Dave and I went to Portland to visit our friends (and to see Gilmore Guys!!) and fell in love with the scenery and food. Here are some foodie things I think you should eat in Portland!
Our trip to Portland was glorious. We’ve been dealing with the whole house hunting thing, so it was great to be in a different state where we literally couldn’t look at houses. (don’t worry. my whining is now over!)
If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat (semihealthnut is the name), you probably got bombarded with a million pictures of our Portland adventures a couple of weekends ago. I rarely do fun things like that, so I was a bit excited to say the least.
The couple we stayed with, Mike and April (April actually wrote me a guest post about a million years ago), live right in a downtown Portland. Walking distance to amazing restaurants, funky shops and a gorgeous hiking trail. There are so many freaking places to eat in Portland, but we only had 3 days! I think this means we should go back, right??
Here are some of the delicious things I think you should eat in Portland, Oregon. (oh and drink. I did include one bar.)
What to Eat in Portland
TILT on Pearl Street
Pearl street is located within walking distance from our friends’ apartment and it is packed with cool places to eat and shop. Tilt is one of those foodie places. The decor was super cool and industrial and you order your food at the counter.It was packed when we got there, but we were able to find a spot at the bar where they had a crazy selection of draft beers (and all of the regular menu items). Dave and I split an enormous bacon burger as well as an even bigger caesar salad.
Blue Star Donuts
So apparently the place that all the tourists go to for donuts is Voodoo Donuts, but since we were being escorted by Portlandians (err Portland transplants), we got hooked up with a better option: Blue Star Donuts. They still had a bunch of crazy options like a PB+J one and one with bacon BUT these donuts tasted insane. So fresh and delicious.
I was kind of boring and got a cinnamon sugar donut because it sounded amazing (sorry not sorry) and Dave got the maple bacon which was also delish.
Their website alone shows the whole quality over quantity thing. Totally fits.I’m pretty sure they rotate out their selection because I wasn’t able to find an official menu on the website. (Something else about the website that’s awesome: the bottom donut changes each time you refresh it. #websitenerd)
We really needed the sugar for the upcoming 8.75 mile hike after breakfast.
Santa Fe Tanqueria
A photo posted by Amanda DeWitt ??? (@semihealthnut) on
This was quite possibly the best taco I’ve ever had. I was starving, so that might have had something to do with it…but it was seriously delicious. I had no idea how to pick it up since the ingredients weren’t rolled up into a tortilla, but sandwiched between two of them…but that didn’t stop me.
I loved that there were so many reasonably portioned meals. Like I literally was able to order one taco with chips and guacamole. For the first time in I don’t even know when, I finished an entire meal at a restaurant.
Not only did I devour my meal (and nearly lick the plate), I had a lot of fun checking out all of the funky murals on the walls.
[Tweet “Try the best tacos in the world at @SantaFeTaqueria in Portland, OR. #nojoke #imasemihealthnut”]
Peddler and Pen
This bar is one of the many downtown businesses that has turned an old victorian house into a business. Which means I was going gaga over all of the design detail (I’ve been obsessed with house stuff lately; fun fact: I used to want to be an interior designer when I grew up). It was primarily a whisky bar and I had been freezing all day, so I ordered my very first Irish coffee. And boy was it strong!
It was wayy too dark to take a good picture in there, but I snagged some pictures from their site to show you how awesome everything looked. I wanted to steal the stools and the mason jar lights!!
Bamboo Sushi
This was another (dimmly lit) cool place downtown within walking distance of our friends’ apartment. It was actually the first certified sustainable sushi place in the WORLD. Seriously. Leave it to Oregon to be awesome about a conservation issue like this. The sushi was amazing and tasted fresh and awesome. There was also some very handy japanese education playing in the bathroom (like those tapes where you learn a language..kind of awesome).
[ insert part where I say what rolls I got…I totally don’t remember but maybe Dave will remember and I will update later? ]
[Tweet “First certified sustainable sushi place in the WORLD = @bamboosushi #sushi @travelportland “]
Mother’s Bistro + Bar
This is the place where I had the most amazing french toast of my life. Seriously. My mouth is watering as I type this. Like I said in my Instagram photo below, it was crusted with cornflakes and fried. I died and went to heaven. It was absolutely perfect with coffee and scrambled eggs.
I’ve been dreaming about it ever since.
[Tweet “You have to eat at @mothersbistro in Portland, OR. Home of the best french toast in the world. #legit”]
One thing to note is that we went on Sunday for brunch and it was absolutely packed. I think you can make reservations, but we weren’t awake enough to do that.
[ funny part about that photo is you can tell I’m taking a photo of my food, too! Also note the mug that says, “call your mother.” ]
The good thing is that the decorations in this place were fascinating and possibly will be the basis of the way we decorate our new dining room (in our new house!!!!). The brick, the giant mirrors, the sparkly chandeliers…oh yes. You would thing that two dozen crystal chandeliers would be overkill…but it was perfection. (we will be lucky to get ONE haha)
Overall, I would say our dining experience in Portland was out of this world. I was practically making plans to move there based on just the FOOD. Like making plans to buy this old victorian house that is divided into apartments where me and Dave would live in one, Mike and April in the second and we would rent out the third…I think we could make it work. 😉
[Tweet “6 foodie places you MUST check out in Portland, OR. #imasemihealthnut @travelportland”]
I also love how fun and funky everything is. I felt at home being that my main income comes from blogging (from this lovely blog and my blog makeover services) and coffee catering. I felt like Portland would accept me and my non-traditionalness. Portland is a huge supporter of local artists…and I like to think of myself as an artist. Maybe not an AMAZING artist, but an artist at least…right?
Anyways, I hope this list of foodie places helps you find something to eat in Portland, Oregon if you ever find yourself hungry in this lovely city!
Portland has been on my travel bucket list for ages!! I want all those foodssss. And those mason jar lights too! <3
Yesss all the foods!! And I’m totally copying those mason jar lights at some point.
Um obsessed with this post. Portland’s myriad of coffee shops, restaurants and bars is what inspired my “bucket list” and my get going on the blog. LOVE PORTLAND. Blue Star is great! Did you get to Pip’s? I think they are def. my favorite donuts in Portland. They dont’ have as many flavors as Blue Star or Voodoos but they are smaller and made with love! That Pedler and Pen looks super cute, sad I never made it there. Was that in “Northwest?” or near 23rd street? I am also sad I never made it to Mother’s, but isn’t it amazing how brunch is an every day thing there?
I was seriously so inspired by all the food and the culture!! I literally wanted to move there haha. So so cool Portland inspired you to create a blog!
Yes our friends live in the northwest part of downtown Portland so most of the places were there.
We should make a foodie blogger trip to Portland…I want to go back!!
Portland has the best food scene around. What is so amazing is that I have been to some of the places on the list above but there are some that I have not even heard of and am excited to go to. There is always something new to try. I can’t wait to try tilt since I am always looking for a great burger.