Dining Month Portland returns to the Rose City this June. For the entire month, 60+ participating restaurants will offer three-course dinner menus — including an appetizer, entrée and dessert — for just $25. To sweeten the deal even more, diners can win more than $1,250 worth of restaurant gift certificates through the Downtown Portland Facebook page.
Participating restaurants are spread out across the city, with 20 in the downtown core. Old and new favorites are on the list, including James Beard Award winners and nominees like Paley’s Place, the Heathman and Nostrana. Recently opened restaurants that are already getting a buzz include Aviary, Cocotte and Otto.
Dining Month Portland is sponsored by Open Table and American Express. For every reservation booked on Open Table through this link, the Downtown Marketing Initiative will make a donation to the Oregon Food Bank.
But for further proof of Hopworks’ commitment to bike culture (and, I suppose, a sign that my uncle is a too-willing photo subject), check out this picture of the banana-seat headrests affixed above the urinals in the men’s room.
With Memorial Day weekend nearly upon us, my thoughts are meandering to the outdoor adventures that beckon with the upcoming season: picturesque hikes through dense green forests, gorgeous scenery whirring by while driving or biking through the countryside, and evenings spent under the stars around the campfire abound.
If you haven’t made any plans for this weekend, don’t despair! There’s plenty of time for you to plan your own Oregon Adventurecation this summer.
Want a weekend adventure right out your front door? Strap on your boots (or sandals) and begin your ”Adventurecation” in Portland, where you can easily find miles of bikeways and trails. Go explore, this weekend and beyond!
Though many here in Stumptown still mourn the loss of our AAA baseball team, the Portland Beavers, it’s hard to deny the huge following of our new Major League Soccer team, the Portland Timbers. Here’s a video of the beginning of a recent Timbers game at the newly renovated Jeld-Wen Field in downtown Portland. Whether you’re a big soccer fan or not, the Timbers’ games are a lot of fun. (And their current 5-0 record at home ain’t too shabby, either.)
Enjoy an old-fashioned dog at the tables that line the sidewalk. Or, inside, order a deli sandwich (my pal Eric’s family swears by them) and browse the meat-and-sausage cases.
But don’t take my word (or Eric’s) for it. Judging from this clip, TV food dude Guy Fieri shares our enthusiasm for Otto’s, if not our general tonsorial approach.
June is just around the corner and Portlanders know what that means: It’s Rose Festival time! This year’s theme is “Carnival of Roses,” and with Portland’s drag icon Darcelle XV as the grand marshal for the Starlight Parade, it’s going to be a carnival extravaganza.
The festival — which was named the best in the world in 2007 – begins with the opening of CityFair (formerly known as the Waterfront Village) on Friday, May 27 with a free concert by Curtis Salgado followed by a spectacular fireworks display. CityFair will be open three full weekends from May 27 – June 12. Tip: Admission is free on opening night. (more…)
If you’ve only seen The Dalles from Highway 84, you have no idea what it really looks like. Or what it feels like, or what you might find there. When I took a day trip there last week from Portland, I was surprised to make many pleasant discoveries. These are my top five:
1. The Dalles only gets 15 inches of rain per year. It is the closest point to Portland with this kind of arid climate, meaning sunny days and rolling hills for cyclists and explorers.
2. As one of the oldest settlements on the West Coast, The Dalles is steeped in history, and the residents are proud to preserve it. A visit to Wasco County Historical Museum, and the Fort Dalles Museum reveal collections of well-preserved buildings, wagons and artifacts that give insight into the cultural history of the gorge and the settlement of the American West.
Sunshine Mill, Quenett Winery's Tasting Room
3. Many of the historic buildings downtown are working businesses, so visitors can take a step back in time while having fun in the present. A few examples are the Baldwin Saloon, Clocktower Ales and the Sunshine Mill (as featured in the May issue of Sunset magazine). (more…)
I recently spent a lovely afternoon with my uncle, wife and one-year-old at the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, just a short drive from downtown in Southeast Portland.
The garden, open year-round, is especially pretty during the spring, when the rhodies and azaleas erupt in a riot of colors that seem plucked from some confectionary crayon box: dusty purples, deep reds, delicate pinks and more.
I particularly loved the design inside this flower, which evoked (to my untrained bontanical eyes, at least) a fleur-de-lis and henna tattoo.
Have your own photos to share? Visit our Flickr pool to see gorgeous photos from all over town, and add your own.
I could see it out my window. Trucks rolling in, colors popping. The Wednesday Portland Farmers Market officially returned last week, marking the start of weekday markets to compliment the larger Saturday editions in the South Park Blocks, Hollywood and Beaverton. Weekday visitors will find themselves mingling with local chefs, students, lawyers and the downtown lunch crowd (get in line early for a Salvador Molly’s tamale). My purchases last week included asparagus from Veridian Farms, fresh flowers for home and soppressata salami from Olympic Provisions. Berries will be here before we know it and if you don’t make it through town on a Wednesday or Saturday, don’t worry, there is also a Monday market at Pioneer Courthouse Square.
Although the opening weekend for the Portland Farmers Market in March is the official start to the fresh food season, I find my tastes align more with berries than with Swiss chard. As such, I always eagerly anticipate late spring, when the first sweet delicacies appear. May and June are also two of the best foodie months in town.
May kicks off with the Taste of the Nation, a fundraiser for Share Our Strength that brings together tastes from restaurants, breweries and wineries.
In mid-May, the Indie Wine and Food Festival highlights the best of local, small-batch vintners and pairs them with nibbles from great restaurants.
Over Memorial Day Weekend, winemakers open their doors for the 21st annual tasting extravaganza in the Willamette Valley.
Finally, in June, the entire month becomes a feast for foodies with the return of Dining Month Portland, which includes three-course dinners for just $25 at nearly 50 restaurants, every day of the week. This year’s participants include James Beard Award nominated locales like Lincoln and Nostrana, plus past winners like Paley’s Place.
Dining Month Portland returns to the Rose City this June. For the entire month, 60+ participating restaurants will offer three-course dinner menus — including an appetizer, entrée and dessert — for just $25. To sweeten the deal even more, diners can win more than $1,250 worth of restaurant gift certificates through the Downtown Portland Facebook page.
