10/22/2011: I’ve been living here in Portland for over twice as long now as when I wrote this post, so perhaps an update would be nice, eh? Most of the places I loved back then, I still love (or at least like) now, but I’ve made many new discoveries, and some things have changed… as noted, new things and changes to the list are italicized or crossed out.
I’m superduper excited that Sock Summit is happening right here in Portland – not being a sock knitter myself, I wouldn’t have enough of a reason to travel if it were elsewhere, but since it’s here, I’ll get to attend the luminary panel, the ravelry party, check out the marketplace, and be a part of the fun! For any readers who are traveling here this weekend, I thought I’d take this opportunity to make a list of my own personal favorite Portland spots! We have so many (SO many) favorite spots in this amazing city, it’s hard to condense it, so I’m including multiple choices in different areas for some categories. These are all places that are seriously worth making it to while you’re in town!
As for navigating – Portland is divided into 5 quadrants (yes, 5, I know) – SE (my hood!), NE, SW, NW, and North – and all addresses have the quadrant in the street name, making it easy to figure out where things are! Also helping make for easy navigation is the grid system – most of the city has numbered streets running north-south, starting at the river, and counting out. So, if an address is something like “3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd” you know it’s in the SE quadrant, and the number means its nearest number cross-street is 37th (37 blocks away from the river) – making it super easy to find even if you have no idea where that is! Just find Hawthorne on your map (I use old fashioned paper maps – if you have a gps thing, then this whole navigation explanation is irrelevant anyway) and follow the numbered streets till you hit 37th.
By the way, I am totally east-ist, so most of these spots will be on the east side of the river. Also, I don’t eat meat, so all the food places have great veggie options, but they all have plenty of meat too! Portland is fantastic about food diversity – most everywhere you go has plenty of choices for all eaters! And, designing hats hasn’t exactly made me rich (yet? hah!) so all of our favorite spots are way on the cheap side or have great affordable options!
leethal’s Best of Portland:
Note: new places added 2 years later (in October 2011), are italicized, and anything I wrote then which is no longer true (or no longer existing) iscrossed out.
- Breakfast: Junior’s (SE), Gravy (N), Jam (SE), Genie’s (SE), Broder (SE)
- Bakery which is also great for breakfast: Sweetness (SE)
- Brewery restaurant: Hopworks (SE) (great happy hour menu; see more beer info below), Hedge House (SE), Laurelwood (NE), Hair of the Dog (SE)
- Sandwiches: East Side Deli (SE) (delicious vegan “meat” option)
- Pizza: Dove Vivi (NE) (cornmeal crust), Hot Lips (locations in SE, NE, SW, NW) (fresh seasonal toppings), American Dream (NE) (amazing crust and hazelnut toppings), Rovente for take-out/delivery (SE) (cashew toppings)
- Non-traditional mexican food: Laughing Planet (locations in SE, N, SW, NW), Los Gorditos cart (SE) (traditional menu + vegan menu)
- Fast food: Burgerville (SE, NE, and outer pdx), Little Big Burger (N and NW, SE soon!) (oh my god best veggie burger in the world)
- Breakfast for dinner: Paradox (SE) (also best veggie nachos), Old Wives’ Tales (East*)
- Other dinner spots: Ya Hala (NE) (Lebanese), SubRosa (SE) (Italian), Dick’s Kitchen (SE) (or lunch), Bara Sushi House (SE)
- Bar with full late-night food menu: Dots (SE), Beulahland (NE), Night Light (SE) (fabulous late night happy hour and good food in general, $1 pbr pints on Sundays…)
- Hot dogs with any toppings you can think of: Zach’s Shack (SE) (open super late)
- Late night desserts: Pix (SE and N locations) (with coffee, beer, and wine), Rimsky-Korsakoffeehouse (SE), VooDoo Doughnut (SW and NE locations)
- Selection of food carts all together: SE 12th + Hawthorne (
we’ve only eaten at Potato Champion so far, it was fantastic!we’ve eaten at more now, all great!), a la carts at SE Division+50th- Food cart deal: Bombay Chaat House at SW 12th+Yamhill (the $6 lunch special is way plenty food for 2 people to split and it’s delicious!)
- Waffles: Waffle Window (SE) (
I prefer this one over the Waffle Wagonwhich is gone now),Flavor Spot (N) (I haven’t actually been here yet – only had a sample but it was amazing.I’ve been here a couple times now and I personally believe that Waffle Window is far superior, but that’s just me.)- Ice Cream: Ruby Jewel (N)
- Grocery store: New Seasons (locations in SE, NE, N, SW) (great deli/readymade foods to eat there too)
- Movie theater w/good local beer and pizza and $3 (or $4) tickets: Laurelhurst (East*), Bagdad (SE), Academy (SE) (I actually prefer this one over the Laurelhurst nowadays, but they don’t have quite as many indie/foreign/old/etc films, sadly), Hollywood Theater (NE) (a little more expensive at $6 per ticket, but it’s a non-profit and it’s awesome)
- Old abandoned elementary school turned venue, $3 movie theater, restaurant, brewery, 4 bars, hotel: Kennedy School (NE)
- Arcade: Ground Kontrol (NW) (w/bar and djs), Avalon (SE) (nickle arcade + $2 movie theater)
- Bookstore: Powell’s City of Books (West*), Powell’s on Hawthorne + Home & Garden store (includes craft books) (SE), In Other Words (NE) (non-profit feminist bookstore – support them!)
- Zines + more store: Reading Frenzy (SW),
Q is for Choir (SE)gone now, so sad- Record store: Music Millenium (East*), Crossroads (SE) (for vinyl specifically), Green Noise (SE), Everyday Music (NE and W*) (not so independent, but excellent for cheap as-is record browsing and used DVDs), Mississippi Records (N)
- Music store (instruments): Artichoke Music (SE) (high quality new+used), Trade-Up Music (SE and NE locations)
- Game store: Guardian Games (SE) (nerd heaven)
- Video rental and museum of motion picture history: Movie Madness (SE) (see the actual knife from Psycho, the ear from Blue Velvet, and many many more!)
- Local handmade stuff made from mostly/some recycled materials store: Trillium (SE), Redux (East*), Frock (NE), Union Rose (
NEthey moved – SE now) (last 2 don’t specialize in recycled, but there’s lots of vintage reconned type stuff)- Craft thrift store: Knittn’ Kitten (NE)
- Creative reuse store: Scrap (NE)
- Thrift store if you have some time to kill: Goodwill Bins (Milwaukie/Sellwood – far SE)
- Small but cool craft store: Gossamer (East*), Collage (NE and SE locations),
- Fabric store: Cool Cottons (SE), Bolt (NE)
- Yarn store: Twisted (NE),
Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks (Sellwood – far SEgone now), Urban Fiber Arts (NW), Happy Knits (SE)Non specific locations:
- My favorite Portland beer:
Hopworks – 7 Grain Stout is brewed with Stumptown espresso beans, the Deluxe Organic is great, as is every beer they have to offer (Hopworks on tap around town will say HUB)– way too much good beer in Portland, I can’t choose a favorite anymore! I still love Hopworks, but I love so many, so if you’re into trying local beers, I recommend heading to Hawthorne Hophouse or another beer spot with a huge local brew selection (Hophouse has half off flights on Mondays!)- Best Portland Coffee: Stumptown – this isn’t a personal preference thing, it’s just a fact.
*The border between SE+NE and SW+NW is Burnside – if an address is on Burnside, it’s either E Burnside or W Burnside. So these spots are in the middle of the east or west sides, between north and south.
I highly recommend picking up a copy of The Zinester’s Guide to Portland, which you’ll find at any Powell’s location, or any bookstore that carries zines (which means any Portland bookstore that’s not a national chain) for about $4 I think. We grabbed one of these for our first trip up here, and I don’t even know what we’d have done without it – it does a great job of getting you oriented (explaining the quadrants and neighborhoods, etc) and lists tons of great places with reviews.
Portlanders – please feel free to list some of your personal favorites in the comments, so travelers can have more variety in recommended spots!
And in other Portland news – I dropped of a huge box of leethal stuff at Twisted last week! These 7 handspun skeins:
…plus 11 bracelet mini-kits in all different colorways! I’m so excited to have my yarn for sale now in my favorite local yarn shop! If you’re visiting PDX for Sock Summit, definitely don’t miss Twisted! Not only are they super supportive of local designers and yarnies, but they have the nicest staff ever, an awesome tea bar with custom teas like the Dr. Horrible blend, and if co-owner Shannon’s Hazel happens to be in the shop, you’ll get to meet one of the sweetest tiny people in the whole world!
Oh and speaking of Twisted, I’m teaching a Skoodlet class there in October! And then lastly, speaking (a second ago) of handspun yarn, 4 more yarns are now up in my shop, including 1 skein of spun recycled (pictured above)! Ok that’s all.
Let me know if you visit any of my favorite spots! I’d love to know if I introduced you to a new place that you love! I might be adding more to the list if I think of any I forgot… if I do, I’ll put them in italics so you know they’re new. Oh and if you want to know about any of the photos, just click through to the flickr pages. Yay Portland!
Lee Does Stuff 
Hey Leethal!! This comes at a PERFECT time since I’m leaving (with my Leethal Cuff-wearing son) and a friend on Wednesday for the Summit!! We didn’t get many classes (only one-hour ones), but can’t wait to check out the marketplace, the luminary panel on Sunday ….. and PORTLAND!! Love all your ideas and the vegetarian son will be thrilled!! Thanks for thinking of us —- and we’ll be looking for ya!!!
Cindy M in California
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Hey Leethal!! This comes at a PERFECT time since I’m leaving (with my Leethal Cuff-wearing son) and a friend on Wednesday for the Summit!! We didn’t get many classes (only one-hour ones), but can’t wait to check out the marketplace, the luminary panel on Sunday ….. and PORTLAND!! Love all your ideas and the vegetarian son will be thrilled!! Thanks for thinking of us —- and we’ll be looking for ya!!!
Cindy M in California
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I love reading other people’s Portland favorites–I always discover somewhere new!
Most of my faves are North & Northeast, like Di Prima Dolce on N Killingsworth & N Denver, Miss Delta on N Mississippi, Russell Street BBQ, Bolt (best fabric store ever), Thai Ginger (in a city full of Thai food, I haven’t had any better than this NoPo place in a strip mall next to a Papa Murphy) on N Rosa Parks Way, Cadillac’s on N Broadway has the best breakfast anywhere, Thien Hong on NE 67th & Sandy has the best authentic Vietnamese (been going there since I was a little, little kid–it’s an awesome family run place), Jim & Patty’s Coffee on NE Alameda & 50th is awesome (owned by the founders of Coffee People w much of the same menu), I have a soft spot for Bridgeport Brewery in NW because my mom and I used to go there when I was little to get pizza (there was hardly any pizza in Portland when I was a kid–weird, I know) and now I love their seasonal beersand yummy pretzels, Widmer Bros in N has amazing Heifweizen plus they serve cheese soup that tastes like it’s straight out of Germany, Blossoming Lotus in the Pearl has great vegan food (be prepared for insanely slow service, though), Chez Jose on NE Broadway has awesome Marionberry Margaritas, the Old Spaghetti Factory in John’s Landing is great for the shear giantness of their portions (get the mizithra cheese + marinara), Pambiche on NE Glisan has the best Cuban food I’ve had on the west coast, the Kennedy School in NE is fun for a different sort of movie experience.
Whew! There are loads of awesome places in Portland–and it’s always great hearing about new ones. It is very easy to only go to independently owned businesses in Portland, and I think we’re very lucky–people in lots of other places aren’t so fortunate.
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I love reading other people’s Portland favorites–I always discover somewhere new!
Most of my faves are North & Northeast, like Di Prima Dolce on N Killingsworth & N Denver, Miss Delta on N Mississippi, Russell Street BBQ, Bolt (best fabric store ever), Thai Ginger (in a city full of Thai food, I haven’t had any better than this NoPo place in a strip mall next to a Papa Murphy) on N Rosa Parks Way, Cadillac’s on N Broadway has the best breakfast anywhere, Thien Hong on NE 67th & Sandy has the best authentic Vietnamese (been going there since I was a little, little kid–it’s an awesome family run place), Jim & Patty’s Coffee on NE Alameda & 50th is awesome (owned by the founders of Coffee People w much of the same menu), I have a soft spot for Bridgeport Brewery in NW because my mom and I used to go there when I was little to get pizza (there was hardly any pizza in Portland when I was a kid–weird, I know) and now I love their seasonal beersand yummy pretzels, Widmer Bros in N has amazing Heifweizen plus they serve cheese soup that tastes like it’s straight out of Germany, Blossoming Lotus in the Pearl has great vegan food (be prepared for insanely slow service, though), Chez Jose on NE Broadway has awesome Marionberry Margaritas, the Old Spaghetti Factory in John’s Landing is great for the shear giantness of their portions (get the mizithra cheese + marinara), Pambiche on NE Glisan has the best Cuban food I’ve had on the west coast, the Kennedy School in NE is fun for a different sort of movie experience.
Whew! There are loads of awesome places in Portland–and it’s always great hearing about new ones. It is very easy to only go to independently owned businesses in Portland, and I think we’re very lucky–people in lots of other places aren’t so fortunate.
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The other day I tried Broder on SE 25th & Clinton (right next door to Q is for Choir and across from Dots) – swedish food, and pretty good!
I second Sarah’s recommendation of Thien Hong, and I also like Thanh Thao on 42nd-ish & Hawthorne (SE) it’s Viet-Thai and really good!
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The other day I tried Broder on SE 25th & Clinton (right next door to Q is for Choir and across from Dots) – swedish food, and pretty good!
I second Sarah’s recommendation of Thien Hong, and I also like Thanh Thao on 42nd-ish & Hawthorne (SE) it’s Viet-Thai and really good!
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We’re partial to Pho Van for Vietnamese, which is on SE Hawthorne and 34th. For veggie food, try anything with eggplant in it. Everything we’ve had there is good.
Also, Pok Pok on SE Division around 20th is amazing! It’s one of the first traditional Thai restaurants I’ve been to, and their food is to die for. Kinda pricey with small-ish portions, but amazing stuff I’ve never had before. They serve a spicy papaya salad that I highly recommend. Also, the roast game hen is great if you eat that sort of thing.
Great list!
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We’re partial to Pho Van for Vietnamese, which is on SE Hawthorne and 34th. For veggie food, try anything with eggplant in it. Everything we’ve had there is good.
Also, Pok Pok on SE Division around 20th is amazing! It’s one of the first traditional Thai restaurants I’ve been to, and their food is to die for. Kinda pricey with small-ish portions, but amazing stuff I’ve never had before. They serve a spicy papaya salad that I highly recommend. Also, the roast game hen is great if you eat that sort of thing.
Great list!
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Your city sounds so cool! I’m from Australia and hoping to visit the US some day. I’ve heard so many times that Portland is the place to be for crafty/arty types.
Just recently found your blog and I’m really enjoying it. Love your photos.
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Your city sounds so cool! I’m from Australia and hoping to visit the US some day. I’ve heard so many times that Portland is the place to be for crafty/arty types.
Just recently found your blog and I’m really enjoying it. Love your photos.
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Although I have many I could add, I agree with all of your choiecs as exceptional except Hopworks…I know I’m in a minority here, and it’s even close to my house. Though the beer is good, I found the restaurant/brewery sterile/vanilla and the food was so-so. For SE: Hedge House (SE Division) has a waaaay better food (incl veggie stuff) menu and much nicer atmosphere. Hedge House is part of the local Lompoc Brewery family… 5th Quadrant in NoPo, New Old Lompoc in NW, probably others.
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Although I have many I could add, I agree with all of your choiecs as exceptional except Hopworks…I know I’m in a minority here, and it’s even close to my house. Though the beer is good, I found the restaurant/brewery sterile/vanilla and the food was so-so. For SE: Hedge House (SE Division) has a waaaay better food (incl veggie stuff) menu and much nicer atmosphere. Hedge House is part of the local Lompoc Brewery family… 5th Quadrant in NoPo, New Old Lompoc in NW, probably others.
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Other great breakfast places are Mother’s (212 SW Stark St), Cup & Saucer Cafe (3566 SE Hawthorne Blvd, 3000 NE Killingsworth St, 8237 N Denver Ave), Pine State Biscuits (3640 SE Belmont St) and Besaw’s (2301 NW Savier St).
I’ve been looking for a good sandwich shop so I’m excited to try East Side. Are you going to have yarn at Twisted regularly? That could be my motivation to finally visit that place. I try to stay out of yarn stores because they hurt my wallet but I really want to see/touch some of your yarn in person.
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Other great breakfast places are Mother’s (212 SW Stark St), Cup & Saucer Cafe (3566 SE Hawthorne Blvd, 3000 NE Killingsworth St, 8237 N Denver Ave), Pine State Biscuits (3640 SE Belmont St) and Besaw’s (2301 NW Savier St).
I’ve been looking for a good sandwich shop so I’m excited to try East Side. Are you going to have yarn at Twisted regularly? That could be my motivation to finally visit that place. I try to stay out of yarn stores because they hurt my wallet but I really want to see/touch some of your yarn in person.
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We moved from Portland just over two years ago and reading your post makes my heart hurt! We miss the Northwest soooo much!
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We moved from Portland just over two years ago and reading your post makes my heart hurt! We miss the Northwest soooo much!
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Ohhh gosh I miss Portland. I lived in Northeast so that’s where most of my favorites are.
Breakfast spots (the ubiquitous Portland favorite): Gravy (N Mississippi and Shaver) and the Tin Shed (NE 14th & Alberta…always a huge line but absolutely delicious breakfast and lunch and tons of veggie options).
Delicious cheap Mexican food: La Bonita and La Serenita on NE 28th & Alberta. Two super cheap incredible Mexican restaurants right next to each other. They’re very casual, order at the counter sort of places but their chimichangas are to die for. Locals are militant about one or the other, I personally am a La Bonita person – my ex was a La Serenita person so it was a bone of contention in our relationship!
Also on NE Alberta at 16th: Collage, the most addictive craft store of all time. I go crazy in there.
Favorite Portland restaurant of all: The Delta & Miss Delta (same restaurant, two locations, at SE 46th & Woodstock and N Mississippi & Failing. Incredible Southern food. Expensive but HUGE portions, two people can easily split one meal. They have the absolute best Caesar salad in the entire universe.
Other delicious cheap food: New Seasons wok bowls!! New Seasons is a local chain of grocery stores that you can find all over town. These are the light of my life. You get a huge bowl and fill it up with whatever noodles, veggies, tofu, etc. you want and then it all gets thrown in a wok with your choice of sauce and meat and rice if you’d like it. So. Fucking. Good. I usually get a mix of red curry and peanut sauce. It’s not a trip back to Portland if I don’t get one of these.
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Ohhh gosh I miss Portland. I lived in Northeast so that’s where most of my favorites are.
Breakfast spots (the ubiquitous Portland favorite): Gravy (N Mississippi and Shaver) and the Tin Shed (NE 14th & Alberta…always a huge line but absolutely delicious breakfast and lunch and tons of veggie options).
Delicious cheap Mexican food: La Bonita and La Serenita on NE 28th & Alberta. Two super cheap incredible Mexican restaurants right next to each other. They’re very casual, order at the counter sort of places but their chimichangas are to die for. Locals are militant about one or the other, I personally am a La Bonita person – my ex was a La Serenita person so it was a bone of contention in our relationship!
Also on NE Alberta at 16th: Collage, the most addictive craft store of all time. I go crazy in there.
Favorite Portland restaurant of all: The Delta & Miss Delta (same restaurant, two locations, at SE 46th & Woodstock and N Mississippi & Failing. Incredible Southern food. Expensive but HUGE portions, two people can easily split one meal. They have the absolute best Caesar salad in the entire universe.
Other delicious cheap food: New Seasons wok bowls!! New Seasons is a local chain of grocery stores that you can find all over town. These are the light of my life. You get a huge bowl and fill it up with whatever noodles, veggies, tofu, etc. you want and then it all gets thrown in a wok with your choice of sauce and meat and rice if you’d like it. So. Fucking. Good. I usually get a mix of red curry and peanut sauce. It’s not a trip back to Portland if I don’t get one of these.
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i’ve just discovered your blog, and i want to clap my hands! i love your stuff… seriously, all of it. your colors, your yarn, your kits, your tutorials. it’s finding folks like you that make me love blogs even more than ever! i live 1 1/2 hrs. south of portland, but love to visit a friend in se portland. we have 4 kids between us, she kindly sat in the car with everyone this past trip so i could go into twisted to visit the malabrigo section. i wish i had found your blog earlier i would love to see your yarn in person. i think i am going to join your september kit club! thanks again, keep up being leethal, you rock!
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i’ve just discovered your blog, and i want to clap my hands! i love your stuff… seriously, all of it. your colors, your yarn, your kits, your tutorials. it’s finding folks like you that make me love blogs even more than ever! i live 1 1/2 hrs. south of portland, but love to visit a friend in se portland. we have 4 kids between us, she kindly sat in the car with everyone this past trip so i could go into twisted to visit the malabrigo section. i wish i had found your blog earlier i would love to see your yarn in person. i think i am going to join your september kit club! thanks again, keep up being leethal, you rock!
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