PDX Sites & Eats

6 Hours In Portland | Kure, OMSI & the Nickel Arcade

September 5, 2016 by Lindsay Ingalls Leave a Comment

So you have only six hours to spend in Portland, what would you do? I mean there is so much to do it can incredibly overwhelming. So here I am narrowing things down for you and giving you a few great spots to eat, play and soak up Portland.

9am – Kure
77 SE Yamhil St (or your favorite location – they [currently] have five)

Kure is easily one of our favorite spots in Portland. They have an amazing variety of healthy vegan and raw options that taste amazing. We recommend the Bowl of The Gods (acai bowl), Little Wing (smoothie), Liquid Sunshine (juice) and the Kure Bar (snack). Also take advantage of their awesome grab-and-go section.

9:45am – OMSI
1945 SE Water Ave

Just around the corner from Kure is the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and one of our favorite spots to explore and play. Now you might be thinking isn’t OMSI just for kids? NO! There is so much to see, do and learn that it is fun for all ages. Currently there is a space exhibit which is a must see IMO. If space isn’t your thing don’t worry there are plenty of other things to see and there is always an IMAX show.

When you are done at OMSI head out the side door and you’ll find yourself over looking the Willamette River. Here you can go for a stroll and take in the Portland skyline. So stop, look and take a photo or two.

12pm – Homegrown Smokehouse & Vegan Deli OR Vtopia
1628 SW Jefferson

Now that you have played it is time to feast so we are hopping across the river for some hearty vegan BBQ or if you are looking to go a bit more refined a cheese plate at Vtopia – or go crazy and get both! Homegrown Smoker started off as a food cart here in Portland a few years ago and they now have brick and mortar spot that is serving up their delicious fare. If BBQ isn’t your thing then head next door to Vtopia where you will find some amazing cashew based cheeses and cheesy foods.

1:15pm – Wunderland
3451 SE Belmont St

Save your nickels and head to Wunderland for hours of fun at the nickel arcade. This is one of our favorite spots in town because it is fun and cheap. Again you might be thinking isn’t this a “kids” spot and while you will find yourself sharing the space with children there is more than enough fun to be had. This is actually one of Neil and my favorite date night spots; we stop into Stumptown and grab a coffee, then the nickel arcade and end our night at Sweet Hereafter for dinner and drinks – the perfect date night. If you want a little more of an adult spot and a place where adult beverages are served then head a few streets over to QuarterWorld – but warning these games don’t issue tickets so you won’t have an awesome robotic arm or Mickey watch at the end of the day.

So that is how to spend 6 hours in Portland or a few more than that if you want to add in our favorite date night spots.

If you had 6 hours in Portland what would you do?

PDX Sites & Eats | Tea Flight Tasting at Smith Teamaker

June 28, 2016 by Lindsay Ingalls 4 Comments

Neil and I have been trying to get a little more creative with our date nights instead of the same old dinner and drinks. On our most recent date we (finally) visited the Smith Teamaker Southeast Tasting Room. The space is bright with a modern industrial feel – I’m terrible at explaining interiors so just look here.

The tea list is pretty extensive so we decided to go share a tasting flight of four teas of our choice. We had a hard time narrowing down four but eventually we did. We chose a oolong tea, two black teas and an herbal tea.

For the tasting you are presented with a tray of teas, a spoon each, a cup of water to rinse your spoon, a few little cookies and info cards for each tea along with the teas in their un-steeped form. From there it works a lot like a coffee cupping but instead of spitting the tea out after tasting you just drink it all down.

While we peacefully sipped our teas we read through The Teamaker’s Almanac that had been left at our table. It was filled with a variety of little stories about tea, how to taste tea and what do all those numbers really mean on Smith Teamaker teas. It was pretty comical at times as well.

Overall this is has become one of my must visit spots in Portland. Stop in and try the flight if you have time but make sure to bring a friend or you’ll be downing 4 full cups of tea on your own. If you’re in a rush grab one of their cold teas they have on draft. We sampled the chai but were too full of tea to grab one to go but you know where I’ll be next time a chai craving comes on.

PDX Eats | Vegan Brunch at TeSóAria

June 12, 2016 by Lindsay Ingalls Leave a Comment

I absolutely love a nice glass of wine and if you pair that with vegan eats I’ll likely be your best friend. So, when I was invited to TeSóAria for their vegan brunch I just couldn’t say no. I didn’t know anything about TeSóAria before my visit besides that they have a tasting room in North Portland and the vineyard is in Roseburg.

I arrived at the tasting room and was instantly impressed by the space. It’s bright and inviting and has these big beautiful windows that let in so much light and open during the summer. Can’t you just picture it sitting either at one of their outside tables or inside with the windows open and a nice glass of wine? Okay, so basically I am planning Neil and my next date night.

Anyways I found my seat and took a look at the menu which feature four courses with two wine pairings for each course. We settled in with a bit of wine to start and of course I can’t remember what it was but it was white, crisp, slightly sweet and a great way to start the brunch.

Once everyone had arrived it was (finally) time to start eating and drinking! Founder and Winemaker, John Olson, started us off with a nice welcome and then got right into explaining the wines he had chosen for our first course. Since I know very little about wine, basically I know what I like when I taste it, it was nice to hear the back story of each wine and John did an amazing job of making it fun and interesting while also informative. John explained each pour of wine at the start of each course and I felt like I left knowing so much more about wine.

Now we will get into the food because let’s be honest I might not be a wine connoisseur but I do know vegan food.

Then it was time for our first course which was this beautiful salad. I have to say I was a bit skeptical because I’m just not one of those people who likes fruit in my salad but the roasted apricot vinaigrette was actually pretty amazing. My only gripe with this dish is that it was a bit over dressed but if it had about half of the vinaigrette on it (or twice the greens) I would definitely order this again because it tasted amazing.

Next up we have this beautiful dish that features peppers stuffed with cashew cheese and a tabbouleh. I know you’re thinking cashew cheese?!? Yes it was as good as it sounds. This dish was easily one of the top favorites at our table and I have to agree.

Our last savory dish was a cassoulet featuring a variety of beans and mushrooms, grilled fava beans and a chickpea crouton. I thought that the flavor of this dish was spot on but it honestly was my least favorite (but still incredibly flavorful and delicious) of everything we ate. I love the beans and mushrooms but I’m not big on fava beans that are still in the pod, they have a bit of a strange mouth feel and are a bit tough to eat. The chickpea crouton was good but I think with all that beautiful broth hanging out at the bottom of my bowl I would have loved a bigger crouton to sop it all up or a nice piece of bread.

The last course we had was this incredible rosemary shortcake. I could have eaten five plates (or more) of this because it was just amazing. It was sweet and savory and a little bit tart. I just couldn’t get enough and if I had been at home I would have licked the plate.

Overall I had an amazing experience and I hope they host this event again because I would love to do it again. The food was really great and the wine was incredible. It isn’t often that you find an amazing wine bar that also has really delicious and fun vegan options.

I also am looking forward to trying TeSóAria’s Vegan Thursdays, called “Shut Up and Eat Your Vegetables!” starting this coming Thursday, June 16th from 5pm on at The Portland Tasting Room.

Every Thursday, Chef Max will have a Seasonal Vegan Tapas Menu available to pair with our award winning Wines! Vegan Tapenade, Mezze Boards, Samosa’s, and more, priced $4 to $12. Available every Thursday starting at 5pm.

What is your favorite wine? Which of the four courses do you think you would enjoy the most?

Check out these other bloggers thoughts on this wonderful brunch!

Pechluck’s Food Adventures

Why I’m Quitting The Gym [and joining ClassPass]

May 11, 2016 by Lindsay Ingalls 4 Comments

In January I joined the gym at Neil’s work. While not the most convenient gym for me to go to the facilities are top of the line and the cost for me to join was less than my monthly coffee habit. So I joined and I have been fairly dedicated to making it to the gym at least twice per week while supplementing with at home workouts.

The thing is I am only able to go gym when Neil gets out of work or on the weekends. For months we have been making it work but I’m going to be honest it’s not without it’s struggles. My gym time is right when I would normally be preparing our dinner so by the time I am done at the gym it is dinner time for our early birds. This means I either have to prepare a meal that can easily be eaten at the gym or we end up going out to dinner.

Sleep has also become a bit of an issue. Edith who is nearly four only naps [maybe] once per week and not for a lack of tiredness but for pure strong will that she doesn’t want to nap. That being saidcome 4pm I usually find her asleep in carseat on our way to the gym or both littles fall asleep on the way home from the gym which means bedtime is a struggle. Late bedtime means that often Neil and I have little time for each other and little time to work at night.

This weekend I was finally at my breaking point because we have been so behind on dishes, our organizing projects and oh the never ending laundry. To top things off because it’s a work gym most of the workout classes are during the day or just at a time that doesn’t work with our schedule so I haven’t been able to take advantage of them.

Since workout classes were a ‘no go’ for me I bought a personal training package assuming that I would be able to find a trainer that worked for my availability and not one was available. So since I usually just spend my time doing cardio while catching up on Pretty Little Liars I figured it was time to take the summer off from my gym membership. I can spend my time outside on walks and hikes with my family this summer and who knows maybe I’ll actually take up running again.

That all being said the decision to quit the gym was one that I was very conflicted about because I have fallen in love with routine and making that time for me. Unfortunately I just hate everything that comes along with it.

I thought about joining a gym closer to our house but it would still be a lot of the similar issues that I had with the work gym. I felt a bit at a loss but then I thought about ClassPass*. I had given it a try last May and while I loved the classes and the concept where we were living at the time just wasn’t ideal for me to keep with the pass after my trial month, but right now it seems perfect so I signed up. I have decided to go with the 5 classes for $45 option so I can see how much I will really use it. If I find that I am using it enough to get the the most out of the unlimited package I will bump it up.

With ClassPass* I can go to barre3, The Bar Method, a ton of yoga studios that I have had my eye on and a meditation studio that I am so excited to try. So my new workout plans include regular barre3 online at home, hikes and walks with my family [maybe some running?] and at least one workout class per week. It sounds pretty perfect, at least to me.

Where do you do most of your workout classes (home, classes, gym, etc)? Have you tried ClassPass*? If you are local to Portland or are traveling through Portland and want to attend a fitness or meditation class together let me know! I love to go to classes with others – especially new-to-me classes!

*Affiliate Link.

Travel Oregon | Where To Eat, Sleep & Play in Astoria

March 18, 2016 by Lindsay Ingalls 4 Comments

One of our favorite things to do is head to the Oregon Coast for a weekend getaway. Our favorite spot to visit is Astoria because of it’s just over an hours drive for us and it’s filled with good food and lots of fun. I figured with the summer coming and lots Coast trips planned I’d share a few of our favorite places to Eat, Play and Sleep in (or close to) Astoria.

Eat

Where ever we travel finding a place with good food and decent coffee is an absolute must. Luckily for such a small spot Astoria has some really great food and beverage options. Most of the time we like to start our day at Street 14 Cafe which is right in downtown Astoria and attached to the Commodore Hotel. They serve up a decent cup of Stumptown Coffee but what we really go for are the apple or pumpkin bites which are essential vegan doughnut muffins. When we aren’t buying out their entire stock of bites we often go for the bagel with hummus and veggies or whatever other vegan pastry they have that day.

For lunch or dinner you can likely find us at Buoy Brewing or Ft. George Brewing. Great beer, food and atmosphere. If you only have time to go to one though I would head to Buoy as the view and the food are superior to Ft. George. If you find yourself in Seaside, just a few miles south and are looking for a spot to eat we happily ate at New Garden Asian Cuisine. Now it’s nothing spectacular but they have tons of veggie options and it all tasted good. Lastly, if you decide to head to Long Beach, WA just across the bridge from Astoria Pickled Fish is the spot to eat but make sure you make reservations first!
Play

The thing about Astoria is that while it is Costal there really isn’t a beach so if you’re looking for a beach vacation I would head south to Cannon Beach or for somewhere a bit closer to Astoria you can cross the beach and head to Long Beach or Seaview. In Astoria our favorite things to do are the Columbia River Maritime Museum which might sound a bit dull but it’s actually really interesting and has great rotating exhibits. If it’s summer time the Astoria Riverfront Trolley is an absolute must. You get a nice ride along the water where you can get off and on as you wish. The riverfront walk is also great and if you are a runner it’s a beautiful running spot on a sunny Summer morning. If you’re looking for a great view the Astoria Column is a great spot to get amazing views and if you are daring enough (I’m not) you have climb the winding stares to the top of the tower for an even better view. We also just love to walk around Astoria checking out the shops, our favorites include Maiden Astoria for beautiful locally made goods, FinnWare for everything Scandinavian and Astoria Vintage Hardware for vintage and vintage inspired items for the home.

Sleep

Now to be honest we have only literally slept in Astoria once and I wouldn’t recommend that hotel. This isn’t to say there aren’t some great spots to stay such as the Commodore, Norbald, or the Cannery Pier Hotel but the first two aren’t great for families and the last is usually a bit above our budget. If we were to head to Astoria sans children though my first choice would be the Commodore which reminds me a lot of the Ace Hotel in it’s style, vibe and it shares a lobby space with Street 14 Cafe.

So where do we sleep?

Most of the time we head across the bridge to Washington and stay at the vintage trailers at the The Sou’Wester in Seaview. It’s our absolute favorite spot to stay with it’s vintage trailers, walkability to the beach and now it even has a wonderful sauna. There is often live music on the weekends as well which makes it so much fun. It’s basically glamping and we love it. When we aren’t staying at The Sou’Wester you can find us down the road at the Adrift which has a really modern and slightly industrial feel. It houses a great restaurant, it’s walking distance to the beach and it’ has some really great affordable deals so get on their mailing list. The last spot I would recommend to stay is in Seaside at the Ashore which is the sister hotel to the Adrift. The Ashore and Adrift have similar styles but the Ashore is significantly smaller and has no restaurant but it is walkable to the beach…although that beach is Seaside so there is that. The hotel was nice but I personally prefer the location and amenities of the Adrift.

I have to say I feel pretty lucky to live so close to such beautiful spots and to be able to spend our free time enjoying them. We can’t wait to head back to the Coast in a few months for an anniversary trip.

You can find my post on The Sou’Wester here, here and here.

And more about places to eat and sleep in the Astoria, OR/Long Beach, WA area here.

Where are you favorite Oregon Coast spots? For those of you who have yet to visit the Oregon Coast what are you favorite getaway spots?

Portland Dining Adventures | Farm Spirit

February 29, 2016 by Lindsay Ingalls 4 Comments

Date nights have become a regular occurrence for us lately because frankly they are incredibly important. However, most of our date nights are pretty casual and sometimes they even involve running a few child-free errands. But, our last date night was one that was far from a casual affair. It was free of phones (except to snap a few photos for you), errands and our beloved children.

We were kindly invited to attend one of Farm Spirit‘s multiple course dinner seatings. Farm Spirit is the brainchild of Chef Aaron Adams, formerly of Portland vegans’ favorite, Portobello Vegan Trattoria. The restaurant focuses on thoughtful courses with the seasonal ingredients sourced almost entirely from the Cascadia region in the Pacific Northwest. Adams clearly cares about supporting local farmers and artisans, going into great detail when describing the dishes and the origins of their ingredients. Even the dishware was created by local potter Steve Kelly. Tickets for the seatings are sold in advance and are in high demand. Each seating is limited to 14 and there is only one seating each night, Wednesday through Saturday at 7pm. *Update* Starting April 6th, Farm Spirit will offer multiple seating times throughout the evening, starting at 5:15 p.m. and going as late as 8:30 p.m. The seatings will be smaller allowing for more focus and attention to be on the guests.

When you walk in each seat has a menu and a place card with your last name. The seating a is a bit unique in that all guests are seated at a communal bar and the chefs prepare and plate each one of your courses right there in front of you. You know immediately that this experience is more than just the food. Farm to table has become somewhat cliched lately but not at Farm Spirit. You come away with a great appreciation for and understanding of the ingredients, the farmers, and the process that has gone into making your meal.

Above you see the 12-course menu starting with the most amazing bread and olive oil and ending with an incredible pumpkin seed ice cream. The real highlights are all the dishes in between. But, I’ll get to that in a bit.

To go along with our meal we decided to share the wine pairing and the house-made (non-alcoholic) beverage pairing. All of the wines were wonderful. One of our favorites was the Madeira. Neil and I couldn’t get over how amazing it was and how well it paired with the last two courses. As for the house-made beverages you won’t be disappointed. They were all unique and had such a range of flavors all of which perfectly complimented their dishes. Neil has been really interested in wild fermentation lately and spent a great deal of time asking the chefs about the process that went into the drinks.

Our first dish was this bouquet of herbs and greens and a little purple carrot with the most incredible hazelnut yogurt. To eat we were instructed to use our hands, dip, our bunch and enjoy. How was it? While it almost seems a little awkward to eat at first, that dissipates quickly when you’re blown away by the variety of flavors and textures in the dish.

Another dish to highlight was the Swiss chard that was made to resemble ravioli. It was fresh, crisp and the vegetal kvass broth had me lifting the bowl to drink up every last drop. The chefs do a great job of introducing you to the dishes and reminding you to let go of your inhibitions about eating with your hands or drinking up the last of the broths in your dish.

This next dish was another one of my favorites – the roasted carrot with burdock root puree. As a home cook, this was one of the less intimidating dishes. It’s one that I’m inspired go home and recreate, maybe not to the same caliber, but I could still do it.

I have to say of all the dishes this last one is my favorite. Tim’s bread was the star of the night for me. I could have easily eaten an entire loaf of the vollkornbort with the soured filbert puree and of those pickled onions and mustard seeds.

As the evening wound down the dessert courses are presented and your hot beverage order is taken. The offerings include coffee from local roasters Cellar Door, tea from Steven Smith, and a house-made hot drink. Once everyone has cleared their plates the chefs give you a warm thank you and a sweet breakfast bread to take home to enjoy with your morning coffee or tea. Such a sweet and unexpected way to end a perfect dining experience.

We enjoyed our meal and experience so much that immediately upon returning home that night we booked our next visit. One thing to note when you are purchasing your dinner tickets is that dinner is around three hours long. I know three hours sounds a bit daunting but honestly you won’t want the night to end.

Have you tried Farm Spirit? What were your thoughts? If you are a local Portlander or are visiting Portland I recommend getting tickets right away you won’t be disappointed.

Farm Spirit is located at 1414 SE Morrison, Portland, OR 97232. Find Farm Spirit on Facebook.com/FarmSpirit, and @FarmSpirit on Instagram and Twitter.

*I apologize for the photo quality – while the food was amazing the lighting was far from ideal for photographs!

Travel Oregon | Oregon Cider Tour with Buick

November 21, 2015 by Lindsay Ingalls Leave a Comment

A few Saturdays ago I was lucky enough to jump in a Buick and head to Hood River to sample a variety of ciders, learn about the history behind cider and connect with new people. I was picked up in a Buick Enclave which is a beautiful, super comfy SUV. It was stocked with bottles of water and my favorite KIND bars.

My driver picked up another participant and then we headed to the meet up and pick which car we would drive out to our first destination, The Gorge White House.

Kristi and I took the Buick Regal. Kristi safely got us to Cascade Locks and then we switched drivers and I took us to The Gorge White House our first of four stops on our cider tour.

Of the four places that we visited The Gorge White House was the only one that I had been to before. We have friends who love it and we stopped in with them back in September after apple picking in the Gorge. I had sampled most of the ciders before and once again the apple was my favorite of the five ciders we tried. It was crisp and not too sweet; it almost reminded me of a dry white wine.

One thing I love about doing a tour with other bloggers is that photographing you food or beverage isn’t strange. Neither is requesting just the right style of pour for the perfect shot.

Before leaving The Gorge White House they fed us some really delicious food. I got this great curry that was just so perfectly seasoned and I could have eaten two bowls of it.

Just up the road from The Gorge White House was our second stop, Fox Tail Cider. Fox Tail was quite a bit different than our first stop with ciders made with peach and ginger. My favorite of the five we sampled was the last, the Fox Tail’s Docklands.

Once we finished up at Fox Tail Cider we piled into the passenger seats of our Buick of choice, I went in the Encore, and we made the trek back to Portland for our third stop. I spent most of the ride taking advantage of the wi-fi hotspot in our car and checked in on emails, instagram and lots of chatting with the hubby. We made it to Portland Cider House and they had four of their ciders to sample along with one from Cider Riot. I have to say that these five ciders were my favorite of the day. I especially loved the Hop’rageous from Portland Cider, probably because I am a beer lover. Along with these five samples I tasted a few of the 23 other cider options that Portland Cider had on tap. Yes, 28 total ciders on tap at one time!

I was sad to leave Portland Cider but I’ll be back to try more ciders, play a few games from their huge stack and get out with my cider loving friend. Next up we headed back to the Buicks, this time the LaCrosse, and we made our way to Bushwhacker Cider for dinner and our last cider.
At Bushwhacker we could or a cider of our choice so Kristi and I decided that we liked the idea of samples and we went for their geek 6-cider sample tray. I have to admit at this time all the cider samples were blending together and I was a bit cider’d out but they were still fun to try. For dinner I had an amazing farro risotto and we ended with some vegan chocolate.

It was a pretty amazing but long day and I was happy we ended early because I missed my babies so much. It was a great day and I have to give a big thanks to Buick for inviting me to participate in this amazing cider tour. I enjoyed sampling all the ciders and learning a bit more about them and of course getting to socialize with a number of really interesting people.

So tell me are you a cider drinker? I can’t say that I have turned into a cider drinker but I definitely have a better appreciation for cider after this tour. I didn’t realize just how many different types of ciders there are from super sweet, to dry and crisp to crazy flavors such as chai, mojito and passionfruit.

*Participants only drove out to our first stop, The Gorge White House, our drivers took over after that and drove us to all of our other destinations and home.

Naturally Lindsay