So funny story, this past Valentine’s Day my husband was out to sea and tried to order me flowers.  Needless to say, that day, I got a phone call from the lady saying, “sorry but we are unable to deliver your flowers” (probably since we live on a military base!). Anyways, I never told him till a few weeks later when he returned home from sea and he said, well my ship is going to the Portland Rose Festival so how about thats your Valentine’s present.  Hey hey, I’ll take a trip to Portland over flowers any day!

I arrived a bit ahead of my husband’s ship so I got a morning to just wander and explore on my own! And yes, probably drink one too many cappuccinos!  Portland is truly amazing and the people are the most friendly of folks—everyone I met was so down to earth and generally just friendly.  The city was a buzz and there were flowers everywhere! I wanted to dive in to the buckets of peonies, but decided snapping some pictures was probably a better idea.  We walked a lot…like a lot…and it was so warm outside, the sun felt amazing! I walked all day in these and these shoes and honestly have never been more comfortable!  And yes, we did a bit of shopping, because hey no sales tax, so be sure to check out my fashion favorites!

Also, did you know you can have an awesome cappuccino while doing your laundry? My husband had loads of laundry to do, so we actually had a fun afternoon at a laundromat one day…oh Portland you are weird…and totally awesome!  I also picked out a few dream houses, yes I absolutely love the Pacific Northwest and all of its moody beauty!

So now let’s commence, eating our way through Portland!  And please, if you are hungry, you may want to save reading this for another time, because just typing this up makes me want to hop a plane back to Portland!  I did splurge a bit, because vacation, but I always say that no matter the restaurant, I can always find something to eat, so most of these recommendations are gluten free and Paleo friendly!

Please note: I do not have any allergies, so I cannot say with certainty that any of these places are gluten free, just sharing my recommendations for some really darn good food!

Coffee Shops & Drinking Endless Cappuccinos

Obviously, Portland is known for its coffee shops, and confession I may have had one too many cappuccinos during my few day stay, but absolutely worth it!  Since my husband and I had the chance to spend a few days just relaxing together before his deployment, we fully took advantage of spending some lazy mornings and afternoons just chatting over coffee, one of my absolute favorite things to do!  I have to say Heart Roasters is my absolute favorite, although I know the big hype surrounds Stumptown, which is fabulous too, I just prefer Heart Roasters!

Brunch

Bijou Cafe

I have actually eaten here twice now, one time last fall while I was in the city.  Its quaint and super relaxed inside and the food is very fresh, featuring lots of local vendors.  The menu is simple but healthy and delicious.  They do have lots of pastries, but I just stuck to my usual eggs for breakfast! I love that their omelet came with a side salad and I have been recreating this smoked goat cheddar and bacon omelet in my house ever since! I actually had the same exact thing both times I went, and my friends raved about their homemade jam and muffins!

Tasty n’Alder

So you hear a lot about this place and sometimes I am weary of places with a lot of hype, because often they don’t live up to it…well Tasty n’Alder absolutely lives up to the hype, the food is exquisite and while it is super creative, its so comforting at the same time.  The staff is very friendly and helpful to make things gluten free for you.  They even brought us a new salad, compliments of the chef, and I would have been perfectly happy eating just that, but needless to say the duck duck steak are divine, because I’m a huge fan of duck eggs! My husband had the cowboy breakfast and he made his into breakfast tacos.  Last time I was in Portland, I had the burger (sans bun) with duck fat fries and it was so good too Make sure to go early because this place fills up quick!

Verde Cucina

So on Saturday morning, we sat in a coffee shop for a bit working up our appetites.  I had heard of this place called Verde Cucina for quite some time now, so it was for sure on the list.  Being from southern California, Mexican food is always something I crave and let me tell you this place does not disappoint! We started with some brunch cocktails, because vacation, and mine was something with elderflower liqueur my absolute favorite! This restaurant is entirely gluten free, and sources their ingredients from local farms, and the decor is vibrant and fun, so just sitting in the restaurant is such a treat!  I honestly don’t splurge all that often and haven’t eaten a corn tortilla in years, but theres was homemade and the waitress offered me one and after a few bites it was so good I had to eat the whole thing.

Mother’s Bistro

We went to Mother’s for brunch as it was highly recommended and the food was great although the place was super busy, but we got a table pretty quickly surprisingly.  The waiter was so accommodating and served my eggs Benedict over spinach so I was thankful for that.  I must say the Hollandaise was not the greatest ever.

Nibbles and Dinner

SmokeHouse 21

The first night we took an Uber across the river to this neighborhood BBQ place and instantly both my husband and I were in love.  There decor was antique and amazing, and I felt like I stepped back in time into an old Texas roadhouse.  The deviled egg topped with a smoked sausage link was a one bite wonder of complete amazingness, oops sorry for all the adjectives, but they really were that good! And I had the burnt brisket ends, because yes the burnt ends are the best and we shared the poutine fries which were sinfully delicious.  I will admit, we were so excited about the food, I didn’t really take any pictures, and we totally smelt like smoke the next day, its was funny!

Raven & Rose

If I have one meal in Portland, it has to be at Raven and Rose.  This place is truly unbelievable! I had dinner here last fall and when I found out I was getting to go to Portland again, I instantly made reservations.  We sat up on the bar near the flame oven and chatted with the chef most of the time, watching him prepare our whole meal.  You can totally tell when a person just loves their job completely because the way the prepare every tiny detail with such passion is truly remarkable.   I had the pastrami cured hangar steak and my husband had the hugest rib eye steak with corn beef hash, all topped with a goose egg!  Yes, yes a goose egg, which is HUGE!  The owner chatted with us a few times, offered us a sampling of some delicious red Italian wine and even some homemade strawberry ice cream, which I happily ate a few spoonfuls!  At the end he took us upstairs to this fabulously decorated lounge area called the Rookery, which used to be the hayloft in this old fashioned carriage house turned restaurant.  I can’t say enough great things about this restaurant, and it is absolutely everything a dinning experience should be and more. Memories of this date night will last a long time!

Irving St Kitchen

I started with a small appetizer of local, aged sharp cheddar with some amazing reduction sauce drizzled on top.  Then we all had the hangar steak with asparagus!  The plates are small but quite filling! My husband had some cherry chocolate dessert and I took one bite because he said it was not very sweet and it was indeed very yummy.  The decor in the restaurant was amazing and had a very open, spacious vibe.

Lardo

So yes, I have this slight obsession with pigs…”piggy” may or may not have been my nickname in high school but that story we will save for another day! Last fall when I was in Portland, it was pouring rain and my friends and I were starving, and very wet and I saw this sign in the window saying “pig out” so obviously I had to go inside! The great thing about this restaurant is although it is technically a sandwich shop, they will turn any of their sandwiches into a salad by request…and boy their meals are so flavorful you won’t be missing the buns for one second! I had their animal style fries with a friend last year and we have been trying to remember what was in them ever since, so clearly this trip I had to order a whole batch for just myself! Oh my…I really just ended up picking out all the bacon and pickled vegetables because they were so peppery and delicious. So maybe you all will be seeing a recreating soon!