I just got back from my first trip to Portland, OR, courtesy of friends from college. I have to say that the dominant feature of the trip was not the mountains or the coast or Powell’s or the gazillion bridges. It was eating.

The day I traveled out, Thursday, I ate five meals. They were all time-zone appropriate—breakfast (6:30am EST), breakfast (9:30am CST), lunch (12pm MST), lunch (2pm PST), and dinner (7pm PST)—but still, holy many meals in one day, batman!

The meals before I got to Portland weren’t notable, but once there we went to the Blue Moose Cafe for lunch, and I had my first hummus sandwich with vegetarian chili meal of the trip. I haven’t had a hummus sandwich in a couple of years (I used to get them at the Maryland Food Collective when I was still teaching) and I have to say it was pretty darn good. Mostly, it was nice to be in a place where the avocado was ripe and included as a fixin’s option. We couldn’t resist dessert, and shared two, both of which were excellent: the shop’s ‘moose bar’ (a peanut butter puffed rice bar covered in chocolate, with rice syrup rather than marshmallows) and apple crisp.

For dinner, we went to Caprial’s Bistro, which is (I learned from a display on the way out) associated with a cooking show. We were treated very well by the staff, as my host goes there relatively frequently, and we had a fun evening catching up. I was happy to sample an Oregon pinot noir, and a Willamette Valley Riesling, and catch up with friends. And let’s not forget a delicious apple galette that included almonds and raisins (yum!).

The next day, Friday, I had another excellent deli lunch at Vepadoes: my favorite sandwich (pepper turkey with avocado) and a Kombucha Wonder Drink. This was my first KWD, and I am totally hooked. I loved it, and the fact that it tasted a little weird just made it better, in the vein of Cel-Ray soda (now owned by Pepsi, much to my regret). While there, I enjoyed checking out the pottery they had for sale, by a local guy who apparently is the neighbor of the owner of the shop (they have a display for food bartering system of some kind, I imagine). My own work is nowhere near that level, but I liked imagining that I might one day be making large vases or display bowls.

That night for dinner, I met a friend and we tried to go to the Kennedy School, but decided to pass on the wait (it wasn’t too long, but we were getting kind of hungry). We walked around and admired the interior, and then headed over to the Concordia Ale House, where we had really excellent pub food. She had the fish and chips (beer-batter dipped, but not the thick nasty buttermilk kind of batter) and I had a turkey reuben on marbled rye (what I know as a ‘Rachel,’ but that’s not a consistent designation). I actually didn’t/don’t drink much beer, but I tried a glass of a local red, which a high school friend conveniently showed up in time to finish. I find it kind of amusing that the bar is relatively new, and replaced a dive that sounds much more the style of my friends 10 years ago, but that I wouldn’t have enjoyed nearly as much now.

The next day, Saturday, my good friend from college took me to the Tin Shed, where we had an excellent breakfast. I was put in mind of some of my favorite Ann Arbor breakfast options, as the place had the feeling of the Northside Grill (with complimentary unlimited coffee and tea while you wait) and scrambles in the style of the hippie hash at the Fleetwood (except with gourmet type combos of veggies and cheese). Passing on the dairy meant I had my scramble (the salmon one) cheeseless, potato pancakes (instead of the cheese grits), and toast (sourdough) instead of the buttermilk biscuit. But it was still great.

For the other meal of the day, we went to Hedge House, where I had my second hummus sandwich and veggie chili meal of the trip. The sandwich was great, and the chili was good, too, but not as good as the Blue Moose version. Again, I didn’t have a beer so I can’t report on the legendary brewmeisters of Portland, but the food was good and it was empty in the late afternoon, so we got a booth and were able to hang out and talk. Those following along at home may have noticed the predominance of places in NE Portland (where I was staying); we went to this one in SE Portland because it was right around the corner from my other friend’s house.

The next day, Sunday, we didn’t eat out in Portland at all. At lunchtime, we were at the coast, and ate lunch while warming up at Brewin’ in the Wind, in Oceanside, an establishment that has the winter business for that stretch of the shore pretty much locked up. The food was basic, but hot and pretty tasty, if overpriced for what we had (the prerogative of the one place open in town). In the evening, we ate at home, a lovely meal cooked by one of my hosts: pasta in garlic and oil, blackened green beans, and pear tarte tatin. This was accompanied by a white table wine from the region, that was pleasantly dry and flavorful.

My last day in town, Monday, developed an Asian theme later in the day. Breakfast was a home-cooked frittata, with potatoes and onions, prepared for us by my host. It was delicious and filling, especially with the tasty campagnolo bread from Grand Central and blackberry jam. For lunch, we ate at the Daily Cafe in Rejuvenation. The sandwich was nothing special, but the macaroon I got was excellent! Besides the chocolate drizzle on the top, it turned out to contain chopped pecans, chopped dried apricots, and little tiny dark chocolate chips. I think I can say that the only thing that could have possibly made it better would be coconut rum. They were so good that I bought several to take back with me on my flight home.

After lunch, we visited the Portland Classical Chinese Gardens, and warmed up afterwards in their tea house. The tea house serves Tao of Tea products only (which I hadn’t realized was also a local Portland company), and we each only had tea. I tried the red clover, and my friend had the black peony. They were both lovely, and we whiled away the time drinking many small cups of tea.

For dinner that night, my final meal in Portland was at Mio Sushi (I’m not sure which location, but not the one in NW Portland), selected for the head-clearing properties of wasabi and the tonic quality of miso soup. We ate a selection of tuna and salmon rolls, with a couple of veggie ones thrown in for variety, all of which were quite flavorful. This also presented an unlooked-for opportunity to demonstrate my mediocre chopstick technique; I have been told that a vacation to China or Japan will quickly remedy that for me. At any rate, it was sushi west coast style, and that was good enough for me.

Finally, as if all of these great restaurants and home-cooked meals weren’t enough food excitement for one trip, I finally sampled a tangelo, beloved fruit of one of my favorite people. The one I had was organic, from New Seasons market, and (as advertised) totally juicy and delicious.

So there you have it.