Portlandia, We Love You!

really - this is me and the Turk in Portlandia - really

Portland Oregon is a bit of a magical place. The comedy Portlandia seems more fact than imagination when compared with our experiences there. First, everyone is quite friendly and cheerful, even in the nonstop chilly rain. Apparently this is normal fall weather. Second, there is never a rush or time limit when it comes to discussing food. This could be discussing a menu, a food preparation, meal recommendations, or grocery shopping. And this suite me and the Turk just fine!



Portland is known for many things, and one of them is their donuts. Donuts are not a part of our food repertoire, but when in Portland they ARE. We tried a couple donuts at Blue Star and were not overly impressed. They had a choice of 5 and while ours were tasty, they werent remarkable.

Blue Star donut instructions

Voodoo donut shop sign

 Then we headed to Voodoo Donuts. Voodoo is recognized for starting the donut movement in Portland. The shop we went to was their original site in old town. Note that walking there, in the dark, was a bit uncomfortable at times. People are living on the sidewalks and door alcoves. The streets are dark, even though just a block away, the streets are lit and lively.
We got to the front door with only a small line though they are set up with winding roped crowd barriers for busier days.  I didnt do my homework, so I had no idea what I was looking at when I saw shelves of different multi-shaped and multicolored donuts. The Stress! The line of customers had grown to the corner and I had to make decisions quickly.

With no real understanding of what I was choosing, I got these (but note that I didnt have descriptions then):

Old Dirty Bastard doughnut
Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, Oreo's™ and peanut butter!
Voodoo Doll doughnut ©
Raised yeast doughnut filled with raspberry jelly topped with chocolate frosting and a pretzel stake! 
Chuckles doughnut ©
Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting dipped in mocha powder and topped with peanuts and caramel & chocolate drizzle.

These were HUGE. Notice the pretzel stuck through the voodoo doll. What leaks out is raspberry jam!

 We grabbed our goods and escaped the shop to some tables sitting outside. The turk and I bravely jumped in and took a bite of each. As the sugar surged through our bloodstream, we grabbed for more. In our haze, we bravely refrained from eating these completely because in our primal brain we realized we had to survive to live another day.  Were these good? Yes - but how can chocolate, bread, sugar and oreos be bad?

On to more healthy tasks, we got to beer. Portland has a zillion breweries and we found a fun brew pub, based out of Bend Oregon, at Deschutes Brewery.   The beer was great, food was delicious, building was a remodeled car repair garage with impressive log carvings.   

tasting some beer!

We headed out for brunch on our last day to Tasty N Alder. We were not disappointed with the experience. This was yet another Portlandia experience. Their food is seasonal with unique dishes, so we had many questions. Despite the lobby and sidewalk full of waiting customers, our waitress had no concerns to discuss any dish we asked about. We pointed to plates around us and she patiently explained every one. The Turk ended up choosing the Cowboy Breakfast with eggs and skirt steak. Happy Turk.
I failed to mention that along our walk to the restaurant, we passed a park that was completely surrounded with food trucks of every type. I was so excited that I circled the park twice looking for one to try (even tho we were headed to brunch).  I selected a Shanghai Crepe truck: Bing Mi.
The Turk and I split it and it was delicious! The crepe  black bean paste, chili sauce, pickled vegetables, green onion, cilantro, and a crispy fried cracker. Yummy and crunchy appetizer before brunch.

Bing Mi crepe truck

chinese crepe

Our other notable food experience was Fred Meyer grocery store. We naively walked into the store looking for some fruit and found we had walked into grocery Oz. This place had everything: bakery, butcher, chocolate shop, cheese shop including Murray's Cheese from NYC, wine shop and bar, prepared foods, dishes, kitchenware, plant nursery, clothing, hardware, appliances, sheets and towels, pharmacy, jewelry store, shoe store, and more.  Amazing. Fred started his business in 1922. Kroger bought them in 1998.

Notice the BIKE THRU for coffee

Portland is nothing if not quirky. People dress as they like, are picky about what they eat and drink - mostly around fresh and local foods, they embrace everyone (except those who are close minded). We were pleasantly caught off guard  by the veterans day fireworks as we walked the park that night. So many fun surprises!