Portland is a city full of people who are very into
whatever they're into, whether that's biking, beer, neck tattoos, or roses. We LOVE
to eat and drink, thankfully Portland has great food. Our food trucks are famous and you can get any cuisine
in the world you want. Whiffies fried pies are kind of
legendary. The food carts tend to be grouped together into zoned areas called
pods, with bathrooms and tables. There's an app for our food carts, if you have an
Android or iPhone.
Many Portland restaurants
don't take reservations, sadly, so expect a bit of a wait. Our servers are
often sullen hipsters who don't give very good service. Don't take this
personally. You’ll forget about it when you taste your food. Aside from Yelp
and the like, check out Portland Food and Drink for guides to eating in Portland.
Near the Fling hotel:
Clyde Common has wonderful cocktails and food, and it’s located five blocks
away. It’s a “European style tavern,” whatever that means.
El Gaucho is an excellent steakhouse nearby, if you haven’t spent all of
your money on plants and tax-free shopping. We include this one in case you need
a special place to thank your sweetie for tagging along on the Fling.
Sizzle Pie is right across the street from Powell’s and serves pizza by
the slice. They are open until 4am for the party animals.
LucLac Vietnamese Kitchen is an incredible value for really delicious food. Personal
favorites are the banh mi, salad rolls, and the pho, but it’s all good.
Portions are big and easily sharable.
Portland City Grill is located on the 30th floor of “Big Pink,” the US
Bankcorp Tower. Come here for the incredible view of the Willamette River and a
happy hour snack.
Little Bird Bistro is a wonderful French restaurant run by Gabriel Rucker (twice a
James Beard award winner). You can also zip across the river and visit Le Pigeon.
Tasty n Alder speaking of James Beard winners, visit John Gorham’s latest tapas
restaurant. Their food is meant to be shared family style but that has never
stopped us from ordering a bunch of stuff and eating it all ourselves.
“But
I spent all my money getting here!” we can hear you saying. Good thing for you
Portland has a bottomless supply of inexpensive, delicious food. Check out the Willamette Week Cheap Eats guide or check out the hundreds of foodcarts we have distributed
around the city. Some of the largest pods are located at SW 9th and
Alder, SW 3rd and Washington, and SW 5th and Stark.
A
few treats outside of downtown:
· Pok Pok on
SE 33rd/Division serving thai street food. The owner, Andy Ricker, just opened
a branch in NYC and he's gotten a lot of buzz. The gulf prawns are amazing. The
wait for dinner tends to be an hour and a half so either hit them for lunch or
have a snack before you head over there and then get a cocktail across the
street at Whiskey Soda Lounge.
· Toro Bravo on
NE Russell. This was John Gorham’s (see Tasty n Alder above) first
restaurant. Go with a group and try one of everything. Right next door, up
the stairs, is a great little bar called Secret Society. It's cozy, dark,
and they serve absinthe. It feels like you're drinking in your
professor's study. The wait can get up to 2.5 hours for a table, so we
usually put our name in at 5:30 or 6 then go do something else for a while.
They'll call you when you're table is getting near to ready.
· Screen Door does
wonderful Southern comfort food. All of their sides are seasonal, locally
sourced, and organic.
· Le Bistro Montage. We all refer to it as "the montage." This is a loud,
funny, fun place. They have three different kinds of fancy mac and cheese (get
the Spold, you won't regret it) and they wrap your leftovers into foil animals.
They seat you communally at big tables, so talk to your neighbors and enjoy the
spectacle.
Coffee:
People
get very opinionated about coffee in Portland and you know what? It’s all good.
You can go anywhere in town and get a very good cup of coffee. Some local
roasters include:
Beer:
Like coffee, we have an incredible number of people creating amazing beer
in Portland. You’ll also see people voluntarily drinking Pabst, to be ironic. The
Fling hotel is a short streetcar ride from the Brewery Blocks. A few beereries of
note:
· Deschutes Brewery is a fun brewery with great food AND an extensive gluten-free
menu (the kitchen is separate so celiacs can eat here).
· Tug Boat Brewing is a cozy little bar that offers lots of beers, zero
pretension, and board games.