Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

Forktown Food Tours, which guides visitors on charming culinary journeys through Portland’s neighborhoods, has added a new tour exploring the city’s core.

Inspired by all of the businesses that have recently opened in the area, Forktown now offers culinary walking tours of downtown from Thursday through Sunday. The tours showcase the different styles of eateries that make Portland’s culinary scene so dynamic. Among the six to seven stops are a food cart, a sweet shop, a fine dining restaurant and an educational or hands-on experience.

In Portland, the signs of spring aren’t limited to robins picking at worms and bulbs bursting through soil. You also see tents popping up in parking lots and closed-off streets, as farmers’ markets set up shop.

The city’s biggest and most popular outdoor grocery is already up and running: Operating every Saturday through Dec. 21, the Portland Farmers Market at Portland State University isn’t just a great place to pick up leeks, kale and broccoli — it also sells some of the best prepared goods in town. From Alma Chocolate to salmon from The Smokery, there’s plenty to take home from the market’s more than 150 stands (even if your home is thousands of miles away). If you’re in the mood for take-out, grab some eats from local vendors like Verde Cocina or Pine State Biscuits and enjoy live music as you stroll.

Come May, more market locations bring fruit, berries, melons and veggies to downtown: The Shemanski Park Market runs Wednesdays, May 1 – Oct. 30, while the Pioneer Courthouse Square Market comes to Portland’s Living Room on Mondays, June 17 – Sept. 30.

And the bounty isn’t limited to Portland proper — there are farmers’ markets all around the metro area. In fact, at the height of the season, there’s a market somewhere every day of the week. And that’s a good thing — because, after all, springtime runs seven days per week.

When it comes to microbrews and wine, Portland’s cup has notoriously runneth over, but in recent years, our plate has also been full with daring dishes and high-quality cuisine. Fortunately for foodies, the trend is only building, with several top-notch dining spots opening recently in downtown, along with a new star on one of the country’s most up-and-coming streets for eats.

First up, Lardo, is no stranger to the Portland’s pork-crazed masses, as it has existed as food cart since September 2010 and has another location on the east side of the river. But their new downtown location on Southwest Washington Street brings the shop’s rotating menu of porcine sandwiches to the city center, where working stiffs and visiting tourists alike can stuff their faces with classic Italian eats like porchetta and mortadella, plus a burger topped with pork belly and even a few veg options.

Nearby on Southwest Broadway Street, Imperial, brings diners Pacific Northwest-styled offerings from legendary local chef Vitaly Paley. Located in the stylish Hotel Lucia, the warm, wood-clad restaurant aims to unite diners with the region through their food, using an open kitchen with a grill meant to invoke the campfire warmth that historically lit the Northwest, along with uncomplicated food steeped in historical significance, like wild king salmon in roasted shallot green sauce, or quail with oyster stuffing. Also in the Hotel Lucia, Paley has opened a smaller, casual diner called the Portland Penny Diner, where the specialities include fry-bread sandwiches.

Up the street in the 130-year-old Ladd Carriage House, one of the few surviving structures from downtown Portland’s days of grand estates, Raven & Rose aims to make history itself, with a wood-fired gastropub downstairs and an upstairs bar (in a former hayloft), which serves drinks that evoke the building’s era. Pairing former Park Kitchen head chef David Padberg with erstwhile Beaker & Flask bartender Dave Shenaut, the venture looks to have all the ingredients for success.

Out on Southeast Division Street, Ava Gene’s turns what was already a culinary hot zone into a full-fledged gourmet playground. Founded by Stumptown Coffee and Woodsman Tavern owner Duane Sorenson, the New York-style Italian restaurant specializes in hard-to-find pastas (made in-house), and pairs them perfectly with both charcuterie and wine. Add soft lighting and vintage decor, and you’ve instantly got some of the most romantic tables in town—and a prime example of how Portlanders love their food scene.

Every year, Santa’s got his list and you’ve got yours. But from gift-gathering to rounding up all your holiday trimmings, your to-do list might not leave much time for fun. Of course the season of hope has a solution: Holidate, which lets you shop and celebrate at the same time.

Downtown Portland’s weekly roundup of  special in-store events and merry-making restaurant deals, Holidate runs every Thursday evening in December, 4-7 p.m., ideal for the fresh-from-the-office crowd or suburban working folks who want to enjoy some holiday spirit in the city. (more…)

For the fourth holiday season in a row, Downtown Portland is home to a select handful of pop-up shops. The boutiques all debut today (Nov. 8 ) and will remain open for your gift-giving needs through Dec. 31.

• 

  A design from the Emit pop-up shop.

  Emit (535 S.W. Sixth Ave.) blends performance fabrics and modern silhouettes to create bold, distinctive women’s apparel and accessories that allow you to feel beautiful and confident in any situation.

• Wolf’s Apothecary (902 S.W. Morrison St.) features locally made health and beauty products amid a collection of turn-of-the century and modern home goods.
• The Enchanted Alpaca (902 S.W. Morrison St.) offers comfortable, elegant, warm and breathable clothing made of alpaca and natural fibers — plus live alpacas at the store every weekend!
• Boys’ Fort (614 S.W. 11th Ave., in the Governor Hotel) showcases custom-built furniture, reclaimed lighting fixtures and men’s bags, wallets and jewelry, as well as bespoke personal fragrances and other trophies of modern-day living.

For more holiday shopping and fun, check out the brand-new DowntownPortland.org.

Sunday, July 29, 2012 – With the crowd-pleasing Oregon Brewers Festival in full swing just a few blocks away on the waterfront, an underage crowd soaked up a decidedly different kind of liquid refreshment at another summertime staple of downtown: the fountain at Director Park.

Around the country, there are fairs for everything under the sun: arts, athletics, food and even Renaissance culture — but surprisingly, it’s rare to see one dedicated to the LGBTQ community. Since 2009, Portland’s Gay Fair on the Square (Sept. 16) has been one of the only such events in the country, and this year, the city will again welcome dozens of gay and gay-friendly groups into its living room, Pioneer Courthouse Square.

This event invites people to gather, share passions and showcase talents. Timed to precede National Coming Out Day (Oct. 11), the fair is a perfect starting point for the just-out and those considering coming out. Groups ranging from athletic teams and art communities to HIV support groups and gay youth groups will be on hand, spreading the word about their organizations. The fair is a great way to get involved with local groups like Cascade AIDS Project and the Q Center.

But it isn’t all business — performances by the the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus and others create a festive atmosphere worthy of a visit, regardless of your sexual orientation. Last year, the event featured more than 60 groups and hundreds of attendees, showing there’s space for everyone in Portland’s living room.

In Portland’s old days — a less civilized time when the city teemed with pirates, smugglers and outlaws — careless revelers who consumed too many libations might have been “shanghaied,” or kidnapped, and whisked away to work on the sea.

Today, there’s a safer way to get your passport punched while enjoying some fine cocktails: a trip through Portland’s Distillery Row. The epicenter of the emerging craft distillery movement, this former warehouse district is home to a slew of independent, small-batch spirit makers who have put Portland on the map of liquor connoisseurs, and great bottles on the shelf of bartenders worldwide.

From House Spirits, which concocts the botanical-infused Aviation Gin, to New Deal Distillery, whose Hot Monkey Vodka is flavored with five chili peppers, Portland’s potables are known for inventive ingredients, consistent blends and fine detail.

The 2012 Distillery Row Passport is an excellent way to make sure you don’t miss out on any of Portland’s amazing bottles. Not only do passport holders benefit from no-fee tastings and tours, they also save on everything from food to entertainment at more than 50 participating businesses throughout the area. And, with the addition of Bushwhacker, Portland’s first urban cidery, and Alchemy Wine Productions, a new in-city vintner, the world of Portland’s small-batch scene just keeps getting larger.

Every summer, Portland’s neighborhoods — from east to west, north to south — put on their own hyper-local parties. You could spend nearly every weekend exploring these retail districts while enjoying live music, food and local color.

Mississippi Street Fair – July 14

Featuring live music on five stages, this is one of the city’s biggest street fairs, drawing 30,000+ visitors to the close-in North Portland street.

Division/Clinton Street Fair – July 28

2012 marks the 20th annual celebration of this southeast neighborhood — close to downtown and bursting with top-rated eateries.

Alberta Street Fair – Aug. 11

With three music stages, a beer garden and 250 local vendors, this fair is expected to attract 20,000 visitors to Northeast Portland’s Alberta Arts District. Also check out Last Thursday — the district’s monthly street fair.

Multnomah Days – Aug. 18

This festival in Southwest Portland’s Multnomah Village is really just one day, but it’s jam-packed with a small-town-style parade, live music and food and craft vendors.

Hawthorne Street Fair – Aug. 26

One of Portland’s favorite streets pulls out all the stops with multiple music stages, two beer gardens and blocks of sidewalk sales — plus, this year, the event coincides with Sunday Parkways, so many other nearby streets will be car-free, and there will be activities, food, vendors and music in Laurelhurst, Colonel Summers and Mt. Tabor parks.

Art in the Pearl – Sept. 1-3

Technically, this is a fine arts and crafts festival, but with live music, hands-on activities and food vendors, this Labor Day weekend party in the North Park Blocks of the Pearl District certainly belongs on the list of summer street fairs.

Belmont Street Fair – Sept. 8

The street fair season winds down with a party in another popular Southeast retail and dining district.

Summer is high season for movies — it’s when studios release their tentpole flicks, timed to lure overheated customers indoors with the promise of air conditioning and cool stories. Portland’s Laurelhurst Theater keeps this tradition alive all summer long with a series of timeless films. Each month, they show classics from a different decade, and every week, a new old favorite splashes across their silver screen.

In June, timeless westerns like Clint Eastwood’s Hang ‘Em High and groovy surf flicks like The Endless Summer recall the turbulent 1960s. July’s flicks, like Coppola’s gritty murder mystery The Conversation and the Robert Redford spy thriller Three Days of the Condor, embody Hollywood’s penchant for darkness in the 1970s. August’s ’80s movies put America’s varied tastes on display with the fantastic story of Excalibur and the somber realism of Taps.

The fully-digital brew-and-view theater serves up local craft brews along with its $4 features, making the movies even more refreshing. Just outside, the movie house’s vintage-neon facade spills its soft glow across a collection of Portland’s best eateries. Between the theater’s stars and the restaurants’ specialties, this night at the movies will be one to remember.