Recently, my team at work welcomed a few new faces from other teams. In an effort to get to know each other after the reorganization, my supervisor asked each of us to present an “About Me” slide for a recent team meeting – pictures encouraged! I had a ton of fun selecting pictures, trying to fit as many onto one slide as humanly possible. Travel was a consistent theme for all of the members on my team, but I took the crown as weekend warrior. With 10 vacation days and 2 floating holidays, by far the lowest compared to everyone on my team, I have managed to maximize my time off by taking weekend trips – anywhere and everywhere! One trip last year was to Portland, to celebrate Alessandra’s 25th!
If you’ve ever thought about spending a long weekend in the Pacific Northwest, here are my top picks… food is first of course!
Portland has awesome food & coffee – and is a really quirky city that’s hard to sum up in a few words… it’s both gritty and posh, but doesn’t feel the need to prove itself. Portland is completely confident in it’s weirdness, and that’s something I can appreciate though it took some getting used to. I’m sure the top-notch dining options are endless, but be sure to check out my favorite spots, below. Also, if you are in town on a Saturday or Sunday, I would definitely make your way to the Portland Saturday Market! If you could only pick two from this list – I say go for Luc Lac’s and the Portland Saturday Market!
EAT
Luc Lac Vietnamese Kitchen – 835 SW 2nd Avenue (lunch 11am-2:30pm, HH 4-7pm, dinner 4pm-12am, late night 12-4am)
My absolute FAVORITE Vietnamese place. Alessandra and I loved it so much, we kept going back! The bread on the banh mi is TO DIE FOR and the pho rocks too. I really liked the shrimp and tofu, but I bet anything you choose you will LOVE! Warning: you will be addicted and probably have withdrawals when you return home (I did). It’s THAT good.
Society Café + Lounge – 203 NW 3rd Ave. (7am-11pm)
My favorite breakfast we had the whole trip! It’s a cute little café in the hobby of this posh boutique hostel/hotel. It’s a great spot to go in the morning, and is close to the Portland Saturday Market, so could be a good place to get your caffeine fix & some grub before venturing over there!
Voodoo Doughnut – 22 SW 3rd Avenue (24/7) – CASH ONLY
You have to go here to understand the hype. The donuts are SO sugary they may make your teeth ache, but it’s worth the experience (& the Instagram of course!) It’s also a Portland staple, you can’t miss. WARNING – there’s probably a line wrapped around the building unless you go first thing in the AM, but I promise you’ll be so entertained by the fun donuts and tchotchkes for sale, you won’t even notice! This is also close to the Portland Saturday Market!
Salt & Straw – 838 NW 23rd Ave. (10am – 11pm)
AMAZING ice cream in so many fun flavors! Be sure to stroll around while you’re here (it’s in the Pearl District). Nearby, there are a bunch of cute eateries and little shops to check out!
Pine Street Market – 126 SW 2nd Avenue (8am – 11pm)
Really cute food hall featuring Korean style street food, coffee, burgers, juices & smoothies, ramen, hot dogs, etc.! It’s a great place to go if you can’t decide what you feel like eating – there’s no bad choice here! This would be a good lunch spot after checking out the Portland Saturday Market!
NOT FOOD BUT YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT
Portland Saturday Market – 2 SW Naito Parkway (Saturday 10am-5pm, Sundays 11am-4:30pm)
This is one of the most unique and interesting open air arts and crafts markets I’ve ever been to (& I love markets and craft shows!) There are vendors selling everything from Japanese inspired tapestries to hand knitted hats to soap, and everything in between. There are so many stalls, so be sure to leave yourself a lot of time if you would like to weave through all the rows. It’s also right on the river which is nice to walk along!
Pearl District – this is a great neighborhood for shopping and an afternoon stroll – there are bars, restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries, and a ton of boutiques! Make sure to stop and get ice cream at Salt & Straw (and be sure to Snapchat it to me hehe).
Powell’s City of Books – 1005 W Burnside St. (9am-11pm)
This is the world’s largest independent bookstore & this location is their flagship! Personally, I could spend ALL DAY in here wandering around. There’s a section for every type of book you can imagine, and I consider this a must-see tourist destination when you’re in Portland. It also has cute gifts/souvenirs to bring back home with you!
CANNON BEACH
My sister and I had a bit of “city overload” since we spent almost 2 full days in the city of Portland. The drive from Portland to Cannon Beach isn’t too far, and it is SO worth it! It’s an adorable beach town and so different than beaches on the East Coast! In August, I still wore two sweaters on the beach because the wind makes it chilly! We had a really yummy breakfast before heading down to the beach, where we hung out for a couple hours. Along Hemlock Street there are some cute craft stores, antique shops, and other boutiques that you might like to check out. If you do nothing else, be sure to pick up some hot coffee from Sleepy Monk and check out Haystack Rock!
Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters – 1235 S Hemlock Street (8am-3/4pm)
One of my favorite coffee shops, ever! There is a huge selection of coffees to choose from and they even have super fun alcoholic lattes! We stopped here for coffee & food before heading down by the water. There’s a public parking lot basically next door that’s good to park if you plan to get food and then head down by the water. There’s a pathway through the homes (look for where the public bathrooms are) that takes you down a series of steps to the beach. This is a great starting point if you want to check out Haystack rock!
Tom’s Fish & Chips – 240 N Hemlock Street (11am-8pm)
If you’re in the mood for Fish and Chips, seafood, burgers, or chowder, this place rocks! Alessandra and I got the fish and chips and it was amazing. It’s also fairly priced, and right on the main strip alongside souvenir shops if you want to do some shopping while you are in town!
Haystack Rock – US-101
This is a quintessential road trip stop! Located right by Cannon Beach, this is a 235-foot sea stack! If you walk up toward the rock, you’ll even see sea urchins and other neat little creatures if you look closely!
I hope this guide leaves you well nourished, refreshed, and with a little sand in your hair when you take the red eye and go straight to work after you land (true story).
If you have any questions about Portland, send an email over to sipofsunlight@icloud.com and be sure to follow me on instagram at SipOfSunlight!
Much love XO
Marissa
