{"id":16873,"date":"2015-03-30T23:31:12","date_gmt":"2015-03-30T23:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/?p=16873"},"modified":"2021-10-28T16:36:01","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T16:36:01","slug":"portland-fresh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/portland-fresh\/","title":{"rendered":"Portland fresh"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are conversations you overhear as a travel writer that cause you to grin and thank the heavens you were lucky enough to be within earshot of something so quotable. One such conversation, in Portland<\/a>, was so perfect, I decided right then and there it would open this tale of the city\u2019s fascination with fresh food (and my preoccupation with packing the right pants).<\/p>\n

\u201dDo they sell stretchy pants in Portland<\/a>?\u201d the guy behind me in the restaurant queue jokingly-yet-seriously quipped. Chortling, his friend replied, “By the weekend\u2019s end, we\u2019ll just want to go pantless.\u201d I laughed out loud and exchanged knowing glances with the chaps because when in the Pacific Northwest\u2019s nosh-central, I purposely pack jeans with a little stretch. It\u2019s survival of the foodie-est.<\/p>\n

Oregonians are not obsessed with food because it\u2019s cool to post pretty pictures of plates with artfully arranged fare, or to brag about their culinary institutions that are sweeping the nation. For them, it\u2019s about substance. It doesn\u2019t matter how\u00a0en vogue\u00a0eateries or ingredients such as kale or bacon have become; if it\u2019s not good or fresh, it won\u2019t fly.<\/p>\n

This fresh-is-best mantra is brilliantly spoofed in the Emmy Award-winning series, Portlandia<\/em>,\u00a0when Fred Armisen (of SNL fame) and Carrie Brownstein (musician, actress, and Portland local) order chicken at a Stumptown restaurant. Before digging in, they ask the server where their chicken is from, its name, and if they can visit the farm where the bird was raised.<\/p>\n

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Local lamb sandwiches from The Woodsman Tavern<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

While most locals would not request the name of the chicken they\u2019re eating, what I\u2019ve learned from countless visits to the city\u2019s culinary gems, is that Portlanders care deeply about their dishes, namely where and how they got from farm to plate.<\/p>\n

Putting this to the test, I semi-jokingly asked my server at The Woodsman Tavern\u00a0where my bacon was from. With a cheerleader-like fist pump, he exclaimed, \u201cIt\u2019s hyperlocal; the pork hails from a nearby farm and we cure it in house.\u201d (Satisfied with the answer, I didn\u2019t press him on the name of the pig.)<\/p>\n

Viewfinder Tip: While some of Portland\u2019s best eats are downtown, others are farther afield. Stay at a hotel such as\u00a0Hotel Monaco Portland<\/a> to visit a baker\u2019s dozen bistros on foot.<\/p>\n

Surrounded by rivers, lakes, farmland, and the nearby Pacific Ocean, Portland comes by fresh naturally. Couple the field-to-fork town\u2019s unofficial 100-mile diet with its love of chowing down, and it\u2019s clear why savoring the land takes center stage. It\u2019s also clear why the destination is growing into America\u2019s main squeeze for wandering gourmands.<\/p>\n

And then there are the chefs\u2014in Portland, the equivalent of rock stars\u2014whose relationship with the land is as important as their \u201cit” dishes and the wait at their respective restaurants on a\u00a0Friday\u00a0night. While attending Feast Portland, the Pacific Northwest\u2019s prime-cut food festival, I met Jason French, the chef of local restaurant Ned Ludd. When my mouth flipped out over the creamed smoked salmon on brioche soldiers he served, I spoke with him about his foray into the food scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cI moved to Portland from the East Coast because it matched my value system,\u201d he said. Tired of mega-shipments of ingredients that came in a semi, he pined for fresh, small-batch, local, and authentic\u2014all mainstays of the area\u2019s commitment to cuisine. Adopting the norms of his new town, he changes his menu frequently, focusing on what\u2019s in season and available.<\/p>\n

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Fresh-shucked oysters on ice at Bar Avignon<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

While Portland\u2019s locavores are keenly aware\u2014and understandably protective over\u2014their abundant land of milk and honey, the rest of America has taken notice. How can they not when the city’s burgeoning food culture is dubbed \u201cAmerica\u2019s new food Eden\u201d by Time.com and when a Portland restaurant has risen to the top of\u00a0Bon Appetit<\/em> magazine\u2019s list of 50 best new restaurants in America every year for the last three (Luce in 2012, Ava Gene\u2019s in 2013, and, most recently, M\u00c5URICE in 2014).<\/p>\n

If you asked me to select a top dish or must-eat restaurant in the birthplace of gastro-legend James Beard, I\u2019d have to decline (politely). There\u2019s no one-hit wonder, but rather a rotating menu of pant-stretching greats. With fish caught in nearby rivers and vegetables grown in fields less than 50 miles away, it\u2019s no wonder chefs such as rising culinary star Aaron Barnett of St. Jack and Top Chef Masters alum Naomi Pomeroy of Beast flocked to this foodie town to work with what\u2019s in season.<\/p>\n

In real-life Portlandia, you can be confident that even if they don\u2019t know the name of the chicken, they know the farmer, and that\u2019s good enough for me.<\/p>\n

Where do you travel to find the freshest food?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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