NW Oregon Trip – Who’s In?

Discussion in 'Northwest' started by psweendogg, Jun 29, 2017.

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  1. psweendogg

    psweendogg Maven (1,411) Jun 30, 2005 Connecticut
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    ** Skip this thread if you don’t like words **

    Hey Northwest BA crew! I’ve been following your forum for a few months now… just counting down the days to my Oregon trip. I’ve done a ton of research already but I’m hoping you all can help steer me in the right direction for my upcoming visit if I’ve gone astray (beyond watching Portlandia). I’ve read the most recent “Visiting Portland”, “Visiting Tillamook”, and “Visiting Bend/Sunriver” threads. I’ve read the recent threads for the few local breweries that have recent threads. I’ve read about your epic bottle share and I really wish I had enough time to get to Fremont (been trading to land some bottles)! I’ve even hooked up a few NW BA’s with some great East Coast beer and suggestions while they were in my neck of the woods (looking at you @John_M and @DefenCorps )

    I have always wanted to head out that way but my wife and I finally decided to pull the trigger after Extreme Beerfest where we struck up a great conversation with James from Great Notion (while in line for food of course). We started looking at all that Portland had to offer and then we decided that we didn’t want to limit our trip to “just” Portland. Instead, we have planned a week long road trip throughout the region that starts and ends in Portland. Our trip is finally coming up and I’m hoping the NW forum contributors can help us tweak our agenda to make sure we get the most out of it. And if it works out, we would love to grab a beer with some of you during our travels!

    Oh… and it is imperative that we keep the wife happy. If I want a fighting chance of ever making it back to the PNW, I need to treat this trip like our marriage is on the line. So, here’s what you need to know about her:

    Wild / Sour fan – I’m counting on you @deGardebrewing
    Oregon Pinot Noir fan – Accepting Willamette Valley recommendations.
    NEIPA fan – Very helpful “Juice Bomb” thread highlighting the #pnwneipa scene. You’re welcome for the new hash tag.

    We are hoping to hit the best drinkeries (beer / wine / coffee), to eat the best food (on a somewhat tight budget), and to visit some of the most quintessential places during our whirlwind tour. We love out of the ordinary and quirky places. We love classic and creative local food especially if we don’t have to use all of our beer money or wait hours for it. We don’t want to spend all of our time at bars or in breweries (except maybe while we’re in Bend) but we do want to break up our days with regular pit stops. Most importantly, we want to check out the scenery and watch the sunset with a beer in hand every night! If you can help us make that happen, that would be amazing.

    Since our agenda covers a bunch of different locations, I’m going to post a “reply” for each day of our trip. However, I’m only going to post one day of our agenda at a time and then I’ll wait a few days before posting the next day. The suspense will be killing you… and it will keep my thread alive as I will be regularly bumping it until just before my trip!!! I’m hoping that brilliant approach will allow you good people to reply back to any specific day with relevant suggestions… and it will keep it current.

    We are pretty “locked in” with regards to the actual start and end points for each day. However, the path from one location to the other is completely flexible… scenic routes are preferred but not necessarily at the expense of good food / beer / wine / destinations. We would like to have options for drinks and snacks (or easy meals) in each time slot even though we know we won’t be able to do it all. Obviously, we will end up lingering in some spots longer than others so we’ll just knock less exciting stops off the agenda.

    We have done several trips like this and now we do it to celebrate our anniversary every summer. I feel like I have a pretty decent idea of what we intend to do but it’s purely based on things that I’ve read while sitting behind a computer on the opposite side of the country. If you’ve been to any of these places and you have any insider tips, I would love to hear them... especially if there is anything notable happening while we’re in town. And if you happen to frequent (or work at) any of these places, we would love for you to say hi when we get there… even if you just want to share your thoughts on clam guns, grape lotion, and haiku. Look for the early 40ish year-old guy wearing an East Coast brewery t-shirt sitting next to the late 30ish year-old woman who looks like she is way too good for him (she is… tank top, great tattoos, etc.). With that said, constructive feedback (i.e. skip this place and add this place) is greatly appreciated. We just want to do this right and would love to meet some great people along the way. I may not have much to offer but I drink and I know things!

    Thanks,
    Patrick

    P.S. If any of you are willing to help me put together a small gift box of local specialties (like under $25) representing any of my destinations, I will gladly reimburse you in person. Sure, I could arrange to have flowers delivered (and I might still do that) to any of these places but I really want this to be memorable… and different. I would love to put together some type of gift box for each day (or stop) on the trip but I don’t want to be super touristy and spend a ton of time in gift shops. I want a local touch especially if I can surprise her with a “Welcome Packet” at a bunch of different destinations with local beverages (beer / wine / coffee / kombucha), local snacks, postcards, small souvenirs (especially if they’re slightly weird or even totally weird), etc. If you feeling like helping out a brother out, that would be amazing.
     
    #1 psweendogg, Jun 29, 2017
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  2. psweendogg

    psweendogg Maven (1,411) Jun 30, 2005 Connecticut
    Trader

    Sunday, 7/23 JFK > PDX > Tillamook > Pacific City

    Late Morning (9-12): JFK > PDX
    Early Afternoon (12-3): PDX > Great Notion (Lunch) >
    Late Afternoon (3-6): de Garde > Tillamook Cheese Factory (Snack) > Cape Meares >
    *Sunset Beer (6-8): Cape Lookout > Cape Kiwanda > *Pelican Pub (Dinner) >
    Final Stop: Inn at Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City

    Recap: Arrive at PDX just before noon. GN for lunch around 12:30 (We will be back to spend more quality time later on the trip). Drive past some fields and some cows. Around 3:30, arrive at a small rural brewery specializing in many diverse styles of ales, but with a focus on spontaneous fermentations inspired by the European farmhouse traditions. Attempt to drink ALL of their beer before they kick us out at 5. Make a quick stop for some dairy products. Head to the coast in search of an Octopus tree. Count the capes on the Three Capes Scenic Drive. Arrive in Pacific City just in time for our Sunset Beer. Call it a night since we’ve been up since 5:30 AM Eastern Time!

    Mark your calendars, save us a seat at the bar, and set aside a bottle of Nectarine Premiere! Can’t possibly get any better than that, right?
     
    #2 psweendogg, Jun 29, 2017
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  3. Robomunky

    Robomunky Initiate (0) May 14, 2015 Washington
    Trader

    This sounds like an awesome day that's going to leave you dead to the world for most of the next day.
     
    #3 Robomunky, Jun 29, 2017
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  4. psweendogg

    psweendogg Maven (1,411) Jun 30, 2005 Connecticut
    Trader

    Very solid point! I already had to knock a bunch of non-essential stops off the agenda for Day 1 (knowing I was being overly ambitious). Realistically, I'm thinking we can end our day around 9pm which will give us plenty of time to regroup for Day 2. We should be able to get in 10 to 11 hours of sleep and then we can start again around 8:30 - 9:00 the next morning.

    On East Cost time, that means Day 1 runs from 5:30 AM until midnight and then Day 2 starts at 11:30am. "Dead to the world" is a good way to put it. The transition from East Coast time to West Coast time may be more of a challenge then I'm anticipating!
     
    #4 psweendogg, Jun 29, 2017
  5. balto22

    balto22 Crusader (414) Feb 7, 2013 New York
    Trader

    Great Notion is right next to Barista Coffee, which while not a roaster themselves, typically has a variety of delicious single origin coffees available from local roasters, and has a cool vibe as well. Salt and Straw (across the street from GN) has some fantastic ice cream, and the Waffle Window is a few blocks down with great sweet and savory waffles. Personally my favorite coffee roaster is Heart Coffee, which is not super close to GN, but could be on your way as you head towards dG. One thing to be aware of (Which you probably already are) is that dG closes at 5:00 on Sunday, and if you leave GN at 3:00, its about a 1:45min drive to dG, not really leaving you any time. Anyway, Looks like an awesome time!
     
    #5 balto22, Jun 29, 2017
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  6. maltmaster420

    maltmaster420 Initiate (0) Aug 17, 2005 Oregon

    Pro-tip: Before you buy any bottles from Pelican, check across the street at the Cape Kiwanda Marketplace. They don't always have everything in stock, but what they do have is typically $1-2 less than what the brewery charges.
     
    #6 maltmaster420, Jun 29, 2017
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  7. psweendogg

    psweendogg Maven (1,411) Jun 30, 2005 Connecticut
    Trader

    @balto22 This is amazing information!!! When we finally make our way back to Portland, our Airbnb is right in that neighborhood. We're only expecting to be at Great Notion for about an hour (like 12:30 - 1:30) before heading to de Garde. We will get to spend more quality time at GN when we return to Portland later in the week. Thanks for all of the awesome info.
     
    #7 psweendogg, Jun 29, 2017
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  8. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    There's a Great Notion thread you might want to glance at as well. There's a fair amount of irrelevant, over the top comments and assertions, but there's a lot of helpful, very relevant information as well. As you may be aware, GN is in the process of building a second brewery location over on the West Side, and for now, they've cut back on local production at the NE Alberta St. location. That mostly affects growler sales/releases (which have become very infrequent and limited), and shouldn't have much impact on you if you're just planning on stopping by for a few beers with lunch.

    https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/great-notion.378684/

    The bros have become increasingly intolerant of threads that are unrelated to beer. So I won't respond to your request for winery information here. However, I think I still have a fairly lengthy "visiting the Willamette wine country" email that I'll try to dig up, and will send your way via beer mail.
     
    #8 John_M, Jun 29, 2017
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  9. psweendogg

    psweendogg Maven (1,411) Jun 30, 2005 Connecticut
    Trader

    John - No need for wine info...that's not a high priority at all! But I will make sure to continue reading the Great Notion thread. Thanks for your help.
     
    #9 psweendogg, Jun 29, 2017
  10. jason_nwx

    jason_nwx Pooh-Bah (2,571) Sep 12, 2012 Oregon
    Society Pooh-Bah

    FWIW, two hours from Great Notion to de Garde may be optimistic. Definitely keep your Google Maps close by. Sounds like a fantastic trip!
     
    #10 jason_nwx, Jun 29, 2017
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  11. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Will try to respond to your post paragraph by paragraph (to the extent I can and feel qualified to do so). This is for your stay in PDX.

    I get the impression you've kept your information request as general as possible, in order to get as wide a range of recommendations as possible. However, there are just so many places that arguably meet your information request, that it's really hard to narrow things down. So I'm going to make general responses to the info request.

    The NW is a coffee mecca, with places like Portland and Seattle teeming with small coffee shops that serve a great cup of Joe. The chains are all here as well (Starbucks, Peets, Seattle's best, etc.), as well as local power houses like Stumptown, Wandering Goat, Portland Coffee roasting company, Water Coffee, etc.). While you're in PDX, you might as well hit Stumptown (even though they now have a great spot in the airport as well) or Water, but in all honesty, I would simply walk outside your hotel and head into the first coffee shop you come across. It's bound to be good (I've yet to find a bad one in town). Unlike other places I've lived, no one has to make a special effort in Portland to find good coffee.

    As for wine, I already sent you a beermail with my personal recommendations. One thing I think you'll find, is that most restaurants you visit are going to have a surprisingly decent beer and wine selection. Especially when it comes to craft beer. Even high end restaurants like Paley's Place, Higgins, the Heathman and Tasty n Alder, will have a fairly decent selection of beer available (usually both on tap and in bottle). If you want to visit a restaurant that does both very well (has good food and a good tap list), I would point you back to the visiting Portland thread.

    In terms of the best restaurants, there are so many good ones in this food obsessed town, that it's hard to respond. While you're here, you should probably hit Pok Pok, and maybe Apizza Scholls and/or Ken's for pizza. Tasty n Alder continues to be one of my favorite restaurants in town, for all that they don't take reservations and waits for a table can be long (though if you get there right around the time they open, at 5:00, you can sometimes get right in). Otherwise, places like Le Pigeon, Little Bird, Beast, Olympia Provisions, Andina, Toro Bravo (but does not take reservations, and waits for a table can be very long), Imperial, Ox, Mediterranean Exploration and Nostrano, just to name a few, are all popular and highly regarded. If either of you are vegetarian, you might want to consider Farm Spirit, which is the best vegetarian restaurant I've ever been to by far.

    In terms of best places to go for craft beer, I would rely on the visiting PDX thread, and just stop by whatever places are near your hotel. However, you mentioned you wanted some place where you can sit out and enjoy the view. In that regard, I might recommend Wayfinder, which has a great outdoor deck (pretty good food and tap selection as well), or maybe even Salty's on the Columbia (a bit spendy, but the foods pretty decent).

    Have fun.
     
    #11 John_M, Jun 29, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2017
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  12. psweendogg

    psweendogg Maven (1,411) Jun 30, 2005 Connecticut
    Trader

    @John_M Amazing beermail with wine suggestions! Now, I have some great leads for coffee and restaurants to go along with beer and wine. I knew that you guys would be way ahead of me on this stuff. I'm going to take all of your feedback and check hours of operations and addresses. Then, I'll compare it with our initial agenda to see what will work out best. It's so awesome to have advice from the locals... especially when it comes to combining great food, great beer, great vibes, great views, etc. I really appreciate all of your effort.

    More importantly, it's great to get information that isn't readily available in a million other threads. The Northeast forum is clogged with "when does this place open" type questions. The NW forum is a way more friendly and fun place to visit!!! Thanks again.
     
    #12 psweendogg, Jun 30, 2017
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  13. Rip_City

    Rip_City Initiate (0) Jul 16, 2016 Oregon

    I second all those great dinner suggestions by John. One place that I suggest to people or take out of town guests is Pine Street Market in downtown. It is a great place for a low key dinner. I would describe it as a communal dining with maybe 15 small micro-restaurants serving up a mix of great food ranging from burgers to ramen to German sausages and even Korean/southern BBQ fusion. Many of the places are spinoffs or second restaurants to the ones John mentioned. Each place has a couple great local beers on tap as well, with some of them having full bars. It reminded me of an outdoor food court that I visited in Vienna where patrons could grab food, and even watch opera on a large screen in the park. Similarly to Vienna, food is served with real tableware, and not just compostable to-go boxes. However, you can pick up food if you wish. I'd suggest going on a weekday as it doesn't get too busy. Street parking is free after 7pm. Lastly, it is walking distance to baileys taproom and the upper lip which always have great beers on tap and bottles for in-house consumption and to take back to your place.
     
    #13 Rip_City, Jun 30, 2017
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  14. shelby415

    shelby415 Pooh-Bah (2,098) Oct 10, 2011 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Since you mentioned "'modest" eats I'll throw in Pine State Biscuits, which is practically the same building as Great Notion. You planned out a hell of a day one, but if I were in your shoes I'd grab a few biscuits for the road and have a snack ready. As long as you don't get anything with eggs or cheese they'll be perfect when you're ready for 'em.
     
    #14 shelby415, Jun 30, 2017
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  15. South2NW

    South2NW Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2013 Oregon

    @psweendogg Seems like you've been well taken care of for most of your inquiries.

    Here are some Oregon Pinot suggestions, even if it's not a top priority:

    Beaux Freres and Patricia green are next door to each other.

    Bergström

    Archery Summit (grapes for de Garde's The Archer)

    Sokol Blosser

    Ponzi

    Raptor ridge.

    Like beer, this list could go on forever. Also, if you roll through the Newberg/Dayton area, you may as well stop in to Wolves & People to have a beer. Open Thursday-Sunday.
     
    #15 South2NW, Jun 30, 2017
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  16. psweendogg

    psweendogg Maven (1,411) Jun 30, 2005 Connecticut
    Trader

    @Rip_City , @shelby415 Thanks for the additional suggestions! Pine State Biscuits was already on my radar. Sounds like I should probably check out Pine Street Market as well. I'll eventually post my agenda for the Portland part of my trip and I'll see where I can fit that stuff in.

    @South2NW Even though it wasn't our top priority, Oregon Pinot was another key driver to the trip. I'm looking forward to mapping out these places along with the ones that @John_M mentioned. We will definitely do a day trip to hit a few of them. Priority will likely be scenery / experience as opposed to wine quality (assuming most of these are interchangeable in that space). Wolves & People is definitely on the list and timing looks good with their Thursday - Sunday hours!

    Looking forward to posting the next day of our trip a little bit later! It looks like another extremely full do... there is so much to do with so little time.
     
    #16 psweendogg, Jul 1, 2017
  17. psweendogg

    psweendogg Maven (1,411) Jun 30, 2005 Connecticut
    Trader

    Monday, 7/24 Pacific City > Newport > Corvalis > Eugene
    Morning Coffee    : Stimulus Espresso Café >
    Late Morning (9-12): Pacific City > Cape Foulweather > Devil’s Punchbowl > Tidal Raves (Lunch) >
    Early Afternoon (12-3): Yaquina Lighthouse > Rogue > Newport Bayfront (Snack) >
    Late Afternoon (3-6): OSU Campus > Block 15 (Snack) > Whiteaker (Eugene) >
    *Sunset Beer (6-8) / Pub Crawl (8-10): Oakshire > *Beer Garden / Fisherman’s Market (Dinner) > Ninkasi > Blairally Arcade > Hop Valley >
    Final Stop: AirBNB in Whiteaker

    Recap: Here is what we have lined up for Day 2. Trying to check out the scenery along the coast before making a pit stop in Newport. I figured we would check out the historic Bayfront area (candy shop, Surf Town coffee, Sea Lion Docks, Made In Oregon, and other touristy junk) before heading over to the Block 15 taproom. From there, we’ll make our way over to Eugene to do an evening Pub Crawl at all of the places within walking distance. Any places we missed? Any places we should skip? Cheap dinner recommendations besides what I’ve listed? Can’t wait. Thanks Northwesterners!!!
     
    #17 psweendogg, Jul 2, 2017
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  18. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Bless your East Coast, hyperactive heart. I moved out here in 2000, from the East Coast, and, it took me a few years to adapt. IMHO, drop a couple targets each day, and have a better experience each day. You do you, and enjoy your visit however you choose. But, sometimes, you go faster by slowing down.
     
    #18 BBThunderbolt, Jul 2, 2017
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  19. Strangestbrewer

    Strangestbrewer Crusader (477) Oct 17, 2014 Oregon

    This day seems really really really optimistic, especially in the 12-6 block. I feel you should drop some things or plan on it taking like at least 2+ hours.
     
    #19 Strangestbrewer, Jul 2, 2017
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  20. itracy63

    itracy63 Savant (1,187) Apr 20, 2013 Washington

    My wife and I left Olympia on a Sunday once with plans to road trip down the Oregon coast, to N. California and be back to Portland that Saturday. We made it to Newport by Friday. IMO, not a trip you can lock eyes on the next stop. That being said, I'm already enjoying this thread and look forward to following your trip, it'll be a great time no matter how it unfolds!
     
    #20 itracy63, Jul 2, 2017
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