
Ask HN: What to do in Portland? - rgrieselhuber
I'm going to be in Portland, OR for about 10 days or so, starting on 11/3.<p>I'd love to meet up with any hackers in the area. If you're thinking about applying (or have applied) to YC, I'm also happy to answer any questions / share my experience. (I'll buy the beer.)<p>Also looking for recommendations of things to do, groups to check out, etc.
======
grinich

        • Powell's Books (and Technical books)
        • 23rd Street and NW Portland area
        • Voodoo doughnuts
        • Rose Garden
        • OMSI
        • the Pearl district
        • Hawthorne district (around the Bagdad theatre)
        • Events in Pioneer Courthouse Sq.
        • Hit up the dozens of microbrews
        • peek in the offices of weiden+kennedy
        • shows at the doug fir lounge
        • kennedy school
        • take the OHSU tram once (weird and fun)
        • some fun stuff around Alberta St. and the Hollywood district
        • parks! (I like laurelhurst, the arboretum, and forest park)
        • washington park zoo, if you like zoos. (really great for kids)

~~~
jordanlev
Resident here: this is a great list, except I would not bother with the Rose
Garden this time of year (kind of boring outside of May-July when flowers
aren't in bloom), and instead would hit up the Japanese Garden (just next
door), or Chinese Gardens downtown.

~~~
mechanical_fish
+1 for the Japanese Garden, which was awesome. I need to go back to Portland
just to see that again.

------
misstillytilly
There are 2 things that Portland does best. Strippers and beer:

<http://www.devilspointbar.com/> <http://www.sassysbar.com/welcome.html>
<http://www.luckydevillounge.com/> <http://www.unionjacksclub.com/>

<http://www.hopworksbeer.com/> <http://www.rogue.com/>
<http://www.mcmenamins.com/> <http://www.rockbottom.com/>

Have fun, and bring your umbrella

~~~
softbuilder
I was just thinking that mention of strip clubs was noticeably absent. Beer is
nearly unavoidable. Strippers, less so.

------
jbr
Lived in Portland for 7 years (went to school in SE, Reed College). Hence,
nostalgia dump:

When I left for the bay area a few years ago, NE Alberta and North Portland
were picking up inertia. If you're into coffee, try Albina Press.

The lucky lab on SE Hawthorne (close in) is a Great pub and I'm not much of a
pubgoer.

Eat street food. The Portland street food scene makes the mission district
look behind the times.

Get some tea in the teahouse in the Chinese gardens (right downtown). It's
often overlooked by Portlanders, but the Chinese gardens are really quite
wonderful. The tea menu is run by the Tao of Tea, which is one of the better
tea importers in America.

Check out the nickel arcade (wonderland, I think it's called) on SE Belmont.

Powells & Powell's Technical. If you're a book person, set aside at least half
a day for this. Read some books in the cafe. Hang out a while - there's no
better book store in America (including the strand - nyc, moe's - berkeley,
serendipity, etc)

I know I'm disagreeing with other posters, but avoid the pearl like the
plague. It's the least "truly portland" and is for people from other cities
who are looking for shiny glass highrises and warehouses. Everything is more
expensive and upscale. Similarly, NW 23rd and 21st have a distinctly "east
coast haven" flavor. Go to NYC or SF for that, enjoy portland for what it does
best — the quirky stuff that you can't get elsewhere, and there's plenty of
that.

Speaking of quirky, get a doughnut in the middle of the night at voodoo.

Check out the saturday market (sat and sun), if it's running when you're in
town. Another uniquely portland experience, but you probably won't buy
anything.

Beers: Hair of the dog, rogue, lucky lab. Try something on cask or nitro if
you haven't lived in a place that really geeks out on beer.

~~~
jbr
Oh: ride public transit. Notice that it runs on time, is fairly easy to
understand, and is clean. There's a sky tram, a light rail, a streetcar, and
an extensive bus system. Everything is free downtown in the fareless square.

~~~
softbuilder
>Everything is free downtown in the fareless square.

Sadly, not anymore. "Free Rail Zone" is the Newspeak for Fareless Square.
Buses now cost you.

~~~
klodolph
To be fair, it was changed to "Free Rail Zone" after the addition of two new
rail lines, and the buses now pass through downtown noticeably faster without
the free passengers (or I may be imagining things).

------
wallflower
Mt Tabor Park (beautiful views of city)

[http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?Propert...](http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?PropertyID=275&action=ViewPark)

Japanese Zen Garden (awesome woodwork, one of the largest in the States)

<http://www.japanesegarden.com/>

Nuestra Cocina (superb Mexican cuisine)

<http://www.nuestra-cocina.com>

------
klodolph
Resident here. These are off the top of my head, so I'll miss some.

Food: I recommend the following two food carts for eating lunch downtown:
"Ziba's Pitas" on SW Alder and 9th Ave (try the ajvar), and "KOi Fusion",
whose location is posted via twitter at <http://www.twitter.com/koifusionpdx>
. Voodoo donuts is open 24/7 and conducts wedding ceremonies.

Tech: I second the recommendation for <http://calagator.org/> . Powell's books
is also a must, the technical store is now across the street from the main
store which is convenient.

Science: Your timing is unlucky in a sense, you won't be able to go to OMSI
after dark (Oct 27, <http://www.omsi.edu/afterdark>) or science pub (Nov 1,
Nov 16, <http://www.omsi.edu/sciencepubportland>). I'd say OMSI is one of the
top five science museums nationwide, and the best science museum on the west
coast.

Art: On the first Thursday of every month (Nov 4), there are a bunch of art
galleries and stands that open up in NW Portland starting in the afternoon and
picking up in the evening. <http://www.firstthursdayportland.com/> The
Portland Art Museum is also excellent. <http://portlandartmuseum.org/>

Parks: Japanese gardens, rose gardens.

Neighborhoods: SE Hawthorne ST and NW 23RD AVE are interesting places and
friendly to explorers. The vicinity of NE Alberta ST has a disproportionate
number of cool parties, but good luck figuring out when / where / whether you
need an invitation.

Music: The Doug Fir, Berbati's Pan, Jimmy Mak's, Someday Lounge, Backspace,
Satyricon are just a few examples. The Doug Fir stands out, especially if you
like indy rock. Go to Jimmy Mak's if you like jazz.

Random: "Ground Kontrol" if you like arcade games. It is also a bar. (Someone
mentioned Wonderland, which is cheaper, but Ground Kontrol has the classics
and I don't think they serve beer at Wonderland.)

Hmm, you've convinced me to take my precious savings (unemployed at the
moment) and go out.

~~~
klodolph
Oops, I almost forgot. I'd like to mention "Japan Night" on Mon, Nov 8 at
Portland State University's Smith ballroom. It's a big annual event put on by
the Japanese Student Society. I think tickets are $10 for non-students.
Support the local university students! (Disclosure: I am tangentially involved
in the event, so I feel the need to advertise it.)

~~~
msbarnett
Out of curiosity, what does "Japan Night" entail?

I'm flying into PDX right around then to do some on-site work, and one of my
Bachelor degrees is in Japanese (though not from PSU).

~~~
klodolph
It's kind of a showcase of Japanese culture: food (included in ticket price)
(reputed to be good bentos, unfortunately as I am involved I won't get any),
dance, fashion, music. I haven't been before, but it's a popular event
(~400-500 people) and I've been to the annual Luau put on by the Pacific
Islanders club (which is a similar event) and it was a blast. Tickets should
be available through the PSU box office, though I don't have better details
with me.

The JSS (student club putting on the event) has a lot of Japanese exchange
students as well as anyone interested in Japanese culture, and has "contribute
to world peace" in the mission statement. (I also saw "we are not the anime
club" in some of the literature they had, if that gives you a better idea of
what the club is about, and what kind of event they'd put on.)

------
Flemlord
Chuck Palahniuk's sole foray into travel literature is called "Fugitives and
Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon". This is the author of Fight Club and
Choke.

[http://www.amazon.com/Fugitives-Refugees-Portland-Oregon-
Jou...](http://www.amazon.com/Fugitives-Refugees-Portland-Oregon-
Journeys/dp/1400047838)

------
danhon
Check out PIE, the startup incubator housed at Wieden+Kennedy. Drop me a line
at dan.hon@wk.com if you'd like an intro.

~~~
rgrieselhuber
Just emailed - thanks!

------
lyime
Hey come hang out at PIE. There are bunch of startups that are working there
(UrbanAirship, Mugasha and Bank Simple) send me an email if you want to drop
by.

~~~
rgrieselhuber
I'd love to. Just emailed.

~~~
thiele
I'm a PIE guy too. We can hook you up with a desk and wifi if you need to set
up shop. We could also do a geek meetup afterhours at PIE if your down.

Here's the PIE website: <http://piepdx.com/>

My email is in my profile.

Cheers!

~~~
rgrieselhuber
That sounds awesome. :-) I'll email you.

------
grahamr
Powell's books, and don't forget the separate technical books location:
<http://www.yelp.com/biz/powells-city-of-books-portland-3>
<http://www.powells.com/locations/powells-technical-books/>

Great coffee: <http://www.yelp.com/biz/coffeehouse-northwest-portland>
<http://stumptowncoffee.com/>

Fun bars: <http://www.dougfirlounge.com/> <http://www.rontoms.net/>

Cool neighborhoods to explore: \- SE Hawthorne \- Pearl District \- Northwest

~~~
comfrey
so powells technical moved up 2 blocks (just across the main store on 10th and
Couch) and is now called powells 2. as of last month.

------
arturo
I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet: <http://dorkbotpdx.org/> It
meets every other Monday at Backspace(on NW 5th Ave just north of Burnside).
So, for your time window that will be at 7pm on November 8th. You will at
least get a chance to meet the originator of the wiki(Ward Cunningham) who is
a regular. The crowd ranges from artists, electronics & robotics enthusiasts,
and entrepreneurs who have hardware and software products in all stages of
development. It is a very informal beer filled atmosphere with live
demonstrations of projects and discussions of topics common on HN.

------
softbuilder
<http://calagator.org/> is your friend.

~~~
rgrieselhuber
Nice - thanks!

------
deltaqueue
I just spent a week in Portland last month, and agree with everything posted
so far (also agree Voodoo is overrated, but I'm a health nut so it was
difficult to stomach the maple-bacon donut without dreading the aftermath).

I haven't seen anything about Multnomah falls to the east or Cannon beach on
the coast -- both are beautiful places to check out if you're renting a car
and like nature.

Here are some pictures I took on the trip, since they might give you a good
idea of some of the places others have mentioned:
<http://www.jasoncazes.com/photos/portland/>

------
jcsalterego
I visited earlier this year and here were my highlights (YMMV):

    
    
      - Fuller's Diner
      - Powell's Books and Technical books -- a few blocks from each other IIRC
      - Pearl district in general
      - Tender Loving Empire (I went to the SW 10th St one)
      - Sweet Masterpiece (awesome chocolate + wine/coffee pairings!)
      - Saturday (weekend) market
      - OMSI (first time in a planetarium since the mid-90s)
      - Portland Aeriel Tram
      - Portland Art Museum
      - Japanese and Rose Gardens, Oregon Zoo

------
thedjpetersen
I really enjoy going to Powell's when I am there.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powell%27s_Books>

~~~
bayareaguy
Powell's has a great technical bookstore a block away from their main store.
Budget plenty of time to take it all in.

If the weather permits I would recommend riding a bike and taking public
transportation to get around. Portland is much better than the bay area in
this respect.

If you are into postgres be sure and say hi to the folks at Rentrak if you
can. They have some great query / analytics technology built on it.

There are some fabulous farmer's markets there too.

~~~
rgrieselhuber
Thanks! Rentrak looks like a cool company - I'll try to get in touch.

------
prawn
I was there in August (Australian, spent a month on the West Coast with my
wife). Went to a great Japanese restaurant called Hiroshi, hit a few
pubs/brewpubs and did a walking tour which was actually pretty interesting.
Stayed at Kennedy School which was great too. With more time I would've
checked out the Japanese garden and (were the timing better) got to a Blazers
game.

------
presto8
In addition to the many great suggestions already made, here are a few more:

Rent a (road) bicycle and ride a nice 2-hour loop along the waterfront
(starting at OMSI and going along the Springwater Corridor)

Rent a (mountain) bike and bike in Forest Park (near NW 23rd)

Go to Council Crest Park, the highest point in Portland. Great views of the
city and, if the weather is clear, at least 4 glaciated peaks.

Attend the farmer's market at Portland State University on Saturday mornings

Walk through Washington Park (head up Burnside to NW 23rd and then enter the
park). From here, you can access the rose gardens, the Japanese gardens, Hoyt
Arborteum, and the zoo.

Go skiing at Timberline lodge (they open for the season this weekend).

Go surfing at the coast (you can rent everything you need, including a warm
wet suit, at Cannon Beach)

Go hiking on the coast: Saddle Mountain or Neahkahnie Mountain is good

Go hiking in the Gorge: numerous options of varying difficulties, consult
Google

See Multnomah Falls, and take one of many numerous hikes in the area

See a movie at the Bagdad, a neat theater, and walk around the neighborhood
there

Hike in Forest Park. The Wildwood Trail goes on for 30 miles. Pittock Mansion
is cool. The Audobahn Society is a convenient stop.

See Mt. St. Helens. I'm not sure if the visitor center is open.

Drive to Hood River (can be combined on a long day trip to Mt Hood)

Drive to Mt Hood and hike up to the glacier

Go wine tasting in the Willamette Valley (numerous vineyards available)

Attend free art show on First Thursday

Rent a kayak and paddle the river, or go on a river cruise

------
ColinDabritz
The Portland Saturday Market has some nice arts and crafts, and it's a nice
place to hang out by the waterfront. It has a nice food court as well, good
food and variety.

<http://www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/>

Most of the rest seems to have been covered, enjoy your trip!

~~~
rgrieselhuber
Thanks!

------
zrail
Thirding <http://calagator.org/> Specifically, PDX Hackathon is a pretty good
time and happens every Thursday night at the Luckly Lab on SE Hawthorne. Show
up, hack on a project, talk with other hackers about whatever.

------
mparr4
Street food!! And if you like Thai, hit up Pok Pok in SE then hit the
Mcmeniman's pubs in the area.

------
charlier
If you have a chance to get out of town a touch try the Evergreen Air and
Space Museum, home of the Spruce Goose, a Titan II missle, SR-71, B-17, a few
space capsules, and various other goodies for aero-nuts.

The collection is fantastic but the knowledgeable volunteers really put it
over the top. All are friendly and the level of detail was incredible. One
gentleman walked me around the J58 (from the SR-71) and knew temps and
pressures at various stages, cruise airflow etc. It was pretty damn cool...

<http://www.sprucegoose.org/>

btw... Voodoo is an experience, but the donuts aren't that fine.

For beer I'd recommend the Tug Boat, right downtown. Cool little pub with lots
of crazy old books stacked to the ceilings...

------
bacarter
Coffee! In Portland it's practically religion. There's at least a dozen
microroasters and hundreds of coffee shops. My favorites: Spella (5th and
Washington) Stumptown, and Barista (you choose the beans for your drink!)

------
monological
Pearl district is the place to be. Also if you like coffee, check out Barista.

------
shaunmartin
Kenny and Zuke's - The best reuben you will ever have. They make their own
pastrami. About 2 blocks from Powell's. <http://www.kennyandzukes.com/>

~~~
shaunmartin
...which is next to Stumptown...which is next to Ace Hotel...which is next to
Clyde Common. Man, what a block.

------
dgaur
Portland Startup Weekend (<http://portland.startupweekend.org/>) is the
weekend of Nov 12-14, if you're still in town.

~~~
rgrieselhuber
Very cool. I should be able to make it on the 12th.

------
dylanz
Tons! Just emailed you. Would love to show a fellow HN'er some of the goods
that this place has to offer. Just moved here a few months ago and loving
every minute of it :)

~~~
rgrieselhuber
Just emailed back - looking forward to meeting you!

------
jonah
Take a day or an afternoon and drive east along the Columbia River out to Hood
River. Take the "fruit loop" through the orchards between the town and Mt.
Hood, drink some microbrews after. (Bonus if it's beautifully sunny while
there and pouring rain on the drive back like it was when I went.)

~~~
kbob
And visit some waterfalls on the way to/from. There is a whole sequence of
waterfalls along the south side of the Columbia. Multnomah, Bridal Veil, and
[I forget the others' names]. All that rain's good for powering the scenic
wonders.

------
dualboot
Some good links/ideas here.

<http://linuxfund.org/portland/>

------
cullenking
Before my long-winded reply: I am in North Portland and haven't had a decent
technical conversation for a while, so hit me up if you want to grab a beer
and nerd out, or possible go climbing weather permitted.
cullen@ridewithgps.com

A huge part of Portland is the beer, and there are a few different styles of
brewpubs. The first I'll address is the style I like the least, which are the
annexes of larger distributors. These include Rogue, Widmer, Bridgeport etc.
They don't have any charm to them, they are just restaurants attached to a
beer label, and there is better beer to be had. Also, McMenamins has cool
locations but their beer sucks and so does their food, prices and service. If
you like drinking in cool buildings (old church, old elementary school with
lots of bars inside) then check them out, otherwise don't bother. If you are
going to go to a McMenamins, make sure it's the Kennedy School, since that one
offers the most redemption. As far as the good places to go: Hopworks makes
damn good pizza and damn good beer. Their red and their IPA are both
fantastic, and the bar is really freaking cool. Lucky Lab is another place
with good beer, but their vibe is completely different - if you don't like
dogs and a big open cafeteria style game room, then don't bother. Right now my
favourite place to grab a beer is the Fifth Quadrant (a Lompoc brewery
location) - they have the best burger I have yet had in Portland, and Tuesdays
they offer $2.50 pints. Their c-note IPA is great! Haven't had a bad server
yet, which is saying something.

Unless you want a seedy experience, avoid the strip clubs. I am not a fan but
have been to a couple over the years. I think it takes a certain person, and I
can say it's easy to ignore someone when they say "but this one is really
good!" - there's nothing special about portland strip clubs except the sheer
number of them, so unless it's your thing don't bother.

Some of the best things about portland have nothing to do with portland
itself, but rather the proximity of cool shit nearby. The gorge is gorgeous
(haha), lots of cool stuff around mount hood as well. The coast is something
else - if you haven't been to a northwest coast, it's a must. Don't expect
nice weather and fun, but rather intense scenery, weather and wind. Head
straight to either Astoria (see the Goonies house), or Manzanita for a cool
small beach town feel.

If you are a rock climber, there are cool things to climb within a reasonable
distance. I am happy to get some climbing in if you have some experience and
want to tie into a rope, though I can't promise nice weather or warm hands.

Something that could be fun for around portland is one of the many pedicab
routes offered. You can get a basic tour, or they have specialty tours going
on for things like whiskey tasting among others. <http://pdxpedicab.com/> and
look for their pub tour and distillery tour.

~~~
schmichael
If you want more tech conversations, there's NoPoCoNi every Monday night at
the new(ish) Lucky Lab on N Killingsworth.

<http://twitter.com/nopoconi>

~~~
cullenking
I'll check it out soon, thanks for the tip!

------
arjn
Also: \- Saturday Farmer's market near PSU \- Burnside bridge market \- Food
carts \- Southeast Portland's many nice restaurants. \- 1 hour drive to the
coast (Cannon Beach etc.)

------
forkandwait
Get a tour at FreeGeek (5pm daily, but google it to make sure).

~~~
alanstorm
The Freek Geek thrift store is worth a trip, if only to view The NEXT cube
they have on display.

------
Breefield
Last time I was in Portland I followed my friend's Gowalla trip. See it here:
<http://gowalla.com/trips/15349>

------
al3x
Ping me. al3x@al3x.net

~~~
rgrieselhuber
Cool, just did!

------
HardyLeung
I lived in Beaverton (very close to Portland) many years ago. I highly
recommend the Gorge (Multnomah fall in particular), Crater Lake, and Cannon
Beach.

------
drallison
Saturday Market: <http://www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/> Good stuff to browse
and buy.

------
zoowar
Great Portland promotional video: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1B2_r6Azvg>

------
Shamiq
Tongue in cheek:

The strip joints there have quite a reputation.

~~~
cullenking
My favourite locals story was hearing how a guy got rolled by two large
prostitutes outside Mary's. He walked out, was offered a deal, declined and
walked away. Next thing he knows he's on the ground - one of the two cold
clocked him in the head with a rock and the other stole his wallet. Go strip
clubs!

~~~
mrinterweb
There is a taqueria adjacent to Mary's Club and I noticed two signs on the
back wall of the taqueria, "Restrooms" and "No Minors Allowed". I had to use
the restroom mid-meal, and I suddenly found myself surrounded by strippers in
Mary's Club.

Pro Tip: I also noticed that the 1337 Mary's Club patrons just walk through
the taqueria to avoid the door fee.

------
chrismealy
Rent real Dutch bikes at Clever Cycles (call ahead to reserve)

<http://clevercycles.com/>

------
simonporter99
Gallery Zero (34th & Burnside; www.thegalleryzero.com). Big show 11/5 (free
beer/wine).

------
chrismealy
Food carts!

<http://www.foodcartsportland.com/>

------
chrismealy
It's true, Voodoo is overrated. It's fun but not wait in line for 45 minutes
fun.

------
pat2man
Eat! Best food in the country. I like Ping in the international district.

------
sown
Is everyone's suggestion really just bars and restaurants?

------
garrettgillas
Voodoo Doughnuts Ground Control PDX Japanese Gardens OMSI

------
temugen
Walk down NW 23rd.

------
lenards
Voodoo donut!

------
mkramlich
Aren't there entire websites and books already dedicated to answering this
question?

