Everyone has always told me that I need to check out Portland, Oregon and I finally was able to experience what all the hype was about. My sister and I have been attempting to plan a girls trip for months and we decided to stick to a weekend getaway in the US. Lets start with my favorite category while traveling…

Food

 

Tasty N Adler

The menu here offers a mix of classic brunch, Korean fusion and southern favorites. I don’t eat pork so this sometimes limits my choices at places that do not allow substitutions. This restaurant had plenty of pork free options to choose from that were quite delicious. I ordered the Korean Fried Chicken and the Potatoes Bravas. The portions are large we were barely able to finish the food between the two of us. The Korean chicken was delicious and I would definitely get it again. The potatoes were mediocre. I felt like the pieces were too big and a little on the undercooked side.

Voodoo Doughnut

You can’t go to Portland and not stop by this doughnut shop. They have so many different types of doughnuts that you can only dream of. I had one that had caramel and almonds on top of chocolate frosting. They literally melt in your mouth.

Bollywood Theatre

We initially ended up here because the wait at Pok Pok was 90 minutes long and when I get hangry I am really difficult to deal with. I’m so happy we found this place because I loved the food here. I may be a little biased though because Pakistani/Indian food is my favorite. I ordered the Pav Baji and my sister got the beef Kati roll. The kati roll is huge! We initially intended on eating a little here and heading to back to Pok Pok but we ended up being pretty satisfied after our meal here.

Full Sail Brewing Company

On our way up to Mount Hood we stopped in the small town of Hood River for lunch. This place surprisingly had some of the best fish and chips I have ever had. (Or maybe I was just really hungry.) They make their fish n chips from salmon and the breading to fish ratio is perfect. They also make really good burgers. I recommend the getting a side of spicy aioli if you like some heat.

Pok Pok

Ok so this place is the one that has a ridiculously long wait.  We decided to go back there on Saturday night and try again. They gave us a 2 hour wait and we figured lets just do it, it must be worth all the hype. Luckily the two hour wait only ended up being 75 minutes. We ordered the Fish sauce wings and the Khao Soi Kai.  I honestly don’t think the place lived up to the hype. The wings were good but a little on the salty side. The Khao Soi was a bit bland. I wouldn’t mind ordering take out if I lived down the street but its not something I would wait two hours for. Maybe I just didn’t order the right things but I’m still mystified as to why this place has such high ratings.

Cannard

This place was recommended by a friend and when we got there my sister gasps, looks at me and says, “This place only has 36 yelp reviews! You didn’t even research it??” I figured if it comes recommended from a friend, isn’t that good enough? Guess what? I was right! We sat at the chef’s bar and watched them prepare our food. We had the Shrimp toast Benedict, the Duck Stack and the French Toast. We devoured the french toast. The combination of oranges and walnuts was delicious. The Benedict is also something you have to try. The duck stack is pretty good but the other two were our favorites.

Salt & Straw

If you like interesting ice-cream flavors like pear and blue cheese or honey lavender this place is your spot. They create their menu from vegetables and fruits they get from local farmer’s markets. The line is always going out the door thats how good this place is.

Nostrana

My sister and I both love Italian food so we came here for our last dinner in Portland. I had the Margherita pizza and my sister had a goat cheese pasta dish that does not appear to be on the menu anymore. Her pasta was delicious but I felt like the portion size was tiny! I’ve never ordered a pasta dish and finished it completely at a restaurant but this one left us feeling hungry. The pizza was made in a wood fire oven and was pretty close to the Neapolitan style pizza I’ve been craving since I came back from Italy.

All in all I’d say food wise Portland has a lot to offer. I almost want to move there after this little trip.