Portland Part I

If you're a bit lost, start HERE

Over the summer, I was supposed to do a lot of things. I was supposed to climb a mountain (yeah right), work on my writing (ditto), and go to a music festival. The music festival plan went 10 types of sideways, so instead I went to Portland for 4 days to eat my way through America's hipster capital.

LET ME TELL YOU

I did not want to come home. I may have cried a little upon liftoff. But before all the sadness and goodbyes, I managed to enjoy the city throughly. Rolling in on a balmy August Wednesday, the city welcomed me with open arms.

The first thing I noticed about downtown Portland was that the transit system was way better than back home. (thanks Calgary)

The second thing I noticed was the food carts. 

In a handful of strategic spots downtown, Portland has given an entire city block over to various food carts. I'm talking tacos, shawarma, donair, kebobs, fried chicken, ramen, paleo BBQ, sushi, Cajun cuisine, donuts, raw vegan treats, pasta. 

My Uptown Girl

It was a Valhalla of food, a place where 4 lefts made a right, and you could eat whatever your heart desired. I spent a large portion of my first afternoon wandering these hallowed halls and marvelling at the pure numbers of food carts and trucks set up. The rest of the time was spent trying to find my AirBnB and power nap for 14 hours.

The only picture I remembered to take

Day Two: The Dough-ginning (like Beginning but with dough)

Thursday morning was spent waiting for my travel companion to land and find his way downtown; Thursday afternoon was all about the doughnuts, baby. 

The Marmalade Sandwich

We made the trek to Blue Star Donuts, a gourmet doughnut shop with several locations in the Portland area. Dining upon an orange and olive oil cake doughnut, a blueberry basil glazed brioche, and a horchata-inspired yeast ring(left, center and right, respectively) life was good. Real good. 


I soon developed fryer exhaustion due to having eaten nothing but deep fried treats all day.
So I went and ate a deep fried pretzel.

My dear friend and travelling companion has a fondness for craft brews, so we found ourselves seated in the Deschutes Brewery. I couldn't tell you a lick about the beer, but the pretzel helped curb my salty cravings for the day.

The cheese was good too, I'm told

We ended the day with a 14 hour carb nap, and here is where this portion of my Portland rundown ends. Keep an eye out for Part II, featuring a very special tiny guest! 

As always, follow me @tallblondehungryyyc on Instagram and Happy Eating!