Portland Recommendations (2022)

Ha, was thinking about starting this thread myself. Glad somebody did. Hopefully, it consolidates visit questions too.

Isn't The Great Lost Bear another bar that is oft recommended around here?

I need to make a visit to Portland soon.

 

Adding Mami and Empire as two food recs too.

 

Bah, missing you by a weekend! Please let us know how the scene is up there.

I'm going next weekend for two nights. It's awesome in the winter up there, much less crazy, hotels are cheaper. I went December 2019 (the "before times").

It was still kinda busy though, people do love them some Portland!

I've been there in April, June, July, August, September, October, December, and now January.

Also, I think @rightcoast7 either lives in Portland or right around there.

 

@mrmattosgood your list looks great. My additions this year would have been Crispygai and BBB, but you had them covered. I’ll keep an eye out for other new gems.

Aahhh I have a really hard time recommending Empire. The food is good, but the tourist hype train is so ridiculous with this place it’s borderline offensive. Multiple times I’ve been told (rudely) that it’s a 2+ hour wait, even in winter. So many better places to go for less hassle IMO.

If you don’t mind the indoor Covid situation, wintertime in Portland is the absolute best. Keeps the riff raff away, and I love walking around and seeing the holiday lights and stuff, which stay up for months. In the snow is especially fun.

Yep, I’m just 20 minutes away in Scarborough and work downtown, so I’m there constantly.

 

That's fair. Definitely had to endure the wait, but we were committed and the food was excellent. We put in our names and went to one of the bars close by. Rude service or hospitality isn't called for though.

 

I haven't come across any place that didn't accept a photo of your vax card. That's easy enough to do.

@rightcoast7 can speak to it better, but I don't think you'd need reservations anyway in January.

 

They just passed a mask mandate this week, and very few places are requiring vaccinations, but it it possible you could run into it. Not that likely though.

The Press is a cool hotel, good call.

 

Sichuan Kitchen is far superior to Empire. And it's a couple blocks over on Congress. Radici for pizza on Washington as well. Takeout only. That's a strong list Matt.

 

Would just note that Tandem is a great bakery, as well and not just the coffee mention (spoken by someone who always goes to Tandem when in town but doesn't drink coffee).

 

Feel like the hype around Hot Suppa has died a lot. I've never done the what always appears to be a nonsensically long wait for brunch, but it's a great, sometimes walk-in-able dinner spot.

 

That's how I accidentally discovered their bakery.

I think around 2016 I was REALLY into gourmet coffee. I saw there was a roastery in town and went for a walk there. Got there and realized I went to the wrong place...but wow, what a pleasant surprise.

Back then there wasn't a massive line to get in. Now it seems like the line gets bigger every year.

 

I’ll add one thing about Portland in Winter in 2022. Call before you go anywhere. I got into town on Saturday and tried to go to three places (B&B, Thirsty Pig, and Alpine Hunt Club) post dinner for a drink and all were closed without notice. Ended up at Slab for a Triple Sunshine and Dinner so no complaints.

Then Bissell was to-go only (found out afterwards they posted this to social media). Obviously places are closed for reasons beyond their control, just something to keep in mind. But on plus side, it’s much more peaceful this time of year.

 

Yeah everywhere is touch and go. We cancelled our trip to NYC in Feb for the same reasons above. It’s hard to travel places when so much is touch and go being open and not much desire to be outside.

Just check all business pages before heading out.

 

The thing is with Portland, there's more places to go than I can fit into one trip. So odds are, I'll have a good time still.

 

Agreed, for us right now it’s more for bigger travel plans and multiple night stays. Rather not have destinations we planned not pan out. Hell I don’t even know what will happen day to day for my little one in school ha