usa :: portland :: general

[readytoignite]

bummed I missed the SEPDX event but had a few great days in town, wanted to recap below in case anyone is able to benefit.  my general note is that the city this most reminds me of is antwerp - a very high standard of living (food / booze / access to nature etc) in that the median is very good.  another similarity is that excellent retail offerings are excellent across the spectrum.

 

on the flip side, the worst thing about the city is probably the taxis

 

Monday:

train in on the amtrak coastal starlight from seattle, weird boarding procedure but arrived ahead of time and some nice views.  i like trains.  booked the ace; unfortunately room wasn't ready so had a snack and drink at clyde common.  was sort of put off by the major turnover at the restaurant in the past few months so this was my only stop there.

 

lunch: nong's khao man gai (second to last portion), decent but nothing earthshattering.  that said, i'd kill to have this food cart pod within walking distance from where i live / work.

 

stopped by europa wine merchant a couple of blocks down, they focus on artisanal wine production world wide and have a great (and relatively affordable) offering.  the dude who runs the place is so knowledgeable / wine geeky that he may not be able to speak to normal people about it.  A+

 

obligatory trip to selfedge.  met tyler, who is the man.  picked up sugarcane light shirt in which NY was out of my size (no dangling preps here)

 

dinner at little bird because i wanted to eat before 10.  pretty good, not great.  waiter was relatively new to town, probably overshared on the abduction story front.

 

ended with drinks at pepe le moko at the ace which reminds me of the old subtonic space in NYC in that it's not a very social space.  could have done with out

 

Tuesday:

 

walked to Heart for coffee, walking by the stumptown in the ground floor of my hotel because it's the correct thing to do.

 

brunch at tasty & alder, very solid and suprisingly good bi bim bap (weirdly this is bim bap on the menu, whatever the fuck that means).  had about three conversations with waitress on pronunciation of korean dishes (which i volunteered for, to be fair)

 

quick series of retail stops: powell's (must be seen to be believed - name another bookstore where you need to know the genre of a children's book to be able to find it); tanner (kind of boutiquey in a small way); everyday music (rule of thumb: if you see a dirty dancing LP priced at $15 !!!LEAVE INSTANTLY!!!); cacao (second best chocolate boutique i've been to - chocolate covered in SF being tough to compete with); danner (much cooler than it needs to be).

 

went back to selfedge with traveling companion, who needed jeans.  tyler was very patient

 

lunch: altengartz food cart, run by milwaukee expat of german decent - very nice

 

oyster happy hour at woodsman tavern in SE.  i was told the oysters were very good, had a sort of alright grilled peach dish - all that was missing was grilled peach flavor.  discuss dr. demento with bartender who was way too young to do so.

 

dinner: ate at the bar of ava genes, pasta dish was good, not exceptional considering the price and setting to be honest.

 

turned in early.  did i mention the half bottle of la stoppa i drank between lunch and happy hour?

 

coming soon: wednesday

Edited August 10, 2014 by readytoignite

[readytoignite]

...and wednesday:

 

Heart, then a heartwarming bagel at kenny and zuke's.  chilled out at the hotel until brunchish time.  accompanied my travel companion back to tasty and alder so he could try to pick up a waitress he met the previous day.

 

lunch: torta at guero at 9th and alder.  it was fine, nothing crazy special.

 

took a bus to mississippi records, where i bought more cassettes than records.  good place though, one of the best non mega stores i've been to recently which is kind of a bummer because it wasn't crazy great.  met a friend at fresh pot down the road and passed by worn path, where you can apparently can get trucker hats and artisanal slingshots.  they were closed, obviously.

 

met up with the portland tottenham firm at 4-4-2 in SE (@PDXspurs for the friendly against toronto fc), they were a good lot although the bartender was wearing a chelsea shirt. 

 

one of the members drove me and the homie to ox, which was easily the best restaurant i went to the whole visit.  everything was correct and perfectly executed.  experienced staff almost didn't vibe me for not getting a main because i wanted to double down on sides.  which was the right move, to be honest.

 

after-dinner libations at the southeast wine collective, they have a bar you can taste their wines plus a handful of imported selections,  super wine-nerdy and cool, i bought a t-shirt because wine and coffee t-shirts are the new concert t-shirts.

 

finished up the evening at the landmark saloon down the street, there was live rootsy / country music, whiskey and a very nice way to wrap up an evening chilling next to a bonfire and chatting with some locals.  went back home and hit the hay, caught an early morning flight the next day.

 

coming soon: epilogue

[poldylocks]

mikey, give us a sneak peek of the upgrades to the shop

[Kemosabe]

ya mcdiddleys snapchat me the new fixtures

[Kale Kohai]

 discuss dr. demento with bartender who was way too young to do so.

 

 

Actually met him a few days ago, he came on our campus to talk as he started his radio career there. 

[ulysses?]

Actually met him a few days ago, he came on our campus to talk as he started his radio career there. 

oh god a reedie on sufu, i knew this day would come

[Kale Kohai]

or sufu @ reed. Been on sufu longer than I've been at reed, Its been about 2 weeks now

[ulysses?]

or sufu @ reed. Been on sufu longer than I've been at reed, Its been about 2 weeks now

fair enough, hope you like the place/experience. be sure to leave campus more than ya think or you'll go crazy. the reed bubble is very much a thing

[Kale Kohai]

Oh ya I'm not here to defend Reed either. It has a lot to offer academically while still providing an exceptional studio art education (studio art major here), with drawbacks just like any other college. Reed Bubble is really interesting as strongly resisting it and enjoying the city like I have (why the fuck would you not, Portland has so much to offer) has left me somewhat isolated from the die-hard Reed kids. They get super weirded out when you talk about hanging with PSU kids or going to random events etc with people completely unrelated to the university. It also creates this weird issue that soooo many alumn hang out at the school still because they have no idea what the fuck to do now that they're supposed to leave. 

Edited September 18, 2014 by Kale Kohai

[poldylocks]

go viks 

[Kale Kohai]

Liz Harris (grouper) show tomorrow for PICA should be rad! Really excited for it. Anyone else here going?

[Kemosabe]

kale hit me up if youre near pica today

[EG562]

Oneohtrix point never @ pica was incredible last night.  Great visual art projections of acid trip  cgi anime. Anyone know who that was on visuals? 

 

That liz grouper show looks good, but alas im going to polish fest to represent my country. 

[poldylocks]

roll call: timbers game today.

 

present

[lexerone]

Revisting PDX the 24th-27th. I think Ill go with peoples suggestions for food / bar with my already present experienced eat & drink spots? Maybe to reiterate Vinneus' nightlife question. Whats good with the nightlife? I know theres not much to it besides the "titty bars"….SO WHICH ONES ARE THE BEST?

[Dex_star]

im gonna be there tomorrow night til moday morning.

Anything fun on a thursday night? Or anything special this weekend in genereal

 

Thanks

[EG562]

Revisting PDX the 24th-27th. I think Ill go with peoples suggestions for food / bar with my already present experienced eat & drink spots? Maybe to reiterate Vinneus' nightlife question. Whats good with the nightlife? I know theres not much to it besides the "titty bars"….SO WHICH ONES ARE THE BEST?

I like sassys. Well worth a visit.

[Dex_star]

went to sassys friday. line was a little brutal but good times...

[EG562]

@kalekolrabi 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1477119889221589/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

grouper at alberta abby. looks like a good event. Free. 

[herpsky]

ill be in town in less than a month

[Kale Kohai]

Anyone tried at Lang Baan yet? Worth the hype? Price seems pretty reasonable for what it's supposed to be. 

[Kemosabe]

let's go this week with tres leches

[Kale Kohai]

Ya I'm down. Friday?

[herpsky]

what's a good area to stay in - close to coffee, food, and jawnz. 

 

i could stay at my friend's probs but they are married and have a bunch of cats. 

[herpsky]

Pulling up tomorrow. 

[Appleseed]

Ex- dragged me around to Pepe Le Moko and Ox over the weekend. I'm not really one for oysters, but PLM was a cool spot and made a solid Old Fashioned (much better than Clyde). Ox and the little bar next to it (Whey?) were ok; didn't really floor me tho. Uruguayan rib-eye was perfect, but the sides and desert seemed a bit flat / over-salted, IMO. And I was equally happy with the skirt steak Cowboy Breakfast at Tasty & Alder .

[tomenugen]

Ex- dragged me around to Pepe Le Moko and Ox over the weekend. I'm not really one for oysters, but PLM was a cool spot and made a solid Old Fashioned (much better than Clyde). Ox and the little bar next to it (Whey?) were ok; didn't really floor me tho. Uruguayan rib-eye was perfect, but the sides and desert seemed a bit flat / over-salted, IMO. And I was equally happy with the skirt steak Cowboy Breakfast at Tasty & Alder .

what else do you have on the docket?

[Appleseed]

I'm already back out of town - would have been happy to try Little Bird; Le Pigeon is one of my favorites anywhere (though, I'll admit I didn't know they were related until just now). Only other notable spot on this trip was River Pig; about as much of a 'sports bar' as I ever do - decent bison burger, though the entire experience was fully tainted by the Ducks losing, so YMMV. Guy next to me quipped that it was on the 'local's' side of the spectrum for the Pearl - given that the neighborhood is more a yuppie destination at this stage. Maybe people here would beg to differ, but the vibe was pretty good (until the end of the 3rd Q).

[Kale Kohai]

anyone know who's hiring in portland? girlfriend moved back to la so now my weekends are looking boring

Interview at Nong's Khao Man Gai and Yale Union ah ya

Yale Union boy~

 

 

 

also pharmakon is playing at reed soon supposedly. let me know if anyones interested and ill get you in

Edited February 9, 2015 by Kale Kohai

[swoosh]

valentine's day dinner suggestions? not looking to break the bank.