Portland has many attractions to offer visitors who don’t happen to have Blazers tickets. I had parts of two days on my recent trip to take a small sample:
Anyone who has had kids in the last half century, or maybe is still just a big kid, might know of Beverly Cleary and her children’s books, most notably those that featured characters Henry Huggins and Ramona Quimby. These books were set in the northeast Portland neighborhood where Cleary grew up, and anyone who has read them can visit the bronze statues of Ramona, Henry, and his dog Ribsy that stand in Grant Park, if only to soak in the good feeling of seeing a children’s author receive such an honor. They can also stop a few blocks north to see street signs for Klickitat Street, where the characters lived. It is one of the best place names in literature. Cleary once told an interviewer that she chose the name because it reminded her of the sound of knitting needles.
http://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/finder/index.cfm?&propertyid=167&action=viewpark
This place was featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. The building has corrugated metal siding and welcomes not only human customers but their dogs as well. I stopped there for a late breakfast. Coffee was a help-yourself proposition, with a selection of mugs that resembled the contents of someone’s kitchen cupboard. My way of testing the place’s quality was to order an egg scramble with a homemade biscuit and bacon gravy. Breakfast gravy can often be bland in restaurants, and I had enough experience with my mother-in-law’s biscuits and gravy to know the real deal when I tasted it. The Tin Shed’s gravy passed this test with flying colors.
In his most recent season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Jerry Seinfeld toured Portland in an old Saab with Fred Armisen, who stars in the Portlandia TV series. At one point during the Comedians in Cars episode, Seinfeld asked Armisen to take him to a place that was “the heartbeat of Portland.” Armisen took him to Paxton Gate. Armisen may not have been aware that the Portland location was actually a licensed spin-off of a San Francisco store, but the picturesque unorthodoxy of its wares and décor, most notably its mounted wildlife heads for sale, reflects the countercultural image that many Portland residents like to have of themselves. I found one of the store clerks who happened to be present when Seinfeld came to visit. “It was definitely surreal hearing his voice here in the store,” she said.
Bring plenty of cash if you’re interested in purchasing one of the wall mounts. Most of the larger ones go for well into four figures. More frugal shoppers can peruse the selection of framed insects and other natural curiosities.
Naturally, one of Seinfeld’s and Armisen’s destinations was a coffee place. The one they chose was Coava Coffee on SE Grand Avenue, in an industrial area across the river from downtown. The space appears to be a converted factory warehouse, with the brew bar in one corner and long tables and wall outlets for those who wish to spend the day there with their laptops. The floor space is extraordinarily open for a coffee house, which probably made it easier for Seinfeld and the dozen or so members of his film crew to set up.
Though it has a website, this place may rely on word of mouth for much of its advertising. It’s entrance was certainly understated; even with the address in hand I walked by it a couple of times before a neighboring store clerk pointed out the simple door that led to the downstairs establishment on SW Alder Street. If it did not have the world’s largest selection of whiskeys and other distilled spirits, it was probably close. The atmosphere resembled an old private club, with low lighting and comfortable upholstered leather chairs. Two of the room’s four walls were covered in shelves full of bottles, the highest of which were accessed with the same kind of rolling ladders as in a library. The drink menu was a good-sized book. I chose to be budget-conscious, ordering a shot of straight six-year-old bourbon for $8 in a small tasting glass with a tapered opening to concentrate the bouquet. If money had not been an object, though, the possibilities were virtually endless, including a ninety-eight-year-old whiskey available at $96 a shot.
http://www.multnomahwhiskeylibrary.com/
This place needs little introduction, since even people who know little about Portland are often familiar with it. It occupies a full city block in the Pearl District on Burnside Street, and it is a must-see for those who still prefer the brick-and-mortar experience when shopping for books. One of its better-kept secrets is that it has its own parking garage with very reasonable rates. You’re going to end up here at some point, anyway, so you may as well leave your car. It can also come in handy if you need some browsing time to metabolize what you’ve consumed either at the Whiskey Library or the many microbreweries nearby.
http://www.powells.com/locations/powells-city-of-books/
Not exactly an exhaustive list, but I did my best to get around in the time I had.
