Links
A directory of things, people, and places that we like. It’s a living list, so expect regular updates and additions. We love suggestions. Contact us at foodleague [at] gmail.com.
Blogs, Magazines, & Projects
Wine Shops & Bars
Local Wineries
Restaurants
Coupons for Eating and Drinking Cheap
Blogs, Magazines, & Projects
Food Carts Portland
Portland has the best food cart scene in the world. Everyone agrees because the NY Times says so. This site is “an ode to Portland’s food carts, and a practical guide on where to find them and what to eat once you get there.” It’s the best definitive source for updated information about local food carts.
The Post Punk Kitchen
The original blog of vegan food royalty Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Home Romero, the same ladies who brought us Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Vegan with a Vengeance, and Veganamicon. The PPK was originally based out of Brooklyn, but Isa recently relocated from NYC to Stumptown. Find recipes, updates, news, and pictures, including three recipes from their most recent book, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.
MIX Magazine
Portland’s most comprehensive in-print magazine about food. Not too shabby, but borderline food porn.
PDX Food Press
Most comprehensive blog about Portland’s restaurant scene.
Slow Food Portland
Good, clean, fair food.
Edible Portland
Local magazine published by Ecotrust that focuses on Oregon’s local and sustainable food systems. Find it for free at your nearest grocery store.
Urban Edibles
Free local and fresh food! Holy shit how awesome is this. Type in your address and find the closest free food sources. Figs, pears, rosemary, apples, lemon balm, damn. Another great creation of Portland.
Depave Portland
Take out the concrete, put in a garden. It’s that simple and that cool.
Wine Shops & Bars
Gary V’s Wine Library TV
If you like wine, but haven’t heard of Gary Varnerchuk, consider spending a relaxing evening becoming aquainted with his Wine Library TV. Refreshing, funky, unpretentious, with unlimited energy, Gary is one of the best “critics” in the industry today. Nearly unlimited wine entertainment.
Storyteller Wine
If the world was perfect, this is the way wine would be sold all the time. Owner Michael Alberty knows who makes the wines he sells, how they made it, and why you should be drinking it. The prices are often generous. You will find the Oregon standbys here as well as hard-to-find bargains. Limited hours, but several tastings weekly. Go now.
Cork Bottle Shop
Two locations in Portland — NW and NE. Great shop. Owner Darryl Joannides fills the shelves with mostly organic, biodynamic, and sustainably produced bottlings from small wineries. The shop also offers 100+ beers, artisan chocolates, and bulk olive oil. mmm.
Vinopolis
A huge wine store in downtown Portland with 700+ wines under $20 and very knowledgeable staff. Find bottles from $6 – $6,000. Our favorite store to browse aimlessly in.
Alu Wine Bar
Portland has plenty of wine bars, but Alu is probably our favorite. Emphasis on small, artisan producers that produce delicious sustainably grown wines. It’s the first Portland wine bar that labels all wines as biodynamic, organic, sustainable, female winemaker, local, etc. Simple, delicious food with heaters and blankets for outdoor snuggling when it’s cold. Don’t miss out on the cocktails, either. The bartender couldn’t be nicer. Try the martini with four different salts.
Oregon Wines on Broadway
Biggest “on tap” selection of homegrown Oregon and Washington wines in Portland. 36+ red wines available at anytime, cheap to very expensive. The three women who work behind the bar are a riot. Also a bottle shop.
Lupa Wine Bar
This is a hidden gem tucked away on the main NE Mississippi drag in Portland. It’s tiny — maybe 20 seats — with wine from all over the world. Their lack of Oregon/Washington pains me, but the ambiance is the best in Portland (think 30 years ago Madrid with dim lighting). Bottle shop too.
Pastaworks
Three Portland locations — SE Hawthorne, NW, and NE Mississippi. They have a small selection but great choices. Surprisingly good values and they often receive small batches of harder to find wines that sell quickly.
Bridgetown Beerhouse
Small shop with a ton of beers just off NE Mississippi in Portland. It’s low-key with decent prices and no hassles — just how we like our beer buying.
New Seasons Market
Our favorite local grocery store in Portland. Small, but solid selection of wine. Good options for local wine and beers, and the prices are much better than Whole Foods. This grocery store is a foodie’s paradise for its size. Oregon truffles? Check. Local cheeses? check. Certified organic bakery? Check. Hood River shitake mushrooms? Check. Local kombucha? Check.
The Meadow
Tiny shop on Mississippi that sells gourmet salts, flowers, chocolate, and wine. Most likely the salt authority in Portland. If you want to learn how to cook with as many different salts as you could imagine, start here! Regular classes. Makes us think of France.
Restaurants
Trebol
Fresh fresh fresh and flavor exploding dishes. Bon Appetit named Trebol one of 10 best Mexican restaurants in the U.S. Former chef from Higgin’s downtown is the owner. Seasonal menu, with 90+ 100% agave tequilas, solid margaritas, and an eco-roof with native plants. And there’s a Restaurant.com coupon.
Andina
“Novoandina” cuisine that keeps getting better every time we go. Not cheap by any standards, but nearly every dish we have ordered there has been superb, from the cebiche and salad appetizers to the quinoa-crusted diver scallops and pisco-brined Draper valley chicken. Vegetarian and Gluten-free menus. Excellent wine selection with lots of value selections. Can’t go wrong here.
Bluehour
Modern, almost overwhelmingly so, and straight delicious. Supposedly “the most sophisticated cuisine in Portland,” whatever that means, and generally overpriced. Yes I said it. The waiters need to smile more. Contemporary cuisine doesn’t necessitate the servers mimicking contemporary art, aka cold and lifeless. Regardless, a hot restaurant with good food and lots of chic people. Pretty good happy hour. Chinook Bookers — use your coupon if you plan to spend over $75.
Bamboo Sushi
Portland has a lot of firsts, but Bamboo Suishi is a BIG first. Luckily there are few Glenn Beck fans in Portland so most of you reading this already know that the oceans and the fish living in them are not in good shape. Bamboo is the first Marine Steward Council-certified sushi bar in the world, third-party certified and all. But forget all that. The food. Alan Richman of GQ magazine voted Bamboo’s black cod dish one of the five best dishes in America. Suishi is as fresh as can be, well-executed, and delicious. Extensive selection of Japanese artisan sake producers, although only a small selection of wine and beer.
Ken’s Artisan Pizza
Just like on this list, Ken’s is right next door to Bamboo. Ken’s is the go to for wood fired pizza in Portland (although more more competitors are opening shop!). Casual atmosphere with an open pizza kitchen, great selection of mostly Italian wines but some local options as well (North Valley pinot recommended!), simple but delicious appetizers and desserts. Get the arrabiata topped with a big ole’ mound of arugla. If you go on a weekend, you will wait an hour atleast, but the wait is worth it.
Nostrana
Late night happy hour is one of the best in town. $5 wood oven baked pizzas, $5 per glass local wine, delicious olives, and more. Nostrana has quickly become a hotspot in Portland. Chef Cathy Whims was a 2009 Beard Award Finalist for Northwest Chef and the food shows. Flavors from all over Italy with northwest ingredients.
Morningstar Cafe
A standby for solid and locally produced cafe food in downtown. The food doesn’t stand out particularly, although everything I have had here is pretty good. They have an excellent happy hour with 20 oz. imperial pints of a variety of local beers for $3.50, including Hopworks and Ninkasi, good local and sustainably produced wines, and a variety of cheap well drinks made with local spirits.
Anju
Mid-size Asian pub with sparse decor and modern vibe. There is nothing on the menu over $13 I don’t think. Small plates with fresh flavors. Kimchi pancakes, shrimp cakes, pickled veggies, seared tofu salad. Highly recommend the spicy seafood noodles. broth was absolutely delicious, exploding with flavor. noodles were cooked perfectly. Unfortunately I don’t know how long this place will last… haven’t seen too many people there. CLOSED.
Saburo’s
Amazing, huge, fresh sushi with very very mediocre service. wait often takes up to an hour and a half, but the size and quality of the sushi can’t be denied. Order the eel and you get half of an entire eel. It was one of the first sushi bars we went to where we felt full by the end of the meal. not for everyone, but if you love sushi, you need to go, no question. we usually put our names on the list, walk a block down to the Lompoc brewery/restaurant, enjoy a couple beers, and then come back an hour later.
Aquariva
Just south of South Waterfront by the Avalon Spa. Not a huge wine selection, but their choices are solid. They have an upstairs outside patio that looks directly over the river and a spacious and elegant dining room and bar. We have only been for happy hour, but the food was solid. Try the “Crispy Flat Bread, Quincale, Pears, Teleme Cheese” and enjoy one of the seven local beers or the happy hour wine bottle for $20. And there’s a Restaurant.com coupon that can be used for happy hour.
Portabello Vegan Trattoria
The current rave of the Portland vegan scene. Cellar Door Roasters by day and Portabello Vegan Trattoria by night. Even the staunchest carnivorous Italians may be satisfied here.
Henry’s Tavern
100+ beers and cider on tap from mainly local breweries. happy hour here is the cheapest best food in town. You can get stomach-exploding full for $8-10 on their happy hour food. Beer is not cheaper during happy hour.
Pearl Bakery
I am not a huge fan of their coffee. It has been watered down the last several times I went, BUT they have great options for lunch sandwiches, including roasted eggplant and straight pb+j. I think I have eaten every single cookie and dessert there and of course their bread is great too. Stop in for lunch.
Seres (formerly Sungari)
Home to the best soy sauce that has graced womankind’s presence ever.
Pok Pok/Whiskey Soda Lounge
You won’t find the typical American Asian food here. The best southeast Asian in Portland… or the United States for that matter… or if you believe some reviews, the best outside of Thailand. Don’t believe us? New York Times, Saveur, Frommer’s, and many more say just that. Pok Pok opened up the Whiskey Soda Lounge across the street for all those waiting in line, but it has turned into somewhat of a destination in itself. Smaller but very similar menu with most of the same whiskey, cocktails, and drinking vinegars as Pok Pok.
Mee Sen Thai Eatery
A contender for best Thai food in town as far as we are concerned. While the menu isn’t as adventurous as Pok Pok, the food is equally delicious with many more vegetarian options. The items also run quite a bit cheaper and usually have some tasty fish specials. A large bowl of sen yai (flat rice noodles) with lightly fried tofu, chili, peanuts, and vinegar in vegetable broth will put you back $8. One of the stars of the menu is a $6 dessert called Roti Sang Ka Yha, pan fried Indian style flour stuffed with pandanus custard. Mee Sen has a great patio space in the front, perfect for a warm summer day.
New Cascadia Bakery
Gluten-free bakery that is pretty tasty.
Oregon Culinary Institute
Drop by here for lunch or dinner and eat some gourmet food for cheap. four course lunch starts at $12.00, dinner is $18.00. reservations needed. All gratuity is donated to OCI’s scholarship fund. Use your Chinook Book coupon here.
Teahouse at Lan Su Chinese Garden (downtown)
This gem is tucked away in the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Old Town/Chinatown. Operated by Tao of Tea, a Portland company, and offers a number of very high quality teas, including white needles earl grey, a switch on the traditional. Delicious and fresh dishes like steamed buns, dumplings, and a selection of noodle bowls and pickled vegetables. Zen-like atmosphere, aka veryyy relaxing. Use your Chinook Book coupon here.
Bete Lukas
Best Ethiopian in town with great service and some damn delicious food. Unlike most Ethiopian restaurants in that they have an elegant and intimate dining room with a full bar and wine. Stuff yourself and a friend with libations and a days worth of leftovers for $50 tops. Try the veggie combo. Vegetarian, vegan, and meat lovers options. Don’t be let down by the lackluster outside appearance.
Departure (top floor of The Nines)
This bar is expensive, the food is good but insignificant in size, and it feels more like a trendy bar in downtown Bangkok than a roof top lounge in Portland. That being said, I still find myself gravitating back to its 15th floor hipness on sunny and warm afternoons. The view is worth a couple $5 beers, but only if a sketchy male waiter whose mustache is all 70′s style isn’t your waiter. This place would cost four times as much in New York City.
Mississippi Food Cart City
The best food cart “pod” in the city with a little bit of everything. Tasty southwestern at Nuev Mexico, organic and vegetarian homestyle grub at The Ruby Dragon (very tastyyy), huge stuffed breakfast burritos at The Big Egg, inventive vegan bowls at Native Bowls, delicious Italian sandwiches at Garden State, transcendent sweets at Sugar Cube, and more!
The Blue Scorcher (Astoria)
At first glance, I was worried that the Blue Scorcher was going to be the typical hippy cafe: agreeable and tasty food that is organic and fair-trade, but lacking gourmet ambitiousness. I was wrong. This place blends warm comfort hippy food with artisan breads, chocolate truffles, organic beers, and much much more. Housed next to Fort George Brewery. Perfect for a lazy afternoon during a rainy day visit to the coast.
Local Wineries
Boedecker Cellars
First winery in the U.S. that we know of that has partnered with a Community Supported Agriculture program. You get two bottles of wine a week (one white and one red) with your regular CSA lot. Great local wine with fresh local food. Could we ask for more?
Carlton Winemaker’s Studio
Eight excellent Oregon winemakers housed under the roof of a LEED-inspired facility in Carlton, Oregon.
Sokol Blosser
Gorgeous views from their tasting room near Dundee that is surrounded by 90-organically certified acres. Several wines that won’t break the bank at $15, including their popular Evolution White Blend. Huge fan of their pinot noirs, which are usually earthy, a bit smoky, mushroomy (?), with lots of concentrated fruit and finesse. Proud Cellar Club member.
Cooper Mountain
Organic and biodynamically certified. Gilles is the winemaker at Cooper Mountain and produces a variety of great wines, including a No Sulfites Added (NSA) pinot noir, Tocai Fruilano, and some Argentinian malbec.
Soter Vineyards
One of the best producers in Oregon and the United States, hands down. Soter pinot noir’s have finesse, backbone, and are some of the most elegant wines you will find in Oregon. Want some sparkling for a special occasion? Try the Brut Rose. When we become rich, this is where we will go for our wine.
Bergstrom
Not your average Oregon pinot noir. Meat is what I think of when I drink their pinot noir, but they are working on a more “Burgundian” approach. Very expensive and their bottles weight 80 lbs. each, but no doubt great pinot noir.
Cameron
Near cult status with white wines commanding prices up to $50, but they offer some delicious $13-20 bottles of Chardonnay and white wine blends.
Brickhouse
Biodynamic and consistently crafting some of the best pinot noir, chardonnay, and gamay noir in all of Oregon.
Maysara
Large biodynamic producer that makes some tasty wine.
Montinore Estate
Large organic and biodynamically certified estate that puts out some great white wines under $10 and several respectable pinots below $30.
Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden
Biodynamically certified winery making Rhone varietals in Southern Oregon. Damn sexy wines.
Girardet
Another great winery using organically farmed grapes with great values in southern Oregon. Try the Baco Noir.
Left Coast Cellars
Lavender and solar panel-lined driveway up to this winery near Salem.
Vidon Vineyard
Tiny boutique winery with delicious wines tucked away in the Dundee hills.
Domaine Drouhin Oregon (DDO)
The French arrived in the eighties after some Oregonians scuffed them up a bit at a couple pinot noir contests. Regardless of your preferences, it’s hard to deny DDO is not one of the top five best wineries in Oregon.
Domaine Serene
Hands down the most “elegant” Italian Villa in all of Oregon. Challenges DDO for most prestigious and expensive wine… and the quality can’t be denied. Very expensive.
The Eyrie Vineyards
David Lett took his wines to Paris for an international competition in the 70′s and took some French pride back with him to the United States. One of the reasons why Oregon is on the world wine map today. A must visit.
Abacela Winery
This southern Oregon winery was one of the first in Oregon to plant varietals more common in Spain than Oregon: tempranillo, Dolcetto, Malbec, some delicious rose, and many more varietals.
Evansham Wood and Haden Fig
Wines from the two names above are crafted in the same facility but by different winemakers and for us they produce some of the best pinots priced right at $20. Sustainably focused with vineyard practices in mind.
Boudreaux Cellars (Washington)
A unique off-the-grid winery located in the Cascade Mountains near Levenworth, Washington that is crafting quite excellent (and pricey!) Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Worth the visit just for the scenery!
Breweries & Distilleries
Hopworks Urban Brewery
Everyone knows about Hopworks and if you don’t, you should. 100% organic beer, 10 beers on tap, surprisingly delicious and excellent local wine selection, killer happy hour with great food prices and beer discounts, and a good atmosphere. Quite possibly the “greenest” brewpub in the world. Hopworks will satiate dire NW beer fans, but they also offer Belgian style beers and other unique offerings, which are incredibly satisfying in the often static environment of Portland beer.
Amnesia Brewing
Quite possibly the chillest brewpub in town. If it was a little warmer inside in the winter, I would want to snuggle up with some of those bags of hops for a nap. Amnesia is a good, solid Portland brewpub, but you won’t find anything too different than the norm here, which is just how we like it sometimes. Regular + seasonal beers + brats (veggie too!) + wine + deals before and during Blazers games + a little sleepiness.
Upright Brewing
One of the newest breweries to hit the Portland scene and we have to say, I can’t be more glad they arrived. This is not your typical Portland brewery. The owner describes it like this: “Imagine combining the spirit and methods of rustic French and Belgian style farmhouse brewing with the positive energy and downright beautiful ingredients the Pacific Northwest offers us.” They use organic malt base and local Oregon hops. I had the Holy Herb Ale, a brown farmhouse ale made with hyssop and aged on eucalyptus wood, and it gets the award for the best non-traditional Portland-esque beer.
Hair of the Dog
Damn good beer from Portland. NW beer done right! Started using organic malt base in 2007 and their beers will age beautifully.
Tugboat Brewing
Downtown’s oldest microbrewery and likely Portland’s smallest brewery. There is a must when you go to Tugboat and that is trying the Chernobyl Stout. Complex and delicious, savor this beer. It is high in alcohol, but quite possibly the richest beer I have ever tasted . There are people who come in daily to have a glass of this. Tugboat might be as chill as Amnesia.
Bailey’s Taproom
Downtown, 20 beers on tap, tons of bottle beers, and a chill and inviting atmosphere. Right across the street from Tugboat, this place may not have the most number of beers (that award goes to Henry’s), but most of the beers here are harder to find gems that they hand select. Highly recommended for an excellent beer experience.
Distillery Row
It was only time that was holding Portland back from creating a plethora of the only beverage it lacked: distilled spirits. Quick drinking that shitty and syrupy Bacardi and head down to your local distillery. Find gins, rums, whiskey, vodka, absinthe, aquavit, and flavored liqueur. Tours and tastings.
Other Portland Favorites
Portland Farmer’s Market
Rated # 1 farmer’s market in the world by Delta Magazine and # 1 in the United States by Huffpost. ‘Nuff said.
Powell’s Books
It would be sacrelig to not include this on the links, even though we are a wine and food blog. Best food/wine/cookbook section ever. Simply the craziest bookstore in the whole wide world.
Urban Farm Store
Country livin’ in the city.
Coupons for Eating and Drinking Cheap
Dave’s Killer Bread
A Portland staple. Product of an ex-convict and without a doubt the best sliced bread in the world. We would probably bet our life on that. It’s worth a trip to the Milwaukie factory store for half price loaves even without the 2 for 1 coupons that you can find in the Chinook Book, online, and in the Portland Tribune.
Eco Metro
Publisher of the beloved Chinook book. Find a Portland blog, more coupons, and cool events.
Restaurant.com
If you want to dine well but don’t have much money, restaurant.com is the place for you. Type in any Portland zip code and you can find $25 gift certificates for $10 to some of the better restaurants in Portland. Think that’s a great deal? You can frequently find 80% coupon codes off which makes each $25 gift certificate $2. Uh, yea.
Groupon
Cool coupon site that offers one great deal a day in Portland, from food and yoga to acupuncture.
Living Social
Another Portland coupon website that is very similar to Groupon and offers a variety of coupons.
Wines Till Sold Out
If you have some extra money to spend on wine and want to get a great deal with free shipping, try out WTSO. Wines from all over the world frequently offered at more than 50% discount.
Cinderella Wine
Cinderella Wine is very similar to WTSO, but generally offers higher quality wines at significant discounts.
Winery Insider
You are required to set up a username and password here, but it’s worth it. Winery Insider offers anywhere from 3-10 bottles at anytime at discounts of 20-50%. You won’t find any bad bottles here and they tell you which wineries will be featured in the near future.
The Accidental Wine Company
I am jealous of these guys for thinking of such a genius business idea. Accidental Wine takes bottles that have been superficially damaged (bad labels, upside labels, red wine stained labels) and sells them for 20-40% off. You never really know what you are getting in each shipment, although you can specify red, white, or both, and they will sometimes help with other preferences such as all pinot noir or all chardonnay. If you want to try some new wine, check it out.