OT- Portland?

Angus1978 said:

You have good timing...Thrillist posted the best street food and Portland made the cut.  

12. Portland

Oregon
You could make a case for New York’s hot dogs, halal carts, and street meat, or Chicago’s dragged-through-the-garden red hots, but Portland has so embraced the concept of street food that it’s become a way of life. It helps, too, that most of the hundreds (estimates range from 400-700 operating on any given day) of food carts out there aren’t limited to slinging meats simmering in dirty water or roasting on an exposed spit for days. In fact, Portland’s street-food scene is like a staging ground for the restaurants of the future, as evidenced by numerous carts that worked out their culinary kinks before opening great restaurants.

The carts are often clustered together in “pods,” where there’s often beer and sometimes cocktails. And the variety of foods on offer is astoundingly diverse. Where else can you get a foie gras burger, Ethiopian food, steak frites, lobster rolls, lesser-known Thai delicacies, octopus balls, burritos, fried pies, pasta, cake, cheese plates, Mauritian curry, wood-fired pizza, hand-churned ice cream, poutine, porchetta, tandoori chicken, arepas, sushi, or a waffle cone stuffed with pulled pork all in one neighborhood (and for under $10)? Oh, and if you really, really need some halal food, street meat, or a Chicago dog, well, they’ve got those too.
Known for: Everything, really

BizGreenEgg said:

UncleFred said:

BizGreenEgg said:

...You're staying downtown, which I tend to steer clear of - it's just a little too D baggy for me; with the exception of Le Pigeon, Clyde Common, and Little Bird, which are right down there.  East side may have more hipsters, but that's also where the good, reasonably priced food and beer is.

Is this the area known as the Pearl District? ...Near Powell's Book Store?

If you wanted to stay some place where all of the good restaurants and bars were located (think French Quarter in New Orleans) where would you stay in Portland?

Yeah - the Pearl is NW.  Used to be more industrial, then became very overdeveloped and very expensive.

If you're looking for entertaining places to stay that are definitely Portland, check out the McMennamins establishments.  They purchase historic locations and renovate them with local artists.  Most contain several bars/restaurants, on site breweries, soaking pools, and live music.  Their Kennedy School is located in NE, very close to newer up and coming restaurants, and the Crystal Hotel is downtown (westside) right on the edge of the Pearl District.  

If you're looking for a VERY different experience that is the extreme of Portland weird, check out the Jupiter Hotel, which part of a great music venue, the Doug Fir.  THIS PLACE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.  Expect more chains and whips rather than gifts from the Gideons, but in a nicer hotel; not one that rents rooms by the hour.

If you're looking for more of a traditional hotel, then downtown would be your place.  This is where you'll find majority of the city's hotels and the older establishments like Jake's Seafood, Imperial, and El Gaucho.  Hotel Lucia, Hotel Monaco, and traditional Marriott are pretty good places.

No matter where you end up, you will find good beer and food.  My personal preference (I like a good seedy bar and unique food) would be to stay over at Kennedy School, then check out some of the more unique places in NE.  The Alberta area, 28th/29th & Glisan area, Williams St. area, and Mississippi St. are my usual stomping grounds.  Also Hawthorne and Belmont districts just over in SE are pretty fun.