With all that said, I'm really excited to introduce my favorite spots in the beautiful, quirky but stunning city of roses.
1. Voodoo Doughnuts: Let's just get this out of the way, everyone. With their "good things come in pink boxes" slogan along with their strange donut names and creepy decorations, this place has blown up. Trust this former Oregonian for a second, though. The donuts are very much average. However, I do keep going back there because of the vibe and funny donuts. I mean, who doesn't like donuts, right?
2. Multnomah Falls: What a pretty waterfall Multnomah is. It is the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon and second tallest in the United States. It's a very healthy hike up to the top even though most people just oooh and aaahhh, take pictures at the bottom and leave. It's about a 45 minute drive from the central Portland area and in my opinion, only pretty during the Spring and Summer.
3. Tasty n Alder: Big thanks to my bestie who suggested we suffer the one hour wait to eat brunch here. I'm a self-proclaimed brunch expert and Tasty n Alder has landed a top 3 (holy crap!) spot in "Kana's Top 10 Favorite Brunches" (<-- this isn't really a thing....yet). Bestie and I enjoyed a lot of different dishes: Potato Donut, Raddicchio Salad, Watermelon Burrata Salad with Basil Olive Oil Caviar, Padron Peppers and the Bim Bop Bacon & Eggs. Is that a lot for two girls? Probably. #WorthIt #SorryNotSorry
5. Screen Door: The most popular southern food spot I've ever been to in the west coast. I lived in the south for a little bit so obviously I'm picky about what everyone else thinks is 'southern' (I'm mildly joking). Any popular place has a wait and this one was about 30 minutes. Their friend chicken dish is their most popular but the winner in my eyes (and stomach) were the hush puppies - get them! Delicious!
6. Tax Free Shopping: Self-explanatory but it's a great reminder that Oregon is tax-free. If it's $19.99, it's $19.99 - how awesome is that? Shopping time!
7. Beaches - Portland International Airport: This is so random and my friends are probably laughing at me but I love Beaches so much! They have their original restaurants in Vancouver, Washington just across the river but a few years ago opened up shop within the Portland International Airport. Their happy hour is one of the best I've ever been to so if you're killing time before or after your flight, check them out.
9. Mt. Tabor: If you're a sucker for sunsets like I am, Mt. Tabor is a great park for that. My besties and I probably ruined a few couples' romantic nights but oh well! Depending on where you park, it can be good exercise walking up to the park too. Just make sure you bring bug spray because just from the 20 or so minutes we were there, we got devoured by mosquitos.
10. Salt & Straw Ice Creamery: After hearing and seeing this everywhere, I finally convinced my friends to take me this last trip. They're known for their original flavors and farm-raised ingredients. I'm personally not picky when it comes to ice cream so I wasn't wow-ed but I did love their fun flavors - the Stumptown Coffee flavor was hands down my favorite.
12. Saburo's Sushi: This is kind of a local love as I've never heard of any tourists eating here but if you love sushi, I highly recommend. It's a fairly small restaurant in the Sellwood area and I can guarantee that there will be a line. The wait can be anywhere from 20 minutes (if you're lucky) to an hour. The sashimi quality is excellent but the portions are huge so beware...and enjoy!
There you have it, an ex-Portlander's list of favorite places to wander, things to eat and do. Have you been to Portland before? What were your favorite places?
Linking up with the lovely ladies of #MondayEscapes (click here!) & #WednesdayWanderlust (click here!).
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After seeing all those food photos, I feel like stopping by Portland tomorrow. Salt & Straw have opened a store in Los Angeles. I tried them at the Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival and their ice cream was to die for. Can't wait to visit their store.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruth! I heard Salt & Straw was in LA now! How crazy is that?! That's awesome you tried their stuff - I'll have to go out there soon too! Thanks for stopping by! xo
DeleteThanks for giving us a great insight into Portland Oregon Kana. All the food looks so delicious too!
ReplyDeleteHi Lyndall (gorgeous name!) - yes the food was all so delicious, thank you for stopping by! xo
DeleteThat sunset looks gorgeous and so does the bridge!!! And the food too. You really made me hungry ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Van! Haha, I know what you mean - I always get hungry from people's food pictures :) Thanks for stopping by! xo
DeleteI love a good bookstore, there's something magical about it that can never be replicated by downloading a book online.
ReplyDeleteOh and I love those quirky doughnuts, how fun!
Hi Natalie! Yay, I'm so glad you agree! Thanks for stopping by! xo
DeleteMy mouth is literally salivating a the sight of all that delciousness! Especially the fried chicken! We want to do a New England roadtrip, so Portland looks like a great stop. Mt Tabor looks so stunning in the sunset. Thanks for linking up with #MondayEscapes
ReplyDeleteHi Ting! Haha, yes everything was so good! The Portland I went to is actually in Oregon on the west coast but Portland Maine is beautiful too! :) Thanks for hosting the fun link-up as always! xo
DeleteHi Kana - Followed your link at #WednesdayWanderlust, and it's perfect timing: I've been trying to convince my So Much Better half that we should go to Portland. When she sees that brunch, this trip will be sold, for sure! You're right about Voodoo Donuts, but then, all the best places are more about the vibe, right?
ReplyDeleteHi RobRob! I'm so glad you'll be able to convince your better half to visit Portland! I highly suggest going in the Spring or Summer - otherwise it actually rains more than Seattle! You're totally right, most places are about the vibe; somehow the food tastes better when the atmosphere is good! Thank you so much for stopping by! xo
DeleteI think I'd hike to the top of those waterfalls just to justify eating all that yummy food! And then just drop me at the books and come back in a week. What a great trip!! Thanks for joining in #wednesdaywanderlust, I'm a bit late commenting but I was travelling so I figured that was a good excuse :)
ReplyDeleteHi Malinda! Thank you for letting me join #WednesdayWanderlust! I hope you had an amazing time traveling - of course that's a good excuse! :) Thanks for stopping by! xo
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