed them home. For dinner we ate near Portland State University at Hot Lips Pizza. There was a signed poster of the Decemberists by our table. The pizza was delicious and it was the first place I’ve ever been that let me order a half gluten free pizza. I also tried a yummy Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwich for dessert.
While Paul hiked in Mt Rainer National Park all day I spent a heavenly foodie day all over Portland. I spent a few minutes in the Made in Oregon store before meeting up with a guided food tour of the city called Portland Food Carts and Neighborhoods Tour. Led by the amazing Angela Johnson we spent three hours driving to all the quadrants of the city visiting food pods. She described the way the city works, the history of the city and the history of food pods. I ate and laughed the whole time. I felt like I was touring the city with friends since we were a small group. Here are some of the foods we ate:
Bao Bao steam buns (curry vegetable and savory pork and I walked back later after the tour to try the red bean one!)
2 waffle sandwiches with chocolate ganache/almonds and lemon curd with fresh blueberries
Philly cheese steak bowl
Lefse crepe with meatball, goat cheese spread, pickled and regular cabbage
Bulgogi taco with kimchi
After the food tour was over I spent over an hour in Powell’s Books picking out Christmas presents and cookbooks that the store mailed home for me. I sat in their coffee shop sipping an iced coffee and then started walking a slow weaving mile of more coffee, more sweets and finally a Hawaiian plate to take back to the hotel. I had never tried a Hawaiian meat and three. I chose spam, fried egg, rice, pineapple and passion fruit salad and macaroni salad.
Saturday morning I woke up and walked over to the nearby farmers market where I saw marionberries, red currants, huckleberries and boysenberries. As well as foraged mushrooms, fresh bread, coffee, mind-soul-body booklets, and so many other gorgeous foods. I walked back to Pioneer Square for a few more souvenirs, had a huge, delicious falafel plate at the downtown food truck village (and saw the wonderful Angela leading another food tour!) Then on a whim I texted my dear friend Jenny Hendrix from Dodge City. Her mom had posted on FB that Jenny was in Portland too. 20 minutes later she and her best friend Mark appeared in front of me at Starbucks!! We caught up, hugged a lot, posed for several pics, visited St Cupcake, Blue Star doughnuts and then hugged goodbye. It was surreal and I was so ecstatic to see her and meet Mark! I am so lucky to have lived in Dodge City where there are so many wonderful people!
Portland is an entire city of all the good stuff. Independent bookstores, breweries, record stores, coffee shops, friendly people and of course food pods! It was even better than I thought it would be! I can’t wait to visit again and explore all the neighborhoods all over again!
