Wandering in Southeast with Julie

I like the Southeast of Portland the best. I’d start off going to the Waffle Window. There’s a Blue Star Donuts right across the street, and then KURE Juice Bar with great acai bowls is also in the neighborhood. So there are lots of good breakfast choices!

I’d get coffee around there. My favorite is Good Coffee on Division, or Heart on Burnside. They just opened up an Upper Left Roasters too, and they’re good.

One of Portland's beloved donut spots, Blue Star has locations across the city, as well as in Los Angeles and Tokyo. Flavors include passionfruit with cocoa nibs and blueberry, bourbon & basil.

With plenty of cozy nooks, a variety of independent and local roasters, and a crew of super friendly baristas, Good Coffee on 48th and Division is a solid spot for an afternoon hangout or a productive morning.

Then I’d probably just walk around on either Division or Hawthorne. You could easily just get lost in the little shops there. Eventually, both streets hit the Eastbank Esplanade, a bike path along the Willamette. I’d just read a book, walk along the river, look at the skyline. 

This whole buying ramen and craft beer out of Airstream trailers thing might scream "That's so Portland!" but that's the perfect reason to visit the food cart pod at 28th and Division for dinner out in the open air.

And then I love the food carts here. My favorite is on Division and 28th—awesome, the best. There’s a double decker bus there with a vintage dress shop.

Then I would go get ice cream from Salt and Straw, the honey lavender ice cream. 

There are also a lot of bars in that area. The Richmond Bar is pretty chill, with a back patio that has fires, so it feels like you’re in a log cabin. Or Circa 33, on Belmont just one north of Hawthorne.

A day on Division with Sarah

I would camp out on Division Street for the day. For probably a year or two, it’s been an eating destination. I’d start with Little T Baker for breakfast. 

This Division Street shop just down the street from ice cream shop Salt & Straw offers "open clay" nights, classes, and events for the wannabe ceramicist.

Then there are some cute shops on that street. One is called Field Trip. And there’s another one called Carter and Rose. They have art classes there, and open clay nights where you can just make stuff. It’s like...if paint-your-own-pottery was cool. 

Then, Roman Candle for lunch. Pok Pok is there, but it’s super crowded, so I’d go to Whiskey Soda Lounge and get the wings. The wings are the thing that everyone talks about.

Salt & Straw is right by there. They have all kinds of weird savory flavors—like for Thanksgiving, they have salted caramel with turkey.

So basically I would just eat all day and take a break to do crafty things.

Eating in Alberta with Maria

I live close to Alberta, so I have a lot of recommendations, mostly around there. 

Salt & Straw, if you can get there without a line. Maybe in the morning? A morning ice cream? After brunch actually is a pretty good time to go, though.

Pine State Biscuits on Alberta is also not a bad wait. There’s a cute little smoothie truck next to Pine State Biscuits that has a garden store next to it, and you can wander through the store with your smoothie while you wait. And Podnah’s Pit is a great place for brunch. And it’s unknown, so there’s no line. It’s more like Texas-style barbecue.

Go down to 30th and Killingsworth for dinner. DOC for a fancy Italian dinner—for us, it’s like an anniversary dinner-type thing. Expatriate is a newer bar that is also right there. It’s really dark. I think it’s moody and romantic, I love it. Yakuza is also there--go for their happy hour burger.

Another thing! A nice bike ride is to go to the Grotto. It’s a Catholic sanctuary with a great garden—a very calm and serene place. It’s beautiful. Not a lot of Portlanders go there, though. I remember seeing the signs for it off the highway and being like, What is the Grotto? And Peninsula Park is a lesser known rose garden, in the months where the roses are out. It’s next to Sweedeedee.

The Ned Ludd Wu Tang-themed PREAM nights have spun off into a new pizza restaurant in Southeast--also called PREAM. Look out for the delicious cocktails and the Tupac portrait on the wall.

My absolute favorite pizza is at Lovely's Fifty Fifty. And Ned Ludd does a pizza hip hop night which is great. It’s called PREAM—Pizza Rules Everything Around Me.