Cool spots in Portland
jjfad027
1,594 Posts
So I'm in Portland for work til fri. Are there any good spots (record related) some of you might want to recomend? I'm not too picky. Thanks folks
Comments
Have fun.
You can catch some things at Everyday Music but you really have to dig through it all.
I'm sure there's other spots out there other folls know about, but hit Jump Jump & Crossroads and you're straight.
What about restaurants, clothes, kicks, etc? I'm going to visit my brother out there soon. Thanks!
L
+VQ (Veritable Quandry) Sunday brunch is cheap and fucking yummy. Downtown.
+There's a tea house that's nice (Tao of Tea or something, someone help me with the name) across from that arcade and vegan restaurant.
+South Park; semi-fancy (for Portland) seafood place. Nice desserts. Cheap for what it is.
+Kennedy School. Pub food, but it's a McMennanin's Brothers project, an old school turned into a brewery/theater/restaurant/hotel. Nice creepy paintings around the halls.
I don't buy clothes or shoes, so I can't help you with those...
You really need to go to the Rose Garden and lay in the grass for 4 or 5 hours.
L,
Email me before you go, I have a bunch of friends out there (chefs!) and I can get them to send you a list of the yummiest of yummies. Shit's kinda hectic right now, can't think...
anyway sooner or later you will find out that portland has like the most strip clubs per capita or something.
magic garden.
just saying.
Awesome spot for lunch or late-night food. Excellent jambalaya and mac+cheeses.
SE Morrisson & MLK
Escape from New York[/b]
Far and away the best pizza in Portland. Dope NY-style slices.
NW 23rd & Hoyt
Powell's City of Books[/b]
An entire damn city block. Filled with books.
W Burnside & 10th
Ground Kontrol[/b]
Old school arcade. All the classic video and pinball games you could want for 25 cents a play!
NW 5th & Couch
Just Be Toys / Compound Gallery[/b]
Designer and Japanese toys, shirts, art prints, etc. Right next to Ground Kontrol.
NW 5th & Couch
Motel[/b]
Girly crafty art stuff, handmade clothes, cool stuff to bring back for your ladyfriend.
NW 5th & Couch
Thursday night:
Mr. Jeigh at XV[/b]
Hip hop, funk, club bangerses.
15 SW 2nd Ave
10PM - 2AM
no cover
if you are in october i think the night owl show is coming up..
You're too kind with your lengthy write up (considering everything else your doing right now) Thank You, I really appreciate it. All of those places are exactly the kind of shit I was inquiring about. Really looking for healthy delicious spots. Hmm...and Dave I think I'll probably plan around that record show if I can. Thanks dudes. I'll PM later.
Castagna Cafe on SE 17th and Hawthorne: Little brother of the highly touted Castagna. The cafe is basically the same caliber food just cheaper. Get the burger (yes a gourmet burger) or anything on the menu for that matter. For under $20 (no alcohol) you can eat like a fucking king. Nate the manager is good friend. Say hi and ask him what's up. He has the goods on the Portland food like no other.
Tabla on NE 28th has an incredible deal. For $20 bucks you get and appetizer, 1/2 pasta dish and 1/2 entree. So civilized and delicious nouvelle (Spanish) mediterrean. The area is dotted with all kinds of new restaurants and bars. Just down the street is a nice gelateria. THe Laurelhurst theatre is just around the corner. Second run movies and beers (yeah in the fucking theatre) makes for a nice finish to your evening.
I would not recommend Cafe Montage anymore. THe place has gone steadily down hill since the owner left several years back. It is open very late if you got the 2am munchies.
A better alternative for downhome grub is the Delta Cafe on SE Woodstock. Massive plates of Southern Classics for very reasonable prices and Curtis on the stereo. Get the black-eyed pea fritters and a 40oz of Pabst in a pail of ice. So necessary.
As far as kicks go. Addidas just opened a new store right across from Powell's. The store had the custom limited edition shells (Andy Warhols for $215, yikes) and shit like that. Powell's is a must for all visitors.
The Nike Factory store is next to my house of NE MLK blvd. Good deals to be had.
Beyond Day's recommendations for records which are very on point. Check out Vinyl Resting place in St Johns. You will not meet finer people and they gots nice things usually. Mississippi Records and Repair also stocks heat.
Bam is dead on about the Rose garden. If the weather's cooperating go and check it out. I would also recommend a nice stroll along Leif Ericson trail in Forest Park. 4 minutes from downtown and your in the woods. Very relaxing.
If you have more questions just let me know. Lifelong residents stand up!!!
I can't sleep.
Tao of Tea is the name of the place:
http://www.teamap.com/tearooms/tao_of_tea_471.html
3430 SE Belmont Street
Portland, OR
503-736-0198
(right across the street is a vegan diner place, Paradox Palace, soso.)
The biggest variety of teas onhand I've ever seen. Plus some light food. The atmosphere is quiet or cheesy, depending on how you look at it. Asprin's better half thinks that place is shit (and I generally find her impressions spot on) while I enjoyed it.
VQ is yummy, sorta decandent, but can be healthy. The chilaquiles at brunch is so fucking good. The girl and I have perfected a rival homemade dish of our own. They also have bacon-wrapped dates which everyone loves, but I don't eat swine, so I can't comment. It's like $11 to eat like a queen at brunch. In NY that shit would be $40.
Vita Cafe
3024 NE Alberta St
In the NE, amidst all the "art" scene (whatever) stuff. The brunch there is good, if you're into vegan stuff. Alright if you're into bacon but don't usually eat vegan. Hella punk rockers waiting tables in there...
You can walk by the Governor Hotel and see where the scenes from My Own Private Idaho were filmed. It's all fancy and shit now, though. I saw my dad for the first time in 12 years in this hotel. He yelled across a crowded room at me, "Hey son, where the fuck have you been?" It was a wedding. He was drunk.
http://www.govhotel.com/
Besides the Rose Garden, which I can't stress enough, you need to lay down in the grass between two rows of exotic roses and sleep and dream while listening to birdsong, there is Washington Park, Westmoreland Park, Linnton Park (aka Forest Park, for more My Own Private Idaho action), which is 287 acres...
http://www.parks.ci.portland.or.us/Parks/Parks.htm
I'll email my chef friends and find out what else is worth a look.
Oh yea, and Powell's, like everyone said.
I've spent entire days in that store. Seriously.
I spent 4 hours just in the military handbooks section.
Eastern section is off the charts.
Black history is nuts, I caught first edition Spook as well as the Vanguard booklet that went along with the first Black Panther photo exhibit ($12, yea!) and Gil Scott-Heron poembooks for dirt cheap.
They have an extensive mushroom section...
Turn on your PMs, dude.
This may be a dumb question but how do I turn them on? I wasn't aware that I had ever turned them off. I've recieved PMs before. What do I do?
Peace,
bc
Might have been Union Jacks. I see cops in there all the time. Which is weird, because the owner was in hot water about 5-6 years ago for his ties with the Russian mob. Apparently they'd linked him to a few carbombings, but he got off scott free.
records: Jumpjump and crossroads = cant miss
sonic recollections used to be hot (10 years ago). when i went back this time the guy kicked me out.
theres several everyday musics...only go if you ge time to kill. definitely go to Powells books: good pickup spot
i wasnt finding anything, but i looked through everything. he kept asknig me what i was looking for and id say "stuff i dont have" "good stuf" "70s stuff" "anything that catches my eye". maybe that bothered him, but i didnt feel the need to rattle off titles. i even told him how i used to frequent his shop and how i loved it. he told me not to put records back once i took them out of their bins. i put some back as a reflex, to be helpful and he got all bitchy.
all i found was the bruce kelly break...it was in a half off bin. so i said "i found something!" and he was like "just take it and get out of my store" i was laughing my ass off
Was that the slightly "greaser" looking dude with black hair? If so, he's long gone. The new guy there is a little nicer. Not very knowledgeable either, thank goodness.