Visiting Portland (Fall 2015 update)

I'll be in Portland from January 2-5, and can only convince the wife to go to so many breweries. Here's the ones I have earmarked:

1. Upright
2. Deschutes
3. Fat Head's
4. Commons
5. Breakside
6. HOTD
7. Cascade

I think that's about all she'll concede. How's my list looking? Any ones I should take out? Add?

Thanks and cheers!

 

That's a good list, and 2 locations per day is a decent pace if your visit is not a purely beer-centric one.

You could also sneak in a couple more good beer outings by choosing restaurants from the list at the beginning of this thread.

 

Without knowing the area too well, are any of the recommended restaurants near the breweries I mentioned?

 

RE: John's post
I'll take Lardo over Deschutes food any day of the week - not that Deschutes food is BAD, but it tends to be a bit expensive for what it is. And more-so Lardo is great. Plus Lardo also usually has a solid taplist.

Breakside was good the last time I was there, but it's been a while. Kind of close to there, Tasty n Son's or People's Pig are both fantastic. Or Podnah's or La Taq.

I can probably provide better recommendations knowing a price point - don't want to give you a $10 sandwich when you want a really good $40 entree, or vice-versa. These suggestions are all cheap: Boke Bowl (ramen) and Bunk Sandwiches are both near HOTD. I like Pepper Box for New Mexican tacos near Cascade, though they're more of a breakfast/brunch place.

 

For ramen, I recommend Noraneko over Boke Bowl. It's only a few more blocks south and much better than Boke (although still nowhere near Kukai quality).

I also second the nomination for Lardo over Deschutes. Deschutes is just expensive bar food, the likes of which you can find anywhere. Lardo is a proper PDX experience with a great taplist. Tasty 'n Alder is also near there if you want to go upscale (it's a sister restaurant to Tasty 'n Sons).

Generally speaking there's a lot of walkable (from Deschutes) good restaurants on the West side of the river, so you may want to to do some research if you're a foodie. On the East side of the river it's a little more spread out so while there is really good stuff, you may have to use a car/uber/taxi.

 

Thx for all the recs guys, really appreciate it. We're down for almost anything food wise so now we have some eclectic options. Cheers!

 

http://brewpublic.com/beer-brewing/...beer-beer-events-for-the-week-of-december-26/

 

my recent visit to PDX took me to the following places: breakside, deschutes, and loyal legion.

breakside is always terrific, and i'm almost embarrassed to say this trip was the first time i've been to deschutes. that brew pub is fantastic! loyal legion was an excellent late-night stop for food and beers, albeit a bit pricey. it helped they had peche n brett on tap

 

also, if you're not opposed to the AB/InBev aspect, 10 Barrel is an easy hit when you're doing Deschutes/Fat Heads, and likely to have some great beers on

 

I was actually wondering about Loyal Legion. I recently saw that they got rid of their "No tipping" policy a while back. They had put that in and charged $6 a pint for most beers with the understanding that all their workers were making well above minimum wage. Their beers are still mostly $6 a pint for stuff that's $4-5 almost anywhere outside an upscale restaurant. Anyone know if they're at least still paying their workers $15-17 an hour?

 

Great thread - we have an equivalent in the Pacific forum for San Diego.

I'm heading to Portland December 30th - Jan 3rd.
Any NYE recommendations? The only interesting thing I've found so far has been the event at Bailey's.
http://www.baileystaproom.com/new-years-eve/

 

A couple events for the week highlighted in this article: http://brewpublic.com/beer-brewing/...beer-beer-events-for-the-week-of-december-26/

 

Kennedy School?

 

No, Kennedy School is kind of far from the areas where you'll find the most breweries/beer spots. I still think it's worth a visit, but more to see how they've restored the place, and not as a beer destination.

If you want to stay at a McMenamin's location, the Crystal Hotel (downtown Portland) is better located for other beer spots. You would also be closer to the MAX and Streetcar, both of which can put many more locations within your reach without a car.

 

The wife's and my birthday is coming up around MLK weekend. Haven't made any definite plans yet but looking at Portland for 2 nights. She is NOT a beer drinker. I am. Coming from the OC/LA/SD area I love IPA's & stouts. Willing to try sours (Cascade). Looking for recommendations on brewery's/brewpubs to hit up and the local craft bar's. And places to eat. Nothing out of this world expensive. 2 nights is not a lot of time so I will probably only hit a few places for craft. So I'm looking to get my moneys worth on the short stay. I've looked at the list here and really have no idea what I'd like to try. Would appreciate an area in Portland on where to stay. Bottle shops in that area also. Thank you in advance.

 

Will you have a car? You can have an fun experience either way, but my (and I assume other people's) suggestions will depend on whether you're renting a car or relying on public transit. For example, I'd highly recommend either of Breakside's locations, but you're looking at a 40-50 minute bus ride to/from downtown, and that's a lot of wasted time on a two day trip. On the other hand, you can get to either location 15-20 minutes with a car.

 

Do not forget the brilliance of using car2go one way and then meandering back by walking some + public transit to other places and/or using Lyft/Uber.