Saturday, October 11, 2008

spendy nice






Portland is a nice city. People are nice. The food is nice. The architecture is nice. And the weather is nice. Well, okay, the weather is a bit nippy. And the prices are a bit spendy, as Oregonians would say.

Oregon as a whole is a nice state - and not just because they don't bother with sales tax. Portland seems to be quite the environmentally friendly place with distinct neighborhoods and great public transit. I'm a big fan of the streetcar that takes you to the Pearl District and the light rail that takes you to the 'burbs. But needless to say, I've become fond of the Pearl District. It's like Emeryville without the ghetto thugs hanging outside the Public Market and it also has a slight hint of Buenos Aires. It also has a cafe on every corner in the retail spaces below the condos. Emeryville has attempted this, but it just looks like an amusement park. This is organic, cohesive and sincere.

It's quiet, cool and collected. Portland seems to be one of those cities that has its shit together. (And more breweries per square mile.) As well as luxury condos that lease at $995. I'm tempted to move here now, especially now that the new trend in the Pacific Northwest is to turn condos into apartments.

It's also one of those unassuming cosmopolitan cities with a flare for the unpretentious. People still dress in jeans, beanies, sneakers and windbreakers. It has been so chilly here; however, that I had to make a pit stop at the Nordstrom's Rack where I found a decent Miss Sixty hounds tooth coat that fit me perfectly for less than $200. Scarves and gloves are also apropo in this city as you watch the elm trees lose their leaves front of Portland State University.

The food is also quite nice. The first evening, after unpacking at the chi-chi Modera boutique hotel, we hitched the #12 bus into the center of the city for dinner at the Portland City Grill on the 30th floor of a really tall downtown building. The view is amazing. As was the food. Not surprising since it's the same company that owns Berkeley's Skates on the Bay and a few other mid-enders in the Bay Area. I especially like the fact that I could enjoy California Roll as an appetizer before my seared Ahi tuna arrived - both perfectly paired with a Columbia River Riesling. (My mother predictably had the Napa Valley wine.)

Yesterday in the Pearl, we stopped at Caffe Delizia, a gelateria with elaborate pastries and desserts. The inside of the cafe looks like a piazza in Tuscany, with a faux olive tree to make its point. I have obviously tasted better desserts in the Napa Valley, of course. However, I was pleasantly surprised with this offering and ate it graciously. It was also quite full of heavy coat clad strollers ordering the fancy gelato offerings.

And, yes, people do stroll around here. They head into town with their families and friends for coffee, dinner or a brew no matter the hour or the weather. It's refreshing to be in a city where people actually walk down the wide side-walked avenues and where you're not smelling or hearing traffic jams and horns honking.






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