Beverage Inquiries
My wife and I will be visiting Portland this upcoming weekend, and we have figured out where we will be eating (Cafe Campagne, Ten01, Kenny and Zuke's, Sahagun, and Bijou Cafe are all planned destinations). What we do not know is:
Best coffee right downtown (other than Stumptown, which has turned into something of a chain)
Best retail outlet in or near downtown to purchase bottles of spirits. We are looking for high quality rums, scotches, bourbons, and/or tequilas at reasonable prices.
Thanks in advance.
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Stumptown
4525 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97206
By anewton
on May 12, 2010 07:42 PM
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For coffee, Spella has a cart and a new brick-n-mortar spot (both Downtown) -
http://spellacaffe.com/
Not Downtown, but not far either, my favorite coffee in town is Ristretto, with 2 locations close-in on the East Side -
http://ristrettoroasters.com/
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Sadly, Spella is not open on weekends: M-F only.
Ristretto is good, but a little closer to downtown is Coffeehouse Northwest and Sterling Coffee Roasters. There's also Barista in the Pearl district, which is great but more expensive than the others.
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Oops, good catch! I seem to have glossed over the weekend thing...
I haven't been to Coffeehouse Northwest since like 2007, when I was living a few blocks away over near W. Burnside & 22nd. Great rec! I should head there soon myself, for old times' sake.
I hadn't heard of Sterling Coffee Roasters myself until just now. There's another one to add to my own must-visit list...
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I'm almost never downtown on weekday mornings, so I am hyper-aware that those are the only opportunities to go to Spella!
Sterling was started by a couple of the guys from Coffeehouse Northwest recently, and is located in a little stall next to the Trader Joes on NW Glisan. They roast in 1 pound batches in a sample roaster. As at Coffeehouse Northwest, they are quite friendly and will gladly discuss all aspects of roasting and coffee with you if you want.
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Perhaps you mean Cafe Castagna? I believe Cafe Campagne is in Seattle...it's a helluva 3hr drive for dinner! ;o)
OLCC regs mean that you are paying pretty much the same price anywhere, unless there are specific sales. Alcohol sales are regulated really heavily here...almost ridiculously so.
They do have a good website that will show what is being brought into the state, aka what is available as inventory, at what prices, even what sales and specials - yep, they control that too (really, don't ask, it's absurd). Also full listing of all liquor stores in the state with clickable links to maps, and other stuff:
http://www.oregon.gov/OLCC/liquor_sto...
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Cafe Castagna
1758 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214
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You're right. I meant Castagna, not Campagne.
I'm thinking I should buy my booze in Washington state as it appears that perhaps Oregon is not the land of deals for spirits. I am from Canada and was hoping to take advantage of your comparatively cheap liquor prices but perhaps Washington has better deals than Oregon? I sure know I was happy earlier this year to find a 750 ml bottle of Maker's Mark on sale for 21.99 at a Rite Aid in California (as opposed to the $47 it costs in BC!?)
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Castagna
1752 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214
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No, we are NOT the land of cheap booze. We are, however, the land of artisanal booze. I give you Distillery Row:
http://www.distilleryrowpdx.com/
Also, Rogue Brewery (aside from lots of taps (all theirs, some aren't even bottled) and great taster trays, also makes spirits (JUST DO NOT EAT THERE!! sorry to yell, but I do not want you to think in any way that eating food there is OK - go in between meals and snacks): http://www.rogue.com/spirits/spirits.php
And the folks that pretty much started it all (and still make some of the highest quality stuff around), Clear Creek Distillery: http://www.clearcreekdistillery.com/
So, maybe save shopping in WA for the way back, you could fall in love with a local product...happens here all the time! ;o
)And if ya want cheap booze, plan a trip to CA and go to a supermarket (esp a big box store market)...notorious for some of the cheapest booze and deals.
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Clear Creek Distillery
2389 NW Wilson St, Portland, OR
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