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You are here: Home / Uncategorized / BEST OF PORTLAND–GIRL’S WEEKEND VIBES

BEST OF PORTLAND–GIRL’S WEEKEND VIBES

August 19, 2018 by Sarah Kline 3 Comments

50 Licks Ice Cream Best of Portland Girls Weekend

We just wrapped up a visit with friends from San Francisco — and it was one for the record books.

My girlfriend who came, Kate, was a dear friend of my sister’s in college and we got to be friends when we both lived in San Francisco. We reconnected last fall with our daughters and they hit it off immediately and they came up this winter. Regular readers may remember that I shared some of the details of our trip back then.

I was so excited to hear that they were coming back up and we’d be able to show them what summer in Portland is like.

And with the football season starting, it’s really special for me to spend time focusing on Charlotte and the things she likes to do before she loves me to the couch for much of the next couple months.

First step always when gal pals come to town is to prepare the basement — and make it as cozy and cute as possible.

Best of Portland Girls Weekend

I put a lot of my favorite dining pieces down there (vintage blue pottery, Bakelite, favorite serving trays and can you spy the cute little piece Laurie Romanaggi crafted for me?)

She Shed Basement Best of Portland Girls Weekend

plus candles and bunting and floating honeycomb balls and fresh cut flowers everywhere you look.

Roses for Brthday

Plus what’s a hotel-like suite without a mini-bar?

Here’s more of what awaited them just outside their bedroom.

Best of Portland Girls Weekend

House ready, we swung by the airport to pick them up and got the party started.

Ah, all the tasty things we tried!

In case you’re interested in expanding your repertoire (or are coming here for some foodie fun), here’s a list of places or activities I highly recommend for visual interest, crafty goodness or just something smack-dab delicious.

ONE. Let’s go with the obvious. It’s summer —  indulge in something decadent and sweet when the mercury soars.

This time we tried the really refreshing offerings at Wailea Shave Ice (across the street from Powell’s).

Charlotte and Grace Shave Ice Portland PDX

And there’s always Salt and Straw, which never fails to deliver.

Salt and Straw Ice Cream PDX

Salt and Straw ICe Cream Division PDX

Ditto Wiz Bang Bar, S & S’s soft-serve sister at Pine Street Market (we took them there last time).

Salt and Straw Wiz Bang Bar Portland

This time though we decided to mix it up and we went to 50 Licks.

Fifty Licks Portland PDX Ice Cream

There are a couple of these ice cream shops now, but we went to their storefront on Clinton after nearly polishing off a whole Scottie’s Pizza.

Scottie's Pizza Portland

I love the whole 50 Licks vibe, and while S & S gets so much of the local and national love, I think the former should still get a nod for their intriguing offerings. They tend to lack the off-the-hook inclusions and zany combinations of Salt and Straw but 50 Licks does really modern and scrumptious renditions of old classics.

And I’ve never had to wait for more than a minute or so at their Clinton location (as opposed to the ridiculous hour-plus waits at S & S seemingly on any sunny day).

50 Licks Portland Best of Portland Girls Weekend

The whole place is adorable with the letters on the wall with the flavors and the staff is always so generous with tasting samples.

After we all sampled several different flavors, Kate and our girls settled on Water Avenue Coffee, Chocolate as &@!, Blood Orange Creamsicle and Caramelized Honey and I had the Pineapple Basil sorbet.

50 Licks Ice Cream Best of Portland Girls Weekend

Naturally we had to upgrade to fresh waffle cones because they are housemade and smelled divine.

It was 98 degrees as we sat in the shade and plowed through our treats, and I couldn’t imagine a better way to beat the heat.

50 Licks Best of Portland Girls Weekend

TWO. You’re in Portland, and there’s no sales tax, so take a gander at some of our more unique, only-in-Portland boutiques and see if anything tempts you.

I think our daughters could have spent the entire four day vacation at the Couture Bridal Shop at Anthropologie

Best of Portland Girls Weekend

and I never tire of Powell’s, but it was so fun to visit some of our smaller stores, too.

I loved taking them to Collage (my favorite art store)

collage art store pdx portland

and I could stand for hours in front of their washi wall.

Washi Wall at Collage Portland

Here are some of the other shops we enjoyed.

Porchlight.

Porchlight Portland

Porchlight PDX Portland

Tender Loving Empire.

Tender Loving Empire

Simply Vintage.

Best of Portland Girls Weekend Simply vintage dresses

And of course, I had to introduce them to the Bins.

We actually hit both the Airport and the Ochoco location, and we found wonderful items both times, but that giant vintage turquoise urn/vase you see below was probably my favorite purchase.

Charlotte and Grace Bins

And because we’re all such foodies, I had to take them food shopping.

We hit New Seasons for picnic provisions

Best of Portland Girls Weekend

and we went to Providore for cookies

Providore, Portland PDX

Providore Portland Best of Portland

and a little bit of eye candy.

Providore, Portland PDX

Flowers Best of Portland Girls Weekend

THREE. Dive deep into our vast coffee and tea shop reserves.

This time we didn’t get to Never Lab, but next time it’s a must — their coffee is off the hook.

Never Lab Coffee Portland

We did go, however, to another favorite of mine: Tea Bar.

tea Bar Blue Mint Majik

I’m absolutely addicted to their Iced Mint Majik, a peppermint tea that gets its unreal color from a rare kind of green algae.

Tea Bar Drink Blue Majik

With the wealth of places in town, we also thought it’d be fun to try some new-to-us spots and we hit it out of the park with both.

First up, Barista.

Barista PDX

There are a number of these coffee shops in town but we hit the one downtown, and it was handsome looking with the wonderful marble counters and gorgeous woodwork.

Barista PDX Portland Coffee

We got a round of various lattes and took them on the road.

PDX Portland Coffee Barista

My favorite is the one described on the bottom of this board:

Barista PDX Portland

Honey Marzipan Latte — I’m in love with you iced and I can’t wait to rediscover you warm — so almondy and rich. Scrumptious!

This shop is making superior drinks.

Another fantastic discovery was Tov Coffee.

Charlotte discovered it on Yelp and it had perhaps the highest rating of any coffee shop in the city and so we were intrigued.

Fantastic coffee in a converted double-decker bus with Egyptian memorabilia?

We were on board for that.

Best of Portland Girls Weekend

Located in a pod right on Hawthorne, we were intrigued as we approached it and couldn’t believe the smells coming out of the tiny counter in the back.

Tov Coffee Best of Portland Girls Weekend

Here’s just a tiny bit of the menu.

Tov Coffee

We decided to get all of our offerings iced, and they were all mind-blowers. There was Mint Thing, an iced cold brew with a mint syrup and oversized cream ice cubes. Iced Caramel Mocha had a superb caramel at the bottom that tasted liked toffee and lingered on your tongue through the last slurp. We also sampled an Iced Latte with intriguing cardamom flavors. And I had the Iced Chai Latte.

Dov Coffee

These offerings — and the setting — made for one of the more memorable coffee experiences I’ve had in Portland (and that’s really saying something).

Best of Portland Girls Weekend

FOUR. Try some of the more interesting poke experiences in town.

Tuna poke uwajimaya

If you have a car you can try some of the wonderful (and super inexpensive) offerings at Uwajimaya. For ten dollars you get a half pound of poke on your choice of rice (I like to add avocado and cashews at home to mine).

Poke Uwayimaya Tuna Avocado

Or closer to central Portland, you could go to my new favorite poke place: Poke Mon.

I’ve been hearing about this place for a while but it wasn’t until this past weekend that I made it over there.

It’s a postage-sized cutie and I love its whole vibe.

poke mon pdx

The offerings are stellar and the execution flawless.

Poke Mon Portland

My Ahi bowl (on the left) was one I customized to my liking and it had grapefruit, cucumber, fried garlic and red radish.

Yessssssssssssssss.

This place is spectacular, and if it was down the street I’d probably be there every other day.

Another place we tried was Wasabi PDX. I’d had a straightforward (but delicious) bowl there just a few days before, and this time I returned for their sushi-rito, a roll that’s supersized and filled with poke.

Best of Portland Girls Weekend Wasabi

Other places I’d recommend: SeaSweets Poke on 31st off of Hawthorne and someone told me that there’s a food cart in town that has a great one (I’ll keep you posted).

Lastly, I highly recommend that you take yourself (or lucky visitors) on a tour of some of our wonderful bakeries and pastry shops in town.

Tabor Bread Bakery Portland

photo credit: Lee Ellen Reed

You could start with bread. My pals brought me a treasured loaf of San Francisco’s Tartine Bread (which we devoured in two days) and we returned the favor with some from Ken’s Artisan.

You guys know that I love me some Tabor Bread

Tabor Bread Goodies Portland

Latte and Tabor Bread Toast

and I also love anything that Little T American Baker is doing, too, whether it be their outstanding morning pastries, pretzel rolls and focaccia

Little T American Baker

Little T American Baker Portland

or any one of their sublime cookies which this time we ended up buying at Providore and splitting amongst us.

I love buying pastries and cookies and then cutting them up so that everyone gets a sample of everything.

And there’s one last place we went to that you may not know about.

Nuvrei.

I don’t think that many people know about this little place on a second floor walk up in the Pearl, but they are offered at some of the best hotels, restaurants and coffee shops in the city and no wonder — they are perfection.

I love them so much that we chose a selection from here to top off our last shared meal together, and everything was exquisite.

Best of Portland Girls Weekend Nuvrei

Days later I’m still daydreaming about the intensity of that chocolate cookie and the unbelievable flavor of the Pistachio-Rose Croissant.

Best of Portland Girls Weekend Nuvrei croissant

Before I knew it, our time together had come to a close and it was time to say goodbye.

So to our dear friends Kate and Grace, thanks so much for flying up here and spending your last treasured days of summer with us.

Best of Portland Girls Weekend

I loved all our time gallivanting around town and then coming home to do crafty things and play rom-com bingo.

Best of Portland Girls Weekend

Our downstairs She Shed feels so lonely and empty without you.

Basement with Porter Girls Weekend

Come back soon! X.O.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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Comments

  1. Laurie Romanaggi says

    August 20, 2018 at 3:22 am

    I love these posts where you show people around the city as there are always places I had no idea even existed! Looks like they had a delightful time and ate well!

    Reply
    • Sarah Kline says

      August 20, 2018 at 2:50 pm

      Thanks, Laurie. I found a few more tiny things for the “Laurie Crafty Pile” at the Bins. My sister arrives today so lots more grub to be enjoyed. Hope to see you soon!

      Reply
  2. ANITA KLINE says

    August 22, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    Thanks for this colorful, delectable, peek into family/visitor warmth and happiness in Portland. Sending love to all from the foggy chill of San Francisco.

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Sarah Kline. Former cook at Greens. Restaurant reviewer and food columnist for San Francisco Examiner. Copywriter/recipe writer for Williams Sonoma. Private cooking teacher.  Flash forward.  -> Read More

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