Koobazaur's Domain

I just returned from a trip to Portland (Oregon). Here’s what I loved and hated from all the the urban greenery, hipster cafes, microbreweries, and farmer markets.

Food, Drink, and the Farmers Market

After leaving for airport at 4am from LA, the adventures began by exiting the Max Red Line at Pioneer Square, with a simple mission – finding food! I quickly stumbled upon a square of food trucks, one of which happened to be Polish. How could I not give in to my nation’s delicacies, served from a cramped and dodgy trailer?

The verdict: delicious! In the next few days I also got to try some of the local Lebanese food (not as good as the mediterrenian stuff I had in LA), one of the best doughnuts I’ve ever had, and fresh pastries from the local farmer’s market. However, food trucks aside, I never felt Portland had much of a food scene of its own, at least nothing I couldn’t get in any other big American city.

But no trip would be complete without trying some local microbrewers Portland is supposedly famous for. I went to Bridgeport Pub and tried their Hibiscus Brew as well as the Cherry Stout. Good, but not amazing. The vibe of the place was quite nice, and the drunken walk at night in chilly weather pleasantly reminded me of many similar nights back when I was in Belfast, North Ireland.

The farmer’s market was pretty standard fare for those who’ve been to one before – lots of fresh produce, lots of baked goods and, of course so many free samples! Om nom nom. No surrpise either, with Portland’s overall organic, natury-bent.

Hipster Alert

Of course, Portland is also known for being the “hipster” city, with eco-friendly, biking, cafe-visting geeks abound. And to be honest… that’s kind of exactly what it was. Here’s what I counted in just three days:

• Super artsy cafes
• Street art… made of bikes.
• Signs with time estimates to various key points… by bike
• Organic Furniture
• Bus driver taking a break to get out and smoke her vaporator
• Scarves and piercings everywhere
• Solar-powered trashcans
• Solar-powered Dominos

I could probably go on and on… but on the upside, this also meant the architecture and urban design was absolutely beautiful, with numerous street art, interesting buildings, and frequent small parks or general greenery. It was also surprisingly clean for such a big city. Overall, very enjoyable to explore by foot (or bike), and very livable.

Likewise, the people were also very nice and friendly, without much ego (hipsterness aside). I had a busy businessman stop to pick up a glove I accidentally dropped. And a stranger start talking to me at a cafe because they liked my (horrbile) photos on my laptop. Why don’t these things happen in LA?

The Problem

After two days, that is where my biggest beef with Portland also emerged – the city is so nice and clean and perfect, it’s TOO perfect! Things seem so idylic in places, they just feel out of place.

Consider the Chinatown – a nice, well kept and modernized area… wait. Where’s the dirty sidestreets? Where’s all the dodgy-looking-but-delicious restaurants? Where’s the cheap discount stores? Where’s all the angry Chinese people yelling at you in a language you can’t understand? You won’t find any of that. This isn’t what Chinatown is supposed to be.

Likewise, venturing out on a Friday night left me disappointed. Not only do some of the trams stop service at 10:30pm (what!), the city just felt so… timid. No drunken parties, no crazy adventures, all neat and proper and… dare I say, a little boring?

Final Judgement

Overall, I really enjoyed the trip and, despite my beefs, Portland has grown to be one of my favorite cities. The smart and artistic city design, good transportation, and plenty of greenery make it a very livable city, especially for one like me who prefers walking and biking to driving. I’m not sure how long I could handle the hipster-ness and proper-ness of it all, but I could see myself living there for a year or so.