Portland, OR advice/info?

[Salad]

Planning a quick 3 day trip to Portland, OR in a couple of weeks.

Does anyone have any recommendations on where to stay (hotels and or districts), where to shop, what to see and where to eat/drink?

I'd like to stay some where central to the city. Whats the best district to stay/see?

I don't hang out in clubs but I do enjoy pubs.

What to avoid?

Thanks for any advice.

[siznam]

hey salad...

here's a quick hitlist...everything is close in portland, just a short tram ride away.

to stay: check out the jupiter hotel, next door to a very well-designed music venue/bar called the doug fir. located on east burnside....its my personal fav, and not too spendy.

to drink: there's a lot in old town [china town]...pretty much the center of the city. some of our favorite haunts are shanghai tunnels [underground bar], tube, the lowbrow, and magic gardens for some live nude action.

you should grab a cheap movie at a mcmenamins pub/theatre....they bought up all the old theatres and show second run movies. there's a grip of em all over town, so hit up the mcmenamins website for locations and times.

to shop: there's a shitload in downtown portland...not sure what you're looking for, but old town has upper playground and just be - good streetwear/toys/art...just up a few blocks in the pearl district there's the adidas originals store, puma store, diesel, etc....definitely hit up powells books, its a portland staple....biggest book store in n. america i think...

also head up to nw 23rd to shop....a little bit of everything...we [HECKLEWOOD] have a flagship store/gallery off 23rd, so if you make it up here swing by and say hey...

if you have any extra time, check out some shops/pubs/grub on alberta st. [ne portland] and hawthorne [sw portland]....just a quick car ride away...

hope that helps...

[Carl]

Powells is a must.

Hit up Blakes for good denim and clothes...the owner is a SF member and a really cool dude.

Also, try and find some Oregon home grown. It will be worth your time.

See if any shows are playing at the Crystal Ballroom (right above McMenamins).

Go to a strip club (best in the country value!).

Siznam - Where are you guys located? Is Hecklewood an art gallery? Ill have to stop in next time im up.

[snugglepony]

salad:

siz and carl are right on the money, for the most part. the sale rack at blake is usually pretty well stocked. check out loveblake.com for a list of brands.

i'll second the jupiter hotel, too. my friend alisha books all the shows at the (attached) doug fir lounge, and she consistently pulls the best acts. there are a TON of local designer-led shops within four blocks of the jupiter, too (YES, denwave, redux, burnside proper, etc.). unless they're giving you a discount for staying at the jupiter, skip eating at doug fir -- food's overpriced and generally low quality. one block west, though, is my boy gabriel's restaurant, le pigeon. he just won chef of the year, and his food destroys. not too spendy, either, and the place is laid back.

from there, you can walk across the burnside bridge -- or catch a 2 minute bus ride -- to downtown/oldtown/the pearl district/etc. and hit most of the spots siz recommends.

tube's great, but go early unless you want to get smoked/scened out.

shanghai tunnel's another solid bet, as is valentines across the ankeny alley.

and, yes, magic gardens is the best strip club on the planet (though last time i was at mary's club, i did sit w/ mastodon...)

[Salad]

Thanks for all the info everybody! I'll definitely look into all of the suggestions.

[siznam]

salad:

siz and carl are right on the money, for the most part. the sale rack at blake is usually pretty well stocked. check out loveblake.com for a list of brands.

i'll second the jupiter hotel, too. my friend alisha books all the shows at the (attached) doug fir lounge, and she consistently pulls the best acts. there are a TON of local designer-led shops within four blocks of the jupiter, too (YES, denwave, redux, burnside proper, etc.). unless they're giving you a discount for staying at the jupiter, skip eating at doug fir -- food's overpriced and generally low quality. one block west, though, is my boy gabriel's restaurant, le pigeon. he just won chef of the year, and his food destroys. not too spendy, either, and the place is laid back.

from there, you can walk across the burnside bridge -- or catch a 2 minute bus ride -- to downtown/oldtown/the pearl district/etc. and hit most of the spots siz recommends.

tube's great, but go early unless you want to get smoked/scened out.

shanghai tunnel's another solid bet, as is valentines across the ankeny alley.

and, yes, magic gardens is the best strip club on the planet (though last time i was at mary's club, i did sit w/ mastodon...)

ha, that's funny about mastadon...i went there a couple weeks ago, and it felt WAY different than what i remembered....i think it's notoriety has brought in a lot of fratheads and lame suits....

[siznam]

Powells is a must.

Hit up Blakes for good denim and clothes...the owner is a SF member and a really cool dude.

Also, try and find some Oregon home grown. It will be worth your time.

See if any shows are playing at the Crystal Ballroom (right above McMenamins).

Go to a strip club (best in the country value!).

Siznam - Where are you guys located? Is Hecklewood an art gallery? Ill have to stop in next time im up.

its our little flagship store [assorted streetwear, tees, limited ed art prints.] and gallery....we usually do a 'featured artist' exhibition/party every third saturday with dj's and brews. swing by sometime, we have a fridge stocked full of PBRs.

[snugglepony]

ha, that's funny about mastadon...i went there a couple weeks ago, and it felt WAY different than what i remembered....i think it's notoriety has brought in a lot of fratheads and lame suits....

word.

we only went there 'cause it was so close to the roseland; we only stayed 'cause mastodon showed up; and we left for magic gardens after we'd had a chance to talk to them a bit

edit: siz, you have the tanner line up at the hecklewood shop? i haven't been up there yet, but i'd love to see the leather stuff in person...

[siznam]

word.

we only went there 'cause it was so close to the roseland; we only stayed 'cause mastodon showed up; and we left for magic gardens after we'd had a chance to talk to them a bit

edit: siz, you have the tanner line up at the hecklewood shop? i haven't been up there yet, but i'd love to see the leather stuff in person...

speaking of venues, are you hittin up the rapture tonight @ the wonder?

and yeah, we stock TANNER here, but we only produce like 10 bags a week so its hit or miss if we have some in stock...i should have a few extras starting tuesday of next week though...

[snugglepony]

speaking of venues, are you hittin up the rapture tonight @ the wonder?

and yeah, we stock TANNER here, but we only produce like 10 bags a week so its hit or miss if we have some in stock...i should have a few extras starting tuesday of next week though...

won't make it to the wonder tonight -- got a hot date...

i will try and stop by the shop this weekend if i'm on the west side, though.

[siznam]

won't make it to the wonder tonight -- got a hot date...

i will try and stop by the shop this weekend if i'm on the west side, though.

cool...do it to it.

[Salad]

Damn, I'm more up for this trip than ever. Turns out I probably won't be going 'til early to mid Dec.

One more question. Do I need a car to get around? I'd rather not rent a car.

Siznam, I'll def. come through. I really want a Tanner messenger. Is it possible to custom order one while I'm there?

Thanks again everybody for the info!

[siznam]

Damn, I'm more up for this trip than ever. Turns out I probably won't be going 'til early to mid Dec.

One more question. Do I need a car to get around? I'd rather not rent a car.

Siznam, I'll def. come through. I really want a Tanner messenger. Is it possible to custom order one while I'm there?

Thanks again everybody for the info!

yeah man, no prob....if you give me a heads up what days you'll be out and what color you'd prefer, i can have some hide samples pulled and you can check em out in person...

car's not needed....everything is pretty close, a short walk or tram ride away...if anything maybe just rent one for a day to hit up some outlying places....or steal a shitty bike for a day