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You know how this game is played.  I'm planning to be in Portland for a few days in October, and am looking for tips on stuff to do, see, and eat.  I know we have a few Portlanders around here.  Tell me your secrets!

Make Voodoolily cook for you!

If you time it right you could help her deliver.

Apparently, there is a doughnut shop that makes all kinds of crazy donuts.

Some family friends got married at that donut shop, assuming it is the same place. I can't imagine there are TWO famous donut places in Portland.

Voodoo Doughnuts. Having seen it on so many travel and food shows, I think I never want to go there.

I'm actually burnt out on some place I've never been.

Lots and lots of microbreweries.  Buddy of mine went out and hit like twelve in two days. 

Google-mapping "brewery" in Portland points me at an area of town I'm told is the Pearl District, which seems to have a pretty dense clump of them.  Am I on the right track?

Not sure if its your thing, but the Japanese garden in Portland is probably unmatched in the continental US.

Oo, good call.  I love the one in SF, and the Portland one looks similar but bigger and better.

1. Powell's bookstore.  Just awesome.
2. so many brew pubs in the Pearl. 
3. take a drive out here and for free and see the whole city and Rainier and Mt.St. Helen's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittock_Mansion

Yep, pretty sure that's the area.  www.portlandbeer.org might help you a bit too. 

I'll see if I can hunt down the movie he made, like a 90 second film of all the samplers he did.  Before and afters. 

Portland, its been awhile but here's what I remember.

-The Japanese Garden is great, its up on a hill, really pretty much better then the one in SF with like large scale zen pebble garden areas and cool plants, go there you'll enjoy it.
-Also there is a big rose garden, near the zoo I think, that is kind of cool esp if you are going w/ a female because there are like benches, good views and hella roses.  But I think in October that'll be no good I've only been during the summer.  Its too bad though because the snow cone stand near the rose garden sells a flavor called tiger's blood that is coconut mixed with strawberry or something and its amazing.
-You can't get beer easily enough, like for your hotel room, there are barely any corner stores and they close early and some don't even have beer or at least like Walgreens didn't have any or something like that.  It was a bitch.  Also they tax cigs and beer so the whole no taxes thing is basically bs.
-Don't go to "the square" its a bunch of stoners sitting around playing hacky sack, and a Starbucks, there are cool artist areas, cool gastropubs and supposedly great live music but you need a local guide.  Find one and stay away from the stupid square.
-Make sure you've seen a girl's legs before you get with her, just a friendly warning, seeing an armpit might be a good idea too but that would probably be even harder to do.
-Visit VDL and make her cook you stuff, that is by far the best thing you could do while there since not everybody in the world can do that.
-Take photos for our various photo threads.

Hoax is only partly right - if you stay downtown your choices are very limited. Beer is easily obtained at corner stores, usually open until 10 (or 24 hours) on the eastside, and taxes are not as bad as California. If you really want to have a sense of what it's like here, stay at the Jupiter Hotel (http://www.jupiterhotel.com/play/) on the east side of the Willamette (still walking distance from downtown or a <5 minute bus ride). The Doug Fir lounge is located on-site, and it's one of the nicer hipster music venues in town. It's also within blocks of two of Portland's best restaurants, Le Pigeon (http://www.lepigeon.com/) and Simpatica (http://www.simpaticacatering.com/). Biwa (http://www.biwarestaurant.com/location.html), an upscale ramen-ya and izakaya, shares a building with Simpatica. Simpatica has the best weekend brunch in town.

Our local wines are expensive though, because of economy of scales (ours are small batches). We do have a few local distilleries (http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/americas-best-new-whiskeys/sidebar/1/) too, that are good for a tasting and tour. Maybe you can get your special lady a bottle of eaux-de-vie or trillium absinthe for later sharing.

(http://clearcreekdistillery.com/images/stories/pib_750ml.jpg)

October is usually gorgeous here, especially if we have an Indian summer. My garden should be in full harvest mode, and I would love to cook dinner for you and your travel companion (your fiance, I suppose?). Maybe it'll work out that I can take you chanterelle picking and we can cook our spoils.

The Japanese garden is lovely, I haven't been in years, but it's in Washington Park where the rose gardens and the zoo are located. Nice way to spend an afternoon.

Sauced and I usually pick our travel destinations based on food, and Portland would be a vacation destination for that alone. We do have more going on here, though, I promise.  :oh_i_see:

The other thing about Oregon? Porn everywhere, man. I dunno why. Even like, next to the checkout counter in 7-11. Giant rack of hardcore DVDs just sitting there. Giant 20 foot tall rotating signs on I-5 advertising porn shops.

Also last time I was there, some completely wasted dude from Washington came up to me while I was checking into a hotel and started on this long speech about how Oregon had FULL NUDITY and ALCOHOL in the SAME PLACES and how that was totally awesome and better than Washington. Then he went away, which was good, because he was kinda freaking me out.

Winter can get cold and lonely out there, beyond the thunderdome.

Squee!  That sounds like fun.  (You are correct, except that at that point in time she will no longer be my fiance.  Also, I must warn you that she is a vegetarian, but luckily for me not the hypersensitive type.)

I too tend to be most interested in the food when I'm in a new place.  Aside from the bacon donuts, are there any unique local delicacies I should keep an eye out for?

I can look past her vegetarianism if you can forgive my teetotaling. Though by then a glass of wine shouldn't hurt anything.

Gratz on your upcomng nuptials!

Hey You!  Congrats!  (http://www.sheknows.com/graphics/emoticons/stars.gif)

My sense from visiting family in Portland is that it's a fucking great place to live in and not such an amazing place to visit unless you have transportation and time. E.g., in the area there's fucktons of wonderful places to hike, eat, walk, see, but they're not like a single landmark, more like comprehensively beautiful and interesting environments. Mostly what I think I'd do in the town is find a good neighborhood to hang in, go get a good meal, have some drinks, see some people.

There is an amusement park in Sellwood that's kind of an old-school hoot, though, called Oaks. Kind of like a permanent carnival or county fair. Better with little kids, obviously: I wouldn't make it a destination if you're not towing along some young'uns. (Not  :pedobear: way, ahem). Sellwood itself is a nice neighborhood.

Downtown Portland is fun.  Lots of cool places to eat and good bars.  I don't think it is very good for sight seeing, however.  Oregon is about the outdoors.  Rent a car and go over to the coast if you have time.  That is fun.  You can go hang out with some Tilamook cheese cows. :awesome_for_real:

Our current plan is to take the train up, spend a few days in Portland, and then rent a car and drive home down 101 over another few days.  I think we'll miss Tillamook, but a lot of the park areas along the coast look very cool.

Oh, also, I don't know if you're a hiker but Mt. Hood is right there and it should still be decent hiking weather in October assuming it isn't raining.

Mt. Hood via the Columbia River Gorge, turn in to it at Hood River, that's a sweet drive and then hopefully a sweet hike. Hood River is one of those towns I'd love to have a second home in.

I really wish I had more time when I was out in Portland. Didn't really get to see much (mainly because the friends I was hanging with both lived in the burbs, one in the 'Couv, one out in Hillsboro) but I did enjoy my time there.

Powells City of Books is like the coolest place ever. Got a 15 years out of print book I had been looking for a copy of since Grad School that was in mint condition.

Also, hanging with Voodoo and Sauced is good times as they are a couple of the coolest cats on the planet.

Aw, shucks.  :awesome_for_real:

Congrats on the impending nuptials Sam!  :grin:

Things to do...
Summit Mt Hood (you can do it in a day and its close to Portland)
while heading to Hood visit Ramona Falls visit Crater Lake National Park


Oh and if you want a kick ass rustic retreat for the honeymoon, southeast of Portland there is a place called Hawk Mountain. On the top is a one room cabin. Its free and open for use by hikers on a first come first serve basis. You could have the whole mountain top to yourself!

This is actually a 5-6 hour drive away, and not really something to do in Portland (and would be very cold or snowy in October, just like the summit of Mt. Hood). It is beautiful, though, Oregon's only National Park. The Columbia River Gorge, though, is close, and there are LOTS of falls. Dozens. Each with their own trailhead, too, pretty much. The lodge at Multnomah Falls has great huckleberry daquiris.

Addition: Maybe we can get FatuousTwat out of hiding in Estacada and get him to meet us out in Corbett at Tad's Chicken 'N Dumplings. Oh man, omnomnomnom. It's a perfect way to end a day of mushroom picking - crispy microbrew overlooking the Sandy River, the hugest, good-graviest dumplings served with tender white chicken. Oh god.

Tillamook is kind of fun, and the dairy products are absolutely fantastic. Cannon Beach is a beautiful beach town (go to Pizza A' Fetta and you won't regret it). Watch out for VDL and Sauced though- they will get your wife really really drunk and then gape in awe as she tries to regurgitate into a beer bottle. Or so I have heard...



ETA-
Voodoo Donuts is fun just to see the crazy crap they throw together. I think Top Pot donuts are actually better, but until they start serving one with bacon on it Voodoo will have a place in our travel agenda. Stumptown Coffee is also damned good and has locations scattered all over the city.

Hey, it was all we could do to prevent Mrs. WAP from digging a hole in the dirt behind the bar and burying her sick like a cat. In case anyone doesn't know, WAP's wife is completely fucking punk rawk.

Here's the microbrew movie, it's about 3min long and the first half is coastal Oregon breweries.  He hits Portland at about 1:30 in. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvCkBkCIIGA

Haha, I was just past there the other day, it's been a while since I've been in.

And no more mushroom picking for me... I don't know where you go, but around here it has gotten really territorial. Some people make a lot of money at it, and don't appreciate it when some random person is picking in "their" area (yes it's bullshit, but I don't generally argue with an armed person out in the middle of nowhere).

That's the most hilariously crazy thing I've heard in some time.  Wild West shootouts over wild morels!

Yeah, you've gotta get up to something when you live in a small town.

Commercial pickers are nasty sons of bitches. Shoot their own family over picking territory.

I go to Larch Mountain to some Longview Fiber timber property. I have permission to pick there (though it's slim pickins since they started logging). There are also lots of spots right next to the road in the Mt. Hood Nat'l Forest (10-15 minutes from Sandy), and you can just get a non-commercial permit to pick 2 gallons per person per day for like $15. The last time we picked there we took our friend's 150lb husky. As long as Kira didn't step on the mushrooms she was great to have around.

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uVSUPK950uU/SQT3O00APOI/AAAAAAAABa4/RigIEDb4gkk/s400/DSC_0105.jpg)

If you get that beautiful dog shot over mushrooms you are going to have to pick a new birthday..

None of the commerical picker loonies camp the spots right next to the road (where Forest Service rangers are likely to find them). It's the hunters you really have to worry about. I have a terrible habit of dressing in earth tones during hunting season.  :uhrr:

I suggest you find a TV with public access channel 11, and watch Noah Larson all day. That is probably the best thing to do in Portland.

You still coming up this month, Sam?

Getting in on the afternoon of the 12th, leaving the morning of the 15th.  We've got a list of things to check out now, but nothing rigidly scheduled.  Still up to entertaining?   :drill:

Sure! But being weekdays, you'll have to settle for a dinner at our house instead of mushroom picking. Fortunately, the nice grocery stores are lousy with wild 'shrooms, so we can still eat them.  :awesome_for_real:

The newlywife is a vegetarian, right?

Lacto-ovo vegetarian, and not the type to worry about whether the cheese was made with rennet.  And she's not offended by the sight of meat so long as it's not on her plate.

Ok, well I just wrote the longest post I've ever written in my life, but just hit the back button after previewing and lost all of it, so before gouge my eyes out in frustration, let me summarize my previous entry.

-Stumptown coffee: drink it.  I suggest at the Ace Hotel.
-Voodoo donuts: actually pretty solid.  If you drink in downtown you will go here.
-Powell's: duh.
-Breweries: The Rogue and on the more bougey side Henry's tavern.
-Vege-x-tarian food: ubiquitous, but try the sweatpea bakery.
-Japanese gardens: pretty good, but they are in fact just gardens, and it is october
-Beaches: Canon Beach (go to the bakery and get canon beach bread)
-Hotels: Ace Hotel > Jupiter Hotel (primarily because I think the west side is more manageable for a 3 day period)

Miscellaneous:
The west side is bougey, is pretty close together,and has infinite bars and restaurants.  The east side is more psychedelic/hip and almost exclusively inhabited mustachioed fixed gear riding hipsters who have emigrated from various American shitholes, punctuated by a smattering of actual oregonians.  That being said the east side is the portland end-game, whereas the west side is newbie froth.  Try Hawthorne, Belmont, or Alberta(all names of streets on the east side).  Hawthorne being the most approachable of these three.  Voodoolily seems like she's going to do a good job taking care of you, so rest assured.  

 

Heh, that's what we ended up picking.  We actually would have done the Jupiter, but my fiancee vetoed it because their website offended her deeply.  (She does web design stuff at work and it's made her hypersensitive to "bad practices" like blaring music and overuse of Flash.)

Yeah, the crappy click-hop they have on autoplay is pretty annoying.  :uhrr:

Just thought I'd follow up here with what we ended up doing and what we liked.

 - Stayed at the Ace Hotel, which was almost TOO cool for us.  Nice location and they gave us a free suite upgrade for some reason.   :thumbs_up:
 - Powell's is very impressive.  Sadly, since any books I bought would have to be schlepped home, I couldn't bear to spend too much time there.  It's basically like if Green Apple had Amazon's inventory and a full city block to shelve it in.
 - The best meal we had by far was at Voodoolily's and Sauced's place, and I'm not just saying that.
 - Both brewpubs we went to (Rogue and Deschutes) had surprisingly good food.
 - The Chinese Classical Garden is way cool, and easy to get to.
 - The Japanese Garden is almost as cool, but difficult to get to.
 - Voodoo Doughnuts is quite an experience; the doughnuts themselves aren't anything special, but the array of toppings is breathtaking.
 - Burgerville is cool and I wish we had those here.

All in all a good trip!

/blush

It was great to meet you and the little mussus, we had a lot of fun shootin' the shit and I really enjoyed cooking for you both.  Glad you had a great time! :awesome_for_real: