Portland blends history and modern architecture, upscale and pop-up restaurants – and an abundance of intriguing sights and sites.
WestCoast Homes and Designs, April 2014
Soon after arriving in Portland I went native. Decked out in vintage I lunched on everything pork, from sandwiches to doughnuts, and drank beer before noon. Whatever next, a tattoo? (Just about every Portlander has one, the stranger the better.) Buy a “Keep Portland Weird” bumper sticker? Besides weird, Portlanders are Personable and Passionate. And it does Pour a lot – both rain and beer.
Pop-Up Restaurants
Start your dining experience at a pop-up resto. Rub shoulders with chefs and foodies and get the latest scoop on the local food scene. Chef Jaret Foster of Foster’s Craft Cooking introduced the kimchi maker and brewer to a few dozen diners who tucked into his Korean-themed pop-up dinner. Two other companies hold pop-ups regularly: Holdfast serves nine experimental courses and Coquine offers traditional European fare. Check their websites for events: fosterscraftcooking.com, holdfastdining.com, coquinepdx.com/pop-ups 
Pig-Out
Tuck into pork belly Cubano at one of six Bunk locations and Lardo’s pork meatball sandwich banh mi with a side of piggy “dirty fries” complete with crispy pork. Love the “Pig Out” sign. At The Old Salt Marketplace – a deli/butchery, bar and supper house – the owners created a menu “where farmers can afford dinner.” No entree is over $20. Pork is the ticket, from sinfully fatty pork rinds appie to roasted pork loin entrée. And you can’t leave Portland without a Bacon Maple Bar from Voodoo Doughnut, near the “Keep Portland Weird” sign.
Pubs
Once named Beertown USA, Portlanders are passionate about their beer. The city is home to almost 60 breweries and that doesn’t even count bottle shops offering local and imported brews where you can BYOF, generally from a nearby food truck. Sidle up to the bar at Deschutes Brewery and start with a tasting tray. Bridgeport Brewing Company, Oregon’s oldest craft brewery, serves up good pub-style nosh. And if you’ve brought the dog, Lucky Labrador Beer Hall has outdoor seating. Like the food here, beer packs lots of flavour. All hale Beervana!
Pinot Noir
Olympic Provisions Deli knows which Pinot Noir goes best with which pork product. Take a city wine tour with PDX Urban Wineries. Better yet, drive less than one hour to the source—WillametteValley. Tour Montinore Estate where owner Rudy Marchesi’s homemade pork salumi is hanging amongst 400 barrels of Pinot Noir. At Ponzi Vineyards enjoy a tasting and killer views from the family’s stunning new building. Ponzi was one of the first Oregon wineries to produce estate-grown Pinot Noir.
