Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

Not only does Portland’s favorite chain, Burgerville, put a healthy spin on fast food, they are now helping to create little farm-to-table chefs with a kids’ meal complete with seeds, growing instructions and recipes for using their cucumbers, snap peas, carrots and more post-harvest. The package was created in conjunction with Southeast Portland’s Zenger Farm, where promoting and educating families about sustainable food systems, environmental stewardship and access to good food for all is the name of the game.

Grow on!

Read more: Seeds are the prize in Burgerville kids’ meals

Cyclists with a yen for fine food and drink are gearing up now for a highlight of the summer – the Chris King Gourmet Century. On July 28, Chris King Precision Components hosts this challenging ride over Portland’s West Hills; cyclists will be amply rewarded by pastoral views and tasty vittles all along the way. A team of the city’s renowned chefs, led by Jason French of Ned Ludd, will be cooking up breakfast, lunch and – at the end of the line – a full sit-down dinner with Oregon wine and beer on tap.

The ride begins and ends at Chris King headquarters, tucked into a corner of industrial Northwest Portland. Aficionados of Chris King’s high-end bicycle parts will relish the opportunity to visit the facilities where metal bar stock is transformed into hubs, headsets and bottom brackets, and the workshop where Cielo bicycles are lovingly handcrafted. Chris King, an avid foodie himself, will be on hand to join the company’s staff in serving meals and cheering on the riders.

With just 300 spots available, now is the time to race to register – and get ready to ride!

Ramen. Most of us know it as that stuff we survived on in college. I’m here to tell you that we’ve been wronged by that stuff and I have proof.

Lunch at The Ramen Truck

Meet The Ramen Truck. Located on S.E. 33rd  off of Hawthorne, you’ll find this pale yellow truck tucked away in an alley. They make their own noodles (yes, it’s true!) and broth. The three-step process to order is outlined on the truck:

1. Choose your broth — white or garlic. Be forewarned, their broth contains chashu (pork).

2. Order your size — small or regular.

3. Choose your add-ons. This includes a hard-boiled egg, corn, kim chi, extra green onions, extra nori and extra pork (chashu).

That’s it! Your order is prepared and brought out to you on a cute vintage tray. It was a lovely day when I visited, so I took advantage of the outdoor table and took the time to really enjoy my ramen. This was so much better than that other stuff, and very reasonably priced. Baseline price is $5-7, not including add-ons. Now go and discover what ramen is really all about!

Portlanders love food and we’re very fond of breakfast. Instead of pondering why, I accept and embrace it. And with so many great breakfast options, I’d like to share one of my favorite weekend spots with you, which also happens to be a food cart.

The PDX Sandwich

The Big Egg at the Mississippi Marketplace pod in north Portland serves — you guessed it — eggs! But these aren’t any run-of-the-mill eggs — they’re local and farm-grown. So is the meat and the produce, which is also organic whenever possible. Did I mention that they’re absolutely delicious?

If you go, here are a couple of recommendations. Meat is optional, but I always add bacon.

• The PDX Sandwich: egg, Tillamook white cheddar cheese, fresh chives and stone ground mustard on grilled brioche Pullman bread.
• The Breakfast Wrap: a grilled flour tortilla with scrambled eggs, potatoes, portabello mushrooms and Tillamook white cheddar cheese with poblano salsa (that they make themselves) and yogurt-lime sauce.

When I go, I also like to hop over to Dogfeathers Coffee and Juice cart next door and get either a cup of coffee or one of his juices. I like The Wet Dog, a blend of apple, carrot and ginger.

Want to discover more of Portland’s food carts? There’s an app for that, if you have an iPhone. Search for the Food Carts Portland mobile app in iTunes. Happy cart exploring!

We’re entering the final weeks of our winter hotel special, which invites visitors to enjoy a different kind of getaway (filled with one-of-a-kind Portland experiences such as Powell’s, Voodoo Doughnut, food carts and tax-free shopping) and a different kind of discount ($72 off your second night).

Based on our math, these savings will go a long ways. So, how would you spend your $72?

Ramen reigns supreme at Boke Bowl, but don't miss the kimchi or the brussels sprout and cauliflower salad.

I’ve been spending a lot of time exploring the Central Eastside Industrial District lately, preparing for the arrival of the new Portland Streetcar in September. Since it’s winter in the Rose City, that can mean for some chilly days weaving in and out of the old warehouses and back and forth across the train tracks. But it also means warming up to a steaming helping of ramen at Boke Bowl — my new favorite lunch spot.

Ramen purists may not enjoy Boke’s chewy handmade noodles, which are a tad thicker than I’ve had at so-called traditional places. Me? I love them and think they go well with any of the broths offered. My personal favorite is the seafood miso topped with a poached egg and pork belly, but it’s easy to mix and match the many options. If you’re a kimchi fan, give it a go, too. The most “traditional” kimchi I’ve had was made by a friend’s Korean wife in Montana, and let’s just say I’ll take Boke’s any day. Check them out for lunch or their Korean fried chicken dinners on Thursday nights.

While you’re at it, spend some time exploring this up-and-coming neighborhood full of interesting destinations. Grab a beer at Hair of the Dog — legendary among beer aficionados — or an espresso at Water Avenue Coffee (or just drool over the high-end home espresso makers at Clive Coffee next door). If you play your cards right and manage your time, you’ll be ready to hit Bunk Bar right next to Boke Bowl for dinner.

Earning accolades like “world’s best street food” from U.S. News Travel, Portland’s food cart scene is becoming very well-known. But did you know that we have an annual food cart festival? Eat Mobile features samples from some of the city’s best carts along with live music and some friendly competition — carts vie for awards in a variety of categories. Check out this video from 2011:

Eat Mobile is scheduled for Saturday, April 28, 2012, and tickets will go on sale March 28 at wweek.com/eatmobile. General admission tickets are $18 and include samples from each of the participating carts, while a limited number of pre-tasting tickets, running $47, will get you into the event at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) an hour early and include complimentary beverages. This event always sells out, so make sure you mark your calendar if you plan to attend.

Even though I’m a member of the “clean plate club” 99% of the time I go out to eat (Thanks mom!), I’ll occasionally have a scrap or two left on my plate. A few years ago this food scrap would have been tossed into the trash and eventually made its way into a landfill to live out its remaining days. However, over the past few years, more and more local restaurants and eateries have replaced their trash cans with bins for composting, recycling or sorting – which is done by the employees.

My latest trips to Grand Central Bakery, Pizzicato and Little Big Burger were pleasantly trash-free. Little Big Burger only offers composting or recycling, which is fantastic considering plates and silverware aren’t given to customers, just compostable bags, wrappers and containers, all of which can be tossed into the compost on the spot.

Restaurants are not alone in this effort; a city-wide composting initiative was implemented in Portland on Oct. 31, 2011. The city’s composting efforts will help keep 30,000 tons of compostable food out of landfills every year. Instead, our scraps will have a second life as nutrient-rich fertilizer. For a tree-hugger like me, this is a comforting trend. Now my food scraps — if any remain — get to enjoy a ride in the compost bin with like-minded leftovers.

Oven & Shaker pizza; photo by John Valls

In high school, I would often flee campus and hightail it to Little Caesar’s for what I thought was good pizza. What I lacked in pizza IQ back then, I more than made up for in passion and commitment. Fortunately, those days are long gone and I now think of myself as somewhat of a pizza connoisseur. So, when two of Portland’s best-loved restaurateurs announced they were opening new pizza places, I bubbled with excitement.

Bruce Carey, who is the driving force behind such places as Bluehour, Clark Lewis and 23 Hoyt, and Cathy Whims of Nostrana fame (which, incidentally, has wonderful pizza) have opened Via Tribunali and Oven & Shaker, respectively, and I highly recommend them both. Both spots have amazing and creative traditional Italian pizzas: wood-fired; thin, crisp-but-chewy crust; and a less-is-more approach to toppings. They are also quite different. (more…)

During our first visit to The Woodsman, my friend Googs and I could not resist the siren song of the raw bar. Next time, we'll peruse the full menu.

To celebrate his birthday, my buddy Googs and I checked out one of the latest – and most ballyhooed – additions to the east side’s dining scene: The Woodsman, located a couple of doors down from the original Stumptown Coffee on Southeast Division Street.

Upon entering, we were greeted by a cool wood-paneled interior and an impressive display of bivalves on ice. We bellied up to the bar and promptly ordered/inhaled a dozen Tillamook Bay and Netarts oysters on the half shell.

I’m looking forward to a return trip to check out the full menu – both Willamette Week and my foodie colleague, Lila, say it’s terrific – but won’t wait 12 months to do it. (Next one’s on you, Googs.)