PORTLAND

Doughnuts

Voodoo Doughnutsfor the yeast doughnut lovers. Their bacon bar is so light and fluffy, with a good chew. When we got in line, it wrapped from the front door, to the end of the building, back to the front door (2 lengths of the building); it took about 45 minutes to reach the front of the line. Note: open 24/7 and cash-only.
Blue Star Donutsfor the cake doughnut lovers. Their doughnuts’ flavors are bright and fresh; more natural-tasting than Voodoo’s. Blue Star closes when they sell out, so get there before the late afternoon.
coco donutsTheir store is in the Financial district, so only come here on a weekday morning, or the donuts won’t be fresh.

Restaurants

  • There are lines for everything because
  • There isn’t a dense restaurant scene-- Portland isn’t heavily populated. The same few food stops get mentioned over and over, so tourists like us start the lines. I feel like this hype is cyclical and artificially inflated.
Pok Pok 🐔I certainly don’t know what “authentic” Thai food is, but I liked this rendition very much. The spicy chicken wings were so flavorful and tender. Arthur’s favorite meal of the trip.
There was no wait at 2:30pm on a Sunday, but by 3pm, there was a line.
Tasty and AlderPretty good “modern” American food. At 9:30pm, the wait was quoted to be 1.5 hours for 2 people. Luckily, the bar serves the full menu, and seating is first-come-first-served.
Screen Doorvery forgettable fried chicken. I don’t recall the meat being particularly tender, nor the skin specifically tasty.
Veritable Quandaryalso a forgettable meal. Everything was very greasy for such a bougie establishment. I didn’t eat that much, but I left feeling not great.

Ice Cream

  • If you leave Portland without trying Salt & Straw, people will think you’re crazy
Salt & Straw 🍦truly amazing ice cream. It’s dense and creamy, and the rotating flavors are creative and sort of cuckoo. The line will take even longer than you expect, because they let you try as many flavors as you want. Can't decide on just one flavor? Get the flight of 4! The location on the East side of Portland has a shorter line.

Coffee

  • Stumptown started in Portland
Stumptownfine cold brew. I regret not getting a latte
Case StudyI got a lovely pour over with a delicious cherry under-note.
HeartPretty good latte. Also I saw my barista at Pok Pok just a few hours later, celebrating her birthday.

Activities

Powell’s City of Bookshuge bookstore. I spent 2 hours here before Arthur had to forcibly remove me.
Portland Farmer’s Market at Portland State Universitya LOT of fresh/prepared food vendors. We shared a crepe and baked goods for breakfast. There is also produce.
Punch Bowl Falls ⛰a hike with a series of waterfalls at the 2, 4, and 6 mile points. I hate hiking, but I found this one very rewarding.
Rose Gardenit’s the largest rose garden I’ve been too. I saw a lot of couples and groups of friends visiting and taking photos.
(window) shoppingThere are many “hipster” boutiques on the West side, just South of Burnside. If you find QUIN candy, grab me some popcorn caramels.