Discovering The Weird City - Portland, OR
This trip was a short day trip to Portland, Oregon. It was our first time there, with not much planning time. So we figured, let's just explore the city. Our first stop was Pine Street Market. Being from LA, this type of establishment was nothing new. It's a market with many different eateries inside; very similar to Grand Central Market and Anaheim Packing District. We decided to eat at Bless Your Heart Burgers. We ordered a single (regular cheeseburger), Bless Your Heart Burger (chili, cole slaw, mustard, homemade pickles), and the Down N Dirty Fries (Griddled onions, peppers, mushrooms, beer cheese sauce, ranch, and BBQ spice). The single tasted like a mix between Shake Shack's Shack Burger and In N Out. The single was super juicy, not to mention the patty had a crispy crunchy outside that gave it even more character. The Bless Your Heart burger tasted very unique. The chili, coleslaw, and pickles are all made in house to give it a "one of a kind" taste. Lastly, the fries were just amazing. The beer cheese sauce was super delicious and the BBQ spice seasoned the fries just perfectly. Our first meal was a good one for sure!
Right next to Bless Your Heart was Brass Bar by Barista Coffee. Conveniently, this was another thing on my list of things to do, so naturally, we had our post meal coffee here. We got a vanilla latte with almond milk and hazelnut latte with coconut milk. The coffee was not the best we've had and ended up tossing it before we could finish it; probably because we were so full from lunch. Overall, the experience inside Pine Street Market was fun and upbeat. Definitely Something to check out if in the city.
Just a couple blocks away from the Pine Street Market was the "Keep Portland Weird" wall, which we felt obligated to take a pic in front of. So here they are!
We did some more exploring and discovered Voodoo Doughnuts and the Portland Saturday Market. Voodoo Doughnuts of course had a long line, which we didn't feel like waiting in... So we took some photos, walked by doughnut eaters, and called it a day. We walked some more to find a huge food and art market with live music! It was a little overwhelming to say the least, but it was definitely a great experience! Elephant ears are a thing here.
Okay, moving on. We hit up some more touristy spots. First, we went to Ira Keller Fountain Park. Unfortunately, there was no running water like we had expected. This sort of took away from the whole experience. But, we made the most out of it and enjoyed the view.
Next, we went to the famous Powell's City of Books. Really, it was a giant, overwhelming book store. Pretty amazing how many books and things there were, and how easy it was to get lost in the store. Inventory is probably close to impossible here! But, at the end of the day... it was just a book store hehe.
This area of the city was super nice to walk around and shop. There was one store in particular that caught our attention. We walked into Made Here in PDX. This cool space had different small businesses in one place! From local chocolatiers to handmade leather goods, it was all here under one roof. It was great to see small local businesses helping each other out.
We noticed there were a lot of Middle Eastern eateries out of trucks. There is a huge food truck culture in Portland, so if the weather's nice, and you don't mind walking, checking out food trucks would be a must do in Portland. We ended up eating dinner at Thai Peacock. The little place was very cute with an upstairs seating area, where we sat. The flavor was a little different from the Thai food we're used to eating out here in LA. We enjoyed dinner, had fun eavesdropping on the "first date" happening right next to us lol. (Sorry no photos!)
Once we stuffed our faces with yummy Thai food, we took a walk across the Burnside Bridge. While on the bridge, we got a great view of the iconic White Stag Sign. Looking over the river, we also got a beautiful view of the rest of the city including the convention center.
Just when we were about to call it a night, we discovered Voodoo Doughnuts Too, and there was not a line to be found! So we parked the car, walked in, and got ourselves a doughnut each. Minsu got the Cap'n Crunch, and I got a sprinkled cake doughnut. What a treat!
So that just about sums up our super short visit to Portland, Oregon. We plan on going back to hit up the beautiful nature of Oregon. We had so much fun just taking in the culture of Portland. It was most def a new culture we experienced. Thanks Portland for a great time. Keep Portland Weird!
Indulging in some good ole Stumptown Coffee at the airport before our flight!
