West Coast Trip: Portland Day Two

Our first full day in Portland started off a little rocky as we were attempting to learn the downtown public transportation system.  I guess we wouldn't be true tourists without riding the TriMet Max rail too far and having to walk about the same distance to our destination as it would have been from our hotel.  Oh well.  Eventually, we found a good place for some breakfast bites and a latte.  And that heavenly little place happened to be The Gaufre Gourmet food cart that specializes in liege waffles with a variety of delicious toppings!  I was craving something savory so I ordered the monte cristo waffle and Jason got the biscuits & gravy waffle.  Both were crazy flavorful and just what we needed at the time.  While we were sitting on a little bench right in front of the cart, two walking tours gathered around the window for samples, so I guess we made the right choice for that meal!  

We backtracked the way we came a few blocks to check out the nerdy monstrosity that is Powell's Books.  Jason managed to find a book, or two, while I just had fun browsing the aisles and flipping through Kurt Cobain photo books.  Next up, we hopped back on the Max to Washington Park, the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Garden.  Both the Rose and Japanese Gardens were just as lovely as I remembered from last summer, but there weren't quite as many roses in full bloom.  It's pretty difficult to not want to stop and take pictures every few minutes because everything is so dreamy and perfect in this part of the city.  The views of downtown below the gardens are unmatched so we couldn't help but to get a few thousand pictures.

By the time we had gotten our fill of Portland nature, we were hungry (shocker)!  I was really craving some west coast seafood at this point, but we couldn't seem to find a reasonably price seafood restaurant open for lunch sooo... we found ourselves at an amusing drag queen themed diner open 24 hours called The Roxy.  All of their menu items had quirky, "tranny" names, but I'll skip the gory deets and just tell you I ordered the veggie burger with Oregon's own Tillamook cheese which was sensational!  After a greasy diner lunch, a cat nap was a desirable order for both of us so we went back to Hotel Modera to rest and refresh before continuing our adventures.  

Feeling energized and awake, we took the Max back up to the north side of downtown to check out Old Town/Chinatown.  I was really sad to learn that the 24 Hour Church of Elvis is no longer gracing the streets of Portland with its quirky presence, but I got over it when Jason and I entered Ground Kontrol, the barcade of all barcades (bar + arcade).  Picture wall-to-wall pinball machines and classic arcade games, trendy electronic music blaring, bright blue painted walls, neon lights, a full bar and movie screen.  That night, they were showing one of my favorites, The Outsiders.  In fact, the drink special of the night was even called the Out-Cider, a tasty combination of Original Sin hard cider, Apple Pucker, a splash of pineapple and topped with soda and a cherry.  I indulged in two of those babies while Jason unleashed the little boy inside until we had to go catch our bus to the east side for dinner.

Our pick for dinner was Screen Door, the top-rated Portland restaurant that's always packed and sure to be satisfying, that ironically serves homestyle southern food!  The place was indeed crowded so we were sat at the bar, which is fine by me.  It's almost more interesting up there and above the heat of bodies packed together at tiny tables on the ground.  Jason ordered the buttermilk fried chicken, which seemed to be everyone's choice because the way in which the restaurant is designed, you can see right into the kitchen where the cooks are hard at work, and there was a quite a bit of chicken coming out of there.  I decided on the Screen Door plate which was a pick & choose side dish plate.  I chose a cup of gumbo, griddle corn cakes and coleslaw.  I was very happy with everything I ordered, but Jason thought his was just OK.  

And, lastly, is there really any other way to end your time in Portland than to stuff your face with Voodoo Doughnuts?  I think not, my friends, so that's just what we did.  Bacon Maple Bars and Voodoo Dolls galore.  The end.