Portland, OR

A few weeks back I headed up to Portland with my husband for a little weekend getaway. I’m currently all about those. LA is fun and fabulous and all, but it’s really nice to get outta town every month or so for a fun visit somewhere awesome, plus see my parents and Portland based friends. So we headed to Portland. Because Portland is totally my favorite city in the states right behind NYC, obviously.

The food and drink scene up there is nothing short of awesome. And I finally was able to snag a room at a Kimpton property, which I’ve been hearing about for ages and I’ve just never gotten around to staying at one.

Well, here’s the thing. I’m totally obsessed. Obsessed with Portland. Obsessed with the Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco. And head over heels obsessed with the food we ate while we were there…

Here’s the skinny. (wait. what? not really skinny? we ate alot. but you get the point, right?)

We stayed here ———->

How fun is the Hotel Monaco? Bright colored accents galore. My kinda room!

This is Norman. Our fish for our long weekend at Hotel Monaco. He’s a cutie. Everyone gets a Norman! Or I guess you could name yours Fred. Or Betty. Whatever you’re into.

So I don’t know if you know this, but it rains a lot in Portland. A LOT. So we camped out in the lobby for a bit and cozied up to their custom hot chocolate bar. It was glorious. And I left with a serious sugar high. #Winning

I’m not quite sure what to even say about this. They have Zebra robes. I think I might up and leave my house and move into a Kimpton. I mean, does it get any better than this? I don’t think so. I need to find a way to buy one of these immediately. These robes alone are enough to win me over for life.

Coffee? It’s not even worth having it anywhere else. I had this vanilla latte from Barista (right near the hotel) that basically blew my mind. You have to go there. It’s life changing.

BrewCycle. Haven’t heard of it? That needs to change. It’s basically a giant bike that seats about 16 people and you and your friends all hop on and pedal from pub to pub trying the different beers that Portland has to offer. It was a bit chilly outside, but so much fun. I’ve decided to go back in the summer and do it again. Bonus – it’s totally kid friendly. There was a new born baby along for the ride.

Oven + Shaker. Seriously some delicious pizza pie. I’ve been to their sister restaurant Nostrana a few times in my past trips to Portland and am always a happy camper when I leave. Oven and Shaker was no different. Great pizza!

Red Star Tavern. We hopped on over to the adjoining restaurant and bar one night for a few bites to eat and lots of fabulously crafted cocktails and beer flights. Brandon, the head mixologist who specializes in craft cocktails, made a to die for mezcal cocktail and several other goodies to drink. The Chef spoiled us with Penn Cove mussels, Grilled Octopus (awesome!) , Ceviche, crispy tofu and pork shoulder (double awesome!!). I couldn’t have been happier.

And of course, what’s a trip to Portland without a visit to their infamous farmers market. Check out that giant mushroom?!!? And yes, we had deep dish pizza for breakfast. What’s wrong with that?

Another stand out meal – Imperial which is just a hop skip and a jump away from the hotel. We loved it so much we went twice. Everything was fab!

And a few other places we loved but didn’t manage to snap pics that you should totally go to when you’re visiting….

Bunk Sandwiches

Trigger PDX

Andina

And now I’m ready to up and move to Portland. Off to find a way to make that happen 🙂

A big thank you to everyone who made our trip really special!! And especially Ben at the Hotel Monaco for letting me steal your wife and child for a few hours and showing us a fab time at the hotel 🙂