Flying back from Portland as I type... Had a great long weekend! Thank you to everyone for all the suggestions! We're hoping go back again soon because we enjoyed it that much!
Got in late Thurday and just so we could say we did it, swung by Voodoo. Waited maybe 5 minutes (long enough to get a parking ticket >:-o )... Boyfriend got something with chocolate, PB and rice krispies... I got the Mexican chocolate, which to my surprise, I enjoyed more than I thought I would. That said, would never wait in line, and would never order any other donut... They all looked so unappetizing to me with all the piles of toppings slathered all over them.
Stayed at an Airbnb in SE, which was great. Super nice woman with a cat and two adorable dogs, all three of which I managed to spoil in our 72 hours there. 😄
Went hiking in Eagle Creek on Friday, about 6 miles or so. Absolutely beautiful day (peaked around 80). Then went to Hood River and ate/drank at Pfriem. We walked around town a bit and along the waterfront but decided to get back to town since it was getting late. Stopped by Salt & Straw on our way home... OMG. A. Expensive, felt like home, lol. B. Delicious! Had the Salted Amond Brittle with Chocolate Ganache. C. They teamed up with a bunch of elementary school kids to create flavors for charity and the flavors are hilarious. Literally one called "The Kail Creeasheon." Yes, there was kale (kail) involved, and obviously parmesan cheese (duh, why wouldn't there be?)... You can read all about them on the Salt & Straw website... Love the descriptions written by the kids, atrocious spelling (wtf Portland schools?!) and all.
Had dinner at Bar Mingo - AMAZONG. Would've had dinner there again last night too if we didn't want to branch out. Super cute neighborhood (Alphabet City). Cannot recommend enough for those of you heading to Portland in the coming months. GOOOOO!
Yesterday bummed around downtown... Had breakfast at Pine State Biscuits (delish, another recommend) and hopped on MAX (AMAZING - fast, clean and cheap ($5 for a 1 day pass)). Took advantage of no sales tax and the BOMB A $ $ Patagonia store. Met up with a friend for beer at someplace I don't remember with a roof deck - 10-something, walked to Aphabet City (near where said friend lived), walked around there, MAXed back downtown... Watched the Warriors slog their way past Memphis at some sports bar... MAXed back to SE, wandered around looking for dinner. Ended up at Sunshine Tavern ("That's that place with the salad that has French fries on it!" - yes, it is, and yes, it was delicious) which was decent. Pok Pok line, even close to 10pm was insane. Pass. Deal with enough of that in SF. One more run to Salt & Straw...
This morning was Blue Star Donuts (second time - also went Friday morning). Previously got the Mexican Chocolate (meh, too much frosting, not enough spice) and Lemon Poppyseed Buttermilk (uh, yum) and today got Chocolate Almond something (yum), tiramisu (sitting in the box at my feet) and boyfriend got some marionberry filled somethin with PB dust or something ("Which basically turns to peanut butter in your mouth." -Boyfriend). Had lunch at Grilled Cheese Grill on the way to the airport (decent).... Oh, and after stopping at Blue Star Friday morning, also went to Fried Egg I'm In Love (<3 name <3) food truck, which was really tasty, but REALLY slow. Woof.
Gah. I told myself I wouldn't make this a long rambley recap... Failure.
tl;dr: Loved Portland. You should go there.