Portland: "foodie-est" neighborhood?

[Absonot]

My boyfriend and I are planning a long weekend up there (we're in SF) this June, and we want to find a hotel that's in the best spot for getting the most out of the food, coffee, and beer scene.

So if there were a Ground Zero for the food and ingredients that typify Portland, where would it be? Our plan is to wake up, put on our walking shoes, and eat/drink our way around town all day. So I'm trying to avoid hotels that are surrounded by chains and other "safe" restaurants for tourists. I'd love to wake up, walk a few blocks for fabulous coffee, walk a few more for a great beer, walk a few more for excellent oysters…you get the idea.

I have this idea in my head that this perfect scenario is possible in Portland. Is it?

Thanks in advance, I'm REALLY looking forward to the trip!

[lpfaf]

Definitely hit the food carts downtown if you stay at the Ace. I'd recommend Ziba's Pitas (fluffy, custardy, souffle-like Bosnian pitas) in the 10th/Alder cluster, and I also love The Whole Bowl because of that sauce I just can't parse out...certainly olive oil, garlic, and turmeric...but what else? Someday I'll figure it out. There's another cart-land cluster at 5th and something, but I'm not as familiar with the options there.

I agree that it's worth the walk/bus/taxi across the Burnside Bridge to the many excellent eastside eateries, but I feel like the homeless population here is getting short shrift. I've lived in and visited a number of large, medium, and small cities across the US, and found that the homeless here are remarkably polite and generally non-threatening. If you can look someone in the eye and say, "no, sorry," you'll be left alone, and probably thanked. There is no reason other than the distance to be concerned about crossing the Burnside bridge on foot.

[duckduck]

http://www.trimet.org/
for checking buses if you want to go wandering. The #20 goes up and down burnside, runs about every 15 minutes and will cost you $1.75. $4.25 will get you an all day ticket.

[Nettie]

Actually, I think I'm the only one who said that I would want to avoid walking across the Burnside bridge, but I didn't say anything about the homeless population (my statement was about junkies, and I don't think that homeless=junkie). I agree that Portland's homeless are generally not at all aggressive about panhandling and I see no reason to avoid them.

[SauceSupreme]

If you're thinking about walking outside of your hotel and having lots of chow-worthy options, your best bet would be to stay at the Ace Hotel:

1) Instant access to Clyde Common, Kenny & Zukes Deli, and Stumptown.
2) Almost-instant access to Powell's City of Books and also the galleries in the Pearl.
3) Streetcar access to allow you to easily explore downtown Portland, as well as fast access into NW 21st/23rd, which has many destination restaurants like Wildwood, Paley's, Ken's Artisan Bakery, etc.
4) Just around the corner from 10th/Alder, where many food carts are. This is also right next to the culinary institute.
5) If you're renting a car, it's easy to hop onto Burnside to cross the river and get lots of stuff on the east side. If you're just going to use mass-transit, downtown will be a hub for all the various bus lines and rail.

[Absonot]

THANK YOU everyone. This is exactly the kind of insight I was hoping for. Ace hotel was one of my top choices (although I'm a little worried I'm not hip enough!), Le Pigeon is also at the top of my list, and my BF is a food cart freak!

It looks like you guys have helped me nail things down. Many thanks

[Nettie]

Well, as an eastsider, I think the best food is on this side of the river, but it's not very concentrated in one area. You could certainly take public transportation to get places, but there's not too many places where you could just walk to a bunch of different restaurants and in the more concentrated areas (Hawthorne, 28th east, and Alberta) I don't know of any hotels.

My advice would be to stay at the Ace Hotel downtown, where you are in the same building as Stumptown coffee, Kenny and Zuke's deli, and the excellent Clyde Commons. You're within walking distance of the Pearl district, which has quite a few good places, and since you're downtown, there are a lot of transportation options (streetcar to northwest portland, bus or Max train to the east). You might want to check out the TriMet website at http://www.trimet.org for bus and train options.

[AlbertaHound]

I agree. Also agree that those three places mentioned are great places to take the bus to (28 East - that's SE 28th from Ankeny to Davis, Hawthorne and Alberta). I'd also add that an interesting walk would be to go from the Ace to the Doug Fir / Le Pigeon area of E Burnside. It's sketchy. You'll pass soup kitchens, homeless, drug dealers, but it will also give you a great survey of Portland, both by way of the view from the Burnside Bridge, and also the culture. If you want a great food experience, eat at Le Pigeon. Then some live music at Doug Fir, and maybe take a cab back to the hotel...

[Nettie]

Remember that Biwa is just a few blocks away from Le Pigeon, although it's hard to see how you would combine the two of them--we usually look in the windows of the Pidge, decide that the wait is too long, then walk over to Biwa and have Japanese ramen and skewers there.

If you don't want to walk all the way down Burnside (and I wouldn't--there's a lot of junkies around the bridge and when I've walked there at night I feel like a big target) I think the #20 bus runs right down Burnside.

[chickenlover]

Although Portland has some nice walking neighborhoods, none of them have hotels. If I were you I'd get a hotel downtown (west side, not Lloyd/Convention Center). Downtown is kind of quiet in the evenings but there's some good stuff sprinkled about and you would be close to the Pearl District and just across the river from some nice east side neighborhoods.