Portland ’s get a reputation as a culinary mecca for a reason : there ’s a little something here for just about everyone . With all of the incessant topsy-turvydom buzzing that makes this metropolis so dang pioneering , there ’s also a whole world of data bury deeply in the ravel electron tube of the net about dear ol’ Portland that may storm even the most hardened Sunday Funday - celebrate native . Here are a pair of food secrets about the city that are almost full enough to eat ( with loose amounts of Aardvark sauce , of path ) .
Portland and vegetarians go way, way back
Believe it or not , Portland ’s warmth for a meatless life style goes all the way back to the nineties , when the city ’s first vegetarian restaurant open its doors on SE 60th and Belmont . Catchily dubbed the “ Sanitarium Food Company Cafe ” ( because there ’s no better place to eat your food than someplace with " sanitarium " in the championship ) , it serve up truly somebody - crushing dishes . Take protose , an essentially insipid wheat - based kernel substitute acquire by the cornflake Rex / cereal grass mogul John Harvey Kellogg and described as have the consistence of “ brown nuggets in emulsify , nebular gravy ” by Heather Arndt Anderson , author ofPortland : A Food Biography . This humble little cafe proves that there are , in fact , worse things you’re able to put in your mouth than tofu .
And speaking of tofu…
Portland and tofu have a nice , cozy story together – after all , theOta Tofu company , which opened up in 1911 on NW 5th and Everett in Japantown , is allegedly the old tofu caller in America . If you see close , you could find the operation still around today at a dissimilar locating , its employees thoughtfully scratching their beard as they stir giant mess and whisper positive affirmations to the tofu . Probably .
Your favorite local pub was probably once an “oyster parlour”
That ’s right – these were apparently all the madness in shenanigan - have sex ol’ Downtown Portland . Many of theseparloursdidn’t diaphragm at oysters , but also served other downright sensible food sexual union like bonbon and crank cream for sophisticated ladies looking to get their seafood and sweets on for an eventide . Cookbook author Helen Evans Brown help paint a colorful word picture for us , depict Downtown ’s Keith ’s Oyster House as a place where people " drink wine , and made whoopee and goodness bang all until 3 o’clock [ am ] . " Now that ’s the stuff .
The Franz loaf has been around since 1912
You have intercourse that giant , rotating loaf of gelt that spins around merrily on NE 11th and Flanders ? It ’s got account : In 1912 , Engelbert Franz opened upFranz ’s Bakery , a situation which would subsequently become the Portland icon that houses this spinning carb - loaded knockout . harmonize to Anderson ( think of , she wrotePortland : A Food Biography ) , Franz also invented the stock 5 in hamburger bun for the restaurant Yaw ’s Top Notch . eatery had mostly been serving up patty on Kaiser rolls or pledge prior to then , so the next time you see someone chowing down on a buddy-buddy , juicy Warren E. Burger , feel free to remind them that they owe it all to Portland .
We’re syrup-guzzling pancake pioneers
In addition to all the aforesaid culinary delight Portland had already contributed to the world before the 1920s , the urban center was also home to the first Original Pancake House , which spread in 1953 . It was known for serving up a delightful intermixture called the Dutch Baby , aka a jumbo , eggy pancake covered in small-grained sugar , which was more than in all probability responsible for half the metropolis ’s cavities prior to the sixties .
Present-day Portland is all about the beer, baby
Whether you sniff it , stare at it lovingly from across the measure , or take big , appreciative swig of it , slyness beeris the favorable currency that flows through Portland ’s nervure . With the high denseness of brewery of any metropolis in the world ( 84 in the metro area alone ) , it should come as no surprise that an approximate 53 % of all bill of exchange beer toast in the state is brewed in Portland .
We’re the best city for vegans
mayhap it ’s not so hole-and-corner , but one of the things that make Portland so gravid is its ability to accommodate all sorts of folks with dietetical confinement – have in mind you do n’t have to trek 50 mil through the subway and sacrifice your firstborn just for a glance of a gluten - free bagel . Voted themost vegan - favorable city of 2016by PETA , Portland has an ample amount of vegan cafes and restaurant , a vegan bakehouse , astonishingly excellent vegan strip club , and oh , yeah – there ’s even avegancheese shop .
You can grab a latte at the local haunted cafe
Vying for the award of most impulsive coffee bar on the West Coast , Rimsky - Korsakoffeeis both one of the oldest coffee theater in the country and Portland ’s very own cover “ obsessed ” coffee shop . If you ’re here for a much - need loving cup of joe to get you through your holdover , beware : The tables are known to deepen top , rumble , and even disappear into the wall at random , courtesy of the ghost of two Russian writer alive during the Russian Revolution who formerly subsist in the home the cafe inhabit .
We have the secret-est speakeasy
Fulfilling every moving-picture show - fueled fantasy you ’ve ever had in one roughshod swoop , Circa 33 - - dub one of America ’s “ most private bars ” ( not any longer , we guess ? ) – is a speakeasy that ’s only approachable by stealthy , covert logic . Find theMafiabook on the shelf and enter the confidential codification to reveal a ban - style bar for an experience so nerveless it ’ll make your jaw hit the floor before you ever get around to having a cocktail . There are also a yoke of other “ hidden ” speakeasies around town ( Harlem , Paymaster Lounge ) if you ’re the kind of drinker that bask a challenge .
You can get your hands on some of the best bread outside of Paris
Thanks to the mightyTabor Bread , you’re able to now enjoy in eating a loaf of bread of lettuce made from flour that ’s been mill and baked in a Grant Wood - enkindle oven on the premises ( rely us , it ’s not as vulgar as you retrieve it is ) . Martha Stewart – andle français– would be proud .
We’re all about the secret menu items
While there aresome that are more renowned than others , chefs in Portland seem to be perpetually whip up secret , off - menu food item for the festal , brunch - craze resident to discover . TheOriginal recently launch its own secret menucomplete with The Crazy Burger ( made with three burgers of your choice ) and The Crazy Grilled Cheese sandwich so big it use a whole loaf of brioche . you’re able to also nab secret bill of fare item fromKenny & Zuke ’s , Pip ’s Original Doughnuts , prime nutrient carts , and oh , yeah , cock-a-hoop - Ass Sandwiches , whose private menu includes the Ron Swanson : nine pieces of bacon , scrambled nut , a half - order of fries , and cheese sauce . Get your arteries quick .
Our food challenges are really, really insane
Ranging from the " I could do that after a few pint " to the " I would literally betray my soul for intestinal comfort the right way now " stage of annoyance and distress , the city is lousy with plenty of nutrient challenges for all to assay . Some of the more bizarre choices , like the Mad Greek Deli ’s " eat a 10 lb sandwich sodding with four variety of meat and three kind of Malva sylvestris along with a pound of fries and a 32 oz soda ash in one hr " challenge , are so really mind - boggling that they enliven a local writer to attemptall of the city ’s food challenges . He failed miserably , of course , but his report arrive at for some seriously great reading / dieting inspiration .
We have a chocolate waterfall
That ’s correct – a goddamnedchocolate waterfall . manoeuvre on down to the Candy Basket shop in Portland to get a view of a full - boast falls of limpid chocolate spewing 2,700lbs of chocolate straight at you , and be dazzled by the loftiness that is nature . And umber .
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“The Dutch Baby” pancake|Katarzyna Hurova/Shutterstock
AleksandraN/Shutterstock
Franz Bakery
Breakside Brewing|Andy Kryza/Thrillist
Rimsky-Korsakoffee House
Tabor Bread
Mad Greek Deli
