One of the beauties of American national holidays is the ability to take a long weekend to explore a U.S. city you’ve not been to before. When Memorial Day Weekend came around we swiftly decided on Portland, Oregon. “They” say the best coast is the west coast, and the Portland foodie scene has been receiving a ton of kudos recently. Great food, good weather, nature galore, and an expansive wine country... what more could you ask for?

Stay

Airbnb

I took this trip with my boyfriend and his three siblings so renting a house for five guests presented to be the best option. We booked a home through Airbnb called the Modern Craftsman which was a carpenters dream. The first floor had a lot of wood shelving, hand-crafted surfaces and two bedrooms. The third bedroom upstairs was huge but quite bare. The home was stocked with the usual household essentials, books, games and plenty of toiletries. I’d recommend booking this for a group of friends or family of four to six.

Eat & Drink

Brunch/Lunch

Screen Door

We fully committed to this trip being a foodie excursion, so we had to start off with an awesome inaugural breakfast. Screen Door was a casual restaurant and bar presenting a pretty classic brunch menu with some delectable twists. We started off with blood orange mimosas, praline bacon, and these fried maple popovers with a kick. For entrees, I recommend the chicken and waffles, low country shrimp and cheesy grits, and the omelette.

XLB

There is a plethora of great restaurants for dumplings and noodles, but XLB seemed to be the most authentic with a cool vibe. We tried pretty much everything on the menu and were not disappointed, but I highly suggest trying the soup dumplings, beef ho fun, Shanghai pork and shrimp noodles, and any of the greens! Everything was chopstick-lickin’ good, and the perfect brunch after a night of cocktails, if I do say so myself.

Tin Shed

Dog lovers, this is the brunch spot for you! Tin Shed is a dog-friendly restaurant and bar in the Alberta District of Portland. The restaurant has a large covered patio area with a fire place and heaters, and a smaller indoor area with a bar. The coffee was self-serve and there were items on the menu for furry friends. From the brunch menu, I recommend the Big Hit Burrito and the Spike - both egg based dishes with lots of flavor - as well as a side of breakfast sausage!

Lardo

If you’re looking for a great sandwich in Portland, don’t look any further than Lardo. The restaurant had indoor and outdoor seating and a pretty seamless ordering process. We shared the Bronx Bomber (a roast beef sandwich), a Korean Pork Shoulder, and the Italian Tuna Melt. The Bronx Bomber was definitely a home-run.

Bless Your Heart Burgers

The Pine Street Market is a building in the downtown area full of eateries and retailers, and set up cafeteria-style. We stopped here to try Bless Your Heart Burgers and each got a single-classic burgers which are beef patties on a potato roll with mayo, brown mustard, ketchup, lettuce, sweet onions, pickles, and American cheese. They were a top-notch fast food burger - two thumbs up.

Dinner

Bistro Agnes

This farm-to-table French restaurant boasts delightful small plates and encourages sharing. The atmosphere was great and the food was a modern spin on classic French dishes. We really loved the beef tenderloin tartare, escargot and button mushroom gratin, cheese board, and beef short rib. Très magnifique!

Pok Pok

Pok Pok has several locations around the U.S., but their original location is on SE Division Street in Portland. The restaurant presents the best of thai and Southeast Asian cuisine in a family-style restaurant with vibrant decor and cocktails. The servers are really great about letting you know how much is the right amount to order for your party and dishes that pair well. I suggest getting an order (or two) of the Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings (I preferred mild, but others loved the hot), the Neua Naam Tok (flank steak), Sii Khrong Muu Yaang (baby back ribs), Cha Ca “La Vong” (catfish medallions), and a side or two of greens. Most dishes come with rice to soak up all the tasty juices which you are definitely going to want to do. For dessert we had the mango over rice and Thai coffee ice cream. Delish!

Bars

Angel Face

Angel Face is a really hip cocktail bar with a great music selection, pink floral wallpaper and an oval-shaped bar in the middle of the room. You could choose a special cocktail from the menu or just request your favorite spirit and preferred undertones and they'd whip up something unique for you. The bartenders were awesome and really hit the nail on the head with each drink.

Doug Fir Lounge

Doug Fir Lounge is a concert venue, bar and lounge that resembles a log cabin on the interior. We went after a show had just ended and there was a good crowd. The vibe was really chill and the music was pretty good, as well.

Coffee & Sweets

Cheese and Crack Snack Shop

Fluffy vanilla soft-served ice cream, covered in espresso dust, served in a chocolate gonache-filled cone... I'll leave it at that.

Blue Star Donuts

If you're a donut person, like me, you'll want to stop into Blue Star Donuts. There are a few locations around PDX, but we stopped into the one downtown. I had the Passionfruit Cocoa Nibs donut which was light and tart, but the lemon poppy is a crowd favorite, as well.

Coava Coffee Roasters

Coffee shops and roasters are a dime a dozen in Portland, but Coava Coffee Roasters was truly a special experience. The cafe is partially a work shop for a bamboo product manufacturing company. Antique manchinery has been transformed into awesome display carts and tables to sit at with your coffee. In the back of the shop you can purchase bamboo coffee mugs, utensils, laptop desks and even surfboards! The concept was really cool and the coffee was excellent.

Things To Do

Oregon Wine Country

We had amazing weather on the Sunday we were in Portland and thought it’d be a great opportunity to drive out of the city and into wine country. Oregon wine country is extremely comparable to Napa Valley, and the route is massive and extends almost the whole length of the state. We got to visit only the most northern tip and had so many vineyards and wineries to choose from. We started at Furioso Vineyards where we did a wine tasting and food pairing which was really well done. We then ordered a bottle of the L’Altra Linea Pinot Noir and enjoyed it out on the patio overlooking the vineyard where there was a live orchestra playing. The second winery we visited was the Willamette Valley Vineyard where we enjoyed a bottle of the Pinot Gris, also out on their estate patio.

Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls was beautiful to see but there are big crowds and the parking lots are impossible to get into. The trails surrounding the falls are all closed due to an unfortunate, major forest fire so the only way to get into some of these trails is to drive into Washington and get in from the other side. Be sure to do some research before heading out to this area.

Portland Japanese Garden

Yearning to be around nature, we drove out to the Portland Japanese Garden. The vibe was extremely serene and the grounds were absolutely beautiful. Having been to Japan on a previous trip, I could very much compare it to some of the gardens and natural parks there. We walked around the different gardens and explored the gift shop, but there are always cultural events and performances happening if you plan ahead.