Travels in Portlandia

TRAVEL
by Brett Atkinson
Travels in Portlandia
One of the planet’s most bikefriendly cities, Portland is also
known for its great beer.
Clockwise from far left: Portland embraces
the independent spirit of its hipster
contingent; Stumptown Coffee; the
Decemberists; the Shins; a drive-through
coffee shack; Voodoo Doughnut and its
bacon maple bar; the city by night; biking’s
a good way to get around here.
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C
offee and doughnuts. The two essential
food groups for the morning after the
night before are reviving my traveller’s
spirit. The Pacific Northwest sunshine
is also kicking in, and against all odds
I’ve arrived at Voodoo Doughnut’s
downtown Portland location before the
morning rush. There’s a small queue introducing
curious visitors to loyal locals, but within minutes
I’m inside the garish interior that’s a dedicated
monument to kitsch. A velvet airbrushed painting of soul legend Isaac Hayes – the patron saint
of Voodoo Doughnut, according to the store’s
pop culture iconography – looks down, while the
playlist shuffles between Depeche Mode, Nine Inch
Nails and Johnny Cash.
Ignoring the store’s mantra, “The Magic is in
the Hole!”, I bypass circular options topped with
M&Ms or Oreos and sign up for the signature
bacon maple bar. Bacon and maple beer from
Oregon’s Rogue craft brewery is also available, but
I wisely kick on to another Portland institution a
few doors down. The music at Stumptown Coffee
Roasters is defiantly local, with Portland indie
favourites the Shins and the Decemberists the
soundtrack to the choreography of the tattooed
baristas.
Refuelled and recharged, I take to two wheels to
discover why Portland is one of the planet’s most
bike-friendly cities. It has more than 350km of bike
lanes, so my exploration only scratches the surface,
but as I head northwest to the Pearl District, the
city’s reputation is soon backed up. Vehicles stop
with patience and consideration,
eco-friendly street cars cruise carefully
past and medium-rise apartments
align to create concise urban villages. It’s tempting to optimistically
imagine Auckland emerging from the
city’s much-discussed Unitary Plan
with a similar vibe.
Given I’m riding a bike named after
American author Ursula Le Guin, it’s
only appropriate that I stop at Powell’s City of Books, the planet’s biggest
independent bookstore, spread over
6300sq m. Going walkabout in the
departure-lounge-sized travel section,
I fill my day pack with hard-to-find
tomes on hard-to-reach countries,
before setting off again with a considerably heavier load.
Portland’s street-food scene is
another revelation our country’s biggest centre should seek to emulate.
From Gonzo Falafel and Hummus to
The Grilled Cheese Grill, more than
600 food carts dot the city’s streets,
many gathered into “pods” either
side of the Willamette River. Uptown,
carts open for lunch for eager groups
of local desk jockeys and apartment
dwellers, whereas downtown the vibe
is more after-dark catering to drinkers
and club-goers.
To encourage new operators and promote diversity, monthly rental for food carts is kept at around
US$700, and for many local chefs an outdoor and
mobile location is an affordable alternative to
opening an actual restaurant. Savvy cart operators
have amassed sizeable followings on social media
and new openings in the city are afforded wide and
often reverential coverage on quirky Portland-based
blogs.
Innovative up-and-coming chefs like the crew
at Eurotrash trial challenging flavours, while
hardworking recent immigrants grab a slice of the
action by dishing up culinary memories of home.
Savour southern Indian flavours at Tiffin Asha
and Colombian-style arepas and empanadas at
El Pilón, or mop up zingy Ethiopian curries with
spongy injera bread at Dalo’s Kitchen. It’s a truly
global scene, and a few carts have even opened at
Portland International Airport to offer a last-minute
international flavour infusion for travelling foodies.
L
ater in the afternoon, it’s time for the No 1
reason I’ve come to Oregon, so I board
Brewvana’s retro school bus to explore
Portland’s reputation as one of the world’s great
beer cities. More than 50 craft breweries lubricate a
population of about 600,000, and our international
crew of beer nerds departs in search of Pacific
Northwest hop bombs, Belgianstyle saison beers and robust stouts
crammed with chilli and chocolate.
At the wheel, a shaggy beer geek
called Matt entertains with stories
of home brewing gone horribly
wrong, classic James Brown the
musical accompaniment to the heady
expectation of hoppy good times.
At the wheel, a shaggy
beer geek called Matt
entertains with stories
of home brewing
gone horribly wrong.
As we cruise through the industrialmeets-residential grid of east Portland,
the diversity of the city’s beer scene is
revealed within a few blocks. Hiking
and climbing are celebrated at Base
Camp Brewing, with beers including
their In-Tents India Pale Lager available in lightweight aluminium bottles
for expeditions to nearby Mt Hood or
the Columbia River Gorge. Mountain bikes and vintage urban cruisers
are lined up outside cyclist-friendly
Hopworks Urban Brewery, and the
unassuming Gigantic Brewing Company presents the biggest and boldest
beers of the day in a compact garden
bar filled with bearded locals.
I continue my research back across
the river at Bailey’s Taproom. The
bar’s huge screen lists the 20 brews
currently on tap and what’s coming
up next. A group of hipsters enjoy the
old-school thrills of a game of Connect
4, but I’m too busy working through
my tasting paddle, with eclectic brews
such as a barrel-aged wheat beer with
kaffir lime leaves and versions laced
with coffee and star anise.
Across the lane, Tugboat is known
for Chernobyl, a double Imperial
stout packing a whopping 13%
punch. It’s tempting, but after a big
day, it’s time to call it a night. I’ve got
more of the quirks and qualities of
Portland to explore tomorrow. With
a bit of luck, a coffee and a doughnut
will set me right. l