Portland OR kicks New York's Ass!
I returned from my trip to Portland OR last week with a whole new perspective, and frankly a whole lot of disappointment in my home town and self proclaimed food capital of the US, NYC. In my four days of eating and drinking in Portland, I'm convinced that New York is a second rate city food wise. Sure, we have the star chefs and all the hype generated by big media. But when it comes to substance, we are seriously lacking. We are the media capital, not the food capital.
Why does Portland trump NY? Let me count the ways. Rents are cheap attracting more young talent, so there are restaurants, cafés that roast their own beans, breweries, specialty food shops, farmer's markets everywhere. They have strict land use laws there which have limited urban and suburban sprawl, and preserved park lands and encouraged farming.
Impossible to find here without lots of trekking are readily available in common grocery stores, such as FRESH (not frozen or powdered) Galangal, Turmeric, Kaffir lime.
An abundance of mushrooms, microgreens and other produce line the shelves. I was even able to find TRUFFLES, just sitting on the shelves. Ridiculous. Cheese shops, fresh pasta shops... Oysters and Dungeness Crabs in live tanks, not over ice. Geoduck sushi. Whole Porchettas, freshly roasted, sitting in the deli case. Food carts all over town, serving all kinds of fare, from waffles to burgers to tacos of every kind, some of them are specialized in only serving egg sandwiches.
And that brings up another subject: people keep chickens in their yards, I went to a flower shop that sold heirloom breeds of chickens!!! Fresh pastured eggs abound at every breakfast place.
Twenty miles out of town is the Willamette Valley, gorgeous wine country with wines that are frankly delicious, less expensive and staffed by friendly people without the snooty attitude of the Hudson Valley winemakers.
I'm kind of depressed being back in this overpriced and overhyped and frankly mediocre navel gazing city.
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13 Comments:
Simon: You hit upon a lot of the things that made me fall in love with Portland. I would move back there in an instant if I could find a job. Unemployment there is high.
Adam Kuban at 12:09PM on 03/02/09
lol, yeah, it did seem like a bit of a hipster underemployed mecca as well. Everyone there looked like they were the fourth member of Nirvana. I don't think you would have a tough time finding work there though. You're a smart, talented and experienced guy. It's all about the hustle. I'd move there in a heartbeat too if I didn't have so many ties to the East Coast right now. Other big plusses were Mt Hood, 24/7 donuts shops, great hiking... (and Union Jack's ;) )
simon at 12:20PM on 03/02/09
As Adam said...pretty sure we have the highest unemployment in the nation right now, kissing 10%. I know the rents are cheaper than NYC (where isn't?) but they are actually higher than they should be for this big town (which it is). Other than that...yes we have many beautiful bounties here, glad you had a good time & too bad the Farmers Markets' hadn't kicked back in yet.
Kim Nyland at 12:26PM on 03/02/09
I missed it by one day, I left on a Tuesday, it was on Wednesday. A good reason to return!
simon at 12:29PM on 03/02/09
@Simon: I used to live two blocks from Union Jack's. Haven't thought about that place in years. Surprised it's still there—but sort of not surprised, either. Also: There are tons of talented, experienced people in Portland. It's one of those places where the guy serving you coffee has two master's degrees and the woman driving the bus has a PhD in something.
There was always good food there, but I think I missed the explosion in fine dining there. I left in 2000, and since then, I've read about tons of little experimental places opening up. Reading your words about fresh pasta reminded me of the fresh-pasta place on SE Hawthorne—probably near Kim's pizza place.
I also think Portland rivals NYC for brunch culture—and, IMHO, had better brunch options than NYC does. In better times, you could probably have started a breakfast/brunch place there and did alright for yourself.
Adam Kuban at 12:38PM on 03/02/09
I'm a native NYer and have always wanted to go to Portland. I've heard some great things about it before. This makes me want to go even more! I actually might have a chance soon, given one of my friends recently moved to Seattle and I hear it's not a bad drive from there.
Sara
Naturally Recommended
NaturallyRecommended at 12:40PM on 03/02/09
I love Portland. Don't forget all the micro-breweries.
bobbob at 1:40PM on 03/02/09
Interesting. I was thinking about moving to Portland after my move to Hawaii, but I was worried about the food offerings. This is looking hopeful, but who knows what the climate will be like in 20-30 years (my timeline).
Cassaendra at 1:44PM on 03/02/09
My best meals were at PokPok (phenomenal) Lovely Hula Hands, and Le Pigeon. Also delicious were Porque No, the Tin Shed, some random sushi place I can't remember that had geoduck and sweet shrimp, and Central Bakery. Best shops were Foster and Dobbs, New Seasons (where I found fresh truffles among other things) Central Market, Pasta Works, and Food Front Co-op. Had awesome donuts at Joe's Donut Shop in Sandy on the way to Mt Hood.
simon at 2:00PM on 03/02/09
Oh, also went to the Sake One brewery and visited Elk Cove Vineyards and Montinore Estate.
simon at 2:03PM on 03/02/09
Simon, sounds like you were in foodie heaven. I'm jealous. My sister-in-law lived there for a few years and always raved about it, but frankly I was dubious. Don't know why I'm more likely to believe you over her (except perhaps that she's a complete freak) but now I definitely want to take a trip there.
juliebugsmama at 3:01PM on 03/02/09
Oops, meant City Market. They're the ones who had a whole porchetta in their deli case and the live dungeness crabs. Amazing shop.
@juliebugs - thanks! If you're in the Northwest you really should swing through town. It's really a cool place. They also have a huge used bookstore called Powell's Books, it takes up an entire city block and is about three or four stories tall. Like the Strand on steroids. Great cooking, food and wine section :)
simon at 3:21PM on 03/02/09
Had an amazing meal at Paley's Place in Portland recently. I definitely recommend it.
witch at 4:08PM on 03/04/09