The welcome

A City Guide Through Lomo Eyes

* This report is collected from two short trips, both for work, in November 2007 and September 2008.

The view from Burnside Bridge

Is there something about the water in Portland? “The City of Roses” is too nice – people are friendly, service is excellent, and motorists actually give way to pedestrians! I didn’t get honked a single time, much less, “Watch where you’re going, bitch!”

The good drivers of Portland

I’ve been told since that my first impression is white-washed and I’m not seeing Portland for what it really is. Sure, as with most other cities in the world, there are down and dirty bits but I find Portland to be very visitor-friendly and non-threatening as a whole.

A downtown Portland landmark

Someone once described Portland to me as “the place that time forgot”. I don’t think that’s quite a fair observation though it might seem so at first glance. Portland has seemed to achieve a strange but comfortable co-existence of the old and the new, the independents and the chains, the rustic and the shiny, the creative and the repetitive. Perhaps this oddness is further magnified by its compact size and the fact that the city and its vicinity are homes to some of the biggest sporting goods and technology companies in the world.

Along Broadway Bridge

I don’t think any one side attracts me more than the other but it’s the flourishing mix that I appreciate. Whatever it is, I already have a list of yet-to-visit spots to accomplish on my next trip.

Somewhere is always wet in Portland

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NOB HILL

Actually a café

Ken’s Artisan Bakery
326 NW 21st Avenue
OR 97210

Furniture in Ken’s

European-style slow bread with an irresistable fermented taste, flaky and buttery croissants and Normandy apple tarts. The smell of fresh baking was the first thing I noticed when I stepped into the shop. It’s not all European breads and sweets though, I also found American-style sweets such as devil’s food chocolate cake in the chiller cabinet.

Wildwood Restaurant & Bar
1221 NW 21st Ave
OR 97210

My lunch

I think I had my best meal in Portland at Wildwood so it was definitely worth the track from my downtown location. Lunch was an imaginative pizza topped with butternut squash puree, ham hock, melted cheddar and crispy sage leaves but I still managed to squeeze in a dessert of a simple pound cake with lavender sauce.

Williams-Sonoma Home
338 NW 23rd Ave
OR 97210

The aspirational version of your typical Williams-Sonoma

I love Williams-Sonoma and will visit it whenever I have the chance to. Laid out in departments according to rooms in the home, this Nob Hill location is slightly more aspirational than the usual branches of this home-ware chain. Good for browsing and finding interesting books but I prefer the downtown location for practical shopping.

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THE PEARL DISTRICT

Cityscape

Byways Cafe
1212 NW Glisan St
OR 97209

Paraphernalia

Burgers like how they should be and the best fries I’ve had for ages.

Cupcake Jones
307 NW 10th Ave
OR 97209

Flavours on daily rotation

Every town or city that wants to be taken seriously needs a designer cupcake joint. Portland has two and one of them is Cupcake Jones. Here the specialty is filled cupcakes with flavours like Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Pumpkin Cheesecake. I didn’t get to try them out yet but this is a recommendation from a reliable source.

Fuller’s Coffee Shop
136 NW 9th Ave
OR 97209

Communal dining

An old-time diner with a basic, no-frills menu. Breakfast is always freshly cooked to order and even the bread is homemade.

Oba! Restaurante
555 NW 12th Ave
OR 97209

Neuvo Latino cooking – exciting flavours, refined techniques.

Patagonia
907 NW Irving St
Suite 100
OR 97209

A campaign

I am always snooping around the children’s section because everything Patagonia that I like seems to be made for the little ones. Sometimes I get lucky and the largest size fits. Sometimes not so.

Pearl Bakery
102 NW 9th Ave
OR 97209

Selections at Pearl Bakery

I was really intrigued by the chocolate baguette at Pearl but caved in to the calls of peanut butter cookies.

Pendleton Home Store
210 NW Broadway
OR 97209

Why I got so excited in Pendleton Home Store

I can’t leave this store without buying something. Woollen blankets, shirts or bags from this Oregonian classic or some of their selections from around the world that complement their products.

Whole Foods Market
1210 NW Couch St
OR 97209

Supermarket with a bit of difference

Although I love my compact, local whole foods store in London dearly, I still find visiting its jumbo-sized American cousins exciting. Favourite things to take home include specialty flours and Newman-O’s.

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OLD TOWN/CHINATOWN

Ghost town

Hoodoo Antiques
122 NW Couch St
OR 97209

A rug

I peeped into the window of this vintage shop in 2007 and saw lots of treasures to take home. Unfortunately it wasn’t opened but I didn’t stop thinking about it. Went back in 2008 and was so glad it was open this time.

Katina’s Grocery & Deli
337 NW 6th Ave
OR 97209

Outside Katina’s

I am not suggesting that you make a trek to this local grocery store unless if you like them as much as I do. I just thought that Katina’s is a particularly photogenic specimen.

Oregon Leather Co.
110 NW 2nd Ave
OR 97209

Rolls of leather in every colour and treatment

I love specialist shops. Other than leather available to cut, you can also find small accessories, jackets, tools and books related to leather and Western style.

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DOWNTOWN

The revived Crystal Ballroom

Ace Hotel
1022 SW Stark St
OR 97205

Lobby at the Ace

I’ve had good luck with my rooms at the Ace Hotel – my first was adorned with a black-and-white drawing of champignons and a single line of text that may have come from a book; my second was covered with Polaroid wallpapers. With excellent food options within the same building, I could live in this place… for a while.

Bijou Café
132 SW 3rd Ave
OR 97204

Tofu scramble and potatoes, a muffin and a stack of buttermilk pancakes

Bijou dishes up a breakfast menu that is a mix of healthy and greasy so there is something for everyone and every mood. Don’t miss the canine wall of fame!

Cameron’s Books & Magazines
336 SW 3rd Ave
OR 97204

Promotion

More compact than Powell’s but much more eccentric, I love the hand-drawn signs and index maps in this used book-shop.

Canoe
1136 SW Alder
OR 97205

Window at Canoe

If I live in Portland, I will be stocking my home with a lot of Canoe’s selections, especially the tableware from Heath Ceramics.

Clyde Common
1014 SW Stark St
OR 97205

A table at Clyde Common

Attached to the Ace Hotel, this restaurant makes lovely food I wish I had more frequent access to. All the dishes I tried were delicious – an unfaithful version of the pasta putanesca (tomato-less), a dish of duck, polenta and quince and a hearty stew of sausages and lentils. The fries with creme fraiche and harissa would be the perfect midnight snack.

Kenny & Zuke’s Delicatessen
1038 SW Stark Street
OR 97205

Dishing up breakfast

A modern Jewish deli with an appealing yellow-and-white stripes menu and retro imagery. I’d love to start the day with their 222 (home-cured pastrami, scrambled eggs, rye toasts and delicious potato latkes) or pastrami hash with two eggs.

Mother’s Bistro & Bar
212 SW Stark St
OR 97204

The breakfast crowd

Chandeliers, benches with flowery cushions, custom Mother’s mugs and fluffy biscuits with gravy – my idea of a perfect breakfast.

Odessa
410 SW 13th Ave
OR 97205

Two reasons for including Odessa – this women’s wear store stocks Steven Alan and Prince was playing (in the background) when I visited.

Portland Outdoor Store
304 SW 3rd Ave
OR 97204

Portland Outdoor Store

So good I had to go back twice. My favourite clothing destination in Portland for Filson, Pendleton, boots and work-wear.

Powell’s City of Books
1005 W Burnside
OR 97209

The unmissable Powell’s.

“City of Books” is not an exaggeration, I could get lost in here for hours. Powell’s is a treasury of books both new and used and the reason for my combined luggage of 60 kg upon return in 2007.

Stumptown Coffee Roasters
1026 SW Stark
OR 97205

The equipment

I’m not big on coffee but I find Stumptown’s aroma incredibly enticing. Their iced tea is one of the most refreshing things you can sip on a summer’s day and their sweets cabinet is always tempting. Many locations throughout town.

Williams-Sonoma
638 SW 5th Ave
OR 97204

Just because everything looks so pretty.

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CENTRAL EASTSIDE

Bagdad, Baghdad

The Dollar Scholar
3279 SE Hawthorne Blvd
OR 97214

Where you learn to save

Everything unmarked is a dollar, the rest might be slightly more or even less. I like this place because it is much more cheery than the pound-shops in London.

Home Ec.
3327 SE Hawthorne Blvd
OR 97214

Christmas has arrived at Home Ec

This vintage shop has selected and collected a mish-mash of American pop culture and mid-century souvenirs – from Playboy catalogues to children’s toys, Eames furniture to Tiki mugs.

Nick’s Famous Coney Island
3746 SE Hawthorne Blvd
OR 97214

I was disappointed as I ran out of film by the time I got to Nick’s. This neighborhood bar is a gem and has tons of character. Framed pictures of sports personalities and memorabilia cover almost every crook and cranny. Coney dogs with cheese and onion go for $5 and macaroni salads for $1. Unfortunately its owner decided to close the place in February 2008 but it has since been bought and remodelled. I haven’t been back to form an opinion but it’s such a shame the original Nick’s is now lost.

Powell’s Books for Home and Garden
3747 SE Hawthorne Blvd
OR 97214

Cookbooks old and new

A specialist branch of Powell’s with books for food and gardening enthusiasts. The best thing about Powell’s is they stock old books as well as new, and they’re all filed on the same shelves by subjects. Perfect for me, that is.

Simpatica Dining Hall
828 SE Ash Street
OR 97214

Kitchen and crew of Simpatica

I scheduled my trip to be in Portland for Sunday just because of Simpatica, or more specifically, the fried chicken and waffles. Open for dinners only on reservation so visitors would probably find it easiest to try to make it down for their open Sunday brunch. Go early though, I arrived at 9:30 a.m. and had to queue for 20 minutes before a table was available.

Stand Up Comedy
811 E Burnside St Ste 119
OR 97214

Because they stock Slow and Steady Wins the Race.

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PORTLAND RANDOMS

Watchers

Nob Hill trees

Sale table

Road works

Old shops

Shop cat with character

Preparing for a day of trade

Dog with a history

A grey day

More Lomo Days on Hoodoo Antiques, Portland Outdoor Store, Ace Hotel and partners, Americana food and random shots.

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