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Portland, Ore: Go for the Food, Stay for the Food

Alison Stein Wellner

If you're the kind of traveler so interested in food that the word "foodie" makes you shudder a little, it's time to schedule a trip to Portland, Ore.

Autumn is the best time to visit this city of about 500,000 people, which perches atop many lists as the greenest, fittest, most livable and best designed city in the country. Portland also is the motherland of James Beard, the father of American gastronomy, and it's a place for food lovers visit who want to eat well and dress down.

To prepare for your gourmet trip to Portland, it's essential to familiarize yourself with what produce is in season. The phrases "locally sourced" and "farm-to-table" are repeated with mantra-like frequency here, and for good reason: More than 220 agricultural commodities are grown in Oregon, more than any other state besides California, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

The state's top five agricultural counties are less than an hour's drive from the state's most populous cities. The state's copious bounty -- and much of neighboring Washington state -- is within easy reach of any chef's cutting board. And this isn't just at the high end: the fast-food chain Burgerville locally sources its wild salmon and hazelnuts for one of its salads, and it also offers a changing seasonal menu. For instance, only in the summer are Walla Walla onion rings, blackberry milkshakes and smoothies available.

But I'm jumping ahead. First, start your day with breakfast at the elegant, European-styled Everett Street Bistro, which has freshly squeezed juices, Grand Marnier French Toast, or a scramble made with local Viande chorizo, and nearby Tillamook cheddar. Wash it all down with Sleepy Monk coffee from the Oregon coast town of Cannon Beach.

The shabby chic Mother's Bistro offers up huge pancakes alongside local favorite Stumptown coffee, served in a guilt-inducing mug reminding you to "call your mother." Other solid choices are the Scotch eggs with potato pancakes at Helser's on Alberta, which serves breakfast all day. Or the "Reggie Deluxe," a buttermilk biscuit topped with fried chicken, bacon, cheese, egg and gravy at the cozy Pine State Biscuits.

With that kind of breakfast under your belt, it's hard to commit to an elaborate, sit-down lunch. But it's more fun to nibble and nosh your way around town throughout the day anyway, while perhaps amassing the fixings for a gourmet picnic to consume at one of the city's many gardens or parks.

Begin at a farm market or a food cart -- trucks that offer a variety of cuisine from Czech to cannolis. Baguettes, boules, batards and more are freshly made at Pearl Bakery. Tim Healea, the long-time head baker at Pearl, just opened his own bakery called Little T American Baker, where you can try a BLT of center cut bacon, and house made aioli on Sally Lunn bread, or the turkey sandwich on bread with freshly shredded carrots. And try to leave room for zucchini bread or baked donuts.

Another must-see is the absolutely non-fussy Square Deal wine store which dedicates itself to selling wines that express a particular home region, and houses the incomparable Steve's Cheese counter, where you can taste cheese sourced locally and from all over. Asking the cheese monger about what's new and exciting in your favorite cheese variety often will yield good results. Your picnic will get classy in a hurry at the Meadow, a shop that carries a worldly collection of finishing salts and where you're free to taste all of the many varieties.

All that salty food cries out for sweet, so check out Cacao which features a carefully curated collection of artisan chocolates.

While many gourmet chocolate shops are all about truffles, Cacao's emphasis is on its large selection of fine chocolate bars. And the knowledgeable staff can offer tastes of any bar in the shop - dark slivers elegantly presented on a white china plate. A popular tasting is of the 100% dark chocolate bars, without any sugar, which give you a direct experience of chocolate on its own. Finish up with a small glass of drinking chocolate. Try the special spicy dark drinking chocolate, made with 72% Arriba dark chocolate, infused with cayenne pepper, smoked paprika and ginger.

If you're short on time, or if you just want to fantasize about what grocery shopping might be like if you lived here, you'll find one-stop shopping at the small but comprehensive City Market, 735 NW 21st Ave., (503) 221-3007, which sells Pastaworks cheese and fresh made pasta, breads from Pearl Bakery, the Viande meat and sausage counter, Newman's Fish market, and a beautiful array of local produce.

When cocktail hour arrives, it's time to visit Mint 820, which serves creative cocktails inspired by locally-available produce. Good choices include the avocado daiquiris; the surprising Ruby, made with beet infused vodka with a splash of lemon lime; or the Bella, a refreshingly puckery drink made with blackberry puree, vodka and lemon lime. All the drinks are perfect foils to the spicy sweet potato fries, says owner Lucy Brennan. Brennan also makes use of locally made liquors, of which there are several. Examples include Aviation Gin, and Integrity Spirits, which produces vodka, gin and, recently, absinthe.

While on the subject of intoxicating beverages, most food tourists will reserve at least a day to visit certain wineries outside city limits, but it's also worth scheduling a tour at Clear Creek Distillery which offers artisan brandies.

And it would be heresy to visit Portland and not sample the beer. The city was known for its microbreweries even before it was known for its food, and there's no shortage of places to drink the stuff. One new place is Hopworks Urban Brewery, the city's first eco-brewpub that features organic beers and is powered by 100% renewable energy. The pub's organic IPA won a gold medal at the World Beer Cup 2008.

You're getting near the finish line now that the dinner hour has arrived. Refer back to your knowledge of what's in season here, as menus are subject to frequent updates.

But that doesn't mean you'll give up sophistication at, say, Lovely Hula Hands, a cozy Victorian dining room with mismatched china and a no-reservations policy, or Sel Gris, a new, sleekly modern open-kitchen restaurant which makes dishes like seared hamachi served with pan roasted foie gras, tomato concassé and charred hamachi consommé. Or Beast, a restaurant that offers a set five-or six-course menu, depending on whether you want both a dessert and a cheese course. The menu changes every Wednesday, and has been known to include things like seared artisan duck breast served with spring asparagus, poached duck egg and mustard hollandaise. All of this is served at communal tables, and substitutions are politely declined. Diners also aren't offered choices as to when they would like to dine.

Lest you think that farm-to-table is only about the fancy, check out Ken's Artisan Pizza, or the new Country Cat restaurant, which serves regional American cuisine, harking back to chef Adam Sappington's Missouri roots. I suggest you sample the fried chicken, which is based on a family recipe that was once prepared for the apparently very lucky inmates at a local penitentiary. And the butterscotch pudding, served with house-made, warm chocolate chip cookies, also is a must-not-miss, no matter how much you've already eaten that day.