Portland, Oregon

I had to take a snap of this wall, recognizable from the credits of Portlandia.

We flew into Portland on an early flight, landing just in time for lunch. The main plan for visitors to Portland seems to be eating, followed by more eating, which suited us just fine. Let the food tour begin.

Alder Street Food Pod is the spot to go to check out the largest collection of food carts in a city with many, many food carts. The vendors line all four sides of the block, so even during the busy weekday lunch hour I didn't find the lines oppressive at all. The options were slightly repetitive—tons of shawarma, gyros, thai, dumplings, falafel—the usual street food offerings. We opted to try something a little different from Hawaiian vendor 808 Grinds, since we can find shawarma and souvlaki pretty easily back home in NYC. As we stood helplessly in front of the menu ("What is a loco moco combo?") a friendly Portland local (turns out, Portland locals are overall an extremely friendly bunch) steered us toward the chicken combo: a perfect match of tender boneless fried chicken bites and a juicy shoyu pulled chicken served with a generous scoop of macaroni salad and rice. With an ice cold Coke and some teriyaki sauce and spicy mayo for dipping, we dug into our first Portland meal with gusto! There is little to no seating at the Alder Street Food Pod, so we crouched on the sidewalk along with other tourists, lunch breakers, and construction workers.

Fresh off the airplane, waiting for my fried chicken sustenance!

Voodoo Doughnut is perhaps the spot I had heard most about while planning a visit to Portland. The line was long but manageable and we were ready for dessert. The flavors are endless, but we kept things simple and shared a raised yeast ring with chocolate frosting. It was terrific! And a bargain at just over a dollar a donut.

Ava Genes on Division St. was a great choice for dinner. The menu claimed to be "locally sourced, aggressively seasonal" which was just such a "Portland" sentiment. The burrata with (seasonal!) blackberries, basil, and seeds was one of the best and most memorable burrata dishes I've ever had. Fresh spaghetti with cherry tomatoes and fresh papparadelle bolognese bianco were also terrific. We also couldn't resist sharing an order of garlic bread, which was enormous but delicious.

For the next night we tried Paragon, an unassuming American restaurant in the Pearl District. As is typical in Portland, everything was fresh and seasonal. A standout side was the Tillamook Mac & Cheese, which actually complemented our halibut entrée perfectly.

A couple spots to visit that didn't involve food:

Powell's Books: Enormous (no, really) independent bookstore with room upon room of curated used books and new releases.

Portland Gear: Fun store with great hats, T-shirts, and other "gear" all branded with their original P for Portland logo. Nicest guy in the world was running the shop, and once we told him we were visiting he generously shared with us his "Guide to the City" document full of where to go and what to do while in town. Worth stopping by to chat and get some tips from a local, and maybe buy some cool Portland apparel.

Tender Loving Empire: Discovered this great little shop while wandering the NW 23rd neighborhood. Unique gifts, not all Portland-themed though I couldn't resist picking up some design-y postcards featuring Oregon and the city. I meant to send those out...oops...

I'll end this with a shot of one of the most majestic airplane views I've ever been lucky enough to see—Mt. Hood, covered in snow, on our approach into PDX.

Lucky me with a window seat as we passed by this view!