I spent this past weekend exploring Portland.  I had always heard good things about the city, but had never been to Oregon or even spent much time in the Pacific Northwest.  My mom had a meeting at the downtown Hilton, so my dad and I flew up to meet her.  It was a great excuse for me to get out of Santa Barbara and escape the smoke from the Tea Fire.  We got in late Friday and headed for Paley’s Place for dinner based on the recomendation of a friend.  The food was fantastic.  I had a house made charcuterie plate to start and fennel braised pork shoulder with sweet potato gnocchi as an entree.  We also had a 2005 pinot from Domaine Serene.

We spent Saturday exploring downtown Portland and the Pearl district.  We started at the Saturday Market browsing the handmade crafts, then walked over to Powell’s Books.  Powell’s is an awesome book store.  I’m not sure how much time we spent wandering the aisles.  I bought the new Paley’s Place cookbook, which will be a nice way to learn more about the food from in the Pacific Northwest.  We had lunch at Henry’s Tavern.  The pizza was ok, but the beer was quite good.  I went with the Ninkasi Tricerahops since I love the bite of hops in my beer.  We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the Pearl District.  One of things I loved about Portland was how easy it was to get around without a car.  Being free of driving meant I could booze midday.  After Henry’s, we checked out a famous Oregon brewery, Rogue Ales.  I had a cask, fresh-hopped, Independence ale.  It had good, balanced hops and some nice floral notes.  To take a break from boozine, we did some shopping.  My dad and I smoked cigars from Rich’s while my mom got knitting tips from Knit Knot.  We walked back the hotel to relax for a bit before dinner.

For dinner, we went back over to the Pearl to eat at Park Kitchen.  It’s a small restaurant, only about 15 tables, with a chic urban feel.  Most of the tables are in a back room next to the small open kitchen.  There are only three chefs working, and since I love food, enjoyed watching how the kitchen works.  I started with a pumpkin ravioli and braised rabbit.  For a salad, I had persimmon salad with hazelnut chips.  It was a fairly simple dish, but I loved the fall flavors and the ingredients were all top notch.  For an entree, I had roasted pork loin that came with a chestnut spaetzle.  We had another great Oregon pinot with dinner, the 2006 Black Cap from the Williamette Valley.  Neither of the wines we had this weekend were classic pinots, as my mom always preferes wines with “balls” (ie, cabs or syrahs).  The wines we had were definitely heavier than a typical pinot, but both at least retained some pinot characteristics.  I was so stuffed from dinner, I skipped dessert and had a sinus clearing 10 year old bourbon from Pappy van Winkle.  I had never had an aged bourbon before, and after getting over the initial vapors, I enjoyed it quite a bit.  I drink a lot of scotch, but haven’t been knocked on my ass by the fumes of a drink in a while.  Kudos to you, Pappy van Winkle.

On Sunday, my mom and I walked down by the waterfront.  At this point, I probably should add we had some amazing weather this weekend.  I’m assuming mostly clear skies, and temperatures in the high fifties are not the norm for Portland in November.  But, that’s what we had this weekend.  After the walk, we had a nice brunch at Bluehour, again in the Pearl, before heading to the airport.  I had a wonderful time in Portland, and I will definitely be back sometime in the future.  My parents’ flight was 3 hours before mine, but at least that gives me an excuse to try out some of Laurelwood’s beers (the Free Range Red is awesome).