I'm heading down to Portland for a girl's getaway. (from Seattle)
We're staying at either the Ace Hotel or the Inn at Northrup Station.
So far no plans have been made other than the weekend. I'm sure we'll go to the museum and other art / tourist sites. However we really, mostly, like to eat

The only places that pop in mind when I think of Portland are Voodoo Doughnuts and Wildwood. I know there's more.
So if you had:
Sat. Lunch
Dinner
Drinks / bar / nightlife

Sun. Breakfast
Lunch
snacks

where would you go? We'll have a car so distance isn't an issue. But we do like walking and public transportation.
I love food vacations...
Thanks!!

Henry's 12th Street Tavern for drinks/bar/nightlife. Great drink list, over 100 beers on tap, upstairs billiards room with another bar in there, and good restaurant. Very fun, and despite the tavern name, it is much more upscale yet does not have the meat market atmosphere that other places do. Portland City Grill has great views, but has that icky atmosphere. If you go early enough and just do a drink, take in the views, then head elsewhere that is best, IMO.

Breakfast, definitely Mother's. Get a reservation for a weekend morning though. If not, then Everett Street Bistro, Red Star Tavern, or Lorn and Dotties are all good as well. But Mother's is the best

Lunch, try Piazza Italia or Serrato and for dinner head to Fenouil. Wildwood is ok, not bad at all, but I just don't think it is as good as some other places here.

It is really easy to just walk everywhere here. There is the streetcar though, which is a good alternative.

A couple years ago a few girlfriends from Seattle came down and we did a girls weekend here. We got rooms at the Monaco (was called the 5th Avenue Suites at the time) and that worked great for us. We had connecting rooms, so perfect for late night girl chat. I have stayed there several times even though we live here, and it is a great hotel. Just to add to your decision making

Sat Lunch:
Everett Street Bistro (Pearl district) NW12th & Everett
Silk NW 10th & Glisan (Pearl)( Vietnamese/pho)
Wildwood ( NW ) NW 21st

Dinner:
SouthPark ( seafood) SW Park
bluehour ( steak/pasta/trendy sometimes touristy) Better imo for Happy Hour or Lunch or the Bar for Drinks at night
Piazza Italia is good for a casual dinner too.. (NW Johnson) mms reminds me of all the lunches we had there
I agree about Henrys for lunch or dinner or drinks..and very much agree with City Grill..view is good but there are much better places in town.

Agree with Mothers for breakast or The Pearl Bakery or for greasy breakfast, ByWays Cafe on NW Glisan or Fullers on NW 9th..down the block from the Pearl Bakery.

snacks...St Cupcake NW Glisan (

great happy hours & snacks
Paragon in the Pearl
bluehour
Vault Martini on NW12th & Everett/Davis
Ten01 on NW Couch
Fenouil is wonderful for any meal and drinks..just go there for any reason

No need for a car for any of these places, they are all within walking distance of the Ace or the Inn@Northrup or a streetcar ride.

There are so many places to eat and drink in town, you are going to have so much fun!

As if mms and Scarlett haven't given you enough to choose from...

Clyde Common, in the same building as the ACE Hotel, is a popular spot for both dinner and drinks. I don't think it's as gourmet as Fenouil or Wildwood (haven't been yet), but getting a lot of buzz in the 20's - 30's crowd.

I don't quite know how to describe Le Pigeon, but it's one of my favorite restaurants in town. Hole-in-the-wall gourmet sorta fits. The chef there is getting national recognition. The issue for you might be that it's on the other side of the river from where you'll be staying.

Bay 13 is another popular happy hour and drinks spot. It's just a block away from Paragon, in the Pearl District. And speaking of Paragon, the caesar with calamari there is one of my favorite lunches in Portland.

I'd like to know how you're planning to narrow this down... ;-)

Beachbum, is Clyde Common the restaurant that's IN the Ace Hotel? If so, what's the restaurant that's next door (on the corner of 11th, I believe)? It looked kind of like an upscale deli to me when I walked by on my way to Fenouil last month, and it was pretty packed. I didn't see a sign with a name though and was curious about it.

OP, sorry for the hijack and I definitely endorse the choice of Mother's for Sunday breakfast. I'm not sure they take reservations for weekend breakfasts though (I'm pretty sure I called and asked and they said no) so get there right at 9 when they open or be prepared to wait.

Yes, NWWanderer, Clyde Common is the restaurant just off the lobby of the ACE. I can't picture the place next door. Maybe Scarlett knows. That's close to her old stomping grounds...

Kenny & Zucs deli is the deli on the corner, no?

portlandfood.org

I would like to be stomping around there this weekend

http://www.kennyandzukes.com/

NWWander I think you are thinking of Zack's or some name similar which is a deli. Clyde Commons is onthe other side of the ACE.

I love both Clyde Commons and Le Pigeon. Make ressies in advance for the later.

Teardrop Lounge has some of the best cocktails in the city. Absolutely stop in for a few!

I really like Pambiche cuban for lunch and breakfast! mmmmm!

And Cacoa Drink Chocolate for a nice mid afternoon pick me up!

Oh and there is a Tiki Bar called Thatch

I like to head to the market on Sat and Sun for breakfast too.

Thanks, that's the place! Is it any good? As former east coaster I'm always looking for good pastrami--hard to find out here.

Stormygirl- Zacks is the deli next to the Ace Hotel- its supposed to be very good - I was by there a couple of weeks ago and it was packed.

The ACE hotel looked, well a little seedy to me, but I was only in the lobby.

We ate lunch at Jakes Crawfish Restaurant and it was great - had the crabcakes.

Kenny and Zukes! yes I don't know why I can't remember that name. I had friends who went last fall and weren't overly impressed but didn't hate it either.

The ACE is not seedy at all! It's very cool boutique hotel IMHO. the Stumptown Coffee next door to it is good and they sell Voodoo Donuts!

Jakes is good but is part of the McCormick & Schmidts chain- just saying in case you want to patron more local owned places

Ahhh, but Portland is where McCormick & Schmick's got its start, stormy! Have you made it to Toro Bravo or Alberta Street Oyster Bar? Bet you'd like those places, too.

Cadillac Cafe on Broadway at 18th is a very good place for breakfast!

Holy S*!^*... salmon! Wow, this is going to be hard. I knew there was a big food scene in Portland but this may be harder than planning my eating schedule when in San Fransisco.
Thanks for all your suggestions. I'll report back when I've nailed it down...

So here is what it's looking like:

Sat:
Lunch at Portland Sat. Market
Snack: St. Cupcake
Dinner: Montage (friend's want)
Drinks: Teardrop
Henry's 12 St.Tavern

Sun:
Brkfast: Pearl Bakery
Lunch: Le Fenouil
Snack: Voodoo Doughnut
(for the road)

Is there anywhere else I should pick up goodies to take home?

Thanks again for all your help!!

Sat:
Lunch at Portland Sat. Market
Snack: St. Cupcake
Dinner: Montage (friend's want)
Drinks: Teardrop
Henry's 12 St.Tavern

Sun:
Brkfast: Pearl Bakery
Lunch: Le Fenouil
Snack: Voodoo Doughnut
(for the road)

Sat Market really isn't where I would get food..maybe a snack but ...
nearby is Old Town Pizza, a haunted pizzaria ..that would be better, I think.

You can get snacks for the road when you are at the Pearl Bakery but you can also stop at Whole Foods on 12th & Couch and pick up things...a gazillion choices, they make nice stuff to go as well as having good breads, cheeses, olives etc for a picnic or snack attack.

I've had good food in Portland -- many places mentioned above, but if you don't go to Mother's for breakfast and have the salmon hash with poached eggs, I think you'll have missed one of the best meals in Portland.

Montage? Interesting choice; popular amongst the counter-cultural crowd. I had a decent lunch there a couple months ago, but I'd encourage you to twist your friend's arm. ;-) There are many much better places for your one dinner in Portland.

If you're looking for a similar casual kind of vibe, I think you'd be happier at Le Pigeon or Toro Bravo. Toro Bravo would be best because it's a tapas place, so you could pace yourselves for the long evening. Because they don't take reservations, you'll want to show up 20 minutes before they open at 5:00pm. And if you stick with your plan of lunch at Saturday Market, you'll probably be hungry by then. ;-)

Ya, I looked at the Montage website and am not in love but friend has an old friend that left Seattle and works there. So there we go and friend asks for so little when we travel I'm happy to oblige. It looks like they don't do lunch on the weekends so dinner is it.

I looked into Toro Bravo for pre-dinner munching but isn't it on the other side of the river if we're at the Ace Hotel?

Pearl Bakery was chosen for breaky since we're having lunch before leaving. If I have a huge breakfast I'll skip lunch. My usual breakfast is small with a substantial meal a few hours later. I wanted to save my belly for Le Fenouil

Thanks for all the advice and direction!