A decade ago, whenever I told someone I was from Oregon, they would look at me curiously and ask how I survived the rainy winters. These days the admission inspires proclamations of envy. You see, Portland — Oregon's largest and most cosmopolitan city — is enjoying a moment in the sun, especially in foodie circles. Higgins, Paley's Place and other eateries started the local, organic, sustainable trend years ago; thanks to their pioneering efforts, the city is now a paradise for "locavores." Here's my primer to help you stay on top of Portland's evolving restaurant scene.
Fans of "nose to tail" eating adore Le Pigeon (738 E. Burnside St.; 503-546-8796; lepigeon.com), where twenty-seven-year-old chef Gabriel Rucker's ever-changing menu offers eclectic dishes, such as beef-cheek bourguignonne and duck served with liver pudding and marmalade. Locally raised meat is also lovingly prepared by Naomi Pomeroy at her sexy new supper club, Beast (5425 N.E. 30th Ave.; 503-841-6968; beastpdx.com). Each dish in the six-course prix-fixe dinner (at fifty-two dollars, perhaps the best deal in town) is a revelation of flavors and textures: a charcuterie plate includes chicken- and duck-liver mousse, pork belly and country pâté. Filmmaker Gus van Sant is a regular at Clyde Common (1014 S.W. Stark St.; 503-228-3333; clydecommon.com), the hip Ace Hotel's lively gastro-pub, where chef Jason Barwikowski puts a Northwest spin on European tavern food.
The stylish yet subdued dining room at Hiroshi (926 N.W. 10th Ave.; 503-619-0580) would be a good fit in New York, as would the impeccably fresh sushi. Chef-owner Hiro Ikegaya creates buttery morsels of sashimi and exquisite entrées, like freshwater unagi with sautéed shiitake and oyster mushrooms, fried leeks and avocado. The packed Toro Bravo (120 N.E. Russell St.; 503-281-4464; torobravopdx.com) doesn't accept reservations on Friday or Saturday, but it's well worth the wait. The menu's forty-plus seasonal tapas may include salt-cod fritters with aioli and house-smoked coppa. It's hard to know what's most impressive at Lucier (1900 S.W. River Dr.; 503-222-7300; lucier-portland.com), a posh new restaurant on the banks of the Willamette River: executive chef Pascal Chureau's modern European cuisine; the wine cellar, with 16,000 bottles amassed by wine director Scott Calvert (formerly the sommelier at Virginia's Inn at Little Washington); or the soaring all-glass dining room, with views of Mount Hood.
The culinary showmanship in Portland isn't confined to restaurants. The owners of the gallerylike Cacao (414 S.W. 13th Ave.; 503-241-0656; cacaodrinkchocolate.com) call themselves chocolate curators; confections made by Northwest artisans are displayed under glass. Debate rages over whether the city's best brew is at Stumptown Coffee Roasters (five locations; stumptowncoffee.com), which works with farmers in Africa and Central America to source fine beans, or at Coffeehouse Northwest (1951 W. Burnside St.; 503-248-2133; coffeehousenorthwest.com), where co-owner Adam McGovern transforms Stumptown's beans into luscious macchiatos.
If all that caffeine doesn't keep you awake, you'll need a place to spend the night. For instant cachet, head to the delightfully creaky Ace Hotel Portland (double rooms from $140; 1022 S.W. Stark St.; 503-228-2277; acehotel.com). Custom-made Pendleton blankets cover the beds, and quirky murals by Portland artists adorn the walls. Ask for one of the superior back rooms, away from the street. And this fall, when the Nines (double rooms from $239; 525 S.W. Morrison St.; 877-888-9995), one of Starwood's Luxury Collection properties, opens on the top nine floors of the historic Meier & Frank building, it may eclipse the Heathman Hotel (double rooms from $209; 1001 S.W. Broadway; 800-551-0011; heathmanhotel.com) as the most august retreat in town. In addition to a glamorous rooftop lounge with views of the Cascade Range, the Nines will have a 100-foot-high atrium lobby with — what else? — an organic steak house called Urban Farmer.
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