Portland on tap

No matter which path By Peter Szymczak With its abundance of comfortably casual bistros, gardens, you choose, exploring the and easy-to-navigate streets by foot, bus or bike, Portland, Oregon, offers a wide spectrum of tourist-friendly attractions. Farwest Trade Show’s You may think you know this Pacific Northwest city from host city is bound to be TV’s “Portlandia,” the sketch show that satirizes the lifestyles of the locals; or “Grimm,” the cop fantasy-drama featuring beautiful, delicious and fun shape-shifting monsters. While those shows accurately depict the unabashed weirdness of the bearded, tattooed hipsters who populate Portland, it is the un-ironically sunny disposi- tion of the locals that shines brightest at the height of sum- Photos clockwise from top left: mer when Farwest takes place. TriMet’s MAX (Metropolitan Area Express) Light Rail connects downtown Portland with outlying areas and the Portland The average temperature in August is 80 degrees, with few International Airport. PHOTO courtesy of www.travelportland.com rainclouds to despoil the sky. (Portland sees the majority of its is just one of the many worthy prolific rain during the winter months.) So, leave your umbrella dining destinations on Southeast Division Street. at home, and immerse yourself in Portland’s sights and flavors. PHOTO by Jamie FranciS Portland boasts more breweries (52!) than any city in the world. For the foodie BridgePort Brewing is one of the founders of the city’s beer scene. PHOTO by Torsten Kjellstrand Portland restaurants have earned fame for “farm-to-table” The vineyard view at Sokol Blosser Winery in Dundee, Oregon. cuisine. Chefs source the freshest ingredients available from photo by Jenny Hill area farmers, fishermen and ranchers, and list the names of

AUGUST 2014 ▲ DIGGER FARWEST EDITION 39 ▲ portland on tap

purveyors on their menus. The plates give a sense of place, reflecting what is grown locally and in season. Close to the Oregon Convention Center, home of the Farwest Trade Show, is a trio of notable hotspots. Chef Jason French of can often be found at the Saturday Portland Farmers Market, hunting for the day’s freshest produce to pickle and preserve. Back at the restaurant, he roasts whole Monolithic Haystack Rock rises 235 feet from the Pacific Ocean near Cannon Beach, Oregon. fish and poultry in one of the city’s Photo by Christian Heeb largest wood-fired ovens. No less impressive is the custom- international palette of flavors. Within a gardens in Suzhou. More than a hun- made stainless-steel grill at . As matter of blocks, you can dine on Thai dred trees, orchids, water plants, peren- you might expect from the restaurant’s food at , Italian at Ava Gene’s, nials, bamboos and shrubs are located name, the menu is heavily meat-focused Northwest fare at The Woodsman Tavern, throughout the garden. — the mixed grill platter for two easily Indian at , and for feeds three. Seafood selections and sal- dessert, ice cream at Salt & Straw. For the work-cationer ads are also substantial. These restaurants have some of the If your stay in Portland is limited to Equally robust is , the most-wanted tables in town, so if you are Farwest, you probably won’t have time Spanish-influenced restaurant where planning to treat a loyal or new client, to venture out of the city. But, if you chef/butcher John Gorham offers a make a reservation sooner than later. can tack on an extra night or two, here lengthy list of sharable plates and are a few fun extracurricular daytrips. house-cured meats. For the nature seeker Cannon Beach on the Oregon Farther afield, the neighborhood Portland ranks among the top 10 cit- Coast is 80 miles west of Portland. Take surrounding Southeast Divison Street ies in the United States for parkland per a walk along the beach and gaze at has blossomed into one of the city’s capita, and exercising outdoors is a great Haystack Rock, then wade through the premier dining corridors, offering an way to work off all that great food! numerous art galleries in town. Stretching for more than eight miles An hour-and-a-half drive east along on hillsides overlooking the Willamette U.S. 26 (Sunset Highway) will take you River, Forest Park is one of the coun- to majestic Mt. Hood. At the top is the try’s largest urban forest reserves. About historic ski resort Timberline Lodge, 70 miles of recreational trails crisscross which has the longest skiing season in the park. the U.S.; it is open for skiers and snow- If you need some time away from boarders every month of the year. all the hustle and bustle of Farwest, find Oregon’s Willamette Valley is fertile serenity at the Portland Japanese Garden, ground not only for plant nurseries but a 5.5-acre haven of tranquil beauty also wineries. The Red Hills of Dundee, nestled in Portland’s scenic West Hills. It famous for Pinot Noir, are just an hour’s has been proclaimed the most authentic drive away. And right now, visitors trav- Japanese garden outside of Japan. eling from Oregon on an Alaska Airlines In the same proximity is the flight (including Horizon Air) can check International Rose Test Garden in a case of Oregon wine for free. Washington Park, which offers the quin- This is just a small sampling of rec- tessential bird’s-eye view of Portland. ommendations. For more fun things to The garden spans more than 10,000 see and do, visit TravelPortland.com. plantings and 500-plus rose varieties. The Lan Su Chinese Garden is a Peter Szymczak serves as publications walled oasis enclosing a full city block assistant for the Oregon Association of Founded in 1917, the International Rose Test Garden in the Chinatown area of the downtown Nurseries and as a writer and art direc- in Washington Park is the oldest continuously operated public rose test garden in the United Old Town district. The garden is influ- tor for Digger magazine. Email him at States. Photo courtesy of www.travelportland.com enced by many of the famous classical [email protected].

40 AUGUST 2014 ▲ DIGGER FARWEST EDITION Portland to-do For the foodie Ava Gene’s 3377 S.E. Division St. 971-229-0571, avagenes.com

Bollywood Theater 3010 S.E. Division St. 503-477-6699, bollywoodtheaterpdx.com

Ned Ludd 3925 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 503-288-6900, nedluddpdx.com

Ox 2225 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 503-284-3366, oxpdx.com

Pok Pok 3226 S.E. Division St. 503-232-1387, pokpokpdx.com If You Don’t Portland Farmers Market Have 1717 S.W. Park Ave. 503-241-0032, portlandfarmersmarket.com THIS Salt & Straw 3345 S.E. Division St. on your 503-208-2054, saltandstraw.com fertilizer Toro Bravo 120 N.E. Russell St. bag Then You Don’t 503-281-4464, torobravopdx.com Have

The Woodsman Tavern 4537 S.E. Division St. THIS 971-373-8264, woodsmantavern.com in your For the nature seeker fertilizer Forest Park 503-823-4492, forestparkconservancy.org bag Japanese Garden 611 S.W. Kingston Ave. ® 503-223-1321, japanesegarden.com

International Test Rose Garden 850 S.W. Rose Garden Way 503-227-7033, rosegardenstore.org

Lan Su Chinese Garden 239 N.W. Everett St. 503-228-8131, lansuchinesegarden.org There’s only one fertilizer that provides the same For the work-cationer consistent, reliable performance of APEX, and that’s Cannon Beach APEX fertilizer. Anyone can blend a bag of fertilizer that cannonbeach.org matches a certain analysis, but only APEX can manufacture a Red Hills of Dundee product coated with the latest controlled release technology, dundeehills.org GAL-XeONE. When you want the performance of APEX, buy APEX. Timberline Lodge 27500 W. Leg Rd. www.simplot.com/APEX 503-272-3311, timberlinelodge.com ©2014 J.R. Simplot Company. All rights reserved.

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