Essential Foods and Drinks to Try in Portland, Oregon

1500 bottles of booze on the wall, 1500 bottles of booze… The Multnomah Whiskey Library serves up more than just great whiskey and atmosphere. The experience of finding oneself comfortably cradled in the arms of a worn leather chair, perusing a card catalog of spirits destined to delight, is downright civilized. MWL members get to create reservations to insure access to the enclave. The rest of the clamoring public needs to get on the waiting list. Patience is a virtue rewarded when a spot in the Library opens up. The dark paneled walls, stained-glass ceilings and big fireplace exude comfort. The only thing missing are the slippers. There’s nothing stuffy about the surroundings with plenty of low voltage interaction dancing between guests. The drink menus are impressive. And it’s not just about the brown liquor. There is a great variety of beers, wines, gins, vodkas and tequilas to tempt your tastebuds. The cocktails carry their own cache with a table side trolley for viewing specialty concoction creation. That and any other service is superb with staff exceling in matching patrons with potables. The small plates come a variety of persuasions; meat, fish, veggie, providing catalyst for food pairing and parlor conversation. Try the Scotch Egg, Radicchio Caesar and Crab Fritters for your opening volley. Hop back on the drink trolley for a Clubland cocktail to keep the evening lively. Your arrival will be the only thing ever overdue at the MWL. Many happy returns.

Doughnuts are to Portland what coffee is to David Lynch, both essential fuel and calling card. While there are many pretenders to the title of the city’s best doughnuts—Voodoo Doughnuts certainly sells the most Instagrammable food products—Blue Star, from ubiquitous local restaurateur Micah Camden, is the most consistent. Flavors range from powdered sugar to maple bacon to passion fruit cocoa nibs, sold fresh daily until no more remain. The downtown location gets crowded early on weekends, so plan ahead. In a pinch, grab them at Blue Star’s airport location—which makes asking a friend to pick you up at the airport a sweet request indeed.

Right around the corner from Powell’s Bookstore and Sizzle Pie, the vibe here is fantastic. The walls are kind of spartan, there’s a record player in the corner, and you can roam on free Internet to your heart’s content. These guys definitely know the food scene here and have great tips. My iced chai latte? Served in a mason jar. Yum and Yum. And those caneles, pictured? They were featured in Portland Monthly. I believe Courier is following the ice cube trend with one big block of ice in either a square or rectangle. I also love the everyday musings on their blog.

The second Ace Hotel and the first step in the oh-so-cool brand’s expansion, the Ace Hotel Portland can arguably claim to have launched the current boutique hotel craze. Though it sounds like a cliché in this age of thoughtfully designed hotels, the contemporary icon—opened in 2007 in the 1912 building that long housed the Clyde Hotel—was one of the first hotels designed to feel like a cool, culturally savvy friend’s home. It’s decorated with works by acclaimed local artists, outfitted with vintage furnishings and handcrafted decor (including signature Pendleton blankets), and staffed by trendy hipsters who point guests to the hottest underground music shows.

Hometown hero Stumptown Coffee Roasters opened one of its first cafés here, starting a partnership that has since taken the coffee halfway around the world to the Ace Hotel London. In Portland, the café simply helped define the Ace as the epitome of cool, a reputation that has only been further cemented by the opening of a popular farm-to-table restaurant and a subterranean cocktail bar. The true measure of the Ace’s cool factor, however, is that the hotel was parodied on an episode of Portlandia.