The Picks of Portland! Patrick Roscoe's Restaurant and Hotel finds....
Thank you Patrick! We can't wait to get to Portland.....
Though I felt a bit misplaced without a hipster-approved tattoo or fixed-gear bike in Portland – probably even the cops have both – I felt downright homey stuffing my mouth with food at one of the city’s many superlative restaurants. In an effort to encourage similar overindulgence in Portland, here is a list of places not to miss, in addition to a few hotels that provide comfortable, and much needed, post-meal naps.
Restaurants:
Tasty N Sons (Breakfast)
Where we began our bacchanal. As we waited for our table, the hostess handed us two
coffee mugs, and we enjoyed several cups of famous Stumptown Coffee while we perused the nearby boutique shops. Highlights of our breakfast included baked cherries topped with melted taleggio cheese, and a chocolate and potato donut.
We chose the tasting menu. Do not pass up the pork belly and asparagus tempura with aioli dipping sauce. It would be akin to going to Vegas and not seeing Celine Dion.
Mother's Bistro & Bar (Breakfast)
Another great breakfast spot. I went with the caprese omelette, which made my taste buds spoon each other. My girlfriend, Jillian, felt bold and ordered the breakfast nachos, which are potatoes covered in melted cheddar cheese, scallions, and sour cream. Oh, and we split a blueberry pancake to start.
Probably my favorite restaurant of the bunch, and I’m sure our just completing an eighteen mile bike ride through the South Eastern part of Portland had something to do with it. I feasted on the albacore special at the counter top while watching the two chefs dish up plate after plate of perfection. A James Beard Award hangs unassumingly on the restaurant's back wall.
Chocolate mousse for lunch, anyone? Jillian also raved about the cucumber soup, and my chef’s salad was finger-licking massive and excellent. The restaurant sits inside an old warehouse that has been renovated into a mall/business space. Bunk’s Sandwiches, another popular spot, is right across the street.
We took our good friend Peter Freidlander to this Spanish tapas restaurant. Its owners also run the aforementioned Tasty N Sons, and the three of us ordered so many plates that our waitress called us off. 
The staff looks like the indie band, Fleet Foxes. And the food is out-of-this-world superb. This was our last meal in Portland, and quite possibly the most memorable. Ned Ludd, as you might recall, is the fictional leader of the Luddite movement. The restaurant snubs its nose at modern cooking. Instead, most of the vegetables are pickled. Kitchen machinery is used at a minimum. Everything is cooked on a wood-burning stovetop. But enough about its inimitable food; I’ve never had better sangria in my life. Jillian tells me that we took a plane back to Los Angeles, but I’m pretty sure we ran with the bulls in Pamplona at some point during the night.
Hotels
Though most of our time was spent inside restaurants, The Nines provided us with a great home base downtown. The lobby’s bar is hopping at night; the locals refer to The Nines as “very LA.” I don’t know if that will encourage you to stay there, or detract you.
This is probably the hipper of the two hotels, and it’s conveniently located right across from legendary Powell’s Books. Clyde Common, yet another popular dinner spot, resides in the Ace’s lobby. We actually ended up at Clyde Common’s bar two nights in a row. It’s got an impressive scotch list, and the bartenders are eager to consult with you on an appropriate drink.
Stay tuned for a write-up on Oregon’s wine country…