Eating, drinking, and loving our way through the Willamette Valley

Nate and I spent our first anniversary in Portland, Oregon and the surrounding wine country.

We first “discovered” Portland in October 2003. Nate and I had been dating almost a year and we wanted to take a trip together somewhere we’d both never been. So, we chose Portland because it looked like the type of climate we liked, it was green (having been from Albuquerque, you can understand why we craved anything green), and it looked like an easy place to get around. We fell in love with Portland on that trip, and we also fell more in love with each other on that trip. Portland is the City of Roses, after all, and roses are romantic…you catch my drift. But seriously, I think we fell more in love because we realized how we both love to travel, we travel in mostly the same way, and we had to figure out how to get around a new city, complete with mass transit – something we’d never really experienced in NM! The Pacific Northwest also had so much to offer in shopping, scenery, and food – it all just fit.

So, when Nate and I were tossing around ideas on what to do for our one-year wedding anniversary, we kept coming back to planning another trip to Portland. It’s our special city, and we wanted to see if it held the same allure. Plus, if you’ve read the news at all in the last five years, Portland has experienced a huge boom – it’s become one of THE places to live. As my readers will be able to tell from this post, Portland and the surrounding area still holds the same allure for us. We had an amazing trip.

We arrived on Saturday morning, April 19. It still amazes me how easy it is to grab your luggage at the airport, head out the doors, and catch the train to downtown Portland. We did just that and rode for about 45 minutes to our hotel a few blocks from the Pearl district. In 2003 we stayed downtown and didn’t venture to the Pearl district (not because we didn't want to - I had a broken foot). This time we wanted to be near the Pearl since we heard so many amazing things about this revitalized once-warehouse district. I’m glad we chose the Hotel Deluxe; we ended up spending all our time in the Pearl or in the trendy 23rd Street area. Before we left our room to explore, the hotel brought up a bottle of Domaine Ste. Michelle sparkling wine, a treat from Mom and Tim. It felt like we were on our honeymoon again – at every hotel where we stayed in Germany/Austria, we were given a bottle of sparkling wine or Proseco upon arrival!

We spent most of Saturday wandering around the Pearl – having lunch at Hot Lips pizza, browsing the hip shops, drinking coffee at places other than Starbucks (!), and taking in the unseasonably chilly weather. Since the temperature stayed between the high 30s and low 50s, with lots of drizzle and rain mixed in, it was most certainly not spring in Portland. However, the flowers certainly thought so; I loved seeing all the tulips and daffodils in full bloom throughout the city. The locals were sick of the cold weather, but we Texans reveled in it! We had a chance to break out our favorite clothing (sweaters, vests, hip rain coats, etc.) and peruse the comfy, yet trendy offerings at REI, Patagonia, North Face and Icebreaker stores.

This Portland trip was also a vacation for our taste buds. While Texas boasts amazing steak selections, BBQ, and some decent Tex-Mex, we still live in the land of the chain restaurant and few options for fresh, innovative cuisine. Oh Portland, you did not disappoint – you are the city of this foodie couple’s dreams – fresh, organic, innovative offerings, a focus on local and sustainable options, and dozens of great restaurants, making it difficult to choose where to eat on our short 3-day stay. Did I mention also the availability of local microbrews and wines to boot? We also got all this at an affordable price, minus sales tax. Incroyable!

Therefore, we chose Henry’s Tavern for dinner on Saturday. We were exhausted from flying and the two-hour time difference, but we were determined to go out on Saturday night and have a good time. We walked in and immediately felt like locals in the large joint; and Nate was already “worried” about how to choose a brew from the 150 or so on tap. We got a great seat by the window and proceeded to order our drinks. Nate had the bartender’s special on tap – Anderson Valley Summer Solstice beer, and I had a Lush - Grey Goose vodka, champagne, cranberry juice, raspberry puree. We couldn’t pass up an appetizer, since we’d seen so many people enjoying them while we were waiting for a table, so we had the Lemongrass Chicken Potstickers. For dinner Nate ordered a bacon burger and I had the best fish and chips I’ve ever tasted (halibut dipped in Bridgeport IPA and panko crumbs with parmesan crust). We capped it off with a berry cobbler dessert. Nothing too exciting, besides the beer, but we were eating food like this and it wasn’t at a chain restaurant. We were in heaven!

On Sunday we sought brunch at a place I’d researched on the internet – Daily Café in the Pearl. We miss having brunch in Albuquerque and figured Portland brunch would not disappoint. As you will soon see – we were delighted by the prix fixe selections: choice of appetizer and main course with a basket of homemade pastries for the table. Nate had fresh fruit and buttermilk pecan pancakes with orange zest whipped butter and maple syrup and homemade chicken apple sausage. I had brioche custard French toast with rhubarb compote, scrambled eggs, house fries, applewood smoked bacon, and fresh-baked multigrain toast.

To work off our lunch, we headed to the nearby two-story REI. After picking up some much needed wool socks, we took the streetcar to NW 23rd street and browsed the local stores – our favorites being two shoe stores and a garden/home décor shop. By then we were hungry again and I wanted to try a restaurant that the locals go to for dessert: Papa Hayden. So, we forced ourselves walk in and we were seated at a table by the window. After ordering our lattes, we decided to share a slice of the enormous Cassata (Kahlua and espresso-soaked sponge cake with bittersweet chocolate-ricotta filling). We shopped a bit more, and then headed back to the hotel to rest.

We had a little difficulty (if you can call it that) choosing a spot for dinner that night. We weren’t overly hungry, but we weren’t going to be in Portland for much longer, and we’d passed so many great restaurants each day! Finally, we chose the Everett Street Bistro, a European-style charcuterie that we’d passed a couple times while walking the Pearl. Nate had some extremely unimpressive French onion soup, a croquet monsieur, and a French Syrah. I had a delightful dish of orecchiette with olive oil, garlic, roasted cherry tomatoes, arugula, and Parmesan cheese. I paired it with a refreshing Adelsheim Pinot Gris. Nate had a taste or two of my pasta; and we have since recreated this dish at home, proving that sometimes the simplest ingredients create the best and most satisfying meals. After dinner we headed over to Powell’s Books, and I spared Nate the joy of spending hours in a bookstore. We browsed the spectacle and I bought a book as a souvenir, and we headed across the street for one final treat – a latte for Nate and a scoop of cinnamon gelato for me.

We had thought about traveling to the Oregon coast on Monday, but having spent two days walking around and riding the public transportation, we had no desire to be in a car any longer than necessary. Plus, this gives us an excuse to come back to Portland! So we began our day at the Pearl Bakery, and were hard pressed to choose one item for breakfast. We don’t have any French-style bakeries (that I know of) in Fort Worth! After coffee and croissants, we ended up walking around with an epi in a brown bag, pulling off a piece here and there throughout the day.

Nate was looking forward to trying some microbrews while we were in town, so where better to go than Bridgeport brewery at the edge of the Pearl district? We lunched at the Bridgeport brewpub & bakery and shared the sampler of all their beers. I had a wonderfully fresh beet salad with spinach, walnuts, and blue cheese. Nate had an open-face smoked salmon melt. We also shared the house-made pretzels with beer spreads (ESB mustard, and Black Stout cheddar cheese). Yum! The brewery had a fun vibe and we had a friendly server who seemed to love his job and love living in Portland.

Since we had eaten all that bread earlier, we trekked up the small mountain/hill steps in search of the International Test Rose Garden and Japanese Garden, but ended up discovering a beautiful Holocaust memorial garden built in 2005. It was raining out, but was light enough not to bother us and pretty enough to enhance the landscape. Nate loved the giant evergreen trees on the hill. We then took a bus to the train stop and decided to head back to our hotel for a break before our big dinner that night.

I made reservations for dinner at Fenouil at Jamison Square in the Pearl for the night of our one-year anniversary. Nate and I have been into French-style cuisine lately, so this place sounded perfect. It was. We ordered an appetizer that caught my eye, Beignets de Langouste (lobster). From there we moved on to the main entrees – for me: Steak Frites aux Échalottes (grilled ribeye steak with confit shallots and pommes frites) and for Nate: Coquilles à la Poitrine Fumée (seared sea scallops with smoked bacon and leek fondue, verjus butter). We also shared a side of Broccolini Grillés, with lemon olive oil. Nate paired his dish with a glass of white wine and I had a glass of red. When it came time for dessert, we couldn’t choose just one! Plus, we were celebrating our anniversary, so two desserts it was - Gâteau de Chocolat (molten peanut butter chocolate cake & salted peanut toffee) and Beignet à d‘Anis (star anise beignets with cinnamon sugar & armangac crème anglais) Can you guess who chose which? The server brought my dessert out with a sparkler and wished us a “Happy Anniversary!” Fun! We thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant (classy and French, with an urban flair), we experienced great service and delicious food, and it was lightly raining when we stepped out – quite a different kind of atmosphere than we’re used to in Fort Worth.

Tuesday was wine-country day. Nate was really excited to travel to wine country this trip. He couldn’t wait to experience the natural setting of Oregon wineries, especially since most all of them were located within 45 minutes of Portland. We rented a car and set up our new Tom Tom, and set off. Our first stop was the Ponzi tasting room, only 25 minutes from downtown Portland. Our friends back in Texas (a couple with whom we go to wine events) visited Portland last year and spent two days in wine country. They had less than stellar things to say about wine country, comparing it with Napa and Sonoma and indicating they’d rather go to California from now on. Ted and Lisa did have great things to say about much of the wine – that’s to be expected from Pinot Noir lovers like them (which is why we have so much in common with them). So Nate and I were interested to see how we would like Oregon wine country, and after arriving at Ponzi we were enamored. Sure, you can’t compare Oregon to California – the wines are different, the atmosphere is like night and day, and Oregon is much more rustic, but to us, that was the joy of it! It’s a personal preference, kind of like why we live in Fort Worth and why Ted and Lisa live in Dallas.

Anyway, after tasting at Ponzi for about 45 minutes, we placed our half case order and drove on to Argyle. I was excited about this tasting because, you know me, I love a good bottle of bubbly! We’d had Argyle’s Pinot Noir before, but never had their sparkling wine or higher-end Pinot. I had the bubby flight and Nate tried a flight of one Brut, a couple whites, and Pinots. We left with a 1999 Knudsen Valley Brut – rated a 91 by Wine Spectator, and absolutely delicious! At this point, we needed something to eat, and had a nice lunch across the street at the Dundee Bistro, the Ponzi Vineyards foray into food. It was nice, affordable, but nothing spectacular. Now we were ready to hit our final stop of the day, Erath. Nate and I knew Erath and had had some of their Pinot Noir before. However, we were a little disappointed by our tasting. To us, the wines were nothing amazing and they offered a free tasting of four whites (ugh – they should stick to Pinot) and the people running the tasting room were annoying to say the least. The view from their tasting room and the parking lot was amazing. Erath is one of the oldest vineyards in Oregon (from the 1960s) and they sure have prime real estate.

Our big splurge on the trip was our stay at the Black Walnut Inn and Vineyard. The inn’s sign is across from Erath’s vineyards, but we had to drive up a half-mile hill to get to the inn. By this time of day (3 p.m.) it was chilly and starting to get quite rainy, but this weather did not dissuade the view and feeling of the Tuscan-inspired B&B. The daughter of the inn owners, Melissa, greeted us at the door and led us up to our room, The Classic. We had a balcony off the room, overlooking the valley, the many vineyards on hills, the gray stormy sky, and in the distance, Mount Hood. Downstairs Melissa showed us around the large living room, complete with two oversized leather couches, a towering fireplace, coffee and tea service, and the breakfast room, complete with three large dining tables looking out three sets of French doors. We unwound a little in our room, watching the rain move in and enjoying the peacefulness of the location.

For dinner we trekked down the hill and drove into Dundee, on recommendation from the inn, to Red Hills Provincial Dining. Housed in a 1920s craftsman bungalow, this local restaurant was a fun little gem and a nice spot to have our last big meal of the trip. The food was fresh, organic and nicely prepared; the wine list was long and contained many local wines. We both started with delicious micro greens salads, direct from the owner’s back garden. For the main course, Nate had halibut and I had pork schnitzel. We’d received recommendations to try the homemade ice cream for dessert, and did just that, sharing a bowl of Grand Marnier chocolate chip ice cream. I’ve never had ice cream that tasty at a restaurant! We drove back to the inn, and readied ourselves for bed, while listening to the rain on the roof.

The next morning, we awoke to the muted sun rise. Having left the curtains around the French doors open, we awoke at first light, but due to the clouds, it was a soft and gray. Nate ventured downstairs for coffee and brought two steaming cups up to our room. We took our time getting ready, enjoying the view and the great bathroom. The day before, we had set our breakfast time for 9:15, so we walked downstairs and chose two chairs next to the French doors. Melissa handed us menus with four selections: I chose buttermilk pancakes and bacon and Nate chose grilled grapefruit, two poached eggs, and sausage. Nate had his back to the kitchen, but I had full view of the swinging door. This is an important fact, because about 10 minutes after we made our selections, Nate said my eyes suddenly widened and I had a huge grin on my face. Why? Well, Melissa was headed over to our table, with our breakfast "appetizer." She said that her mom wanted to make dessert for breakfast, so we each had our own blackberry cobbler, topped with homemade whipped cream. Wow! It was absolutely delicious, and we both scarfed it down. Our actual breakfast was scrumptious as well - exactly what you'd expect from a high-end B&B like Black Walnut.

After breakfast, we tidied up our room and pack up our things; we were both sad to leave such a peaceful setting. We were totally enamored with Oregon wine country. This is definitely a destination to which we will return! Thankfully, our flight back to DFW wasn't until 3:00, so we had plenty of time to hit some wineries!

Nate and I each chose a winery to visit that day. Our first stop was his choice, Archery Summit. It was extremely windy that day, and the tasting room is on a hill overlooking the valley. We'd heard that Archery Summit was a little pretentious, so I was interested to see how we'd enjoy the tasting experience there. Archery Summit produces only Pinot Noir, and they make quite good wines. We shared a flight and enjoyed discussing the wines with the gal behind the counter (not pretentious at all, but definitely knowledgeable and proud of the wines). The Pinots here are meant to be aged for 3-5 years, but we could definitely tell they all had great potential right now. Nate signed us up for their list, and we'll see what we do with our allocation each year.

My winery choice was Adelsheim, about eight miles away, in Newberg. We drove off the beaten path to get there (which is the case for many of the wineries in Oregon), which is why we loved it there. On our approach, we saw all the vines lined up, but something was different at Adelsheim - beautiful yellow and white wildflowers were growing in between the rows. Gorgeous! It was quiet in the tasting room, so we had the full attention of our pourer. I think we tried about seven or eight wines - a couple we did not care for, like the steel-oaked Chardonnay and the Syrah. However, their Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and Reserve Pinot Noir are all quite fantastic. We also had a special tasting of the 2006 Deglacé, an ice wine. This wine took us both by surprise! It was well-balanced, not too sweet, and incredibly fun. Melissa at the Black Walnut mentioned this wine to us because they always serve it for Thanksgiving, with pumpkin mousse! Nate and I left with two bottles of the Deglacé; we hope to serve it at some celebrations in the future.

Sadly, our trip was over after this last tasting, and we drove back to the airport. It was fun to see Portland from a different perspective, driving in our rental car. We both loved driving over the bridges and seeing the city spread out on either side of the river. It was quite a memorable one-year anniversary trip. We’re a very lucky couple.