Folk, Fall, and Fermentation in Portland

Halloween weekend in Portland was exactly what these SF transplants needed to feel the seasons change and experience fall foliage. Leaves on the ground, people dressed up in the streets (unless that’s keeping Portland weird), and crisp fall beers.

The sights, music venues and record shops:

• Doug Fir Lounge - we saw a Max Frost show here, intimate setting in the basement of a restaurant and a next door hotel; also has fire pits

• Mississippi Studios - used to be a Baptist church

  • Bar Bar next door with lots of outdoor seating and a fire pit

• Crystal Ballroom - located downtown, had a 80s halloween party when we were in town but top talent dolls through

• Roseland Theatre - also originally a church and located in Old Town Chinatown

• Record stores

  • Mississippi records - on the way to the Mississippi Studios - co-signed by Jamie xx and R.E.M’s Peter Buck, right next to the Portland MOMA (which is the smallest museum in the world)

  • Crossroads Music

  • Music Millennium

  • Musique plastique - very small record store in Alberta

  • 2nd Avenue records

Where to stay:

• Pearl District - The majority of the hotels are located here. We were at the Duniway Hilton hotel, skip breakfast there even though JackRabbitt is on lots of brunch lists but nice rooms and awesome lobby/bar

• Pick a downtown area and stay in an AirBnB (Nob Hill, Northwest, Alberta, Richmond)

Where to eat: PNW Asian Southern

• Pine Street Biscuits - worth the line and the hype, have to get the fried chicken with the egg on it and don’t skip the hashbrowns; check out the one in Alberta and then walk around the Arts district

• Han Oak - Our friends highly recommend their Korean food but we tried Revelry before seeing the show at Doug Fir Lounge, amazing fried chicken. There’s a carved out spot in the restaurant for a DJ who spins music just loud enough for it to feel super lively without ruining the moment and conversation - big points in our book.

• Olympia Provisions - charcuterie plates from heaven, so much so that we purchased summer sausage to fly home with from the Pine City Market (another food heaven to check out)  

• Blue Star Donuts - don’t have the comparison to Voodoo but would definitely wait for these puppies again

• Bamboo Sushi - went to the NW location, really enjoyed our rolls

Where to drink: IPAs and more IPAs

• Great Notion Brewing - for someone who doesn’t usually like fruity sour beers, Great Notion has perfected it with their buffalo plaid flannels and beard logo.

• 10 Barrel Brewing - awesome on a nice day with their rooftop bar

• BridgePort Brew Pub - has a nice patio, they were having their 21st anniversary of one of their IPAs

• Fat Heads Brewery - great logo and good beer

• Shift drinks - for a change up from all the breweries, really cool space and chill if that’s the vibe you are looking for

Where to listen:

• Portland waterfront park

• Japanese Garden - don’t stand in line to buy your tickets. Buy tickets online and stand in the member line to confirm

• Saturday market - what other farmers market would have walking sticks and bird homes?

• Powell’s City of Books - everyone is right, it’s an amazing bookstore you could get lost in for days on end

• Exploring all the Portland neighborhoods

And the sounds:

Portland has a vibrant music scene and is the home of the Shins, Elliott Smith, and She & Him. So it’s really lively and exciting! But as your in any coffee shop, restaurant, brewery, bookstore, and bar you can hear folk in the background.

• Between the Bars - Elliott Smith
• Simple Song - The Shins
• Down by the Water - The Decemberists
• We Used to be Friends - The Dandy Warhols 
• You Really Got a  Hold on Me - She & Him 
• Open your Eyes - STRFKR
• Feel it Still - Portugal. the Man
• The High Road - Broken Bells
• Float On - Modest Mouse
• Leave a Light On - Tom Walker
• It's a Shame - First Aid Kit
• High all Day - Max Frost
• Hollow - Belle Mt
• My My My! - Troye Sivian
• Paradise - George Ezra