In , , a new generation of chefs and producers are serving up local food that combines creative flair counter with a sense of community Words Claire Nelson Photography Dave Lauridsen culture

84 jamiemagazine.com jamiemagazine.com 85 Left: The sprawling Forest with one of his rooftop Park. Opposite, clockwise hives; grilled octopus at from top left: Tyler Malek Tasty n Alder. Previous serves up ice creams at spread: Ryan and Jace in Salt & Straw; watermelon their food truck, Fried Egg salad, with Jacobsen sea I’m in Love; a dad takes a salt, at Imperial; Bee coffee break at Cup & Bar. Local’s Damian Magista

the hipsters, the hikers, the artists and – perhaps gathering most momentum – the foodies. This leafy metropolis has become THE place to eat – a culinary hotspot, thanks largely to its location in bountiful northern Oregon. The state’s wet winters and balmy summers nurture a boggling variety of produce, including meat and crops from the rugged plains out east, and ample seafood from the Pacific to the west. What doesn’t grow here, friendly neighbour California generously supplies. It’s no surprise that chefs and producers are heading to Portland to make their mark. It’s like a throwback to the pioneering spirit of the Oregon Trail era, when Americans packed their covered wagons and rolled on out here in search of greener pastures. These days, the wagons have given way to food trucks, now numbering more than 600, and the burgeoning street-food scene is now embraced as part of the city’s culture. You could eat at a different Portland food truck almost every night for two straight years before you had to revisit one. The original encampments of vendors are downtown – tucked among the towering office blocks and quirky independent shops, and serving up veggie burgers and bibimbap morning to night – but the revolution is growing across the on Portland’s east side, too. Four years ago, buddies and bandmates Jace ortland is pretty weird. At least, that’s what Krause and Ryan Lynch left the rat race to make Portlanders tell me. And the more I delve into breakfast sandwiches here in their pun-tastic the heart and soul of Oregon’s largest city, the yellow food truck, Fried Egg I’m In Love. “It’s less more I discover it’s a difficult claim to contest. expensive to start a food cart than a restaurant,” Within Portland’s leafy limits you’ll find a explains Jace, expertly cracking a yolk onto a 2,000-hectare urban forest, a doughnut shop sizzling hot plate with one hand while wielding that’s licensed to conduct weddings, solar- a spatula in the other. “Plus, you don’t have to be powered parking metres, what might be the constantly moving. Some cities won’t let you stay most authentically zen Japanese garden outside in a stationary spot, like we are here.” I bite into of Asia and the world’s largest independent used my egg sandwich (the ‘Free-Range Against The bookstore. Portland’s very name was decided Machine’) – light, slightly crispy egg, pimped up by the perfunctory toss of a coin, although with havarti cheese and a wedge of perfectly ripe you can take your pick from an assortment of avocado. Ryan gives me a cheeky smile as Jace alternatives: Bridgetown; Stumptown; Rose remarks, “You know, you’d think we’d have City; Puddletown; PDX… It seems that this reached peak food cart at some point… but it city’s knack for variety is its greatest quirk. really doesn’t seem like it.” The locals, who live by the slogan ‘Keep Portlanders are the first to poke fun at Portland weird’, are a conglomerate of tribes: themselves, well aware of the city’s reputation

86 P jamiemagazine.com Above: Portland’s as the original incubator of bearded baristas Since Bee Local honey isn’t blended, mixed or famous sign and eco-warrior chefs with an obsession for cooked, you can taste the terroir of each hive greets traffic heading provenance. But those who know Portland encampment: think rich, resinous amber downtown. First installed understand that these stereotypes stem from from the Oregon high desert, sweet, fruity in 1940, the sign is now an authentic intentions: people here want to create honey with notes of blueberry from Portland official historic landmark. something in harmony with their community. farmland, or floral and early-season, pollinated Opposite: Christian The best place to see this ethos in action is in the Willamette Valley. It’s little surprise Ettinger, founder and the leafy south-eastern corner of town where, Damian is the go-to honey guy with chefs and brewmaster of Hopworks tucked among bright, cheerily painted houses, restaurateurs. Even his little winged workers “There are so many Urban Brewery, taking well-tended gardens and ramshackle bicycle are in demand, their services regularly called time out with an ice-cold repair shops, you’ll find small producers upon to pollinate organic farms. “Not only do breweries opening now pint of one of their creating artisanal products, from cheese and we get to produce incredible honey, but affect organic craft ales. salt to beer and coffee. Here there are breweries, our food-supply chain directly and be involved that I can’t even keep distilleries and even one or two urban wineries. with these incredible farmers,” he says, ruffling track of ’em – but we Locals refer to it as ‘Portland’s larder’. his dark hair in wonderment. “I don’t know how It’s here that Damian Magista runs Bee Local, to explain it, but it creates this cycle – these love to support the an expanding honey empire that he started in amazing critters tie everything together.” 2009 with a few humble hives in his backyard. A few blocks away, in the sun-dappled western young guys and the Those now number more than 120 and rising, corner of Hawthorne, one of Bee Local’s early bigger breweries are dotted around the city. Damian speaks gently adopters is serving up something a little yet passionately about his dedication to natural, different. Five years ago, Salt & Straw was Tyler supportive of us, too” organic honey making, and how he hopes to Malek and his cousin selling ice cream from a teach these skills to a new generation of push cart; now they have three Portland stores beekeepers. Listening to him makes you never and have recently launched in LA. Famous for want to look at commercially produced honey their unusual flavours – such as olive oil and again – but the proof is really in the product. blood orange, or strawberry honey balsamic

88 jamiemagazine.com jamiemagazine.com 89 You could eat at a different Portland food cart almost every night of the week for two straight years before you had to revisit one

make a range of world-class lagers and ales, using organic and sustainable ingredients wherever possible, powering their operation with renewable energy. As we sit at HUB’s lively brewery bar, checked-shirted regulars munch on chunky house-made pretzels with lager mustard and have a chinwag with their neighbours. Above us, brightly coloured bicycle frames hang from the ceiling while the craft beers du jour are handwritten on the wall opposite. We crack open a couple of single-hop pale ales as Christian explains that the beer community is one that pulls together, despite so many different brews jostling for space on Oregon’s fit-to-bursting shelves. “There are so many breweries opening now that I can’t even keep track of ’em,” he admits. “But we love to support the young guys, and the bigger breweries are really friendly and supportive of us. We’re not Above: Perusing the with black pepper – their ‘farm-to-cone’ concept afraid of competition – we like to drop by any menu at the Fried Egg has them working with some of the region’s brewery and have a great pint.” I’m in Love food truck. best producers. It makes for seriously wicked The next morning, I’m waiting for the Opposite, clockwise from ice cream. On the pavement outside, customers eco-tram that runs from the north-west’s top left: Stumptown serve jostle for shade, dogs on leashes tied around fashionable Nob Hill through to the south end creamy, cold-brew coffee wrists, as they lick their pastel-coloured scoops. of the city. It’s not long before I find myself in on nitro; Powell’s famous After sampling the seasonal menu, I plump conversation with a friendly retiree, who tells City of Books occupies a for a pear and blue cheese ice cream: velvety, me that while craft beer is a big deal here, coffee whole city block; Ranger creamy, with a subtle, lingering tang. Tyler might just be bigger. Or, as she amusingly puts chocolate; starting the tells me the cheese hails from a dairy down it, “Portlanders take their uppers as seriously as day with coffee and a in southern Oregon and that the fruit is also their downers”. This is, after all, the home of fried egg sarnie; Imperial’s locally grown. “This state is one of the world’s third-wave artisan roasters. The city boasts golden fried chicken with leading exporters of pears,” he says, smiling more than 40 of them, not to mention plenty honey; hand-printing proudly. “So we’ve gotta represent, you know?” more out-of-towners peddling their beans. labels at Trailhead coffee; Everyone wants to make the best of Oregon’s Perhaps one of the best-known vanguards of double-scoop delight at offerings. In a city also known as Beervana (yet the coffee scene is Stumptown, founded in 1999 Salt & Straw; avocado another nickname), there are more than by bearded coffee aficionado Duane Sorenson. on toast at Cup & Bar; 65 microbreweries and brew bars, making good This is the guy credited for getting the ball Stumptown cold brew. with local hops and clean glacial water from rolling on now-favoured practices, such as nearby Mount Hood. “It’s amazing water – all negotiating directly with the growers and we gotta do is pull the pine cones out of it,” jokes championing single-origin brews. You’ll find Christian Ettinger, founder and brewmaster of Stumptown coffee poured in cafés, food trucks . Ettinger and his team and restaurants all over the city, as well as in

90 jamiemagazine.com jamiemagazine.com 91 New York, Seattle and LA. Even the iconic lobby of downtown’s hipper-than-hip has its own Stumptown brew-bar attached. There’s plenty of love here for the city’s younger roasters, too. Trailhead Coffee was launched in 2009 by Charlie Wicker, a keen cyclist who sends out orders of his small-batch coffee beans by push bike. It’s an intimate operation – even the labels are stamped and painted by hand. Last year, Charlie partnered up with his friend George Domurot of Ranger Chocolate, who uses Peruvian cacao to craft his luscious dark chocolate bars. Given that both companies focus on ethically sourced beans, single-origin flavours and a direct fair trade with their sources, this partnership makes a lot of sense. Ranger’s chocolate factory and Trailhead’s coffee roastery share the space in a refurbished warehouse, fronted by a joint café, Cup & Bar. at the daddy of all Portland coffee The warming smell of espresso fills this bright, chains. Single-origin coffees as well airy space, beanie-clad locals sitting with laptops as a few twists – their nitro cold brew and books enjoying lemon-curd toast, caprese coffee is the closest you can get to sandwiches and curiously refreshing cold-brew knocking back a Guinness at breakfast. mocktails. After sampling the rich selection Tasty n Alder 580 SW 12th Ave; +1 of beans and bars, I sip on a Dirty Charlie, 503 621 9251; tastynalder.com. Locals a gloriously frothy Trailhead macchiato scattered adore this place – and quite rightly. with grated Ranger chocolate. Portland really Offering small plates and modern has this collaboration concept nailed. comfort food from chef John Gorham, “It’s a very small town and an even smaller it’s great for dinner but also a brilliant community, when you really break it down,” spot for brunch. Don’t miss the griddled says Matt Jarrell, sous chef at Imperial. This banana walnut bread; it’s heavenly. rustic restaurant, nestled within downtown’s stylish , is the newest joint from SHOP concert-pianist-turned-chef-legend Vitaly Paley, Bee Local 602 SE Salmon St; +1 503 renowned for his modern American fare. At 619 5609; beelocal.com. Pop in for Imperial, all dark wood and homely vibe, this a tour and a taste of Damian Magista’s means everything from wood-fired meats to Clockwise from above: Hopworks Urban Brewery 2944 rustic European fare; but it’s their gorgeous honeys, produced from hives the most unforgettably gooey pecan pie. The Portland’s brand-new The Guide SE Powell Blvd; +1 503 232 4677; award-winning charcuterie they’re through the city and across the state. atmosphere is comforting and so is the food; car-free bridge, Tilikum hopworksbeer.com. Brewery and bar renowned for – this place launched Bee Local has partnered with Jacobsen I tear apart hunks of tender fried chicken with its Crossing; the deliciously EAT & DRINK with sustainability in mind. Also visit Portland’s first salumeria. sea salt, so you can stock up on two crunchy, deep golden crust, the accoutrements messy ‘Dirty Charlie’ from Two locations; their bike bar on N Williams Avenue, 3226 SE Division St; +1 503 fantastic local products under one roof. an eyedropper of fiery chilli sauce and a jug of Cup & Bar; the stylish bollywoodtheaterpdx.com. Bright and which keeps cyclists fed and watered. 232 1387; pokpokpdx.com. Famously Farmer’s markets Various locations; honey. Matt tells me the honey is produced from lobby of the Ace Hotel; breezy Indian food in a colourful Imperial Hotel Lucia, 410 SW hip Thai street food from chef Andy portlandfarmersmarket.org. There are some of Damian’s Bee Local hives installed up on memorial fountain for setting, this is a favourite among local Broadway; +1 503 228 7222; Ricker. Go for the sticky fish-sauce 40 farmers’ markets in the metro area, the hotel roof. I realise this collaborative spirit is sculptor Frank E Beach, residents – you can’t order wrong here. imperialpdx.com. A modern, seasonal chicken wings – but expect to queue. carrying local produce that runs from not just another quirk of this city – it’s what at the International Rose Coava Coffee Two SE locations; take on classic American fare by Vitaley Salt & Straw Three locations; baked goods to fresh seafood, ideal makes it tick. “Everybody knows everybody and Test Garden; Hopworks +1 503 894 8134. The short and sweet Paley, with a rotisserie and wood-fired saltandstraw.com. You simply cannot for pottering around and sampling we all like to help each other,” says Matt. “You beer; coffee lovingly menu lets the coffee do the talking. oven at the heart of the menu. come to Portland and not have ice Portland’s wares. The most popular is can always borrow a cup of sugar, you know?” poured at Coava. Pop into its espresso bar or hang out in Multnomah Whiskey Library 1124 cream from Salt & Straw. Curiously the Saturday market at Portland State Earlier, having crossed the mighty stretch its brewbar, which shares an attractive SW Alder St; +1 503 954 1381; mwlpdx. inventive flavours put the region’s University, held all year round. of the historic Hawthorne Bridge, I’d noticed space with a bamboo warehouse. com. The secret hideout for anyone growers and makers to good use. Powell’s City of Books 1005 a crude sign nailed to a lamppost, making the Cup & Bar 118 NE Martin Luther King keen on something harder than craft Sterling Coffee Two locations; W Burnside St; +1 503 228 4651; cheering, hand-painted affirmation: ‘You’re Jr Blvd; +1 503 388 7701; cupandbar. beer. An intimate gem with a floor- sterling.coffee. Charming coffee powells.com. Be prepared to spend a doing great!’ For all Portland’s cool and quirky com. Where Ranger chocolate and to-ceiling whiskey selection, and a roasters serving genuinely lovely hefty chunk of time here, getting lost veneer, at its heart it’s a community of Trailhead coffee meet, this welcoming seasonal small plates menu that small-batch artisan coffee. among 70,000 square feet of new and neighbours, giving each other a leg-up and café also serves up simple yet complements the single malts. Stumptown Multiple locations; used books. You haven’t done Portland making food that’s worth venturing west for. creative dishes all day. The cold-brew Olympia Provisions Two locations; stumptowncoffee.com. There’s a if you haven’t flicked through the Nothing weird about that. mocktails are particularly brilliant. olympiaprovisions.com. Serving up reason why people queue for caffeine pages at Powell’s. Open late.

92 jamiemagazine.com jamiemagazine.com 93 Illustration: Jason Sturgill

DO International Rose Test Garden STAY Cycle Portland is one of the most 400 SW Kingston Ave; +1 503 823 Ace Hotel 1022 SW Stark St; bicycle-friendly cities in America, so 3636; portlandoregon.gov/parks. +1 503 228 2277; acehotel.com/ make the most of it, whether you Created in 1917 to preserve European portland. Cool downtown digs in the want to head out for a tasting tour of roses at risk of decimation during WWI, historic Clyde Hotel building. The the city’s foodie hotspots or hit the this is now a collection of more than magic is in the details – custom robes, off-road trails of Forest Park. Hire 7,000 rose bushes. A chorus of colour, freshly baked cookies, Malin + Goetz bikes from pedalbiketours.com or particularly from April and October. bath products… Modest, comfortable waterfrontbikes.com. Portland Japanese Garden rooms, each with its own unique wall Forest Park forestparkconservancy. 611 SW Kingston Ave; +1 503 223 art; deluxe rooms come with record org/forest-park. Incredible 15,000 1321; japanesegarden.com. The USA’s players, and Dutch bikes are available hectares of forest and trails in the largest and most authentic Japanese from the lobby. Hipster heaven, but in Tualatin Mountains overlooking north- garden, opened in 1967. Japanese all the right ways. west Portland. Go for a hike, get on maples, intricate trails and landscaped your bike, or just take a leisurely stroll gardens make this the ultimate spot MORE INFO and you’ll forget you’re in the city. for quiet contemplation. Visit travelportland.com

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