On the road with a picky teen - PDX

[Lisa Clement]

I will be traveling with my son to visit colleges in Portland and Eugene and would love some suggestions that will keep a burger, chicken and pizza loving teen happy without driving me to distraction by eating substandard food. Casual is fine, as long as there are a few options for me - preferably those that include microbrews and pinot noir. Also, we will be staying at the Hilton on 6th, will we be in walking distance to any of the food cart areas? I got a little thrill reading the threads!

[MyNextMeal]

Places to try:
Higgins (bistro-part): http://higgins.ypguides.net/
Toro Bravo - has a burger but I've never tried it - it looks really good, though.
Davis Street Tavern - there's a thread going on this place - great happy hour.
Ping - skewers of meat..
Pok Pok - several incarnations of chicken that are great (and I don't like chicken all that well).
Noble Rot - wine bar with simple/basic food menu
Le Pigeon even has a burger the last time I checked...

Yes you will be within walking distance to the food carts. Portland is a pretty compact city.

[angieu]

TONS of great food carts downtown, my favorite being the Whole Bowl (10th & Alder). You might win some cool points with the kid by taking him to the french fry cart on SE 11th & Hawthorne.

[nkeane]

well, all good suggestions, but Noble rot is a wine "bar", you might want to check on their MInors policy. Also, SInce Davis Street only offers the HH in the bar, I would assume that is out as well.

Another issue is that the 11th and Hawthorne card pod is primarily a late night spot. Most of the good carts dont open til 8pm. If that works for you, then yes, they are a hoot! Potato Champion and Wiffies(fried hand pies, both sweet and savory) are tremendously popular.

other Teen friendly places that will also satisfy you are::
Fire on the Mountain(wings)
K&Z deli(best Pastrami and reubens in town)
Apizza Scholls(well, Pizza. but IMO and plenty of others, some of the best in the COUNTRY)

[MyNextMeal]

I've seen kiddies at Noble Rot on the balcony and my colleague recently took her older high school children to Davis St Tavern during HH...so there shouldn't be a problem.

[Lisa Clement]

Late is good for us, especially in the summer. Are the carts open on Sunday nights? I see they are across the river - I've lived in Manhattan, D.C. and Oakland - that's a change in culture, but not in your city, I suppose?

[Nettie]

There's no reason to avoid the east side. It might be a little scruffier than the downtown area, but it's pretty safe. A lot of the places mentioned so far are on the east side: Toro Bravo, Pok Pok, Le Pigeon, Noble Rot, Fire on the Mountain, Apizza Scholls...

I'll second the advice to check on the policy toward minors--I was unable to eat at Higgins bar once because a friend didn't bring her ID and looked underage. They don't allow minors there period.

[goodbyeohio]

i second fire on the mountain. excellent wings, delicious sandwiches/salads for the non-wing eater, cool vibe, and plenty of good microbrews on tap.