I'd love to meet up with any hackers in the area. If you're thinking about applying (or have applied) to YC, I'm also happy to answer any questions / share my experience. (I'll buy the beer.)
Also looking for recommendations of things to do, groups to check out, etc.
• Powell's Books (and Technical books)
• 23rd Street and NW Portland area
• Voodoo doughnuts
• Rose Garden
• OMSI
• the Pearl district
• Hawthorne district (around the Bagdad theatre)
• Events in Pioneer Courthouse Sq.
• Hit up the dozens of microbrews
• peek in the offices of weiden+kennedy
• shows at the doug fir lounge
• kennedy school
• take the OHSU tram once (weird and fun)
• some fun stuff around Alberta St. and the Hollywood district
• parks! (I like laurelhurst, the arboretum, and forest park)
• washington park zoo, if you like zoos. (really great for kids)Speaking of buffalo wings, for a so-so but still tasty/fun experience (lots of sauces to choose from!) hittup fire on the mountain. Two locations so it's easy to get to.
Watch out for the gorge hikes mentioned - don't bother if it's a weekend and not raining - the amount of people on the trails is unenjoyable. Swing a weekday to avoid the crowds, or hike when it's rainy (still cool, but I am an oregonian...)
$11 for the plate of wings is actually not bad. It is pretty big. And they are really delicious. If you get cocktails and go all out it is gets expensive. No doubt. The cocktails are killer too
Regarding the gorge: some hikes are fine on weekends. Eagle Creek Falls trail requires a $5 per car day use fee, which keeps out the crowds. It's one of the best trails in the gorge. Skip it if you don't like heights though, and be careful if it's raining.
I'll have to checkout the whiskey lounge, and great tip on Eagle Creek. Gotta love that slick drop off to the raging river below :)
Maybe it is, as another commenter said, in the top five science museums in the country, but if it were it would have to be a very distant fifth because it's nothing like the Smithsonian or the New York Museum of Natural History or the California Academy of Sciences or the one whose name I forget in Chicago.
I also think Voodoo Donuts is overrated, but that's just me. Dinner recommendation: Andina.
http://www.devilspointbar.com/ http://www.sassysbar.com/welcome.html http://www.luckydevillounge.com/ http://www.unionjacksclub.com/
http://www.hopworksbeer.com/ http://www.rogue.com/ http://www.mcmenamins.com/ http://www.rockbottom.com/
Have fun, and bring your umbrella
When I left for the bay area a few years ago, NE Alberta and North Portland were picking up inertia. If you're into coffee, try Albina Press.
The lucky lab on SE Hawthorne (close in) is a Great pub and I'm not much of a pubgoer.
Eat street food. The Portland street food scene makes the mission district look behind the times.
Get some tea in the teahouse in the Chinese gardens (right downtown). It's often overlooked by Portlanders, but the Chinese gardens are really quite wonderful. The tea menu is run by the Tao of Tea, which is one of the better tea importers in America.
Check out the nickel arcade (wonderland, I think it's called) on SE Belmont.
Powells & Powell's Technical. If you're a book person, set aside at least half a day for this. Read some books in the cafe. Hang out a while - there's no better book store in America (including the strand - nyc, moe's - berkeley, serendipity, etc)
I know I'm disagreeing with other posters, but avoid the pearl like the plague. It's the least "truly portland" and is for people from other cities who are looking for shiny glass highrises and warehouses. Everything is more expensive and upscale. Similarly, NW 23rd and 21st have a distinctly "east coast haven" flavor. Go to NYC or SF for that, enjoy portland for what it does best — the quirky stuff that you can't get elsewhere, and there's plenty of that.
Speaking of quirky, get a doughnut in the middle of the night at voodoo.
Check out the saturday market (sat and sun), if it's running when you're in town. Another uniquely portland experience, but you probably won't buy anything.
Beers: Hair of the dog, rogue, lucky lab. Try something on cask or nitro if you haven't lived in a place that really geeks out on beer.
Sadly, not anymore. "Free Rail Zone" is the Newspeak for Fareless Square. Buses now cost you.
If you really want a hard core Portland experience, go check out the dudes skating the skatepark under the Burnside bridge, then go to a strip club.
Red E on N Killingsworth is my favorite. Barista, in the Pearl and also on NE Alberta, is similar and somewhat more famous. Both serve Coava a local roaster that sells single origin coffees, meaning the beans are of one type and come from one farm. Their stuff consistently wins awards in the coffee world.
http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?Propert...
Japanese Zen Garden (awesome woodwork, one of the largest in the States)
http://www.japanesegarden.com/
Nuestra Cocina (superb Mexican cuisine)
Food: I recommend the following two food carts for eating lunch downtown: "Ziba's Pitas" on SW Alder and 9th Ave (try the ajvar), and "KOi Fusion", whose location is posted via twitter at http://www.twitter.com/koifusionpdx . Voodoo donuts is open 24/7 and conducts wedding ceremonies.
Tech: I second the recommendation for http://calagator.org/ . Powell's books is also a must, the technical store is now across the street from the main store which is convenient.
Science: Your timing is unlucky in a sense, you won't be able to go to OMSI after dark (Oct 27, http://www.omsi.edu/afterdark) or science pub (Nov 1, Nov 16, http://www.omsi.edu/sciencepubportland). I'd say OMSI is one of the top five science museums nationwide, and the best science museum on the west coast.
Art: On the first Thursday of every month (Nov 4), there are a bunch of art galleries and stands that open up in NW Portland starting in the afternoon and picking up in the evening. http://www.firstthursdayportland.com/ The Portland Art Museum is also excellent. http://portlandartmuseum.org/
Parks: Japanese gardens, rose gardens.
Neighborhoods: SE Hawthorne ST and NW 23RD AVE are interesting places and friendly to explorers. The vicinity of NE Alberta ST has a disproportionate number of cool parties, but good luck figuring out when / where / whether you need an invitation.
Music: The Doug Fir, Berbati's Pan, Jimmy Mak's, Someday Lounge, Backspace, Satyricon are just a few examples. The Doug Fir stands out, especially if you like indy rock. Go to Jimmy Mak's if you like jazz.
Random: "Ground Kontrol" if you like arcade games. It is also a bar. (Someone mentioned Wonderland, which is cheaper, but Ground Kontrol has the classics and I don't think they serve beer at Wonderland.)
Hmm, you've convinced me to take my precious savings (unemployed at the moment) and go out.
I'm flying into PDX right around then to do some on-site work, and one of my Bachelor degrees is in Japanese (though not from PSU).
The JSS (student club putting on the event) has a lot of Japanese exchange students as well as anyone interested in Japanese culture, and has "contribute to world peace" in the mission statement. (I also saw "we are not the anime club" in some of the literature they had, if that gives you a better idea of what the club is about, and what kind of event they'd put on.)
http://www.amazon.com/Fugitives-Refugees-Portland-Oregon-Jou...
Here's the PIE website: http://piepdx.com/
My email is in my profile.
Cheers!
Great coffee: http://www.yelp.com/biz/coffeehouse-northwest-portland http://stumptowncoffee.com/
Fun bars: http://www.dougfirlounge.com/ http://www.rontoms.net/
Cool neighborhoods to explore: - SE Hawthorne - Pearl District - Northwest
I haven't seen anything about Multnomah falls to the east or Cannon beach on the coast -- both are beautiful places to check out if you're renting a car and like nature.
Here are some pictures I took on the trip, since they might give you a good idea of some of the places others have mentioned: http://www.jasoncazes.com/photos/portland/
- Fuller's Diner
- Powell's Books and Technical books -- a few blocks from each other IIRC
- Pearl district in general
- Tender Loving Empire (I went to the SW 10th St one)
- Sweet Masterpiece (awesome chocolate + wine/coffee pairings!)
- Saturday (weekend) market
- OMSI (first time in a planetarium since the mid-90s)
- Portland Aeriel Tram
- Portland Art Museum
- Japanese and Rose Gardens, Oregon ZooPowell's has a separate science and technology bookstore. Even if you don't want to buy a book, it's worth visiting this separate building to see the quite small (but entertaining) collection of vintage computers and manuals.
If the weather permits I would recommend riding a bike and taking public transportation to get around. Portland is much better than the bay area in this respect.
If you are into postgres be sure and say hi to the folks at Rentrak if you can. They have some great query / analytics technology built on it.
There are some fabulous farmer's markets there too.
Rent a (road) bicycle and ride a nice 2-hour loop along the waterfront (starting at OMSI and going along the Springwater Corridor)
Rent a (mountain) bike and bike in Forest Park (near NW 23rd)
Go to Council Crest Park, the highest point in Portland. Great views of the city and, if the weather is clear, at least 4 glaciated peaks.
Attend the farmer's market at Portland State University on Saturday mornings
Walk through Washington Park (head up Burnside to NW 23rd and then enter the park). From here, you can access the rose gardens, the Japanese gardens, Hoyt Arborteum, and the zoo.
Go skiing at Timberline lodge (they open for the season this weekend).
Go surfing at the coast (you can rent everything you need, including a warm wet suit, at Cannon Beach)
Go hiking on the coast: Saddle Mountain or Neahkahnie Mountain is good
Go hiking in the Gorge: numerous options of varying difficulties, consult Google
See Multnomah Falls, and take one of many numerous hikes in the area
See a movie at the Bagdad, a neat theater, and walk around the neighborhood there
Hike in Forest Park. The Wildwood Trail goes on for 30 miles. Pittock Mansion is cool. The Audobahn Society is a convenient stop.
See Mt. St. Helens. I'm not sure if the visitor center is open.
Drive to Hood River (can be combined on a long day trip to Mt Hood)
Drive to Mt Hood and hike up to the glacier
Go wine tasting in the Willamette Valley (numerous vineyards available)
Attend free art show on First Thursday
Rent a kayak and paddle the river, or go on a river cruise
http://www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/
Most of the rest seems to have been covered, enjoy your trip!
The collection is fantastic but the knowledgeable volunteers really put it over the top. All are friendly and the level of detail was incredible. One gentleman walked me around the J58 (from the SR-71) and knew temps and pressures at various stages, cruise airflow etc. It was pretty damn cool...
btw... Voodoo is an experience, but the donuts aren't that fine.
For beer I'd recommend the Tug Boat, right downtown. Cool little pub with lots of crazy old books stacked to the ceilings...
A huge part of Portland is the beer, and there are a few different styles of brewpubs. The first I'll address is the style I like the least, which are the annexes of larger distributors. These include Rogue, Widmer, Bridgeport etc. They don't have any charm to them, they are just restaurants attached to a beer label, and there is better beer to be had. Also, McMenamins has cool locations but their beer sucks and so does their food, prices and service. If you like drinking in cool buildings (old church, old elementary school with lots of bars inside) then check them out, otherwise don't bother. If you are going to go to a McMenamins, make sure it's the Kennedy School, since that one offers the most redemption. As far as the good places to go: Hopworks makes damn good pizza and damn good beer. Their red and their IPA are both fantastic, and the bar is really freaking cool. Lucky Lab is another place with good beer, but their vibe is completely different - if you don't like dogs and a big open cafeteria style game room, then don't bother. Right now my favourite place to grab a beer is the Fifth Quadrant (a Lompoc brewery location) - they have the best burger I have yet had in Portland, and Tuesdays they offer $2.50 pints. Their c-note IPA is great! Haven't had a bad server yet, which is saying something.
Unless you want a seedy experience, avoid the strip clubs. I am not a fan but have been to a couple over the years. I think it takes a certain person, and I can say it's easy to ignore someone when they say "but this one is really good!" - there's nothing special about portland strip clubs except the sheer number of them, so unless it's your thing don't bother.
Some of the best things about portland have nothing to do with portland itself, but rather the proximity of cool shit nearby. The gorge is gorgeous (haha), lots of cool stuff around mount hood as well. The coast is something else - if you haven't been to a northwest coast, it's a must. Don't expect nice weather and fun, but rather intense scenery, weather and wind. Head straight to either Astoria (see the Goonies house), or Manzanita for a cool small beach town feel.
If you are a rock climber, there are cool things to climb within a reasonable distance. I am happy to get some climbing in if you have some experience and want to tie into a rope, though I can't promise nice weather or warm hands.
Something that could be fun for around portland is one of the many pedicab routes offered. You can get a basic tour, or they have specialty tours going on for things like whiskey tasting among others. http://pdxpedicab.com/ and look for their pub tour and distillery tour.
Broughton Bluff is in troutdale (just a couple mile drive) and has some great climbs: http://www.mountainproject.com/v/oregon/broughton_bluff/1057...
Farside (Washington side of the gorge, 40 minute drive): http://www.mountainproject.com/v/washington/farside/10686252...
And the infamous Beacon Rock (Washington side, 45-50 minute drive): http://www.mountainproject.com/v/washington/beacon_rock/1057...
Beacon is great - trad only and a good set of locals. Broughton's has more douchebaggary going on, but it's trad only aside from 3 top rope routes. Farside is a locals joint as well, mostly trad but lots of toprope (rappel down, climb out).
The strip joints there have quite a reputation.
Pro Tip: I also noticed that the 1337 Mary's Club patrons just walk through the taqueria to avoid the door fee.