What I Ate & Where I Went in PDX
Before my last semester of college started this past January, one of my best friends, Brittany, and I took a little trip up to Portland, Oregon. It was the first time I've been up to the Pacific North West and definitely not the last!
Here are the highlights of food, drink, shopping and exploring!
Eat
Jam on Hawthorne: Good breakfast!
Poa Cafe: Get. The. Sweet. Potato. Bowl.
—We stopped here on the way from the airport to our airbnb. It’s closer to Mississippi Ave.
Garden Bar: Build your own salad/buddha bowl type of place. So much food. SO good.
—Downtown, located near Powell’s! (We went there, too, but that’s a given stop when in Portland)
Pepinos: This is no Southern-Californian-standard Mexican food, but it’s good for the price.
—on 23rd St.
Por Que No?: This is Southern-Californian-standard Mexican food. I’d live here if I could. I got Bryan’s Bowl and am still dreaming about their Pollo Verde.
—on Mississippi Ave.
Salt & Straw: Their vegan flavors are ridiculous. I got the Peanut Butter + Banana Tofu Pudding, yuuuum. It was pouring but this place was packed with families and couples and friends getting ice cream. This is a culture I could see myself thriving in.
Little Chickpea: Ice cream made from chickpeas!!! It’s actually incredible so stop questioning it and just go. I got the Cherry Chai + Triple Chocolate! So nice I got it twice.
—Downtown
Drink
Sisters Coffee (Pictured on the left)
—in the Pearl District
Cacao: Okay, actually I’d move in HERE if I could. A drinking chocolate place actually exists and I still can’t wrap my head around the blessing that this is.
—Downtown
—South east side of the river, close walk from Jam!
Shop
Thrift Stores
Crossroads
—On 23rd St.
Buffalo Exchange
—Downtown
Boutiques
Porch Light: All the candles, plants, jewelry and ceramics my heart could dream of.
—Closer to the downtown area
Made Here PDX: Made Here has all the coolest local goods from nut butters, spice mixes, and soaps to leather bags and bicycles. Definitely a great place to get a feel for the city’s market and creativity!
—Downtown
PDXchange: Stickers, key chains, all the Portlandish knickknacks you could ever dream of!
—on Mississippi Ave.
The Meadow: This place has the most fancy artisanal chocolates I’ve ever seen
—One on Mississippi Ave. and one on 23rd
Explore
Japanese Botanical Gardens: Yes, everyone and every travel guide ever says to come here. But really, do. If you’re lucky like us, it’ll be a rainy afternoon and you’ll see the park near empty. If not, you’ll still be amazed.
Audobon Wildlife Rescue Center: So. This looks more like a woman getting in her car… and then suggests that we followed along and hopped inside. Long story short, after leaving the Audubon, we realized we had no service. The gift shop and rescue center both had their internet down, too. No way to call a cab and, of course, no buses run up to the Audobon. After being told our only option was to wait for the internet to hopefully come back or walk two miles in the pouring rain to get back to the edge of town, we met our saving grace. Jeanette, one of the women working in the gift shop, got off of work early so she could drive us back to our airbnb in the Pearl District. She was the sweetest person I’ve ever met. Selfless in nature and a people-person no doubt. Driving back to our place, we found out she and her husband love cooking together. It was a little detail that felt like icing on the cake. The nature center was great by the way! One of the prettiest places I’ve ever been. Meeting Jeanette and being inspired to live with so much grace made it all the better!
Thank you, Portland!
I’ll be back soon.