Hey, folks. My wife and I are visiting Portland from Saturday, Sept 24th to Saturday Oct 1. We’re working on our list of places we’d like to visit, and I’d love some help from locals and others who have visited. I’m especially looking for food recommendations, and other non-beer related activities.
I’ll be bringing some Boston-area goodies (Trillium, Night Shift, etc) to swap or share. So, if you’re interested in meeting up let me know. |
What sort of activities are you looking to do while there? I’ve been there a handful of time and have made a Google map with brewpubs, restaurants and some places of interest. If you want me to beermail you a link, let me know. I’m vegetarian, so all eating places will be friendly or exclusive to that sort of thing.
I’d recommend a Hood River / Mt. Hood trip if you have the time. The drive itself is fantastic and along the way you have the opportunity to check out lots of waterfalls if you want to walk a bit. Some are along the road, but those can be crowded. |
Are you up for some beers? Maybe we can arrange something. In terms of places to visit. This time of year I’d go to Multnomah Falls, should be spectacular. The coast is always nice, Ecola Point is my favorite and Goonies related!
In terms of food, I’m not a huge foodie. Lardo is a favorite of mine. Most of the brewpubs have good food especially HOTD, Fat Head’s, 10 Barrel, Ancestry many more.
In terms of breweries, so many to see. Don’t miss Commons, Upright, HOTD, Cascade, Great Notion. Hmm. So many options. |
Originally posted by vyvvy
What sort of activities are you looking to do while there? I’ve been there a handful of time and have made a Google map with brewpubs, restaurants and some places of interest. If you want me to beermail you a link, let me know. I’m vegetarian, so all eating places will be friendly or exclusive to that sort of thing.
I’d recommend a Hood River / Mt. Hood trip if you have the time. The drive itself is fantastic and along the way you have the opportunity to check out lots of waterfalls if you want to walk a bit. Some are along the road, but those can be crowded.
That’d be very helpful. Thanks, man! I know my wife will appreciate the vegetarian friendly places. |
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Originally posted by douglas88
Are you up for some beers? Maybe we can arrange something. In terms of places to visit. This time of year I’d go to Multnomah Falls, should be spectacular. The coast is always nice, Ecola Point is my favorite and Goonies related!
In terms of food, I’m not a huge foodie. Lardo is a favorite of mine. Most of the brewpubs have good food especially HOTD, Fat Head’s, 10 Barrel, Ancestry many more.
In terms of breweries, so many to see. Don’t miss Commons, Upright, HOTD, Cascade, Great Notion. Hmm. So many options.
We’ve been on the fence about making a trip out to Hood River, but I think you’ve sold me. It looks like there’s a few other waterfalls that dot a 4ish mile hike around Multnomah Falls. That sounds like a great respite from all the brewery hopping.
Fat Head’s is one I’m familiar with, and have been to both the Pittsburgh and Cleveland locations. Head Hunter and Hop Ju Ju are both fantastic beers. I’m definitely looking forward to checking out the Portland location.
I’d definitely be down for a bottle share! |
If you are looking for non beer related activities, the coast and a hood river / my hood trip are no brianers. I concur with Doug that Ecola state Park at the coast offers huge bang for the buck. John’s been here so many times it like he is practically a local :) |
+1 to heading out to the coast or the Gorge for scenery and beers.
The Gorge gets you Logsdon, Double Mountain, among others
The coast gets you De Garde, Pelican (scenic), and Ft George, among others
In town, HOTD, Cascade, Upright, Commons, and Great Notion are crucial. Fat Head’s is a mystery to me; quite the full-on bro-down, and feels overdesigned, like a chain place. Solid beers, though.
Bailey’s and The Upper Lip are awesome non-brewery stops, as are APEX and Beer Mongers
For food, my vegetarian recommendations suck, but ya gotta check out food carts. Cartopia has a bunch of good ones, and there are big rodeos of them in a couple downtown spots.
RingSide is an unbelievably kickass steakhouse with a great late-night happy hour.
Veritable Quandary is a great nicer place, as is Higgins. Higgins has a bit of beer focus.
Cheese Bar is quite good, and Tasty and Alder has an amazing rep but I’ve not been
Frank’s Noodle House has great cheap lunch on the east side
Pine State Biscuits is great for breakfast; Screen Door is supposed to be amazing as well
For scenic stuff, the Lan Su Chinese Garden is a nice diversion while in town. |
Originally posted by after4ever
+1 to heading out to the coast or the Gorge for scenery and beers.
The Gorge gets you Logsdon, Double Mountain, among others
The coast gets you De Garde, Pelican (scenic), and Ft George, among others
In town, HOTD, Cascade, Upright, Commons, and Great Notion are crucial. Fat Head’s is a mystery to me; quite the full-on bro-down, and feels overdesigned, like a chain place. Solid beers, though.
Bailey’s and The Upper Lip are awesome non-brewery stops, as are APEX and Beer Mongers
For food, my vegetarian recommendations suck, but ya gotta check out food carts. Cartopia has a bunch of good ones, and there are big rodeos of them in a couple downtown spots.
RingSide is an unbelievably kickass steakhouse with a great late-night happy hour.
Veritable Quandary is a great nicer place, as is Higgins. Higgins has a bit of beer focus.
Cheese Bar is quite good, and Tasty and Alder has an amazing rep but I’ve not been
Frank’s Noodle House has great cheap lunch on the east side
Pine State Biscuits is great for breakfast; Screen Door is supposed to be amazing as well
For scenic stuff, the Lan Su Chinese Garden is a nice diversion while in town.
Tasty n Adler (there’s more than one location I think) is awesome indeed. And +1 to Pine St which has a location right by the amazing confluence of Apex and Beermongers. |
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Thanks for the recommendations, everyone. We’re curious about Haystack Rock, and visiting the tide pools at low tide. Worth a stop? |
Originally posted by FooFaa
Thanks for the recommendations, everyone. We’re curious about Haystack Rock, and visiting the tide pools at low tide. Worth a stop?
It’s 3 hours round trip (with no traffic, which never happens). But it’s the closest bit of the coast to Portland, too.
Especially with the missus, it’s a no-brainer. Gorgeous. You just have to decide if driving through farms and woods and hanging out on the coast is worth a day.
You can EASILY add De Garde and/or Pelican to the itinerary, only an hour from Cannon Beach. Pelican even has its own haystack, and there’s a solid hotel right across the street from it.
If it were me, I’d drive to Cannon Beach, hang out, drive to Tillamook, take the cheese factory tour and get her an ice cream cone, go to De Garde and raid their bottles to go, and go eat at Pelican and sleep at the Inn at Cape Kiwanda, and drink dG bottles on the beach or on your balcony. |
You should have the map now - hope it helps.
If you are looking to see interesting things in the city itself and like to walk I highly recommend getting the Portland Hills Walks book by Laura O. Foster. Think I’ve done 2-3 of these walks each time I’ve gone. Some really cool houses, neighborhoods, wooded area and scenic views on them.
Forest Park is pretty fantastic. Mapping out a route in there is well worth your time. The Japanese Gardens and Rose Garden are right by each other and both are great. The Rose Garden was still in bloom when I went last Sept, but it was earlier in the month, so not sure about the time you are going.
Also, keep in mind there are way more "must sees" than you’ll be able to see on your trip. I’ve not been through my "must see" list yet. My girlfriend needs to get her certification she’s working on so we can go back and knock out some more on that list as a celebration. Just map out thing and see and do what you can. It’s an amazing city and surrounding area. And to add to the list...... Cape Lookout which is about 20 min from Pelican Brewing and de Garde (different directions) is fantastic.
Cheers,
John
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