[Trip Report] Just 2 days in PDX for work, August 2023
Portland feels like Seattle’s little brother sometimes. Maybe it’s a little underrated. Maybe we think of it as playing second fiddle to Seattle’s natural beauty and landmarks. Even so, I finding myself wanting to come back, especially since it’s so close by, and have I mentioned there’s no sales tax in Oregon? We spent just a couple days in Portland, where Ryan hung out with his internet friends, and I got a little work done, and we spent a day together exploring the city and doing some shopping.
You can see all the pictures from this trip here.
Day 0
We left Seattle around 8 PM and hit the Taco Time in Fife on the way (as per tradition). After an uneventful drive, we handed the keys off to the valet at The Bidwell. We got a great rate that included valet parking, a high floor, and club access. The hotel was thoughtfully decorated, and we immediately preferred it to the Moxy, where we stayed last time.
Day 1
I left for work bright and early (my schedule was packed with meetings) and Ryan left to meet up with friends. For lunch, I once again enjoyed Rollin Fresh from a food cart pod. They were setting up for a summer concert series nearby.
For dinner, we chose a place that was close to our tiki bar of choice. We went to Nicholas Restaurant, where the heat of ovens puffing bread greets you on the way in. I went for a couple of appetizers: mujaddara and rolled grape leaves. The huge bread (which servers kept refilling for us) was fluffy and crispy and went great with everything.
After that, we continued the party at Hale Pele. This time, I got the Signal Fire, which had called to me on my last visit. I followed it up with 3 Dots and a Dash. Both were delicious and not as strong as I had initially feared.
Day 2
I didn’t work the next day, and Ryan and I spent the entire day wandering the city together. For brunch, we happened upon Grits and Gravy, which was outstanding. I had the uptown shrimp and grits - rich and fancy like it says on the menu - which I packed up for dinner at home, and Ryan had the country boy breakfast.
Ryan wanted to check out a guitar store nearby so we made the trek over. It was a little further (uphill) than we expected but worth the walk. We spent a little time there looking at vintage guitars and geeking out with the staff.
After a little shopping on the way back at wine and pet stores, we picked up the car and headed to the neighborhood where our dinner reservation was. On the way, we encountered Straightaway Cocktails on Distillery Row, where they sell premixed cocktails by the glass and bottle. They had a secret code and a decoder wheel in their menu, which kept us entertained for hours. We tried a few different cocktails (the white tea one was my favorite!) and bought a bottle of rum swizzle to take home.
For the grand finale, we went to Kachka for post-Soviet food. We had a little trouble deciding, but the server pointed us in the right direction, and we ended up ordering a bunch of happy hour specials - pickles, caviar butterbrod, tvorog vareniki, siberian pelmeni - and an order of golubtsi (cabbage rolls), with berries and smetana for dessert. Everything was outstanding. The dumplings were delicious and each plate came with enough to share, and the pickle board let us try a little of each of the pickles on the menu. I’ll see if I can convince Ryan to order the herring “under a fur coat” next time.
Ryan asked if we could make one final stop at Hale Pele so he could see what all the fuss was about. By the time we got there, it was a half hour wait for a table and we were pretty tired, so we opted just to come home. Our cats didn’t miss us too much!