Nathaniel & Bryn’s guidebook

Recommendation for restaurants in the neighborhood are endless! But here are a few of our favorites in the area.... Matt’s BBQ (Prost food carts)- try the Whole Shebang (or the whole shebang for 2!) Moberi - yummy açaí bowls Little Conejo ( Prost Carts) - Amazing Tacos! - Gravy- delicious breakfast/brunch! OX- Argentine steak house (get there around 4 to put your name in! Great place for a special occasion $$) New Seasons Market- grocery store Cherry Sprout - Local organic product market. Kachka - $$$ - Our favorite restaurant in town. This incredible Russian restaurant has been through a couple of iterations in its infancy but its dizzying array of speciality meals and creative treats means it will always come at #1 for us. Must Try - Herring Under a Fur Coat, Dumplings, Horseradish Vodka Similar - Kachinka (Kachka’s sister restaurant that is more bar casual food), Kargi GoGo Lardo - $ - The most venerable of all the vast amount of Portland Sandwich shops. Lardo is a true Portland success story having started as a humble cart and now amassing a multi state empire of gooey porky goodness. Must Try - Banh Mi, Whatever the Chefwich for September is, Fried Chicken, Dirty Fries Similar - Stacked Sandwiches, Bunk (multiple locations) Tusk - $$$ - Vegetable forward food with a healthy bend towards our friends in the middle east. Anticipate a line and like any “nice” restaurant in Portland try and make a reservation and if you can’t then expect to wait. Must try - Salads, Beets, Hummus Apizza Scholls - $$ - Best pizza in the city (has been rated by some as the best on the west coast). In a town that was become somewhat of a pizza enclave (link) Apizza Scholls sits as the highest apple in the tree. Thin crispy crust, the perfect ratio of sauce to cheese (ask Chelsea’s brother Alden) balanced by delicious toppings. Must Try - Apizza Amore, Amatriciana Similar - Scotties Pizza, Ken’s Artisan Pizza Hat Yai - $$ - Fried chicken like you’ve never experienced. This uniquely southern Thai restaurant offers up what is possibly the best bang for your buck in all of Portland. A bit of a drive depending on where you are staying it is worth the trek! Must Try - Fried Chicken, Curry Roti, seasonal veggies Similar - Reel M’ Inn Por Que No? - $ - A sometimes controversial place (there are real rules that certain people don’t enjoy, looooooong lines, and no burritos) but this is arguably where you will find the best tacos in Portland. Veering between painfully traditional and over the top new school styles in both preparation and ingredients, Por Que No? will fill a hole in your heart you didn’t even know existed. Must Try - Anything Similar - Tight Tacos, Los Gorditos Bollywood Theatre - $ - Even though my Indian friend Ravi says no self respecting Indian would ever eat here (they serve beef) it still has to be included on the list due to it having what is possibly our favorite dish of any spot in Portland. Gobi Manchurian. Order it. Don’t look at what’s in it. Bite into it. Think to yourself, “damn that’s a wild take on fried chicken.” Realize quickly that it’s not in fact chicken but cauliflower. Repeat. A funky interior and fast casual service amounts to a must try spot. Must Try - Gobi Manchurian, Vada Pav Similar - There are lots of fun “fast casual” places in Portland; XLB Pine St Market - $ - A family friendly cafeteria style food hall in inner downtown Portland. This place will satisfy any cravings you or someone in your party could have. Burgers; got em. Ramen; in spades. Bi Bim Bap; yep. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner; nightly. Toro Bravo - $$$ - To die for Spanish food. Go 15-30 minutes before they open, wait in the line, sit down, decline everything but the drinks menu, order the chefs tasting menu, then lean back and enjoy the feast that will await you. Must try - Other then the chef’s tasting menu? The Paella Similar - Ox Han Oak - $$$ - Do you like Korean food? Do you like going to a place that is the hardest ticket in town? Better make that reservation RIGHT NOW. Seriously. A three to four month wait for a reservation is standard but if you can somehow get in the food is heavenly. Melt in your mouth dumplings, BBQ beef fit for a Queen, and lettuce wraps worth that three month wait. Must try - Anything Matt’s BBQ - $ - Everyone coming in from out of state will roll their eyes at this. Good BBQ in Oregon is like saying there’s a good burrito in Kentucky. Well, so say you actually take a flyer on this place and decide to go. Damn thats a long line and who is the guy wearing Coke bottle glasses? This place is strange. First bite? Ohhhhh myyyyyyyyyyy Must Try - The Whole Shebang (and then a nap followed by the meat sweats) Similar - Wait, Portland has other good BBQ? Not that we’ve found… Canard - $$ - Most likely the newest restaurant on this list it is not one to miss. A mashup of traditional French food with almost an Americana like drive in diner. This place represents where the Portland food scene is headed next. Must Try - Oeufs on Mayonnaise, Steam Burger, Clam nachos Similar - OK Omens Places to Drink Maybe the one thing we do better here than eat is, well, drink. More breweries per capita than any other city in the country (maybe even the world?) means there is enough liquid sustenance to drown the lush in each of us. First few are brewpubs and then the last few are bars. Great Notion (aka the Nosh, Noshi) - Our favorite brewery in a town where you can throw a rock in any direction and most likely strike a brewery (doesn’t mean it’s any good). This place represents the new direction of Oregon breweries where resting on your laurels is frowned upon. The beer here can tow a hard line from sublime to shockingly bad but isn’t the roller coaster of taste something that makes life fun? New England style hazy IPAs are their signature but don’t sleep on the pastry stouts and barrel aged sours. Good food as well albeit a little spendy. *Kid friendly* Wayfinder - A challenger emerges! This place is quickly going for the crown that sits atop Great Notion’s head. A different approach to brewing means the focus lands squarely on germanic styles of brewing, with lagers, kolsch, and pilsners dominating the tap list. Arguably the best food from a brewpub in Portland. Chelsea recommends the nicoise salad to share. Upright - Saisons, sours, and all things barrel aged! Strange hours make up for an even stranger atmosphere at this inner NE Portland brewery. Located in the basement of a building. You’ll sip your peach sour right next to the barrel it was fermented in. Just don’t slip up and call it Uptight Brewing. A few others of note: Gigantic, Cascade, Hair of the Dog, and Zoiglhaus Rum Club - Best cocktails in the city bar none. Your first sip of “Pedro Martinez” is a life altering experience. Not the place to end the night but certainly the best place to start it. Food is good but spendy and the portions leave a lot to be desired. Hopefully, fingers crossed, there will still be a “Peach Blendy” or three available when you come. A true must visit. Happy hour daily 4-6pm. Pepe Le Moko - Patience is a virtue - as is just trying to locate this place! If you can find it and don’t mind the wait you will be led down a flight of stairs into a dark, almost airplane hanger like space, where the cocktails are as strong as their price suggests they should be. Loyal Legion - A great blend of a beer bar and a cocktail bar. An extensive bottle list coupled with a great page or two of unique cocktails compliments the 100 Oregon beers on tap. *Kid friendly* Hale Pale - Please, for the love of god, don’t go here Friday night before the wedding. We’d really like you to make the ceremony and not just be a bag of complete sh*t. If you must, then the blended fruity drinks here are heavenly. I even think it was voted the best “Tiki” bar in America recently which just bludgeoned the already brutal line. A few others of note: Botanist Bar, Hey Love, Deadshot, Clyde Common, Bit House Saloon Places to Visit The Japanese Garden - Our happy place. Zen. Serenity. Superlative superlative. The Rose Garden - After visiting the Japanese Gardens walk down the park and see the wonderful cavalcade of different roses. Not for those with bad allergies. Multnomah Falls - An Oregon classic and makes for a fun half day trip. If you’re going to go then go EARLY. Tons of great hikes all around this area. A few others of note: Forest Park, Pioneer Square, and a walk along the Willamette River Cannabis Yes it’s true that Oregon has legal cannabis (21+). It can be very strong so be mindful. There are probably as many cannabis shops as there are breweries and they can vary wildly in both quality and customer service. We recommend Oregon’s Finest, Serra, Farma, Archive, or Uplift. Please note that smoking outside in public (includes public parks) in Oregon is still illegal yet you might smell it outside, do not be alarmed ​