Welcome to Portland! Theres lots to do here and youve probably heard about some attractions or gotten some advice for things to do. Here at Backroads, we love authentic experiences - things that get to the heart and soul of Portland and the Willamette Valley. We all know there are tourist traps in every destination too. Here is a short list of overrated things to avoid coupled with a worthy alternative. 1: VOODOO DOUGHNUTS. Yea yea, it was featured on the Travel Channel and its a weird, very Portland doughnut shop with funny and oddball shapes and flavors. But are you really prepared to wait up to 2 hours in line? Its just a doughnut for goodness sakes. Theyre not even that good honestly. I could understand if they were confectionary masterpieces, but theyre really just oversweetened blobs of fried batter with silly things like Fruit Loops on top. BFD. INSTEAD: Try Blue Star Donuts. Way better. ;) Or, for a truly unique & gourmet way to satisfy your sweet tooth, head over to Salt And Straw Ice Cream where you can get a scoop of something amazing like bone marrow and smoked bourbon cherrries or the classic sea salt and caramel ribbon. 2: PORTLAND CITY GRILL. There was probably a time this truly was one of the top dining experiences in town, but Portland has enjoyed a foodie renaissance in recent years. Sure, the view from the top of the Bancorp building is pretty sweet, but the food is so-so, and why settle for so-so in a town full of amaze?? INSTEAD: If its rooftop views youre looking for, try Noble Rot which has an incredible wine list, inventive dishes and some of the best salads in town sourced in part from their rooftop garden - plus sweeping top-floor views of downtown. If its a perfect steak youre after, the new undisputed king of steak in town is Ox Restaurant. 3: MULTNOMAH FALLS. Go see the Columbia River Gorge. Its beautiful. But dont feel like Multnomah Falls is the main destination. Its a big waterfall and yes its impressive, but its right off the Interstate Highway, and it is absolutely overrun by tourists. If youre going in the off-season this might not be as much of an issue, but still - the roar of the highway is almost as loud as the roar of the waterfalls. INSTEAD: Get yourself on the Historic Columbia River Highway and hit any of the wonderful waterfalls along that road. Latourell Falls, Wahkeena Falls and many others beckon you from along the beautiful winding road - and youre a lot more likely to have one to yourself, or share it with just a handful of other visitors. 4: SHANGHAI TUNNELS. If your idea of a good time is bad jokes and ghost stories in a dank underground rats nest then by all means... The era of drunken sailors getting kidnapped and shipped off on a China-bound freighter is long gone and all thats left are a few dark passages and some corny stories. INSTEAD: Spend your walking energy above ground in the beautiful Portland summer sun with Forktown Food Tours. Youll see historic parts of the city and - bonus! - you get to eat some amazing food too! 5. PITTOCK MANSION. Its kinda cool - but its kinda meh too. The best part about it is the view and you can get that elsewhere for free. Maybe its just me but shabby-chic = snooze time for me. INSTEAD: Head over to Washington Park, Rose Garden where you can get the same view over town amongst hundreds of beautiful blooming roses - for free! See if you can smell them all! While youre there, mosey up the hill to The Portland Japanese Garden - considered to be one of the finest anywhere outside of Japan! 6. ROGUE BREWERY. Portland is a beer mecca. We have more breweries within a single city boundary than any city in the world! Why then would you settle for run-of-the-mill? You should go straight to the best. Rogue is fine and all, but you can do better. INSTEAD: Hit up Hair Of The Dog Brewery And Tasting Room - my personal favorite - where you can get incredible, small-batch, hand-crafted, barrel-aged drinkable art. For a wider selection, try Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom, where you can select from a rotating selection of over 15 local beers on tap, including nitro taps. 7. FOOD TRUCKS. Food trucks are really cool when its 3am, youre drunk, and nothing is open. If thats the situation then yea - go hit some food trucks. (Potato Champion is a classic) But dont waste a precious meal on the stuff. You have a limited time here - and your belly can only hold so much. Make every meal count and go do the restaurants that make this place a food-lovers dream! INSTEAD: Breakfast at Tasty n Sons, Lunch at Lardo PDX and dinner at Le Pigeon - for just one example. The list of game-changing restaurants in this city is staggering - I implore you not to waste a single calorie on sub-par, hit-or-miss, full-price-even-though-youre-not-getting-any-service food carts. 8. SUCH-AND-SUCH WINERY THAT I KNOW FROM HOME. A little secret to the wine savvy: The best Oregon wine rarely leaves the state. If you found it on the supermarket shelf at home, its probably some of the worst wine Oregon has to offer. The good stuff is made in extremely small batches - too small for national distribution. Unless you have an amazing somm in the family or you eat at a Michelin-star restaurant on the regular, you dont know the best wineries yet - and neither does your friend who came here last year and really thinks you should go to this or that winery. INSTEAD: Just kick back and let Backroads Wine Tours show you whats up. Weve done over a thousand tours - we kinda know this place inside and out - youre in good hands. Were in this for the passion - and we enjoy turning people on to the very best. For my local readers or those of you have already been, what would you add to this list - both in the avoid category and do instead category?
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 03:43:18 +0000
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