Dishin': Portland, in General

Portland, how did this food-lover overlook you for ten years? We rode the train down, which was a pleasant, relaxing experience--excluding the last couple of miles or so, which took about 20 minutes due to work on the tracks. No big deal, except that instead of arriving at 1:50 p.m. as planned (perhaps even earlier), we were late and unable to get to Park Kitchen ahead of its two o'clock closing time, even though it's mere minutes from the station. Instead, we rolled the luggage through Chinatown to Ping, where we picked out a few Asian eats for late lunch.

And then rolled our way to our first hotel. We were told it's too far to walk, but walking was good exercise after being on the train, allowing us to get our bearings and enabling us to ogle some food carts with jealousy.

We spent two nights each at Hotel DeLuxe and Hotel Lucia, sister hotels. (They are also sisters to our Hotel Max in Seattle.) We liked the "throwback style" of deLuxe, but preferred the contemporary feel of Lucia. Both were comfortable and convenient in their own ways. There was no need for a car, especially with buses, trains and trams everywhere. The best part, though, is that the blocks are so close together; we felt like we could walk everywhere. Which we did--a good thing, given our eating itinerary:

Day 1

* Ping
* Bluehour
* Biwa

Day 2

* Ken's Artisan Bakery
* Ten 01
* Departure
* Andina

Day 3

* Broder
* Nostrana
* Sahagun
* Teardrop
* Pok Pok

Day 4

* Farmers Market: Tastebud, Pine Street Biscuits, etc.
* Tanuki
* Cool Moon

Day 5

* Beast
* Voodoo
* Kenny & Zuke's

Our favorites were Tanuki and Pok Pok, followed by Beast and Nostrana. And the best day of eating was the middle one. Broder was fabulous for a lighter breakfast, though the addition of aebleskivers filled us up. One meal at Nostrana showed why Cathy Whims was a Beard nominee this year. As for Pok Pok--well, we can't argue with the crowds it draws. They serve up much more interesting Thai food than we can find here.

We still love Seattle, especially since we're going in the right direction with our burst of street food and our start to light rail. But we must say that we're digging the Portland dining scene. Vancouver/Richmond may still be our destination for Chinese food, but now we know there's great food in the other direction. Shouldn't we feel lucky to have such good neighbors?