Portland, Oregon

May 6-10,2013

Oh Portland.  I have been going to Portland 2 - 3 times a year for work.  It is a short flight away from San Jose - about an hour.  Flights to and from are about 2 - 3 hours apart so you can arrange your travel any time of the day.

Prior to going to Portland for work - I really did not know anything about the city nor did I have much interest in it.  After being there multiple times - I have found it to be really interesting and fun and that they actually have great weather...sometimes!

All of the times I have been in Portland I have stayed at the Embassy Suites.  This is where my conference stays and it is in a great location downtown.  I would highly recommend it for business and pleasure.  The hotel is located near the river which offers a great running path along the river at different length paths from 2.5 - 10+ miles.  It is also just blocks away from multiple food cart locations (more about the Portland food carts later) and walking distance to the Pioneer Square and the Pearl district.  The hotel room sizes vary alot from room to room but all offer a living area separate from the bedroom.  The beds are very comfortable - I want one - with multiple pillows!!!  The hotel offers a free breakfast and managers happy hour - which means free drinks and snacks.  It also has an indoor pool and gym.  Other than staying at The Nines (I want to stay there some day) I would not stay at any other location in Portland.

I have 3 favorite things about Portland - highlighted below:
1.  No sales tax - Yup you heard that right.  When you go to buy something and it says it is $19.99 - it is actually that price!  You dont have to add 10%+ to your purchase!  AMAZING!  But all joking aside - Portland has great shopping in the Pearl district, NW 23rd street and outside of the city limits.

2.  The food - I love the food in Portland.  There is something for everyone and in many price ranges.  It is a great place to try something new or to try your favorite dish with a twist.  You can accompany your main meal with a pint of beer from a local brewery (and there are alot of them!) or can grab multiple dishes from different food carts located all over the city.  You can find food carts everywhere - some are open just for lunch and some open for lunch and dinner.  Some range from being cash only to some being chains.  There carts are monitored just like restaurants - so they go through the health inspection and everything else - but they have to be on wheels (even through some of them haven't moved in years they have to be portable).  For a map of food carts check out this website here:  http://www.foodcartsportland.com/maps/

Food carts.  

3.  Hiking/Outdoors Adventures -  Although I have not been able to explore as much of the Oregon outdoors, the parts I have seen are amazing!  There is everything from the waterfalls in the forest to the ocean cliffs/beaches to a wine country. 

Similar to alot of my other stays - I arrive Monday evening and went out to dinner with my coworkers.  Evening thought it was HOT weather - we decided to go to a Vietnamese pho restaurant called Luc Lac.  It sounds crazy to go to Vietnamese food in Portland - esp when we have so many spots here in the bay area but this one was amazing!  You order when you walk in and then find a spot to sit and they bring the food to you.  There is a full bar and ALL of the food is amazing.  I think our group ordered 1 of every appetizer and there was no complaints.  I had the tofu and veggie pho - and would highly recommend this restaurant...but maybe not on a hot day cause you will be leaving that place dripping from sweat.  ;)  Additionally they have a bar and make Vietnamese specialty drinks with a twist.  I had Thai Tea Cermosa - which is a blend of home made thai tea syrup, soda water and house whipped cream.  It sounds odd - but all the flavors just work!

My Thai Iced tea with a twist.  

Tuesday was a full day of work - and one of the busiest workshops I have been to.  Tuesday night a group of us went to sushi.  Portland has some of the best sushi I have ever had.  Every time I go I make a stop at Masu Sushi which is walking distance from the hotel and is in the Pearl district.  The atmosphere here is everything you look for in a restaurant, it is located in a loft like building and has a sushi bar, drink bar and seating.  The food is very fresh and all of the rolls have an amazing blend of flavors and textures.  My favorites are - Japanista (spicy crab, spicy tuna and kawaire with seared hamachi, cilantro and red jalapenos) and homemade gyoza.  I also recommend Bamboo Sushi - it is much further from the hotel but SOOO worth it.  Although I didnt go here this trip - this sushi restaurant is sustainable and always leaves me carving more.  

Another day lead to another full day of work.  So Wednesday night when some coworker said lets try a new brewery -- I was all in.  We hopped in a cab and went to Burnside Brewing Co.  Well it turns out we didnt need to take a cab there cause it was walking distance but it was full.  We got a table inside - which was a shame cause it was such nice weather outside - and we ordered some appetizers and beer.  I was not too impressed with their appetizers.  They were on the smaller size and didn't taste as amazing as they sounded on the menu.  For my meal I got a traditional kids meals - tomato soup and a grilled cheese.  It was wonderful!  I really liked the sweetness of the soup with the layers of cheese in the sandwich.  After alot of laughs and few beers we walked back to our hotel and enjoyed the late sunset.  Since Portland is alot further north the sun sets alot later than it does in the bay area.  It was a beautiful sight to see.  

Yum!  My grilled cheese and tomato soup!

Walk back to the hotel.  Amazing!

Thursday for lunch a couple of my coworkers and I decided to head out to the food carts for lunch.  We wanted to grab something different than hotel food.  I went to Built to Grill and WOW - it was amazing!  I had the penne all vodka and the taste was amazing and portion size is huge!  It could def feed 2 people.  The prices were reasonable and the food was out of this world.  Everyone should add this to their must try - it is shocking it came from a food cart...but then again this is Portland.  For dinner a smaller group wanted seafood so we walked around and check out a few restaurants and ended up at McCormick and Schmick's.  It was okay.  It was standard food from a chain restaurant - I would avoid it if possible.  

Walk to McCormick along the river.  So pretty.

My wrap up day consisted of a few tests and then boxing up equipment then food and shopping time!  :)  I think I spend more money when I am on business trips because when I have nothing to do I just shop!  EEK.  In my walks through the Pearl district I came across a Yoga studio + restaurant.  I was really intrigued so I yelped it and talked to a coworker who lived in the area about it.  It is called Prasad.  So for lunch on Friday a group of health nuts + some international visitors + me went over to try it.  WOW was it amazing.  Words cannot even explain how in love with this restaurant I am.  I had the Chili Bowl which was quinoa, roasted garlic chili, steamed greens, scallions, cilantro, green chili and garlic tahini sauces.   If you take anything away from this post it should be that this is a must TRY!  I wish one of these was near my workplace or home cause I would eat there every day.  They make fresh juices and smoothies there as well and the place is packed from 1130 - 130.  I loved it so much I started searching Google for recipes similar to this so I can try to make it at home.  After having one of the best healthy meals of my life - I went shopping.  Shocking I know.  Although I bought stuff from the chain stores in the Pearl like Lululemon and Anthropologie.  I stumbled across House of Lolo on my walk back to the hotel.  It is a cute upper end boutique with unique dresses and clothing.  I bought a couple items here - including a perfect summer wedding outfit!  They do free shipping and since they are located in Oregon...No sales tax!  Woo Hoo. 

My meal at Prasad. 

I bought dress number 3.  :)

That was the end of my trip this time - and I am not sure when I will be back to Portland specifically since I have changed jobs.  But I would highly recommend the location for a long week vacation.  Between May - September the weather is amazing and there are so many great activities to do and foods to try.  Highlighted below are some activities and restaurants I had been to previously that I would recommend to visitors but are not highlighted in this blog post.  

Highlight of my Trip:
- Sushi (Masu and Bamboo)
- Prasad 
- Food Carts
- Luc Lac
- House of Lolo

On my To-Do list next time:
- Eat 
- Shop
- Hike
- Go to the coast

Must Try:
- Multnomah Falls
- Wine country in Oregon (about 30-45mins outside the city)
- Oregon Coast line