Thursday, September 5, 2013

Portlandia, Part 1 - Shoes and Brews.

Hey dudes, we've returned from a short 5 day adventure in Portland, the North Oregon Coast, and the Columbia Gorge. Oregon is a beautifully lush state, with a craft brewery culture that puts many to shame, a dining scene that is eclectic yet accessible to mainstream (vanilla) tastes, and farmer's markets that are to KILL for. And Portland, being a biggish city, has a surprisingly small town charm and feel, while retaining city-esque amenities and services. The people, in particular are warm, polite, and friendly, unlike our visits to many other cities where we often feel like isolated outsiders - here, it just feels like we are part of the day to day life in small town America. Highly recommend you go and experience it for yourselves. For the ladies - NO SALES TAX (sorry gents, that means they're going shoe shopping). But that also means you can hit up one of the many local breweries for some tastings and tours to make it tolerable. You could call it the Shoes and Brews trip.

A few photos from our first day or so. Many more to come. Enjoy.

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Got in late Thursday night, and Silk was the only nearby restaurant we could see still open. Fantastic Vietnamese joint, serving a broader range of Vietnamese fare than just Pho and Vermicelli.

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Banh Canh (Vietnamese crab soup). This was awesome, and reminded me of vintage food from my mom's kitchen!

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Turmeric Catfish Vermicelli. The fish was deee-lish.

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Bo Kho (beef stew with egg noodles).

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Not on the menu at Silk...

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We stayed at the Benson Hotel, which was not far from all the action. Including this joint. We did not venture in.

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The aforementioned Benson Hotel. Rooms are very classic chic, staff are friendly and attentive, and there's free lemon water in the lobby.

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The Union something bank next door.

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Brunch at Tasty n Alder. The light coming in through the windows was perfect for some candids of other patrons.

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Chocolate potato donuts!

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French Toast.

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Bim Bop Bacon and Eggs (a slight twist on a Korean dish).

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