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!
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.
2010's Photo of the Year winner. "Eagle in Flight with Nature's Illumination" by Lois Settlemeyer of Camas, WA
If you’ve snapped some great pictures in Portland this year, you might have already taken the Photo of the Year. Friends of Outdoor School’s 10th annual Photo of the Year Contest is going on now. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to enter — it only takes one picture to win, and it could be yours!
There are five categories: Top 100, Faces, Youth, Portland and Professional. This year, the Portland category is brand new and is sponsored by Travel Portland.
Photo submissions are open through Jan. 5, 2012. Entries are then reviewed and narrowed down to the top 100. Online voting will be open to the public Jan. 8-15 and the winner will be unveiled at the awards ceremony on Jan. 21 (location TBD).
We’d love to see lots of entries in the Portland category and wish the best of luck to all who enter. Enter your photo >>
IFC’s show all about Portland, “Portlandia,” is gearing up for its second season, which starts on Jan. 6. They’ve been releasing some new video clips and this one in particular tickled my funny bone. While we are passionate about recycling, I’m not quite sure that the real city is ready for this level of detail.
Want more? If you have 24 minutes to spare, check out this short film, “Inside Portlandia.” It features interviews with Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein (of course) and tells the story of how “Portlandia” came to be. If you just want to hear what they think of filming in Portland, you can skip ahead to the two-minute mark. It’s such a compliment to hear so many people say great things about the city. Happy viewing!
Did you know that Travel Portland sends out a Travel Update e-newsletter packed with event previews, special offers and more every month? We hope you do know — and subscribe — but whether you’re an avid reader or are just hearing about the Travel Update for the first time, we’d love to get your input.
The Travel Update is a monthly rundown of news and insider info about our favorite city in the world. And, when you subscribe, you can tailor the e-mail to your tastes — just want to know about family-friendly and musical happenings? Done!
As a vinyl lover and a DJ at a Portland-based internet radio station (House of Sound), I often come across weird gems and forgotten blasts from the past. A number of our DJs, myself included, like to not only straight-up play records, but experiment with sound — often doing things like mixing spoken word sources over ambient music or other sounds. When I arrived last week to set up for my show, the DJ before me was doing just that, and when I saw this gem, I had to borrow it from him to share it here.
Here’s the Portland segment of the record — continue beyond the break for the whole, wonderful record.
Summer is finally here! For the majority of Portlanders, that means one thing: getting a table at an outdoor patio or grabbing sidewalk seating at a favorite bar or restaurant. Summer is a glorious three- to four-month stretch when we enjoy our world-famous microbrews, spirits and food outside without the fear of getting rained on.
Bob Dylan and his band playing to a sold-out crowd.
I can’t believe I’ve lived in Portland as a music lover for years, and JUST went to my first concert at Edgefield last night. What a show, and what a venue! This year’s summer concert series at Edgefield features living legends like Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson, as well as hot young bands like Vampire Weekend. There are still a few more shows to come until mid-September, but music fans should make a note to check out the calendar in the spring in anticipation for next summer.
With the McMenamins Edgefield hotel and winery on-site, signature groovy character and festival-like (yet intimate) setting, this outdoor venue is a destination in itself. In the winter months, check out the smaller live music shows (like the Small Batch Tours series) in the Edgefield hotel, sip a pint of McMenamins brew and soak in the artful atmosphere.
Sun and rain over west downtown, Portland in spring
OK, it’s no secret that we have … some rainy days in Portland. However, even locals tend to go overboard when describing the weather here. April is one of our rainiest months, but even now we get our share of sunshine.
Portland actually has what’s referred to as a Mediterranean climate. Yes, we have unpredictable winters that inevitably include rain, and a bit of snow (and some wonderful sunny days!), but we have beautiful summers that are relatively dry.
